Associations invest significant time and resources in education. We organise webinars, deliver courses, host conferences and share resources to help members develop their skills and knowledge.

But how often do we stop to ask a more important question: is our education actually changing the way members work?

At ACE 2026, The Capability Test: Is Your Education Changing Professional Practice?, Laura Bos, General Manager of Strata Community Association Queensland (SCAQ), joined Toni Brearley CAE, CEO of AuSAE, to explore how associations can move beyond delivering education to building genuine professional capability.

Laura shared how SCAQ transformed a collection of standalone learning activities into a connected professional development program designed around members’ careers, the challenges they face at work and the future of their sector.

Her experience offers valuable lessons for any association looking to make its education more relevant, sustainable and impactful.

1. Start with the problem, not the program

It is easy for education planning to begin with a calendar. What webinars should we run next year? Which speakers could we invite? What topics are members asking about?

These are useful questions, but they are only part of the picture.

For SCAQ, the turning point came from looking at the broader challenges facing its sector. Despite strong attendance at education events, employers were still struggling to retain staff, and many professionals could not see a clear career path ahead of them.

As Laura explained, SCAQ had a calendar of events, masterclasses, webinars and conferences, but the activities were not connected to a clear professional development pathway.

The association needed to look beyond the events themselves and ask what its members needed to learn, when they needed to learn it and how that learning could help them progress.

The takeaway for associations: Before planning your next education calendar, identify the professional challenges your members need help solving.

Consider speaking with employers, managers, emerging professionals and experienced members. What skills are missing? Where are people struggling? What causes them to leave the profession? What will they need to know to succeed in the future?

These conversations can help you prioritise education that addresses real needs, rather than simply adding more activities to an already busy calendar.

2. Build a pathway, not a collection of events

One of SCAQ’s biggest changes was bringing its education activities together under Professional Pathways.

Rather than treating webinars, masterclasses and conferences as separate offerings, the association mapped learning opportunities to five career stages, from people entering the profession through to experienced leaders and business owners.

This created a clearer picture of how members could develop their knowledge and progress throughout their careers.

It also helped SCAQ identify where additional support was needed. For example, professionals moving into more complex roles needed more than technical knowledge. They also needed skills in communication, dispute resolution and managing difficult situations.

The approach recognised that members at different stages of their careers have different needs, challenges and ambitions.

For associations, this is an important distinction. A new professional may need foundational knowledge and confidence, while an experienced practitioner may be looking for leadership development, strategic thinking or business skills.

A one-size-fits-all education calendar can struggle to meet both needs.

The takeaway for associations: Map your existing education offerings against your members’ career journeys.

Ask yourself:

• What does someone new to the profession need to know?
• What challenges emerge as they gain experience and responsibility?
• Where do members need support to move into leadership?
• What skills will experienced professionals and business owners need next?
• Are there gaps between your current offerings and these needs?

You may not need to create an entirely new program. As Laura highlighted, sometimes existing activities simply need to be connected, repositioned or delivered at the right stage of a member’s career.

3. Develop the whole professional, not just technical skills

Technical expertise matters, but it is rarely the only thing people need to succeed at work.

Laura highlighted the importance of building interpersonal skills and resilience, particularly for professionals dealing with difficult conversations, complex problems and challenging workplace relationships.

In SCAQ’s sector, early-career professionals can find themselves managing complicated issues and navigating difficult interactions with committee members. Without the right support, these experiences can contribute to people leaving the profession.

As Laura explained:

“Capacity building is not just technical education. You know, I look at my members as a whole person and I think that’s something that gets forgotten.”

That idea has relevance across the association sector.

A professional may understand the technical requirements of their role but still struggle to influence a board, manage conflict, lead a team or communicate a difficult decision. These capabilities can be just as important to their long-term success.

Associations are well placed to help members develop both.

The takeaway for associations: Review your education portfolio for opportunities to build the skills that help members put their technical knowledge into practice.

Depending on your profession, this might include communication, negotiation, leadership, problem-solving, resilience, stakeholder management or navigating difficult conversations.

Consider combining technical education with practical scenarios, peer discussions, mentoring and opportunities to learn from colleagues who have faced similar challenges.

The aim is to help members feel better equipped to handle the realities of their work, not simply more knowledgeable about their profession.

4. Bring members into the design process

One of the most valuable elements of SCAQ’s approach was involving members in shaping the program.

Laura brought together members, including business owners and sector leaders, to help co-create the framework. This helped ensure the program reflected the challenges professionals were experiencing and gave those involved a stake in its success.

The result was a shift towards peer-to-peer learning: education designed by people who understand the profession, for people working in it.

Member involvement can also strengthen support for a program beyond the learning experience itself. When employers and industry leaders help shape education, they are better positioned to champion it and encourage their teams to participate.

This is particularly useful for associations working in specialised sectors where professional knowledge is built through experience and practical application.

The takeaway for associations: Invite members to help shape your education strategy, rather than relying solely on surveys or topic suggestions.

You could establish a small member advisory group, run workshops with professionals at different career stages or ask employers to identify the capabilities their teams will need over the next few years.

You could also involve members in developing case studies, facilitating discussions or sharing lessons from their own practice.

The key is to give members a meaningful role in shaping education that reflects the realities of their work.

5. Turn partners into capability-building contributors

For many associations, education partnerships help make programs financially viable and bring valuable expertise to members.

But the relationship can become less effective when partner-led education feels more like a sales presentation than a learning experience.

SCAQ reconsidered how its partners contributed to education, moving away from transactional arrangements towards a shared focus on strengthening professional capability.

Laura explained that member research revealed a clear preference: members wanted genuine expertise, not another sales pitch.

“If we have people and expertise in the room, they’re not there to deliver a brochure, they’re there to deliver a capability.”

This distinction matters. Partners often have deep technical knowledge and practical experience that can benefit members. The opportunity is to channel that expertise into education that meets the association’s standards and serves a genuine learning need.

SCAQ also developed an affiliated trainer program, through which partners would receive presentation and speaker training before delivering education on the association’s behalf. This helped extend the association’s reach while maintaining greater consistency in the quality and delivery of learning.

The takeaway for associations: Review how partners contribute to your education program.

Are they helping members develop new skills and solve problems, or is the emphasis primarily on promoting products and services?

Consider setting clear expectations for partner-led sessions, including agreed learning outcomes, relevant practical examples and opportunities for audience participation.

You could also provide speakers with guidance on presentation skills, storytelling and engaging adult learners.

A well-designed partnership should create value for everyone involved, particularly the members attending the session.

6. Protect the value of your education

Education requires investment. There are costs associated with staff time, learning platforms, content development, accreditation, speakers and delivery.

Yet associations can sometimes undermine the value of their offerings by providing extensive access for a price that makes it difficult to sustain quality or introduce more advanced learning opportunities.

SCAQ reviewed its previous unlimited webinar package and replaced it with Professional Pathways, a subscription model that included a defined number of webinars alongside discounts on masterclasses, conferences and other ticketed events.

The model gave subscribers ongoing value while helping the association cover the underlying costs of delivering education throughout the year.

SCAQ also took a firmer approach to its continuing professional development (CPD) program. External education seeking CPD recognition had to meet review requirements, reinforcing the value of the association’s endorsement.

Laura described the importance of recognising what that endorsement represents:

“If our brand is going on it and our endorsement is a part of it, it is worth something.”

For associations, this is about more than revenue. Accreditation and CPD recognition can represent trust, professional standards and confidence in the quality of learning.

Giving them away without clear expectations can make it harder to maintain those standards and demonstrate the value of your education.

The takeaway for associations: Review your education pricing, subscription benefits and accreditation arrangements.

Consider whether your current model supports the quality and consistency you want to deliver. Could a subscription provide a more sustainable foundation? Would tiered benefits create a clearer progression from introductory learning to advanced development?

If you offer CPD recognition, make sure your review process, learning requirements and endorsement criteria are clear and consistently applied.

The goal is not to charge for everything. It is to understand the value you provide, protect your professional standards and build a model that allows your education program to remain relevant and sustainable.

7. Choose progress over perfection

Redesigning an education program can feel like a significant undertaking, particularly for small association teams balancing competing priorities.

Laura was candid about the importance of keeping things manageable. Associations do not always have the resources to build a perfect program from the outset, and trying to do everything at once can prevent good ideas from getting off the ground.

Her advice was straightforward:

“Progress over perfection. Keep moving, give it a go.”

For SCAQ, the starting point was not creating a completely new suite of courses. It was understanding the existing activities, identifying the gaps and bringing everything together within a clearer framework.

That is an encouraging lesson for associations of every size.

You do not need to overhaul your entire education portfolio in one year. You can start with a single program, a particular career stage or one learning activity that could deliver greater impact.

The takeaway for associations: Choose one part of your education portfolio to review and improve.

Start small, test your approach, seek feedback and refine it. You might trial a new learning format, introduce a practical follow-up activity or redesign one webinar around a specific capability members need to develop.

The important thing is to keep learning about what works, rather than waiting until you have the time and resources to make everything perfect.

The real test: what changes after the learning?

Attendance, completion rates and satisfaction scores still have a place in evaluating education. They help associations understand whether members are participating and enjoying the experience.

But they do not necessarily tell you whether members are applying what they have learned.

If the purpose of education is to strengthen professional capability, associations need to look beyond participation and consider what changes afterwards.

That does not mean every program needs an elaborate evaluation framework. A few well-chosen questions can provide a useful starting point:

• Relevance: Did the learning address a real challenge in the member’s work?
• Confidence: Does the member feel better equipped to handle that challenge?
• Application: Have they used a new skill, approach or idea in practice?
• Impact: What difference has that made to their work, team or organisation?
• Next steps: What capability do they need to develop next?

Where practical, follow up with participants a few weeks or months after a program. Ask what they have applied, what has changed and what additional support would help them put their learning into practice.

You can also speak with employers or managers, where appropriate, to understand whether the learning is making a difference in the workplace.

These insights can help you decide which programs to retain, which to improve and where further investment will have the greatest value.

From delivering education to building capability

Laura’s experience at SCAQ demonstrates what can happen when associations approach education as a connected part of their professional purpose, rather than a series of individual events.

By aligning learning with career stages, addressing technical and interpersonal skills, involving members in program design and building stronger partnerships, SCAQ is working towards a more intentional approach to professional development.

The underlying principle is simple: education should help members move forward.

For association professionals, the opportunity is to look at your own education portfolio with fresh eyes. Are your activities connected to the challenges members face? Do they support people at different stages of their careers? Are you creating opportunities to apply new knowledge? And can you demonstrate the difference your programs make?

You do not need to have all the answers straight away. Start with one program, one member need and one opportunity to make learning more meaningful.

Because the real measure of an education program is not simply how many people attend. It is what they can do differently when they return to work.

Take back to your association - Review one education activity in your own portfolio and consider how you could measure its impact beyond attendance and satisfaction.