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2008 is a GREAT year to Learn
By Julie Bulrice | December 18, 2007
There’s no time like the present to be in the Workplace Learning & Performance field. Increasingly, organizational leaders understand and appreciate the strategic importance of our profession. Like lawyers, doctors, and accountants we’ll soon be recognized as a distinct profession by the U.S. Department of Labor. And for the first time in our history, we have integrated the diverse disciplines of our profession into one body of knowledge known as the ASTD Competency Model.
Over the past few years you’ve probably received a number of mailings from ASTD National about the Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) credential. You may know someone who’s begun working toward it or who’s even completed it – our local chapter has 2 such certified CPLP-ers! And yet, if you’re like most of us, you can’t explain exactly what the CPLP is or why it represents such a significant breakthrough for the learning and performance profession.
The big news is that CPLP is not just an acronym. Underpinning the certification is the ASTD Competency Model that describes the key competencies required for WL&P professionals today and in the future. The model organizes the WL&P field into nine distinct competencies:
- Designing learning
- Delivering training
- Improving human performance
- Measuring and evaluating
- Facilitating organizational change
- Managing the learning function
- Coaching
- Managing organizational knowledge
- Career planning and talent management.
The ASTD Competency Model has several important benefits for our profession. On an individual level, the model presents a holistic view of the field, and clarifies the range of capabilities required. Moreover, the model enables each of us to identify our knowledge gaps and plan our professional development.
Take a few moments and evaluate yourself on each of these competencies. In what areas do you consider yourself an expert? In what areas do you only have a cursory knowledge? If you’re like most WL&P professionals, your assessment will reveal that you have strengths in 2-3 of the competencies but have a limited understanding of the others. What are the implications for your development? How might you build capabilities in other areas, even within the context of your current role?
On an organizational level, the ASTD Competency Model can be an invaluable tool to guide the development of teams and the Learning and Development function overall. It can clearly communicate what we do, how we do it, and the value we bring to the business. Finally, the model can help us work more collaboratively with Human Resources as the lines between our disciplines get increasingly blurred.
The WL&P field is evolving incredibly quickly and each of us should consider continuously build our skills to add value to our clients and our organizations. Visit the National ASTD CPLP web site at: http://www.astd.org/content/ASTDcertification/ to understand the importance of both the ASTD Competency Model and the CPLP certification. Especially click the links along the left side of the page and take some time to poke around and learn about WHY a competency model is important to our profession and WHY CPLP Certification might be in YOUR future in 2008!
The ASTD Cascadia Chapter in Portland, OR will be piloting a CPLP study group in early spring. I invite you to e-mail me if you have any questions or have interest in participating in the Pilot Study Group. Happy Holidays!
Julie Bulrice
Cascadia Chapter - Chief Learning Officer
Admin note: You can hear Julie talk more about the direction the chapter is heading in the latest podcast.
Other posts on similar topics- Is the ASTD Competency Model Still Relevant? Yes!
- Lessons from a CPLP Quest
- Calling All New Training Managers!
- Anyone Interested in a Cascadia Chapter CPLP Study Group?????
- A visit to NW Coaches Association
Topics: - Competency Model |