TAFE SA offers a suite of competencies outlining the critical changes in the world of work and what you need to know to drive your own career and support others to do the same.
The Australian Career Development Studies - Component 2 (ACDS2)
In a move to recognise the changing face of the labour market and its implications for career development practitioners, the Career Industry Council of Australia (CICA) has developed the Professional Standards for Career Development Practitioners which will become mandatory on 1 January 2012.
In a parallel initiative the Australian Government funded the development of the Australian Career Development Studies (ACDS) package aimed at staff of Career Advice Australia (CAA) organisations (Youth Pathways, Local Community Partnership and Connections providers and Regional Industry Career Advisers). Staff of these providers must undertake specified components of ACDS training to comply with their contractual obligations. Component 2 offers invaluable training for anyone working in the field of careers and has been undertaken extensively in South Australia by teachers in the public and private sectors.
The ACDS Component Two consists of three competencies from the Employment Services training package and the Certificate IV in Career Development. These are:
- Utilize specialist skills to build strong relationships
- Analyse and apply labour market information
- Provide careers guidance
TAFE SA has devised a stimulating and convenient format which enables organisations and individuals to attain Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for the ACDS Two competencies for those already working in the career field.
An engaging and grounded course, TAFESA's Australian Career Development Studies Component 2 provides the framework to explore national perspectives on career counselling and practice. Acknowledging and working from a broad research base, this training created a scaffold for practitioners to analyse and discuss their work and how it measures against a variety of tools. Generating quality discussion and useable resources, the teaching contact and assessment were contextual and valuable. I would recommend this training to anyone within this field who seeks to understand their practice within the current social, political and economic context in which we work.
- Glasson, Andrew (DECS)
The ACDS2 consists of a four-hour workshop/ presentation (at your place of work or a convenient location) which will introduce participants to the new world of work - changing demographics precipitated by factors such as globalization and the aging population, skill shifting and shortages, and numerous other considerations that have dramatic implications for the workplace. Short term contracts, project work, part-time work, even periods of unemployment and retraining, are replacing long-term job security. By the same token our ability to upgrade our skills and/or redirect our careers is facilitated by much more flexible approaches to learning. As career practitioners it is incumbent upon us to know the market we seek to empower our clients to master.
The initial four-hour workshop provides current and exciting material followed by required reading between sessions. The second session will review readings and look at the implications for practice. The workshops require four hours each. The recommended time between workshops is six weeks.
Cost: $400 (For those intending to do the Certificate IV in Career Development, ACDS2 workshop 1 can be accessed at a cost of $200. This provides the framework for moving into the Certificate IV - refer to Certificate IV in Career Development - and thereby ACDS2 workshop 2 is not required.)
Certificate IV in Career Development
TAFE SA is also the first in the country to offer the Certificate IV in Career Development. This program is designed in three clusters: