What Job For You How to Find a Job Professional Resources News Room About Gradlink

Graduate Careers Australia

Graduate Grapevine - Number 11, Winter 2008

What is Happening? Where Are We and Where Will We Be in 2012?

Ensuring Qualitiy of Career Development Practice and Services

The professional standing of career development practitioners is steadily advancing as a result of a number of important milestones and developments in Australia. Recent projects, funded by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), have addressed three major aspects of what could be regarded as a national career development system.

  1. Competencies Framework – Development of a consistent framework for career development competencies with The Australian Blueprint for Career Development.
  2. Processes and Strategies – Development of consistent and accessible online and face-to-face processes with myfuture and The Real Game series of programs.
  3. Professionalism – Attention to consistency through: professional or associate practitioner standards; endorsement of appropriate practitioner education and training; and quality assurance guidelines for services and information.

In a complex working environment people of all ages and from diverse backgrounds are in greater need of high quality career development competencies and transition support. Career clients need to be assured that the support they receive from career development practitioners is of the highest ethical and professional standards. The recently completed work by the Career Industry Council of Australia (CICA) on professional standards and related policies resulting in the Revised Professional Standards for Australian Career Development Practitioners2007 will provide guidance and reassurance for career development practitioners, citizens, organisations and employers.

The revised Standards and publicationhave resulted from systematic consultation and legal review of the language and expressions, to ensure national quality assurance and consistency of implementation across Australia. The Revised Professional Standards for Australian Career Development Practitioners 2007 and supporting CICA Policy and Procedure Statements will provide consistent guidelines for meeting the requirements of the Professional Standards for Member Associations and education and training organisations.

The main change to be found in the Revised Standards 2007 is in Section 4 – Entry-level qualifications.As a result of consultation and legal advice, the four categories concerning qualifications in Section 4.3 Australian Minimum Standard have been consolidated into two categories.

In the revision, the original 4.3.4 (professional career development practitioners working in specialised fields) has been included in the revised 4.3.1 and the original 4.3.3 (pre/associate career development practitioners) has been included in the revised 4.3.2.

Revised Section 4.3.1

4.3.1     Professional career development practitioners work in the field of career development and have completed and had recognised as a minimum qualification:

(a)   an endorsed Graduate Certificate; or Vocational Graduate Certificate (see Note 1), or
(b)   an alternative pathway to Professional status as may be approved on a case by case basis  by Member Associations in line with Policy and Procedures developed by   the Council.

Revised Section 4.3.2

4.3.2        Associate career development practitioners work in the field of career development and have completed and had recognised as a minimum qualification:
(a)   an endorsed Certificate IV (see Note 2), or
(b)   an alternative pathway to Associate status as may be approved on a case by case basis by Member Associations in line with Policy and Procedures developed by the Council.

Additional Minor Adjustments to the Standards

Also, based on legal advice, CICA ratified the deletion of the second of the three dot points in the original 4.3.5 (the new revised 4.3.3) concerning Recognition of Prior Learning because it was redundant and potentially misleading.

Further, these revisions necessitated minor amendments to the original Section 4.3.6 (re-numbered 4.3.4) concerning the Phasing-in period.

It is recommended that all career development practitioners, and relevant organisations and employers note the revisions, print the revisions and insert into the original 2006 booklets. At this stage printed versions of the Revised Standards are not available. A complete PDF of the Revised Professional Standards for Australian Career Development Practitioners can be downloaded from the CICA website – www.cica.org.au .

(Source: Career Industry Council of Australia (CICA) Standards Committee. The Standards Committee was a project team established by CICA to review the 2006 publication, Professional Standards for Australian Career Practitioner, promote and market the professional developments to all Australian stakeholders. The sub-committee was co-chaired by Peter McIlveen and Marijke Wright and members Peter Carey, Bernadette Gigliotti, Mary McMahon and Pat Smith.)

BACK TO TOP
 
 
 look