NCDA Facilitating Career Development Training and Certification Program
NCDA Facilitating Career Development Training and Certification program provides individuals with relevant skills and knowledge to assist others in planning careers and obtaining meaningful work. Learn more below or register now!
Established in 1913, NCDA is the premier provider of professional development in the career field. With a nationwide system of instructors, NCDA has prepared over 25,000 Career Services Providers and Facilitators for inter/national certification.
NCDA Facilitating Career Development Training and Certification Program
The training program still has all the great career development content but now features the option for any successful completer to be eligible to apply for the competency-based Certified Career Services Provider (CCSP) Credential at no additional fee. Instructions to apply for the CCSP credential are included in the newest edition of the NCDA FCD Student Manual. Questions: please contact Mary Ann Powell
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Announcements
Watch here for upcoming webinars or other new ways to learn about the program.
Register Now! for Continuing Education hours.
Best Practices for Chapter 13: Career Development Services for K-12 Students
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
3:00 pm Eastern/2:00 pm Central/1:00 pm Mountain/12:00 pm Pacific
Join Training and Education Council members as they facilitate this webinar on Best Practices. We encourage FCD instructors to submit their best practices to share during the webinar. Submit your Best Practices for Chapter 13 to Mary Ann Powell or Keri Aaver.
Why Should I Consider Facilitating Career Development Training and Certification Program?
The NCDA Facilitating Career Development Training and Certification Program can enhance the skills and knowledge of individuals who work in any type of career development setting. In addition, successful completers are eligible to apply for an industry-recognized, competency-based credential - Certified Career Services Provider (CCSP). Learn more about the CCSP.
As a participant, you will receive training in each of the 12 career development competencies. The training models hands-on and interactive teaching methods and provides opportunities to interact with colleagues from a variety of work settings. Since the course content covers 12 important competencies, there is plenty of opportunity to build skills and knowledge in areas that are new to you, as well as enhance and develop those that you use every day in your work.
How Can I Get the NCDA Facilitating Career Development Training and Certification Program?
NCDA's Facilitating Career Development Training and Certification Program is available in two modes of delivery. Individuals can attend traditional face-to-face classroom training or participate in the eLearning mode of delivery. Most instructors conduct an online course utilizing technology, such as Zoom, Webex, or similar, to conduct the required face-to-face instruction and remaining coursework on an online learning platform. NCDA FCD Instructors have an extensive background in career counseling or planning and all of the Career Development Competencies. In addition, they have worked, taught, or trained in a variety of settings. Please visit the Training Calendar for a list of Facilitating Career Development classes. If you are considering being an eLearning student, take this brief self-assessment.
What Will I Learn?
- Career resources and labor market information
- Career planning processes
- Basic helping and facilitation skills
- Career development models and theories
- Informal and formal assessment approaches and validity research
- Diversity and specific population needs
- Development and continuous improvement of an effective career resource center
- Training others and program promotion
- Case management and referral skills
- Ethical and scope-of-practice issues
- Professional and resource portfolios
- Cutting-edge job searching
- and more . . .!
What is a Certified Career Services Provider (CCSP)?
A Certified Career Services Provider (CCSP), is a person who has completed the Facilitating Career Development Training and Certification Program AND successfully completed the CCSP competency-based credential application. This person typically works in any career development setting and incorporates career development information or skills in their work with students, adults, clients, employees, or the public. A Certified Career Services Provider (CCSP) has received in-depth training in the areas of career development in the form of up to 120+ class/instructional hours, provided by a nationally trained and qualified instructor and proven their career development competency by completing the CCSP credential application.
This title designates individuals working in a variety of career development settings. A CCSP may serve as a career group facilitator, job search trainer, career resource center coordinator, career coach, career development case manager, intake interviewer, occupational and labor market information resource person, human resource career development coordinator, employment/placement specialist, or workforce development staff person.
Learn more about the CCSP credential and application process.
The counseling profession has made great progress in defining professional counseling and career counseling. However, several professional groups recognized that many individuals who are currently providing career assistance are not professional counselors. The NCDA Facilitating Career Development Training and Certification Program was developed to provide standards, training specifications, and CCSP credentialing opportunities for these career providers. The goal was to define and differentiate two levels of career practice.
List of Career Development Competencies
The Certified Career Services Provider (CCSP) and the Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) credentials require understanding and mastery of the competencies listed below.
- Helping Skills - Be proficient in the basic career facilitating process while including productive interpersonal relationships.
- Labor Market Information and Resources - Understand labor market and occupational information and trends. Be able to use current resources.
- Assessment - Comprehend and use (under supervision) both formal and
informal career development assessments with emphasis on relating
appropriate ones to the population served. - Diverse Populations - Recognize special needs of various groups and adapt services to meet their needs.
- Ethical and Legal Issues - Follow the NCDA Code of Ethics and know current legislative regulations.
- Career Development Models - Understand career development theories, models, and techniques as they apply to lifelong development, gender, age, and ethnic background.
- Employability Skills - Know job search strategies and placement techniques, especially in working with specific groups.
- Training Clients and Peers - Prepare and develop materials for training programs and presentations.
- Program Management/Implementation - Understand career development programs and their implementation, and work as a liaison in collaborative relationships.
- Promotion and Public Relations - Market and promote career development programs with staff and supervisors.
- Technology - Comprehend and use career development computer applications.
- Consultation - Accept suggestions for performance improvement from consultants or supervisors.
In addition to the 12 competencies listed above, the NCDA curriculum also provides additional chapters that focus on these populations:
- Business Services and Employer Relations
- Clients with Disabilities
- Clients who are Justice-Involved
- K-12 Students
- Workforce and Career Development History
View the PDF: List of Career Development Competencies
History of the Program
Initial leadership in the development of the Facilitating Career Development concept was taken by the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (NOICC) through its Career Development Training Institute (CDTI) which had representatives from 15 associations on its Board. Through a CDTI grant to Oakland University, Howard Splete, Judy Hoppin, and others developed Career Development Facilitator competencies, a Career Development Facilitator curriculum, and a Career Development Facilitator instructor training curriculum.
A major emphasis in the initial effort was to develop a curriculum and train instructors who would in turn develop programs to train Career Service Providers. Instructors are developing programs in a variety of settings including colleges, community colleges, and state agencies. The programs are delivered in different ways, including intensive three-week and semester-long programs. Programs may carry college credit, continuing education credit, and/or certificates of completion.
NCDA & Facilitating Career Development
NCDA was an early partner with the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (NOICC) and the Center for Credentialing and Education, Inc. (CCE) in developing and implementing the Career Development Facilitator concept. In addition to the Facilitating Career Development Curriculum, NCDA coordinates these aspects of the NCDA Training Program.
- Distributing and improving the Facilitating Career Development student and instructor manual.
- Conducting NCDA instructor training through a network of over 45 master trainers.
- Maintaining NCDA Registry of Programs and Instructors that use the Facilitating Career Development student manual.
- Maintaining this website to provide information about the Facilitating Career Development Training and Certification Program.
- Inviting program completers to join NCDA (see Membership Information).
- Coordinating the NCDA Training and Education Council (TEC) to direct the future of the NCDA Curriculum and Training Program
Certified Career Services Provider
Individuals who successfully complete the NCDA Facilitating Career Development training program are now eligible to apply for the Certified Career Services Provider (CCSP) credential. Click here to learn more about the CCSP.
International Partners / Alternate Pathways
NCDA has established an Alternate Pathways process whereby a training program based on the Facilitating Career Development (FCD)Training, or a language specific training that meets FCD competencies may be approved for the NCDA CCSP Credential. This process allows countries to expand their training and their completers to be recognized with an NCDA credential.
The following organizations have been approved for Alternate Pathways agreements:
Psychological Assessment Corporation (PAC): Provides the Facilitating Career Development Training and CCSP Credentialing in China and Eastern Asia. This alternate pathway agreement enables colleagues in the region to access NCDA's training in their native language. Anyone is interested with Chinese version FCD training and CCSP Credentialing, can reach the training website at www.chinancda.org.
Mindler: This career counseling and guidance company in India provides training that was approved by the NCDA Credentialing Commission as an alternate pathway to the NCDA CCSP Credential. Whoever is interested in their curriculum, please visit www.mindler.com.
IDreamCareer: This for-profit social enterprise in India also provides training that was approved by the NCDA Credentialing Commission. IDreamCareer training participants may earn their NCDA CCSP Credential by successfully completing their training program. Anyone interested in this training may visit www.idreamcareer.com.
Republic Polytechnic: This postsecondary education institution and statutory board, under the purview of the Singapore Ministry of Education, has been awarded an alternate pathways agreement. Those completing this training are eligible for the NCDA CCSP Credential. For more information, visit Specialist Diploma in Career Counselling (rp.edu.sg).
Questions? Contact the Program Director: Mary Ann Powell
For questions or assistance with the NCDA Facilitating Career Development Training and Certification Program please contact the Program Director: Mary Ann Powell or phone (918) 663-7060.