Self‐directed learning for lifelong career development

IN 1993, the Confederation of British Industry stated that ‘the concept of lifelong learning requires the individual to become an independent learner’. With lifelong learning now an essential element of all the professions, there is a logical requirement that vets develop the skills needed to become self‐directed learners. In this article, Sue Shuttleworth outlines some of the broad principles of self‐directed learning and makes the case for its importance to both the individual vet and the profession as a whole.