They will need to be realistic and know how to focus on priorities. This will allow them to develop | |strategies based on realistic and measurable targets to meet their developmental needs. Learners will need to look ahead to create medium term | |(five years) projections for their career plan. | | | |The unit introduces learners to the concept of continuing professional development. This will give them an understanding of the process of | |lifelong learning and enable them to look beyond the boundaries of a short-term plan. On completion of the unit, learners will have developed a| |realistic picture of their career possibilities. | | |Professional Context/Summary of Assignment | | | |You are a completing your own Career Development portfolio as part of your ‘Next Steps’ at Abingdon and Witney College. Completion of this | |portfolio will help you to plan for your next course or employment and will address issues such as how do I get there? What other | |qualifications or skills do I need to be able to do this job? | | | |The assignment will also run alongside Unit 13 Recruitment and Selection which students are covering during Terms 1 and 2 and benefits will be | |gained from these running concurrently. | | |Assignment – Career Development Planning in Business | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |TASK 1 (P1/2/3/4/5/6 as well as M1/2/3) | | | |This task requires you to undertake individual research and make informed decisions regarding short term and medium term career planning | |objectives. | | | |To achieve a pass for this unit you must submit an individual Career Development Portfolio (CDP).
You must also create a blog which you will | |update each Friday during your workshop – the blog will include research undertaken and how your planning is changing based on the research | |which you are carrying out. | | |Your CDP must contain all the following elements:- | | | | | |Front cover, contents page and page numbers | | | | | |Introduction | | | | | |Current skills audit | |Mind map illustrating what skills you have and how you are going to develop them to the appropriate level | |2 x observation sheets with examples of you achieving them | | | | | |A description and comparison of all sources of careers related information used to inform your career decision | | | | | |A personal SWOT analysis related to your chosen career | | | | | |Personal career objectives for both the short term (2yrs) and medium term (5yrs) i. e.
SMART | | | | | |Details of the continuous professional development needed for your chosen career | | | | | |A reflection on how useful a skills audit is in informing your career decisions | | | | | | | |Conclusion | | | | | |Appendix 1 – A week by week reflective learning blog charting your initial careers thoughts, research and decision making (Mahara journal) | | | | | |Appendix 2 – Examples of careers related information relevant to your chosen short and long term targets | | | | | |Appendix 3 – Up to date curriculum vitae | | | | | | | |To achieve a merit for this unit you must include analysis of the information which you are including – its relevance to your career planning,| |how it will help you achieve your targets and goals, assessment of importance and relevance to your short and medium term career development | |plans (more help with this in the tips table below).
| | |To be handed in by: Friday 14th December 2012 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |TASK 2 | | | | | | | |D1 | |You are to write a report which evaluates the process which you have undertaken and how far you believe you have come in achieving your | |planned objectives of your career plan. You need to reflect on your research and the progress that you have made with your career plan. You | |should be able to identify any changes in the plan, any progress you have made in achieving your targets and any difficulties that you have | |encountered and how these have been overcome. You also need to evaluate the impact that these developments are having on your short-term plan| |and identify any impact on your medium-term career plan.
You also need to reflect on your own skills audit and your research into continuing | |professional development you are likely to undertake in the early years of your career. | | | |Tip | |Assess your experiences and the processes that you have been involved with in developing your plan. For example, setting and meeting targets,| |making adjustments, conducting research, compiling and sifting information in order to inform your career choice. You should be able to | |assess the link between short term and medium term career planning, highlighting any issues that may impact on these two stages of your plan. | | |D1 to be handed in by: Friday 21st December 2012 | | | |TASK 3 | | | | | | | | | |D2 | |You are to write a report which evaluates your own development of transferable business skills. To achieve D2, you will need to reflect on | |your plans for developing your transferable business skills.
You will need to provide evidence of achievement or work in progress and this | |should be developed to the appropriate level, as identified in the career plan. You will also need to provide an evaluation of your progress | |against the targets in your career plan, linking achievements to success criteria. Where appropriate, this will include an evaluation of the | |impact that lack of progress will have on your short- and medium-term plans. | | | |Tip | |Refer back to the reflective learning blog you completed for Task 1 and reflect on your research and the progress that you have made with your| |personal career objectives.
Identify any changes in the plan, any progress you have made in achieving targets and any difficulties that you | |have encountered and how these have been overcome. Evaluate the impact that these developments are having on your plan in the short and | |medium term. | | | |D2 to be handed in by: Friday 21st December 2012 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |USEFUL INFORMATION | | | |Please refer to Moodle for links to useful web sites and information to help you complete the tasks. | | | |The following table is also useful for you to check that you have included all required elements of your portfolio to satisfy the assessment | |criteria for the unit. | | |Grading Criteria | |Tip | | | | | |Front cover, contents page and page numbers | | | |Present your portfolio in a bound folder or file with a proper title page and table of contents. | | | |Introduction – Your introduction needs to establish what the portfolio is about and provide a summary as to what will follow. | | | | |P3/P5/M3 | |Current skills audit | | | |You will need to examine your current skills profile by the production of a skills audit table. Ensure you include the three Functional | |Skills of IT, numeracy and literacy and link your qualifications in this area to the levels of the National Qualifications Framework.
What | |other skills have you gained from your college work (e. g. team working, time-management) AND from employment or voluntary activities? Your | |skills audit MUST include your current level according to Skills For Life | | | |Your audit must also provide evidence that you have achieved or are working towards skills that are at an appropriate level for your future. | | | |For P5 you need to map out how you intend to develop your transferable business skills at the appropriate level.
The development of some | |skills may be measurable through qualification levels, for example functional skills. Other skills may only be measurable through observation | |and may require you to gather a range of evidence. For example, tutor observation sheets or work experience feedback on the development of | |time management skills. | | | |For M3, you will need to demonstrate that you are aware of how you can progress in developing your transferable business skills. For example, | |if you needed to upgrade your IT skills, you should be able to assess the available options to determine which best fit your personal | |circumstances.
These could be through ICT functional skills, IT modules or online courses. You will need to assess the suitability of options | |in line with your career plan and then pursue the chosen options. Evidence of progress / research must be recorded in your portfolio. | | | | | |P1/M1 | |A description and comparison of all sources of careers related information used to inform your career decision | | | |You must access a wide range of information and not just via the internet.
To make an informed career decision you may need to access books | |in the careers library, have an appointment with the Connexions advisor, talk to friends & relatives, obtain job packs and company | |information. The information you describe should be in detail and not just a list. | | | |To achieve M1 you must link your research to the skills gaps identified in your skills audit (P3).
You must demonstrate that you have | |researched and assessed the viability of achieving your development needs. Your projections must be realistic and You must show that these | |options are achievable within the medium-term (5 yrs) framework of your career plan. | | | | | | | | |P2 | |A personal SWOT analysis related to your chosen career which feeds into your initial career plan | | | |Describe what a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats) analysis is and then produce your own personal SWOT analysis in table | |form. | | | |The career plan will be a working document, and may be subject to change as you carry out research into your original career choices. |(remember that short term is two years and the medium term is five years) | | | | | |P4/M2 | |Personal career objectives for both the short term (2yrs) and medium term (5yrs) i. e. SMART | | | |What are your short term and medium career objectives? All targets must have success criteria linked to them and also feed from your initial | |career plan which you have created in P2. | | |What are SMART targets and how can they help you achieve your short term and medium term career objectives? Produce a table of SMART targets | |(specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound) for the short and medium term. | | | |To achieve M2 you need to be aware of the importance of setting realistic SMART targets, which are measurable, by setting appropriate success | |criteria. You will need to demonstrate that you are managing progress towards meeting your targets effectively. This will involve time | |management skills.
Targets may be self-generated or come from you 1:1 reviews. You must maintain an on-going record which reflects your | |progress – update your blog with this information. | | | | | |P6 | |Details of the continuous professional development needed for your chosen career | | | |What is meant by the term ‘continuous professional development’ and why is it important in career planning? | | |Write or produce a table identifying the continuous professional development that is required for your chosen career (short and medium term).
| | | | | |P1/M1 | |Conclusion | | | |Draw a thoughtful conclusion from all the research and work you have undertaken to complete this portfolio. Has completing the portfolio | |confirmed a career direction for you or has it made you consider something totally different? How useful has the process of compiling this | |portfolio been? | | | | |ALL Criteria | |Appendix 1 – A week by week reflective learning blog charting your initial careers thoughts, research and decision making | | | |Your blog should commence at week 1 with your current career plans and thoughts. Update your blog each week and reflect on the activities you| |have undertaken. Has a particular activity e. g. the skills audit, made you think of a different career direction? Are you going to have to | |make changes to your college or personal life in order to achieve your SMART targets? How are you going to manage your targets from a time | |management perspective? | | | | |P2/P4/P6 | |Appendix 2 – Examples of careers related information relevant to your chosen short and long term targets | | | |Include a range of information, not just information from the internet. If you have a meeting with a careers advisor, or you talk to a family | |member about possible careers submit this as a short typed ‘meeting summary’.
You may wish to include information from professional | |associations e. g. The Institute of Marketing or from company job packs. | | | | |P4 | |Appendix 3 – Up to date curriculum vitae | | | |The CV should be up to date and include any new employment or transferable skills gained since you submitted the CV for the Unit 13 | |Recruitment & Selection module. | | | | | | | | |Evidence Required for : Unit 15 – Career Development Planning in Business | |Portfolio of evidence/ Reports / Web pages (screenshots) / Presentations / Blog | | | | |Student: On submission of this assignment, please sign to confirm that| | |this is all your own work and any references have been suitably | | |credited. | | | |Date | |Signature of Assessor | | | | | | | | | | |Internal Verifier Name | | | | |Date | |Signature of Internal Verifier | | | | | | | | | |Assessment and grading criteria Unit 15 – Career Development Planning in Business | ———————–
P1 – identify sources of information related to the career path P2 – complete a career plan identifying their development needs P3 – carry out a skills audit to identify skills gap P4 – create SMART targets for the career plan P5 – demonstrate transferable business skills P6 – discuss methods of continuing professional development and training relevant to the career plan. M1 – assess methods of achieving development needs within the timeframe of the career plan M2 – monitor and audit progress towards targets using appropriate success criteria M3 – assess ways of achieving the level and types of transferable business skills needed for the career plan. D1 – evaluate the distance travelled in achieving the planned objectives of the career plan D2 – evaluate own development of transferable business skills