CDP Certification Ontario Working Together to Advance the Ontario Career Development Profession

CDP Certification Ontario High-Level Overview of Needs Assessment Survey (321 respondents)

Certification is important to you Your Name 2March 2015

You’re Divided: Voluntary or Mandatory?

Experience and Education Required

Grandparenting and Tiers

CDPCBO chosen to implement Ontario's CDP Certification Model The Career Development Practitioners’ Certification Board of Ontario (CDPCBO) – Not for Profit – Led by: Gillian Johnston, Gayle Takahashi, and Susan Petite – Over 80 years of combined CD experience Next steps – Pilot project for 25 participants Feb-March 2015 – Applications for certification to opened April 1, March 2015

Benefits of Certification for CDPs Certification establishes you as an expert and innovator in your field consistent with the National Standards and Guidelines Certification confirms your mastery of critical professional competencies and recognizes your professional development and growth Certification demonstrates to your clients, peers, employers and funders that you use industry- respected best practices Adapted with permission from March 2015www.cdpcbo.org7

Benefits to CDPs Certification can set you apart from the competition to gain a competitive edge professionally The process of achieving and maintaining certification demonstrates that you are continually improving and refining your practice Adapted with permission from March 2015www.cdpcbo.org8

Benefits to our Field Certification raises the bar for our field, demonstrating to our employers/funders, policy makers and the public that our work is grounded in professional excellence Certification operationalizes the competency standards and ethical guidelines that were established through the National Standards and Guidelines, defines our scope of practice and supports quality service delivery Adapted with permission from March 2015www.cdpcbo.org9

Benefits to Employers and Funders Certification can differentiate between hiring candidates. Beyond considering an individual’s experience, employers can assess their knowledge and interest in professional growth and development Certification is a tool to help you in targeting staff training and professional development Certification helps you to demonstrate to funders and other stakeholders that your business is run professionally Adapted with permission from March 2015www.cdpcbo.org10

Benefits to the Public Certification affords the public the opportunity to make an informed selection of services based on the knowledge and training demonstrated by Certified CDPs Certification ensures a commitment to ethical professional behaviour Adapted with permission from March 2015www.cdpcbo.org11

Canadian Council of Career Dev’t CDPCBO is a part of the CCCD Certification Working Group, a pan-Canadian group The group is working on developing harmonization of certification across the country (we would be certifying the same things and in mainly the same way) We also are working on reciprocity between the provinces so that certification is recognized allowing more mobility March 2015www.cdpcbo.org12

Solidifying the Profession At CANNEXUS this year there was much discussion from keynote speakers and other sessions about the need for us to define our profession. Certification is one way to do this. A recent CERIC survey reported that half of Canadians who responded wished they had sought career advice and guidance before making life changing decisions. March 2015www.cdpcbo.org13

Also at CANNEXUS we had practitioners come to visit us at our booth and not be able to identify that they were career development practitioners. They did not see themselves as part of a distinct profession that encompasses many different occupational titles. Recognition through certification will go a long way to helping us pull together as a profession, have a voice with policy makers and with the public. March 2015www.cdpcbo.org14

CDP Certification Ontario Ontario’s Approved CDP Certification Model

CCDP: Education/Experience CCDP–Certified Career Development Practitioner Pathways: A) Related 1 year certificate (minimum 200 hours) + 5,600 hours of related experience in the past 4 years, OR B) Related 2 year diploma + 4,200 hours of related experience in the past 3 years, OR C) Related 3-4 year degree + 2,800 hours of related experience in the past 2 years, OR March 2015www.cdpcbo.org16

CCDP: Education/Experience D) Related Master’s degree + 1,400 hours of related experience in the past year, OR E) Grandparenting: a time limited option available for the first 3 years starting April 1, 2015 Must be currently employed in the field 7,000 hours of related experience in the past 10 years of which 4,000 hours of this experience must be in the past 5 years

CCDP: Education/Experience Additional information: Degrees in a related field include social sciences, humanities and education If applicant has unrelated degree, needs to demonstrate that 6-10 courses are relevant to career development (e.g. psychology, sociology, education, counselling, social work) If an applicant holds multiple sources of related education, the highest education will be used to calculate the number of hours of related experience required Education must be from a government approved or authorized institution in Canada. If out of Canada, an equivalency document through ICAS or WES must be provided

CCDP: Education/Experience Additional information: Work experience in a related career development field: at least 50% of the hours must have been paid work with up to 50% through other work (i.e., volunteer, job shadowing, work practicum). The hour count is based on 50 weeks per year and 28 hours per week = 1400 hours per year. This formula accommodates those who work part- time or short term contracts. Practitioners who work full time will calculate more hours. This formula is meant as a minimum

Mandatory Course Content Areas Content Areas: (not necessarily separate courses) 1) Ethics (10 hours) 2) Career Development Theory (20 hours) Additional information: The courses must be from an approved educational/training institution (list on website) PLAR (Prior Learning Assessment Recognition) through the approved institution(s) will qualify (criteria for PLAR being developed by the institutions) 20March 2015

Competencies and Specializations Demonstrate proficiency in the four core competencies plus 3 of the specializations (your choice) from the Canadian Standards and Guidelines (S&Gs) ( Core competencies: Professional Behaviour Interpersonal Competence Career Development Knowledge Needs Assessment and Referral 21March 2015

Core Competencies Qualifying work experience related to: Direct client services related to career and/or employment Indirect client services related to leadership and/or research in the career development field Must provide evidence by writing a description of how each of these have been addressed through work or documented training Must provide supporting documentation where possible, e.g., documentation from supervisors, supporting documentation by co-workers, course descriptions, course evaluations, work samples, job descriptions, resume, etc. 22March 2015

Supporting Documentation The supporting documentation is very important to be thorough. Without it the assessors may not be able to determine competency and may have to return the application for further information Those who already have a portfolio will find this easier to accomplish. It is better to provide “too much” documentation than too little March 2015www.cdpcbo.org23

Supporting Documentation Please ensure that you describe your competency clearly and relate it directly to the competencies and sub competencies. Do not give generic statements or assume that the assessors can read between the lines. If you are using courses as demonstration of competencies you must still relate them to exactly each competency and sub competencies. Look at the sample applications. March 2015www.cdpcbo.org24

Areas of Specialization Assessment Facilitated Individual and Group Learning Career Counselling Information and Resource Management Work Development Community Capacity Building There are also some Shared Specialization Competencies that appear in more than one area of specialization March 2015www.cdpcbo.org25

References Provide 3 references At least one must be supervisory/managerial All references must have known the applicant for at least 1 year The period the reference refers to must be within the past 3 years At least 2 of the references must currently work in the field 26March 2015

Association Membership Maintain membership (in good standing) in Career Development Practitioner Certification Board of Ontario (CDPCBO). Membership to be renewed annually and will be a requisite for recertification. 27March 2015

Certification and Recertification Fees Initial certification fee : $225 + GST Annual membership fee for CDPCBO: $50 Recertification fee to be determined 28March 2015

Recertification Recertification requirements (maintaining your certification) and continuing education guidelines to be determined and implemented after the certification is implemented. This is necessary to demonstrate currency in the field and commitment to maintaining high standards of service 29March 2015

Recertification Criteria could include attending workshops, webinars, conferences, presenting any of the former. Could also include volunteer work, reading/writing articles, books, developing new materials, etc. Very important to keep a log of all relevant activities to help in gathering material for recertification. 30March 2015

Main Messages Our aim in certification is inclusion not exclusion. CDPs will be recognized as a distinct profession. It is not a general certification for anyone in social services but for those whose work encompasses the work performed by CDPs with the necessary competencies. March 2015www.cdpcbo.org31

Main Messages Those in complementary professions may be certified if at least part of their work is involved in the sphere of career development. Those in private practice are also included and should include their preparatory hours as well as their direct client contact hours in calculating their requisite hours. There is no time limit on the education/training. March 2015www.cdpcbo.org32

Main Messages In future there may be some adjustment to the model to reflect the need for pan- Canadian harmonization and of course to meet individual and profession needs as things change over time. If you are not sure if you fit or how you fit, contact us. Don’t not pursue certification; ask your questions. March 2015www.cdpcbo.org33

Main Messages Please go over the website. Read the policies, certification criteria document, the application form and go over the FAQs before starting to complete your application. Enjoy the process of reflection on your achievements. March 2015www.cdpcbo.org34

To learn more And be part of this exciting phase of the development of our profession contact us at us at 35March 2015