Comparing national career practitioner competencies

The global labour market is continually affected by change: technology, change in human expectations, demand and supply, globalisation, migration, and supply chains are a few of the labour drivers. Then we can add in a global pandemic. The uncertainty in labour markets is currently higher than it has been for some time. That uncertainty means that some people will be looking for change. As a result of this uncertainty and change, career services demand is increasing. And we are currently a bit short of career practitioners, because until Covid-19, we were in an economic upturn: which tends to mean a 'steady as she goes' labour market.

So how do we deal with this type of event when we train career practitioners? Our changing world of work must be processed, absorbed and reflected into the teaching of new practitioners. It is essential to understand the current “challenges confronting workers enables practitioners to construct interventions that are relevant” (Niles & Karajic, 2008, p. 355), despite the likely short-lived pandemic event.

So how do we do that? Well firstly we ensure that we teach new practitioners economic principles and levers, so they are aware of the global policy and business environment that the world of work is grounded within. Then each practitioner can see changes coming in the labour market, and knows how to watch for the labour market information (LMI) markers shifting to a boom or a bust. They can then help their clients to prepare.

A number of career-oriented membership organisations have a list of competencies for practitioners. The International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance (IAEVG), and the National Career Development Association were explored by Niles and Karajic (2008, p. 369-70). To these two lists I have added the Career Development Association of New Zealand (CDANZ, 2019), and the NMIT Bachelor of Career Development papers at level 6 and 7 (NMIT, 2021). This has resulted in the following table:

IAEVG competency areas (Niles & Karajic, 2008, p. 369)	NCDA competency areas (Niles & Karajic, 2008, p. 370)	CDANZ competencies (CDANZ, 2019, pp. 4-11)	NMIT Bachelor of Career Development (NMIT, 2021, pp. 19-47)
Career development	Career development theory	Career development theory	BCD602 Careers in Context
Counselling	Individual and group counselling skills	Professional practice application Counselling specialisation	BCD603 Integrated and Reflective Practice (1) BCD703 Integrated and Reflective Practice (2) BCD607 Working with Vulnerable People
Assessment	Individual/group assessment	Professional practice application	BCD605 Assessment Tools and Career Practice
Information management	Information/resources	Technology, information and resources	BCD601 Employment Relations and Policy BCD602 Careers in Context
	Technology
Programs and service management	Program promotion, management, and implementation	Professional practice management Career development programmes specialisation	BCD701 Organisations and Human Capability BCD712 Business Skills for Career Development Services
Consultation and coordination	Coaching, consultation, and performance improvement	Professional practice application Organisational careers specialisation	BCD601 Employment Relations and Policy BCD713 Transactional and Transformational Coaching
	Diverse populations	Culture & Diversity Disability Specialisation	BCD607 Working with Vulnerable People BCD702 Cultural Communication
	Supervision	Supervision specialisation	BCD703 Integrated and Reflective Practice (2)
Community capacity building		Advanced communication skills	BCD603 Integrated and Reflective Practice (1) BCD703 Integrated and Reflective Practice (2)
Research and evaluation	Research/evaluation	Research specialisation	BCD608 Research and Professional Practice BCD704 Research Project
Educational guidance		Career development programmes specialisation	BCD711 Career Development in Education
	Ethical/legal issues	Professional practice management	Embedded in all papers
		Te Tiriti o Waitangi	BCD606 Te Tiriti o Waitangi: Application and Practice
		Policy specialisation	BCD601 Employment Relations and Policy

In comparing the competency areas, I was quite surprised at how well covered the CDANZ competencies in Aotearoa are matched with international competencies, and NMIT's coverage of the CDANZ competencies. There are reasons for that matching. NMIT holds regular advisory meetings with the career sector to ensure that the practice competencies are deliberately taught. NMIT is a partner in the professionalisation of the sector. 

There are, however, some lighter areas which could be addressed at the educational (NMIT) end. Firstly, counselling. NMIT only teaches at NZQA levels 6 and 7 which does not cover the counselling specialisation. As a result, it is recommended that practitioners first complete five online level 5 Year 1 counselling papers from the Open Polytechnic (OPNZ; https://www.openpolytechnic.ac.nz/) in order to get that grounding. In addition, there is also a lighter area in "Technology, information and resources", where economics, globalisation, the labour market, and LMI are not specifically taught. I personally feel that the design and delivery of some micro-credentials would aid our graduate practitioners.

This was a very useful comparison - audit - to make.

Sam

References:

CDANZ. (2019). Competency Framework. Career Development Association of New Zealand. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tudpuDOP8vc9tG5cE_HjSn2DiRp7xBTM/view

Niles, S. G. & Karajic, A. (2008). Chapter 18: Training career practitioners in the 21st century. In J. A. Athanasou & R. Van Esbroeck (Eds.), International Handbook of Career Guidance (pp. 355-372). Springer.

NMIT. (2021). Course Descriptors for Programme: Bachelor of Career Development & Graduate Certificate in Career Development. Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology. Author.