The WSG Career Development Framework (“CDF”) is a competency-based credentialing framework for career advisors and career practitioners. It is developed by WSG with inputs from the Ministry of Education (“MOE”) and the Employment and Employability Institute Pte. Ltd. (“e2i”) who are key stakeholders in the provision of education and career advisory services for students and adults respectively. The CDF is also aligned to international practices and emphasizes the practice component in a career advisor’s or a career practitioner’s role. The credentialing will allow WSG, MOE, e2i and other stakeholders in the career development community to uphold professional standards and ethics in the community.
The CDF offers 4 credentials targeted at the career professionals in different roles; namely Certified Career Advisor (CCA), Certified Career Practitioner (CCP), Certified Career Clinical Supervisor (CCCS) and Certified Career Services Manager (CCSM). The four credentials are defined by a set of competencies which are packaged into recommended training courses, of which applicants will need to complete as an initial training to testify that they have the body of knowledge for the respective credential. Subsequently, they have to fulfill practice hours as a demonstration of application of skills.
The four credentials and their descriptions are as follows:
Certified Career Advisor (CCA) - A CCA is able to provide basic education and career advisory (including details on government initiatives e.g. Adapt and Grow, SkillsFuture, etc.) to clients using simple profiling tools in a one-to-one or group setting. This role may also include SkillsFuture Advisors and Industry Mentors.
Certified Career Practitioner (CCP) - A CCP is able to apply career development theories and tools to help clients make education, career and training choices through effective one-to-one and group facilitation. This role includes the career coaches at WSG and e2i, the Education and Career Guidance (ECG) counsellors in MOE, and those at the Institutes of Higher Learning.
Certified Career Clinical Supervisor (CCCS) - A CCCS is able to supervise and guide career practitioners to provide and implement effective interventions for clients on a one-to-one or group basis.
Certified Career Services Manager (CCSM) - A CCSM is able to plan and supervise the implementation of career services, develop and adapt career tools to local context and promote career knowledge in various local and international platforms.
ROLE OF CREDENTIAL HOLDERS
The WSG CDF is not for any legislative purposes. Career practitioners who hold the CDF credentials may be working at career centres, schools, Institutes of Higher Learning, centres that cater to niche segments (e.g. persons with disabilities), or within companies that have strong career practices. The decision to hire, designate, and deploy credential holders is up to the organisation. WSG does not make any recommendations as to the role that they should play in an organisation. The credentials are also not tied to any specific job titles or roles.
CODE OF ETHICS, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Applicants and credential holders are expected to abide by the People and Career Development Association’s (PCDA) and the Career Development Association of Singapore (CDAS) Code of Ethics for Career Practitioners, failing which, their credentials will be withdrawn. If their credentials are withdrawn, they will need to show evidence of having complied with the Code of Ethics in order to be reinstated. The decision to reinstate the credentials of any applicant will be at the sole discretion of WSG, whose decision shall be final and conclusive on the applicant. The Code of Ethics can be found at https://www.pcda.co/codeofethics and http://cdas.org.sg/code-of-ethics (or such other website that operates in lieu thereof). WSG is entitled to deny eligibility of any applicant based on an ethics review (which shall be conducted in such format and manner as may be stipulated by WSG). Application fees are not refundable when an application is rejected.
Professionalise Your Career Development Practice
On top of enhancing your professional portfolio, here are more reasons to become a certified credential holder:
WHO IS IT FOR?
Career Professionals who help clients identify their work-related values, interests, personality, and skills, and to use this understanding in planning and managing their education & training, career and job search advisory. They must be able to apply career development theories and tools to help clients make education, career and training choices through effective one-to-one and group facilitation.
Services and interventions rendered includes but are not limited to education and career guidance, managing career transition, creation of CVs and resumes, professional branding and marketing, job search, job interview preparation and engaging employers for job vacancies.
To apply for the credentials, applicants must fulfil the following criteria:
Click Here for An Overview of the Credentialing Criteria
TRAINING
Applicants are required to complete the following initial training for each track. You will need to submit a scanned copy of the training certificate of completion / statement of attainment (SOA) with your application.
Credential
Required Initial Training
Certified Career Advisor (CCA)
Career Advisory Programme (CAP) / Basic Career Training & Advisory Programme (BCTA)
Certified Career Practitioner (CCP)
Career Facilitation Programme (CFP) / Advanced Certificate in Career Development Facilitation (ACCDF)
Certified Career Clinical Supervisor (CCCS)
Career Supervision Programme (CSP) by WSG
Certified Career Services Manager (CCSM)
Career Management Programme (CMP) (work-in-progress)
Applicants who have attended other similar training course(s) will be required to complete the assessment stipulated by WSG and abide by the Code of Ethics. WSG will neither carry out nor accept any mapping of the stipulated courses against the training course(s) that such applicants have completed. The submission of the training certificate and course outline / modules of the programme that such applicants attended is voluntary but will not be considered as part of the evaluation.
PRACTICE
(A) For First-Time Applicants
Specifically, for first-time applicants, you are required to:
in accordance with Table 1 below.
Table 1
Practice hours* required over 3 years
400
1,400
1,800
2,000
- Contact hours over 3 years
360 (90%)
1,120 (80%)
1,350 (75%)
1,400 (70%)
- Non-contact hours over 3 years
40 (10%)
280 (20%)
450 (25%)
600 (30%)
Min number of unique clients required (group + individual) over 3 years
100
80
50
Table 2
*Breakdown of Practice Hours: Contact vs Non-Contact Hours
For employees of organisation: Annex A (see sample here & here)
Note: Letter of confirmation to be signed by supervisor or employer.
For self-employed/ freelancers: Annex B (see sample here)
Note: Letter of confirmation to be signed by hosting organisation
(B) For Renewal of Credentials
For credential holders renewing their credentials, the credentials are renewable every three years upon fulfilling the following criteria:
Specifically, you are required to:
in accordance with Table 3 below.
Table 3
300
90 (90%)
240 (80%)
225 (75%)
210 (70%)
10 (10%)
60 (20%)
75 (25%)
90 (30%)
25
40
30
Please note that, with effect from 1 Oct 2021, it is mandatory for first-time and renewal applicants to submit their list of clients (including these clients’ personal data) as part of the application. Applicants will need to request for their clients’ permission prior to submission.
WSG recognizes that applicants may be rendering their services as an employee of an organization or on a voluntary / pro bono, or self-employed basis with a hosting organization. The required verification is summarized below:
Type of Services Rendered
Verification
As employees of organization
Volunteer / pro bono
The fee per application is $139.10 (inclusive of GST). It is non-refundable fee and applicants are to ensure that they meet the credentialing criteria (which are primarily quantitative factors) before applying.
Note: Appeal fee for each rejected application is $235.40 (inclusive of GST). Subjected to review by the panel.
APPEAL PROCESS
All applications for credentials are carefully evaluated and deliberated by the Credential Approval Panel. Hence, any appeal will unlikely be successful unless there is new information that addresses the gaps highlighted in the rejection notification and advisory. If the appeal does not have any new information to support the original application, there will be no change in the outcome. Instead of appeal, most applicants would address the gaps and file a new application at the next application window. If you believe that you have new information that addresses the gaps in your original application, you may complete the self-assessment checklist and email your request for the appeals form to cpd@wsg.gov.sg. You will need to complete the appeals form, attach the appeal fee, and mail it to us at the same email address. Please note that the appeal fee of $235.40 (inclusive of GST) is payable for any appeal, regardless of the outcome of the appeal, and is non-refundable.
The credential application will open from 1 Mar 2021 (Mon) to 31 Mar 2021 (Wed). Steps to applying:
Credential Application Form 1
Annex For employees of organisation
Click here to download Annex A.
Annex for self-employed/ freelancers
Click here to download Annex B.
For Annex A (employees of organisation), the Letter of confirmation needs to be signed by supervisor or employer.
For Annex B (self-employed/ freelancers), the Letter of confirmation needs to be signed by hosting organisation
Click here to view the list of credential holders.
Career practitioners who wish to find out more about the WSG Career Development Framework and credentialing may contact 6883 5885 or submit their enquiry to WSG feedback portal at https://portal.ssg-wsg.gov.sg/feedback