The programme offers a comprehensive curriculum of CPD courses, skill development programmes and training qualifications. It reflects our commitment, as a British leader in the interior design profession, to effect professional development, uphold rigorous standards and present leading-edge content.
We provide additional learning courses through our directory of independently approved licensed CPD Providers for SBID Accredited Members. This uniquely accredited pre-eminent programme ensures that our members have access to a unique bank of advice, experience and knowledge which can be tapped into according to personal relevance, interest or necessity. The result is improving personal confidence and professional knowledge when it comes to offering clients professional advice.
CPD plays its part in improving the profession by organically reducing industry complaints. This is achieved by educating designers on how to correctly specify products for the purpose for which they have been designed by the manufacturer. This joined-up knowledge-transfer improves overall industry performance. The benefit is passed on to consumers, who are protected by reduced health and safety risks, reduced errors in procurement and non performance and less wasted time for clients. Overall, this combined improvement increases profits and reputations for all stakeholders.
Equality and diversity is embedded in our policies, systems and processes. Management of people is open, fair and constructive.
We work hard to ensure that the requirement for education that we place on members is proportionate and valuable both financially and administratively.
The Society of British and International Design (SBID) ensured interior design was acknowledged as a profession by lobbying the House of Commons for recognition and change for many years.
Interior design is a popular but unregulated profession in many countries including Great Britain. In a world of regulation and compliance, it is imperative that exacting trading standards are created. Unless these standards are independently measured for content in education, best practice and compliance, they will simply remain as marketing material to generate sales for the provider. SBID created the pre-eminent CPD education authority to the UK interior design industry by establishing accurate content in research and development, new technologies relating to the profession of interior design and more.
SBID is the unique provider to Britain of the European Charter of Education. We uphold this rigid international standard and provide a unique gateway from Britain to all European member countries, their official national interior design organisation and their approved universities to Britain. This pre-eminent status also provides a route to USA, New Zealand, Canada and the Gulf States.
As part of our obligation to provide education, we facilitated the ‘Gateway to Europe for UK Education’ and we launched the protected programme for Continued Professional Development (CPD) in 2012, the first and pre-eminent programme for interior design in the UK.
We provide lifelong learning for those in education, in practice and on the career ladder so they can improve their performance and knowledge. For those already in practice we created the first industry-specific facility for lifelong learning through the SBID CPD™ Education Authority.
SBID has successfully defined those interior designers who meet the European Code of Practice, distinguishing them from designers and hobbyists who do not meet these standards. This has been achieved without damaging the interests of any parties. Furthermore, it serves to assure the customer that any SBID Accredited Member is an experienced, trained and accredited professional practitioner.
Importantly, we catapulted the reputation of British professional designers by providing accreditation which is supported by lifelong education. In doing so, we protected consumers, improved industry reputation and facilitated increased overseas investment through trade agreements. We set education as a criteria for a professional fir the first time in the UK, we introduced the European standard of qualification for a professional practitioner of;
* In Europe and Scotland an interior design degree course is four years, SBID lobbied ECIA for change to provide access for our two year BA Degree course by allowing an exchange of 1.5 years of additional work experience.
Supported by a variety of government bodies, SBID researched the market in 2009 and again in 2012 and launched the protected SBID CPD programme. This pre-eminent status positioned SBID members and our licensed CPD providers in a position of qualified authority for interior design by providing independently assessed qualification, life-long learning and regulation standards equal to other highly respected professions in the U.K.
We encourage our licensed providers to meet our members in their workplace, at our regional events and at national seminars, conferences and webinars. We provide CPD training on a variety of subjects including product performance, the environment, technology, legislation, historic reference, law, finance, business amortisation, industry news and a host of other matters to help our members access accurate advice and make informed business decisions. To find out more about becoming a licensed CPD Provider or to attend an event contact us.
