Continuing
Professional
Development
PICAC is an approved CPD provider with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants. We invite qualified practitioners and subject-matter experts to propose training content that advances the profession.
Submit a CPD Proposal →What is Continuing Professional Development?
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a mandatory annual requirement for every Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) and Regulated International Student Immigration Advisor (RISIA) licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC). It is not optional professional enrichment — it is a condition of maintaining a licence to practise. Each year, licensees must complete a set number of CPD hours drawn from approved activities that directly strengthen the Essential Competencies governing RCIC and RISIA practice: legal knowledge, client management, professional ethics, and procedural skill. Failure to meet the requirement can result in suspension or revocation of a licence.
Not every training session qualifies as CPD. CICC applies a rigorous content standard: every approved activity must be directly connected to the Essential Competencies for RCIC or RISIA practice, delivered by a qualified instructor whose credentials are relevant to the specific subject, and designed around measurable learning objectives that participants achieve by the end of the session.
Content must be accurate, current, and free from any commercial or promotional purpose. The hours claimed must honestly reflect the depth and length of the material. These standards are enforced at the point of provider-level approval, and PICAC applies them rigorously during its own internal review before any submission reaches CICC.
Only Approved Providers Can Offer CPD
The ability to offer CICC-accredited CPD is not open to any institution or individual. CICC maintains a restricted list of approved CPD providers — organizations that have met the College's standards for governance, quality assurance, and subject-matter expertise, and that have been formally authorized to submit activities for accreditation on behalf of their members and the profession.
PICAC — the Persian Immigration Consultants Association of Canada — is an approved CPD provider recognized by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants. This status authorizes PICAC to receive, evaluate, and submit CPD activity proposals to CICC, and to issue official CPD completion records to participants. When a CPD activity is delivered under PICAC's provider approval, RCICs and RISIAs can rely on it for their annual CICC requirement.
The Education & Development Committee
PICAC operates through a structure of standing committees, each responsible for a distinct area of the association's mandate. One of the most active is the Education and Development Committee, which reports directly to an executive member of the Board and serves as PICAC's primary body for all matters related to professional training and CPD.
The committee is responsible for receiving, evaluating, and analyzing all incoming CPD proposals; working with content contributors to ensure materials meet CICC's standards; and managing the submission and approval process with the College. Given the back-and-forth that often occurs between contributors and the committee to bring content to the required standard, PICAC requires that all proposals be submitted at least three months before the intended delivery date.
How the Review Process Works
Once a proposal is received, the Education and Development Committee reviews it against CICC's Essential Competencies framework and content standards. In most cases, there will be one or more rounds of feedback — the committee may ask the contributor to sharpen learning objectives, add a timed agenda, adjust claimed competencies, or revise materials that do not match the agenda as submitted.
This collaborative process is not a formality. It reflects PICAC's responsibility, as the approved provider, for the quality and integrity of every activity submitted under its name. Contributors should expect a substantive dialogue and allocate time accordingly.
Once the committee approves the content internally, PICAC submits the activity to CICC. Upon CICC approval, the activity is scheduled and participants receive a completion record crediting the appropriate CPD hours — at the standard rate of one CPD credit per hour of qualifying content.
What Can Count as CPD?
CPD does not have to be a live webinar. CICC recognizes a range of formats, provided each meets the content and competency standards. PICAC welcomes proposals in any of the following forms:
Video Presentation
Pre-recorded or live webinar with a structured agenda, timed segments, and measurable learning objectives. The most common CPD format.
Slide Deck Workshop
An in-person or online workshop built around a presentation deck, including case studies, exercises, or Q&A structured against specific competencies.
Written Article or Guide
A substantive written work — research article, practice guide, or analytical commentary — that addresses a defined competency area in depth.
Book or Publication
A full-length publication on a subject within RCIC or RISIA practice, reviewed and accepted under the CICC publication CPD category.
Podcast or Audio Series
A structured audio program with defined learning objectives, episode summaries, and a clear link to one or more CICC Essential Competencies.
Self-Paced Online Module
An asynchronous e-learning module with interactive elements, knowledge checks, and a completion mechanism for tracking participant hours.
Ready to Contribute?
If you have expertise in a subject area relevant to Canadian immigration practice and would like to propose a CPD activity under PICAC's approved provider program, we invite you to submit a proposal using the form below. The Education and Development Committee will review your submission and be in touch within 10 business days.
Submit a CPD Activity Proposal →Proposals must be submitted at least three months before the intended delivery date. Contact training@picac.ca with questions.
