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CERIC’s seminal publication, Career Development in 2040: Preparing for Possible Scenarios of Work & Careers (2024), may be read as a foreboding tale of woe or an optimistic story of hope. Arguably, it is both. Given the vital contribution of career development to the socio-economic health of individuals, families and communities, it also must be read as a call to action for our sector.
Our profession remains relatively young, but we have been working to improve our visibility, extend our reach, demonstrate our impact and – at the end of the day – futureproof our sector. These efforts have been largely grassroots, fuelled by career development professionals (CDPs) committed to not only their own practice, but to the broader betterment of practice and impact across the profession.
One example of action fuelled from within our sector has been the movement toward national certification. It began in the late 1990s, when Canada became the first country in the world to articulate the competencies needed for ethical and effective career development practice. The Canadian Standards and Guidelines for Career Development Practitioners (S&Gs) were our sector’s proactive strategy to define our own standard of excellence – to put our stake in the ground and demonstrate that the work we do is vital and calls for a complex and sophisticated constellation of professional competencies.
“It was a symphony of moving parts working together toward a common goal of redefining our sector’s strengths, critical scope of practice and impact …”
Over the next 25 years, as the labour market and our practice changed, the Canadian Career Development Foundation (CCDF) remained the informal “home” of the S&Gs and joined other volunteers who did their best to update the S&Gs off the sides of their desks. Then, in 2018, CCDF was invited to submit a proposal to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to do a fulsome reimagining of the S&Gs and assessment tools to support a national RPL certification process. Working with occupational standards experts from Emerit, hundreds of CDPs across Canada co-conceived, developed, tested, revised, tested again, and validated a new Competency Framework, Code of Ethics, standard for practice and approach to national certification.
Every provincial and national career development association was involved from the outset, diverse CDPs were actively sought out to participate at every stage and no CDP with a desire to participate was ever turned away. It was a symphony of moving parts working together toward a common goal of redefining our sector’s strengths, critical scope of practice and impact – almost all of it fuelled by volunteer steam once again.
On the brink of launching a CDP-created and owned certification in the coming months, we have career professionals across Canada to thank for making this dream a reality.
When the Career Development in 2040 report was published, it underscored the core motivations for moving to national certification. The report contains three significant recommendations to futureproof career development:
- Advocate and fund preventative and lifelong career development
- Advocate for and promote the value of career development professionals
- Support and prepare career development professionals for their own futures
The road to national certification has been paved with actions aligned to these three recommendations; it is all about defining and strengthening our practice to secure our strength, stability and impact as a profession. Our sector chose to proceed with a competency-based approach to certification to enable us to be more inclusive and nimble in our capacity to adjust to emergent labour market realities. The potential benefits of our approach to national certification are multi-faceted.
Benefits of certification for our profession
- It offers a touchstone to guide ethical and effective practice.
- It raises the bar for our profession.
- It demonstrates to our employers/funders, policymakers and the public that our scope of practice is unique, our work is grounded in professional excellence, our impact is preventative and lifelong, and our sector has value.
- It provides evidence that CDPs merit a professional level of pay and stable funding.
Benefits of certification for CDPs
- It provides confirmation of competence and offers a formal process for recognition of professional development and growth.
- It can open the door to job opportunities and professional growth.
- It sets you apart as a certified professional, establishing you as an expert in your field.
- It supports career mobility for CDPs across provinces and territories.
Benefits of certification for our employers & funders
- It provides a measure of quality assurance and accountability.
- It can be a mechanism to identify employees with leadership potential.
- It provides a pathway to guide training and professional development plans.
- It sets a consistent standard.
Benefits of certification for the public we serve
- It defines a standard of excellence the public can rightfully expect.
- It affords consumers the opportunity to make informed decisions about the services they seek.
- It respects everyone’s right to accountability and transparency in service delivery.
National certification will be a voluntary standard to which we choose to hold ourselves. It has been created by our sector and, we hope, shows those around us (our employers, our funders and those we serve) that our work matters and that we are committed to doing it with the utmost excellence.
So, what is next on the road to national certification? Pilot testing of the assessment tools for national certification was completed in mid-September (again, thanks to so many volunteers!). Data is now being analyzed, and the findings will inform revisions and refinements to ensure the full certification process is rigorous, inclusive, fair and fulsome. The Career Certification team responsible for administering national certification is in place and ready to launch in late fall. A National Certification Advisory Committee comprising volunteer CDPs has been formed and is working closely with the Career Certification team to share the realities and priorities of CDPs across Canada. Watch for concrete information about the official launch of national certification in part 2 of this article on CareerWise. In the meantime, contact us or visit careercertification.ca and subscribe for more information and updates!
At the end of the day, CDPs work with humans, touching their strengths and fragilities and working with them on issues that are at the core of their health, happiness and prosperity. This work brings with it a deep responsibility to practice with respect, integrity and competence. Certification is one mechanism to support responsible practice and shine a spotlight on the full potential reach and impact of career development.
