New graduate engagement with "professional development"

If a key purpose of higher education is the development of students into "critical lifelong learners" then first destination employment for graduates choosing professionally-oriented careers provides the initial "testing ground" for its application practice through ongoing "professional development". It is principally the workplace that provides the context in which the graduate must now learn and develop. At the heart of the issue is "professional learning" yet the processes and the complexities of this in respect of new graduates remain unresearched and problematic. The paper reports on the development and design of an exploratory study addressing new graduate engagement with professional development in order to find more adequate ways to conceptualise this process and sharpen the research agenda. It seeks to generate discussion and feedback to assist the further progress of the research project.