11.4 – Select and Monitor Interventions

Purpose & Context

Career Development Professionals (CDPs) work with clients to select the most appropriate interventions to support achievement of client goals and action plans, based on their aspirations, preferences, employability needs and strengths, and opportunities in the labour market.

Effective Performance

Competent career development professionals must be able to:

P1. Review client file, e.g. employability assessment, action plans
P2. Identify type of goals, e.g. pre-employability, attitudes and attributes, career exploration and decision making,skill enhancement, work search, work maintenance, career growth
P3. Identify possible interventions to meet client needs
P4. Reach agreement with client on which intervention to pursue first:
- Discuss identified intervention options
- Select intervention
P5. Monitor the impact of intervention with client:
- Verify progress to desired outcomes
P6. Revisit and update intervention plan regularly, e.g. changes in employability strengths and needs, progress on
action plan, changes in personal life
P7. Evaluate client outcomes

Knowledge & Understanding

Competent career development professionals must know and understand:

K1. Key elements required to build a working alliance
K2. CDP scope of practice
K3. Significant issues commonly faced by clients, i.e. poverty, systemic racism, post-traumatic stress, learning
disabilities, unstable/unsafe housing, food insecurity, mental health challenges, addiction, limited
education/training
K4. Areas of client needs within scope of practice for CDPs:
- Pre-employment challenges, e.g. housing, addiction
- Attitudes and attributes, e.g. self-agency, openness to change, motivation Career exploration, e.g.
  self-awareness, career decision-making
- Skills enhancement, e.g. formal training, voluntary activities
- Job search, e.g. résumé writing, employment interviews
- Job maintenance, e.g. teamwork, acting on feedback
K5.Interventions to address types of client needs:
- For employability/job readiness, for example:
  - Arrange professional referrals
  - Advocate on behalf of client to address wellness needs
  - Help client build support network
  - Promote mental health
- For attitudes and attributes, for example:
  - Build self-agency
  - Engage reluctant or resistant clients
- For career exploration and decision-making, for example:
  - Use assessment tools and approaches
  - Help client develop goals and action plans
  - Increase client’s labour market awareness
- For skills enhancement, for example:
  - Develop learning readiness skills
  - Develop job readiness skills
- For work search, for example:
  - Develop résumés
  - Prepare for employment interviews
  - Build a professional network
- For work maintenance, for example:
  - Build self-agency
  - Help clients address and prevent conflict
- For career growth, for example:
  - Support employee mobility within organizations
  - Work with employers to create job opportunities
K6. External factors that affect education and employment, e.g. economic forecasts
K7. Occupational information sources, support services, training, and educational options
K8. Legislation and regulations relating to employment, e.g. Human Rights Legislation, Canada Labour Code, Privacy
Act, Workers Compensation Act and Employment Standards, Health and Safety regulations

Contextual Variables

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

CDPs must accommodate clients who may have difficulty communicating their strengths and needs and/or understanding the information presented, either because of language used or other factors that might limit communication/cognitive function.

Glossary & Key References

Terms

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

None

Information Sources and Resources for Consideration

Canadian Career Development Foundation, PRIME 2.0 (Performance Recording Instrument for Meaningful Evaluation) tool, 2019 Edition
Shepard, B. C., & Mani, P.S. (Eds.). Career development practice in Canada: Perspectives, principles, and professionalism. Toronto, ON: CERIC, 2014.
Zunker, Vernon G. Career Counselling: A Holistic Approach. 9th Edition. Boston: MA: Cengage Learning, 2016. ISBN 13: 978-1-305-08728-6

Context Rating Scales

Criticality

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

Moderate risk: CRITICAL

Frequency

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

Occasionally, e.g. generally several times in a month

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?

A competent career development professional requires a minimum of one year of experience with at least 40 different clients, representing a broad range of individuals.

Autonomy

Practitioners typically perform this competency without supervision, and alone.

Automation

It is somewhat likely that this competency will automate.

Requisite Work Aids, Tools, Equipment or Materials

None