Benefits of Certification
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The Career Development field has made significant strides towards professionalization.  Three key hallmarks of this progress are:

• The development and adoption of the Canadian Standards & Guidelines for Career Development Practitioners (S & Gs);

• The establishment of professional associations for Career Development Practitioners (CDPs); and

• The launch of certification for CDPs.

This latter hallmark brings with it many benefits for individual CDPs, our field, employers and the public/funders: 

Benefits for Individual CDPs

• Certification confirms your mastery of critical professional competencies and recognizes your professional development and growth.

• Certification demonstrates to your clients, competitors, suppliers, peers, employers and funders that you use industry-respected best practices.

• Certification can improve your overall performance, remove uncertainty and widen market opportunities.
• The process of achieving and maintaining certification demonstrates that you are continually improving and refining your practice.
• Certification could enhance your career/promotion opportunities and/or your income.
• Certification can increase your recognition by peers, employers and recruiters/funders.  It can set you apart from the competition to gain a competitive edge professionally.
• Certification establishes you as an expert and innovator in your field.

Benefits for our Field

• Certification raises the bar for our field, demonstrating to our employers/funders, policy makers and the public that our work is grounded in professional excellence.  

• Certification operationalizes the competency standards and ethical guidelines that were established through the S & Gs, defines our scope of practice, and supports quality service delivery.

Benefits for Employers of CDPs/Funders

• Certification can differentiate between hiring candidates. Beyond considering an individual's experience, you can assess their knowledge and interest in professional growth and development.
• Certification helps you to identify those who have the desire to excel professionally.
• Certification is a tool to help you in targeting your staff training and professional development. 
• Certification helps you to demonstrate to funders and other stakeholders that your business is run professionally.
• The application and renewal process in certification will improve staff responsibility, commitment and motivation.
• Top-performing companies understand that properly training employees leads to direct, measurable bottom-line benefits.

For the Public

• Certification affords the public the opportunity to make an informed selection of services based on the knowledge and training demonstrated by Certified CDPs.

• Certified CDPs set a standard for excellence in the field.