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Personalised systems supporting IPD and CPD within a professional framework (CPD-Eng)

The concept behind this JISC funded project is to integrate systems that support personalised initial/qualifying professional development (IPD) and continuing professional development (CPD), applicable to professional frameworks.

The project has resulted in the creation of a user-centric system, (MyShowcase) and identifies key features in the flexible pathways to qualifications, initially piloted within the engineering professional framework.

This has the potential to be applied to frameworks relevant to other professional bodies and institutions. A transferable model is being tested within the health & social care sector.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is ongoing training and development to improve the skills and knowledge a person needs to best perform a job or enhance a career. It‘s fast becoming part of everyday language at work.

The importance of CPD cannot be underestimated. According to two recent reports*, there are huge skills gaps in the UK workforce compared to other countries – and that is across all occupations, regardless of educational achievement or age. CPD is vital if we are to compete in the international marketplace.

Employers are increasingly expected to provide a structured programme of professional support and development for all levels of staff throughout their working career and beyond. A CPD programme, as well as improving the quality of employers and employees, also leads to increased productivity and lower staff turnover for employers, and higher job satisfaction, job progression and better morale among employees.

* 2009 MacLeod Report, 2006 Leitch Report

MyShowcase is an online portal application behind which you can access all the paperwork relating to your career which is then instantly accessible by you or people approved by you. You control who has access and for how long.

It can be a daunting and time-consuming task to seek out the right documents as and when you need them. For example a prospective employer might want to have a look at your degree certificate from ten years go, and they might want to have a look at your thesis too. First finding and then sending all that information to them, either in hard or electronic copies can be time-consuming and expensive. With MyShowcase, all you would have to do is give them an online pass code for a limited time and they would have immediate view only access to those specific documents for that time period.

Other paperwork you might want to access includes your curriculum vitaes, exam certificates, work-based and professional qualifications, course documentation, supporting letters, artwork, examples of your work, documents relating to your CPD - practically anything related to a career achievement. Most importantly, it doesn’t matter what format the documents are in, myShowcase is being developed to support them.

myshowcase

background

UsersVoiceTo meet the objectives within the CPD-Eng ethos of collaboration and partnership, a flexible engagement approach was adopted utilising a range of methods and activities. The activities were a starting point for discussion and refinement by a consultant and the key stakeholders in CPD-Eng coordinated by the CPD-Eng project manager and the management group. Specific activities undertaken reflected the needs and opportunities identified through the process of engagement itself. This flexibility was considered essential to enable full and meaningful involvement of those affected by or interested in CPD-Eng and to ensure ownership of the community engagement activity by the CPD-Eng community.

Who benefits from myShowCase?Anyone studying, working, looking for work or looking for employees

Students and recent graduatesmyShowcase can help you make sure you are in the best position possible when you present yourself to prospective employers by giving you a simple and structured way of storing proof of all your achievements and academic qualifications. You can also keep any number of CVs ready for inspection by potential employers. Or you could allow your tutors access, for example, to look at your thesis, or any work in progress. Practically any document in any format that you can think of will be compatible with myShowcase and all is accessible from a simple online entry point. myShowcase will help you demonstrate that you are committed to self-improvement. And with a proven CPD track record, employers will be fighting to take you on.

Mid-career employeesIf you feel you have more to give and more to prove, then myShowcase can help you do that. It gives you a tool to help you demonstrate that you are a valuable asset to your current employer committed to CPD, and helps you keep a structured record of all your work-based and professional achievements and qualifications - which can give you a head start if you’re looking to move up, or move on.

EmployersmyShowcase supports your CPD programme for each individual employee. It helps them keep track of their personal CPD record and helps you assist in their progress and achievement. It also helps you demonstrate your commitment to your employees without consuming too much company time or resources. If you are dedicated to CPD, your employees will be too.

summaryIf you are looking for new employees, you can be sure that applicants who use myShowcase provide accurate and certified information to allow you to assess their achievements, quality and potential. With the applicant’s permission, it will allow you to have access to current and relevant validated information about them for a limited time.

MyShowcase provides the innovative, personalised infrastructure that will support the work-based learner through a lifetime of continuing professional development, having the ability to integrate online worlds and enabling evidence capture and mapping to professional frameworks to take place ‘whenever and wherever’.

For urther information contact - David Sowden - d.sowden@hull.ac.uk

showcase (view only)showcase (view only)showcase (view only)

Any user ownedstored data

microblogs

certificates

resources

artefacts

ePortfolio type technologies

MyShowcase toolset

Leap2A

RSS/API

validated URL input

showcase (view only)

piloted in

aggregator module

mapper module

tagger module

showcase module

Professional Bodies knowledge and skills framework services

URL input

URL input

user selected showcase

viewer

timedpassword protectedview only access

user selected showcase

viewer

user selected showcase

viewer

user selected showcase

viewer

‘Recording achievements/professional ability’

‘encourage to me to keep records updated’

‘Incentivise keeping of my records in order’

‘Convenience; encouraging organisation’

‘great to have it linked to our framework’

‘Having the information at my fingertips’

‘Safe keeping of my documents’

‘Easy access – all retained’

‘Always available’quotes from users involved in MyShowcase workshops

‘Help and encourage to me to keep professional records updated and available’