Does informal learning promotes professional competency? Evidence from Malaysian service-based industry

Developing professional competency through continued professional development (CPD) is a critical activity in the organization to sustain organizational competitive advantage. Learning for CPD encompasses formal, non-formal, and informal learning. Improvement of employee competencies due to CPD activities have also found to produce significant organisational performance such as organisational profits, productivity; and increase in employee engagement and career development. However, less focus is given on informal learning as a powerful tool for development of professional competency. This paper aims to determine the relationship between informal learning and professional competencies. Informal learning which is part of CPD activities is tested to see its linkages with different types of professional competencies. Quantitative approach using questionnaire was employed for data collection. The findings of this research reveal that informal learning has a positive significant effect with all four types of professional competencies. The results obtained indicate the importance of informal learning in promoting professional competencies particularly in Malaysian service-based industry.