Voluntary Certification Report - December 2009

The Voluntary Certification Committee has completed Phase 1 of the “Exploring the creation and implementation of a Voluntary Certified Career Development Practitioner."

Over 96% of respondents suggested that NSCDA should proceed to the next step in development of Voluntary Standards, which is the field testing and implementation of a Voluntary Certification of Career Development Practitioners.

The suggestions made by the NSCDA working group on final recommendations from Phase I for the Exploring the Creation and Implementation of a Voluntary Certified Career Development Practitioner Designation in Nova Scotia are:

It has now been demonstrated that the stakeholders are supportive of further work being conducted to develop a voluntary process for certification.  This demonstrates, once again, the desire of practitioners and other stakeholders to ensure that Nova Scotians receive both consistent and quality career development services.

It is recommended that a working group be formed to develop a process and field test.

The amount of work required for this next phase will be substantial and will require both human and financial resources to complete.   Therefore, it is recommended that the Board of NSCDA and the working group investigate potential financial and human resource implications, along with possible funding.

Comment from one of the focus group sessions:

The NSCDA would like to extend a sincere thank you to the Voluntary Certification Working Group for their valuable contributions to Phase 1.

Exploring Voluntary Certification

The Certified Career Development Professional and the PLAR Process

Focus Groups & FAQ's

The NSCDA Working Group held focus groups on Voluntary Certification across the province, between April 20 and May 13th, 2009. Results from these dialogues are now being compiled. Thank you to everyone who participated!

We have also added FAQ's for your information.

Mandate of This Working Group

The Nova Scotia Career Development Association (NSCDA) developed a 5 year strategic plan in the spring of 2006. One of the action items was to:

• Explore the creation and implementation of voluntary certification for Career Development Practitioners in Nova Scotia using the Canadian Standards and Guidelines for Career Development Practitioners (S&G's) as its guiding framework.

The working group of the NSCDA Board was created to direct a process that would explore certification in Nova Scotia. Invited to the NSCDA working group were representatives from Career Resource Centre Network, PLA Centre, NSCC, Service Canada, Nova Scotia Department of Education (now the Nova Scotia Department of Labour and Workforce Development), and the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services.

Background of This Consultation

This consultation is based on the following resources prepared and suggested by the working group exploring certification for the NSCDA.

• A Guide for Exploring the Creation and Implementation of a 'Certified Career Development Practitioner' in Nova Scotia (.pdf)
• The Core Competencies and Code of Ethics from the Canadian Standards and Guidelines for Career Development Practitioners (S&G's) (.pdf)

Optional reading:

• Overview of the Career Development Certification from the Career Development Association of Alberta
• BC Career Information Partnership's Career Development certification process and update.

Each resource covers a specific aspect of career development guidelines and standards. There will be a set of questions during the consultation process to which we would like you to respond. These questions will be answered using the Feedback Forms on the consultation day.

A complete listing of all working papers will be found on this website or a hard copy can be obtained by emailing Susan Burke at susan@futureworx.ca.

Rationale: Why Become a 'Certified Career Development Practitioner'?

The Certified Career Development Practitioner (CCDP) is a designation that tells the public, an employer, or a potential client that a career practitioner meets a standard of professionalism. The CCDP is for you if you wish to:

• Obtain official recognition of your competency in the career development field
• Stand out professionally and increase the marketability of your qualifications
• Demonstrate your commitment to career development work
• Target areas of potential development and growth
• Commit to a self-selected program of continuous learning and professional development
• Contribute to public awareness of career development as a defined field of practice

You can be a member of the NSCDA and choose not to become certified. The process at this point in time is meant to be strictly voluntary.

Definitions: Clarifying the Terms

The following terminology is important and helpful to place career development standards and guidelines in an accurate context:

Career

is a lifestyle concept that involves the sequence of work, learning and leisure activities in which one engages throughout a lifetime. Careers are unique to each person and are dynamic; unfolding throughout life. Careers include how persons balance their paid and unpaid work and personal life roles.

Career Development

is the lifelong process of managing learning, work, leisure, and transitions in order to move toward a personally determined and evolving preferred future.

Career Development Practitioner

is an umbrella term that refers to any direct service provider in the career development field. This includes but is not limited to: career counsellors, employment counsellors, career educators, career information specialists, career management consultants, career practitioners, rehabilitation counsellors, work development officers, employment support workers, work experience coordinators, job developers, placement coordinators, career coaches, vocational rehabilitation workers, etc.

Certification

is the granting of a particular title to individuals who meet standards which have been agreed to by consensus of an authorized body. Certification is the formal recognition that a person has met a standard. Authorized bodies who carry out certification procedures are usually:

• a professional body for its own members (eg. Nova Scotia Career Development Association – NSCDA; Canadian Counselling Association -- CCA);
• a provincial or territorial body; ( eg. Nova Scotia Association of Social Work)

Certification

does not mean that everyone performing the duties, services or activities of the occupation has been certified. Certification can be voluntary, as is the case with CCA. Counsellors certified by CCA have met certain requirements of the association but these do not restrict the rights of others outside the association to practice the profession.

What is the Purpose of This Consultation on Certification of NS Career Development Practitioners?

The working group for the exploration of a “Certified Career Development Practitioner” has developed some initial thoughts and direction on the value, benefits and process for certifying Practitioners. This initial work needs the benefit of a wider viewing by people in the career development field in Nova Scotia.

This consultation is intended to share these preliminary concepts and to provide the broader sector with an opportunity to inform the process. The purposes of the consultation are to:

• inform participants about the work done to date;
• obtain feedback on the work done to date;
• identify barriers and develop plans to address them;
• determine who else need to be involved;
• obtain feedback on the next steps; and
• determine the degree of support to continue with this initiative.

Who Provides Career Development Services?

Career development is provided in a variety of settings (e.g., schools, post-secondary institutions, private vocational colleges, community-based agencies, private practitioners, federal and provincial government departments, organizations like Workers' Compensation, private agencies, human resources departments in larger businesses, and joint labour-business partnerships), by a variety of practitioners (see list under definition of career practitioner). People who offer career development services directly to clients come from a variety of disciplines. Many human development service providers have career development as part of their mandate.

What Would a Certified Career Development Practitioner in Nova Scotia Look Like?

The 'Certified Career Development Practitioner' would be the term given to someone who has demonstrated having all the core competencies and adheres to the code of ethics found in the S&G's (Canadian Standards and Guidelines for Career Development Practitioners). The working committee would look at specializations once we have the CCDP designation is started (likely using the specializations mentioned in the S&G's and maybe add a few more e.g. PLA specialization)

Download the PLAR Process Description (.pdf).

The Steps Used to Decide to Proceed with a Certification in Nova Scotia?

We have embarked on this project with the view that the desired process would be one in which preliminary work could be done by the Working Committee and then the resulting drafts could be shared with a broader audience for discussion, validation, and approval. It was understood that this checking back with the constituency would be necessary periodically as we progressed through the project. The following sets out the process to illustrate how this consultation fits into the overall plan.

• April 2006: listed as part of strategic plan for NSCDA
• September 2006: working group formed
• September 2006 – June 2007: examine frameworks from other provinces
• October 2007 – May 2008: create framework and focus study for practitioners in NS
• June 2008: prepare and run 1st focus study
• September 2008 – December 2008: review results and evaluate trail focus groups
• January – March 2009 begin putting logistics for focus groups into place
• April -- May 2009: conduct focus studies in each region of NS
• June – September 2009: synthesize feedback
• Fall 2009: share final report with constituents
• Fall 2009: When approved – Determine next steps

What Will Happen Following the Initial Consultation in Spring 2009?

Following the consultation, the Working Group examining Certification of Career Development Practitioners in Nova Scotia will review all of the input received, consolidate it and return the consolidated report back to all participants in the consultation groups. This will be the opportunity to review the feedback and ensure that it accurately reflects the consultation process.

After this review, and if it is determined that there is sufficient support for the concepts presented to continue, the committee will proceed to develop a proposal to develop a specific outline of the certification process and train assessors.

If there is insufficient support, the committee will begin a major redraft to better represent the input received from the consultation, or abandon the initiative completely if it looks like consensus will be impossible to obtain.