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Friday, November 17, 2023

Celebrating Collaborative Excellence: A Journey with IEEE 1484.20.2 Recommended Practice for Defining Competencies


gratitude: the feeling or quality of being grateful; thankful

That's the feeling that came over me when I received this beautiful acknowledgment from the IEEE team a few days ago!

Certificate of Appreciation Awarded by IEEE to Taruna Goel 

The IEEE 1484.20.2 Recommended Practice for Defining Competencies standard was published last year and was a culmination of 3 years of work led by Eric Shepherd who was supported by a strong executive team Steven Forth Linda Steedman Dennis Green Jennifer Rogers and a committed working group that included myself and many others.
 
As a competency nerd, I enjoyed being in the company of passionate, motivated, knowledgeable people who were all volunteering their time and whose single-minded goal was to discuss and document best practices for defining competencies: What makes a competency? What must be included in a definition of competency? What makes a good competency statement, etc.
 
In reflecting on this achievement, it's important to recognize that my contribution was just one piece of the puzzle. The collaborative spirit of the team and each person volunteering their time and expertise made this project truly remarkable. I feel humbled that I got to play a small role in this big project!
 
#gratitude #competency #ieee #HR #learning #CompetencyDefinitions
#IEEEStandards #CompetencyStandards #CompetencyFrameworks #Volunteering #VoluntaryWork

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Competency-Based Pathways for Recognition of Skills

 

“Canadian experience is another term for racism and discrimination.” 
– Survey respondent

A series of consultations and public engagement were conducted earlier this year with more than 1,450 people representing internationally trained professionals, educational institutions, immigrant-serving organizations, business associations, health-care associations, regulatory authorities, and members of the public. The objective of this engagement was to gather feedback on the Canadian international credential recognition process for internationally trained professionals. Over the next decade, 387,000 newcomers are expected to enter the B.C. workforce, filling 38% of job openings.

The results of this engagement were shared in a report released by the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills in July that identified several priorities to improve credential recognition and identified 8 themes:

  • Theme 1: Streamlining complex processes and shortening timelines
  • Theme 2: Improving the accessibility, consistency, and transparency of information about the licensure process and requirements
  • Theme 3: Exploring alternative pathways for credential recognition
  • Theme 4: Exploring more flexible approaches to demonstrate language proficiency
  • Theme 5: Introducing performance standards for data and reporting
  • Theme 6: Increasing financial and other supports for internationally trained professionals and regulatory authorities
  • Theme 7: Improving coordination between government and regulatory authorities at the provincial and federal levels
  • Theme 8: Strengthening collaboration between regulatory authorities, educational institutions, employers, and immigrant serving organizations to support licensure and integration

Each of the themes is described in detail in the report.

I work in the areas of competency development and competency-based assessment and specialize in designing alternative pathways using recognition of prior learning, knowledge, and skills. Given my background and expertise, I can say that theme 3 is perhaps one of the most critical pieces of the puzzle in improving the credentialing process. This theme recognizes the need to adapt to the changing landscape of skills and qualifications, especially in a world where individuals may have gained their knowledge and expertise through other non-traditional means.

For Theme 3, the report highlights how the feedback from virtual roundtable discussions and online surveys indicated that the current Canadian work experience prerequisites are ineffective in recognizing international experience and are perceived as biased against internationally trained professionals. They recognized the complexity of having just one route to licensure given the diverse pool of applicants with varying backgrounds. Overall, regulatory bodies involved in the discussions expressed support for transitioning away from uniform Canadian work experience prerequisites in favor of an approach that assesses competencies.

The report concludes that "There is a strong need for alternative, competency-based pathways to demonstrate skills and knowledge."

Competency-based pathways are approaches that focus on the demonstration of specific skills and knowledge rather than traditional and formal measures such as time spent in a classroom or the completion of a course or curriculum. Using competency-based pathways and by recognizing prior learning acquired through non-formal approaches, internationally trained professionals can feel more empowered to prove their competence and readiness for a particular job role. With competency-based pathways, the emphasis is on the demonstration of knowledge and skills through portfolios, assessments, interviews, projects, and real-world applications rather than traditional exams or coursework. Competencies can also be stacked to build qualifications and certifications progressively therefore making the process more flexible and adaptable to the current needs.

Overall, Theme 3 highlights the importance of reevaluating and modernizing the recognition of skills and qualifications to better align with the realities of the modern workforce. By exploring and implementing competency-based alternative pathways for credential recognition, the province (and the country) can utilize a more inclusive and flexible approach to credential recognition, benefiting both individuals seeking to utilize their skills and the broader community and economy.

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As a result of this engagement, the Premier of British Columbia, David Eby, recently made an announcement about introducing legislation this fall to help regulatory bodies improve the credential recognition process and make it easier for people to use their skills to work in B.C. Upcoming legislation will outline new responsibilities for professional regulatory bodies under the core themes of accountability, fairness, transparency, and efficiency.

References:

Press Release: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2023PSFS0055-001564

Report on credential recognition: https://engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/121/2023/07/What-We-Heard-Report-International-Credential-Recognition-2023-07-24.pdf