Continuing Professional Development Scheme
Following the implementation of the property management industry licensing regime (licensing regime) on 1 August 2020, the PMSA has launched the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Scheme (the Scheme) for participation by holders of Property Management Practitioner Licence on a voluntary basis during the transitional period (ending on July 31, 2023) of the licensing regime.
The Scheme aims to equip licensees, through participation in activities/courses organised or recognised by the PMSA, with up-to-date property management knowledge and skills, thereby enhancing the quality and professionalism of the property management industry. Through the Scheme, licensed property management companies can also actively promote employee training, establishing a corporate culture of lifelong learning and continually enhancing the quality of the services provided by their employees.
The PMSA will examine the Scheme’s implementation details from time to time and will also actively solicit the views of licensees and the property management industry accordingly. Such efforts will facilitate enhancement to the Scheme for consideration of its implementation on a mandatory basis in the future to meet and cope with the needs of the industry.
CPD Hours
The Scheme will use the calendar year (from 1 January to 31 December of each year) as its counting unit of year (CPD year). Licensees at all levels, whether holding provisional or formal licences, may participate.
During the voluntary participation stage, the Scheme recommends that the CPD hours for holders of Property Management Practitioner Licence (Tier 1) and (Tier 2) be 12 and 6 hours respectively in each CPD year.
The PMSA will issue certificates of recognition to commend those licensees who meet the requirements of the PMSA’s recommended CPD hours in each CPD year.
Categorisation and Recognition Mechanism of Activities/Courses
Activities/courses under the Scheme should include the following elements:
- Equip licensees with the latest professional, regulatory and ethical knowledge;
- Enhance licensees’ professional ability in providing quality property management services; and
- Support the industry in establishing an effective property management service quality assurance system.
In addition to organising CPD activities/courses, the PMSA will also recognise and accept training activities/courses organised by other statutory bodies, Government departments, professional bodies or institutions (including PMSA Recognised Professional Bodies) if they meet the criteria of the Scheme.
The PMSA will categorise and recognise the training activities/courses organised by other professional bodies or institutions in the market based on the content (categorised as “Core” or “Non-core”) and learning model (categorised as “Official” or “Unofficial”) of these activities/courses.
Activities/courses organised by education institutions which are regulated by the Education Bureau and activities/courses accredited by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (please refer to the Qualifications Register for details) will be automatically recognised under the Scheme and require no advance approval.
It is not possible for the Scheme to comprehensively cover all the activities/courses organised by various organisations. If licensees provide the PMSA with information about professional development activities/courses that meet the recognition criteria but have not been approved or recognised in advance, the PMSA will accept such information in good faith. The PMSA will, however, conduct random audit to ascertain if licensees have actually attended these activities/courses and attained the attendance or participation hours that they should have.
Planning and Management of Personal CPD Activities/Courses
The PMSA has launched the CPD Scheme Electronic Recording System (the System) to facilitate licensees’ planning and management of their CPD activities/courses. The System allows licensees to search and enrol for activities organised by the PMSA, either through the PMSA website or the PMSA mobile app.
How to use the System?
Licensees may refer to the PMSA website or PMSA mobile app to create a personal account.
Managing CPD Scheme participation records through the System is possible after logging in.
1. Personal Page
The “My CPD Journey” on the Personal Page provides one’s an overview of CPD hours and progress, including actual participation hours, recognised participation hours and whether all the requirements and criteria of the Scheme have been met.
2. Record CPD hours
Method 1: Press shortcut key to record
Method 2: (Participating in events organised by the PMSA/PMSA Recognised Professional Bodies): Scan the designated QR code at the event with the QR code scanner on the “Record CPD Hours” page.
3. Register for PMSA activities
All CPD activities organised by the PMSA will be shown on both the PMSA website and mobile app. Licensees may press the shortcut key to enrol and pay the fees electronically (e.g. FPS) instead of paying in person at the PMSA office.
4. Check CPD records
All CPD activity records in the System will be listed in descending order. Licensees may press the shortcut key to check the records.