Whether you’re working towards a promotion, building your confidence, or striving towards your targets, a PDP gives you a clear route forward.
In this blog, we’ll cover:
A PDP is a short, structured document that outlines:
It doesn’t have to be long or overly detailed. The most important thing is that it’s clear, realistic, and tailored to you.
It’s easy to let your own development fall down the priority list when things get busy. But a PDP helps you make space for progress.
The benefits for you:
The benefits for your business:
1. Start with self-reflection
Ask yourself:
Tools like a simple SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) can help here.
2. Set clear goals
Now set a few focused goals based on your reflections. The SMART framework can help:
3. Choose development activities
Think about how you learn best and what's available to you. Some options to consider:
The right mix will depend on your learning style, your goals, and what’s available through your business or training provider. Formal training, especially programmes like apprenticeships, can be a powerful foundation for both individual growth and business impact.
4. Identify what support and resources you’ll need
This could include:
Having these conversations early makes it easier to follow through on your plan.
5. Define what success looks like
How will you know if the plan is working? Think beyond just “completed the training”. It might be:
Make sure your measures of success are meaningful to you and your role—not just ticking a box.
Creating the plan is the easy bit. The challenge is keeping it alive. Here’s how to make sure your PDP actually leads to progress:
Your Personal Development Plan doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be personal, practical, and proactive. By taking a bit of time to think about where you are now and where you’re going, you’ll give yourself the best chance of growing in the direction that matters most to you and bringing more value to your team and business in the process.
We’ve created a free, editable Personal Development Plan template to help you put your ideas into action straight away.
With it, you can:
Download your free PDP template and start shaping your development today.
Need support building a PDP that sticks?
At BMS Progress, we help learners and leaders at all levels create personal development plans that actually drive results. Through coaching, structured training, and real-world application, we support growth that lasts. Talk to us about how we can support you or your team.
Looking to tackle a business challenge? Develop and evolve employees? Enhance performance across the board? Find out more about our sales training and manager coaching courses.
Want to take advantage of the Apprenticeship Levy, or simply foster the next generation of talent? You’ll need to ensure that the curriculum is tailored to your needs and aligned with your values.
Want to find out more? Whether it’s about a specific programme, apprenticeship standard or just about us and how we work, our team is always on hand to help. Simply get in touch using the button below and we will endeavour to answer your questions.
