21.1 – Optimize Workforce Development

Purpose & Context

Career Development Professionals (CDPs) help employers design workforce development strategies to meet organizational and employee needs.

Effective Performance

Competent career development professionals must be able to:

P1. Perform workforce planning:
- Review documentation, e.g. business plans, organizational goals, workforce planning strategies, emerging skillrequirements, organizational chart
- Identify organizational needs, e.g. vacant positions, new position, requirements of new business
- Identify skill inventory, e.g. assess skills of current workforce
- Prepare strategies to address gaps, e.g. training, recruitment
P2. Develop policies to optimize employee mobility, such as:
- Seek internal candidates to fill vacant positions
- Identify development needs
- Allocate resources for training and development
- Promote horizontal, lateral, vertical mobility
P3. Formulate workforce development strategies, for example:
- Engage in career discussions, e.g. create opportunities to discuss and explore career interests
- Create developmental opportunities, e.g. cross-functional team assignments, secondments, job rotations,
  mentoring, coaching
- Provide career management resources, e.g. online self-assessments, access to job descriptions, internal job
  fairs, learning resources, self-management career tools
P4. Implement workforce development strategies:
- Develop communication strategy
- Deliver training
- Develop resources
P5. Evaluate effectiveness of strategies using established indicators, such as:
- Number of vacancies filled by internal candidates
- Employee retention
P6. Recommend adjustments, as appropriate

Knowledge & Understanding

Competent career development professionals must know and understand:

K1. Human resources management
K2. Performance management

Contextual Variables

Competent career development professionals must be able to perform this competency in the following range of contexts:

Type and size of organization will impact complexity of workforce development needs.

Glossary & Key References

Terms

Industry-specific terms contained in the standard defined here, where applicable.

None

Information Sources and Resources for Consideration

None

Context Rating Scales

Criticality

Q: What is the consequence of a professional being unable to perform this skill according to the standard?

Minimal risk: SOMEWHAT CRITICAL

Frequency

Q: How frequent and under what conditions is this skill performed?

Routinely, regular course of procedure

Level of Difficulty

Q: Under routine circumstances, how would you rate the level of difficulty in performing this skill?

Moderate difficulty or complexity

Time Required to Gain Proficiency

Q: What is the average length of time or number of repeated events that are minimally necessary for an individual to become proficient in performing the skill to the standard?

To become fully proficient, a career development should support at least 5 organizations of varied size in developing a competency-based talent management model.

Autonomy

Practitioners typically perform this competency without supervision, and alone.

Automation

It is unlikely that this competency will automate.

Requisite Work Aids, Tools, Equipment or Materials

None