Purpose 
This policy affirms Merit Solutions’ commitment to ongoing professional development for our staff and contractors.
Scope
This policy is ongoing and applies to all workplaces. Every manager, employee and contractor has a responsibility under the policy.
Policy Statement:
Merit Solutions commits to the continued professional development of our staff and to support and facilitate our contractors in their commitment to professional development.
Strategies:
We undertake the following:
- Completion of a learning and development plan for each employee
- Funding of learning and development for each employee consistent with their development needs, current and future roles and business capacity
- Corporate membership of relevant professional bodies as a source of information and advice about current practices and to support contractors to access professional development opportunities
- Adapting a learning focus for all business activities – encouraging staff and contractors to learn from experience and share their learning with other team members;
- Regular consultant meetings to include professional development components
- Mentoring and coaching new employees and contractors
- Mentoring and coaching employees and contractors when they take on new roles or challenges;
- Encouraging and facilitating staff and contractors to contribute to their profession.
Responsibilities:
Responsibility for professional development is shared:
- Managing Director is responsible for the development and implementation of policies and practices which facilitate and support ongoing professional development;
- Employees are responsible for their own development, participating positively in performance and development planning and taking advantage of opportunities for learning on and off the job;
- Contractors are responsible for their own continued professional development and for taking advantage of opportunities for formal and informal learning.