Career Counseling Competencies

National Career Development Association

Career Counseling Competencies

(Revised Version, 1997)

NOTE: IN 2009, NCDA updated these Career Counseling Competencies to

infuse multicultural competencies. See the Multi-Cultural Career Counseling
Minimum Competencies for the most up-to-date information.

Introduction to Career Counseling Competency Statements

These competency statements are for those professionals interested and trained in the
field of career counseling. For the purpose of these statements, career counseling is
defined as the process of assisting individuals in the development of a life-career with
focus on the definition of the worker role and how that role interacts with other life
roles.

NCDA’s Career Counseling Competencies are intended to represent minimum

competencies for those professionals at or above the Master’s degree level of
education. These competencies are reviewed on an ongoing basis by the NCDA
Professional Standards Committee, the NCDA Board, and other relevant associations.

Professional competency statements provide guidance for the minimum competencies

necessary to perform effectively a particular occupation or job within a particular
field. Professional career counselors (Master’s degree or higher) or persons in career
development positions must demonstrate the knowledge and skills for a specialty in
career counseling that the generalist counselor might not possess. Skills and
knowledge are represented by designated competency areas, which have been
developed by professional career counselors and counselor educators. The Career
Counseling Competency Statements can serve as a guide for career counseling
training programs or as a checklist for persons wanting to acquire or to enhance their
skills in career counseling.

Minimum Competencies

In order to work as a professional engaged in Career Counseling, the individual must

demonstrate minimum competencies in eleven designated areas. These eleven areas
are: Career Development Theory, Individual and Group Counseling Skills,
Individual/Group Assessment, Information/Resources, Program Management and
Implementation, Consultation, Diverse Populations, Supervision, Ethical/Legal Issues,
Research/Evaluation, and Technology. These areas are briefly defined as follows:

 Career Development Theory: Theory base and knowledge considered

essential for professionals engaging in career counseling and
development.

 Individual and Group Counseling Skills: Individual and group

counseling competencies considered essential for effective career
counseling.

 Individual/Group Assessment: Individual/group assessment skills

considered essential for professionals engaging in career counseling.

 Information/Resources: Information/resource base and knowledge

essential for professionals engaging in career counseling.

 Program Promotion, Management and Implementation: Skills

necessary to develop, plan, implement, and manage comprehensive
career development programs in a variety of settings.
  

 Coaching, Consultation, and Performance Improvement: Knowledge

and skills considered essential in enabling individuals and organizations
to impact effectively upon the career counseling and development
process.

 Diverse Populations: Knowledge and skills considered essential in

providing career counseling and development processes to diverse
populations.

 Supervision: Knowledge and skills considered essential in critically

evaluating counselor performance, maintaining and improving
professional skills, and seeking assistance for others when needed in
career counseling.

 Ethical/Legal Issues: Information base and knowledge essential for the

ethical and legal practice of career counseling.

 Research/Evaluation: Knowledge and skills considered essential in

understanding and conducting research and evaluation in career
counseling and development.

 Technology: Knowledge and skills considered essential in using

technology to assist individuals with career planning.

Professional Preparation

 
The competency statements were developed to serve as guidelines for persons
interested in career development occupations. They are intended for persons training
at the Master’s level or higher with a specialty in career counseling. However, this
intention does not prevent other types of career development professionals from using
the competencies as guidelines for their own training. The competency statements
provide counselor educators, supervisors, and other interested groups with guidelines
for the minimum training required for counselors interested in the career counseling
specialty. The statements might also serve as guidelines for professional counselors
who seek in-service training to qualify as career counselors.

Ethical Responsibilities

Career development professionals must only perform activities for which they
"possess or have access to the necessary skills and resources for giving the kind of
help that is needed" (see NCDA and ACA Ethical Standards). If a professional does
not have the appropriate training or resources for the type of career concern presented,
an appropriate referral must be made. No person should attempt to use skills (within
these competency statements) for which he/she has not been trained. For additional
ethical guidelines, refer to the NCDA Ethical Standards for Career Counselors.

Career Counseling Competencies and Performance Indicators

Career Development Theory

Theory base and knowledge considered essential for professionals engaging in career
counseling and development. Demonstration of knowledge of:

1. Counseling theories and associated techniques.

 
 2. Theories and models of career development.

3. Individual differences related to gender, sexual orientation, race,

ethnicity, and physical and mental capacities.

4. Theoretical models for career development and associated counseling and

information-delivery techniques and resources.

5. Human growth and development throughout the life span.

6. Role relationships which facilitate life-work planning.

7. Information, techniques, and models related to career planning and

placement

Individual and Group Counseling Skills

Individual and group counseling competencies considered essential to effective career

counseling. Demonstration of ability to:

1. Establish and maintain productive personal relationships with individuals.

2. Establish and maintain a productive group climate.

 
3. Collaborate with clients in identifying personal goals.

4. Identify and select techniques appropriate to client or group goals and

client needs, psychological states, and developmental tasks.

5. Identify and understand clients’ personal characteristics related to career.

6. Identify and understand social contextual conditions affecting clients’

careers.

7. Identify and understand familial, sub-cultural and cultural structures and

functions as they are related to clients’ careers.

8. Identify and understand clients’ career decision-making processes.

9. Identify and understand clients’ attitudes toward work and workers.

10. Identify and understand clients’ biases toward work and workers based
on gender, race, and cultural stereotypes.

11. Challenge and encourage clients to take action to prepare for and initiate
role transitions by:

 locating sources of relevant information and experience,

  

 obtaining and interpreting information and experiences, and acquiring

skills needed to make role transitions.

12. Assist the client to acquire a set of employability and job search skills.

13. Support and challenge clients to examine life-work roles, including the
balance of work, leisure, family, and community in their careers.

Individual/Group Assessment

Individual/group assessment skills considered essential for professionals engaging in

career counseling. Demonstration of ability to:

1. Assess personal characteristics such as aptitude, achievement, interests,

values, and personality traits.
2. Assess leisure interests, learning style, life roles, self-concept, career
maturity, vocational identity, career indecision, work environment
preference (e.g., work satisfaction), and other related life
style/development issues.
3. Assess conditions of the work environment (such as tasks, expectations,
norms, and qualities of the physical and social settings).
4. Evaluate and select valid and reliable instruments appropriate to the
client’s gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and physical and
mental capacities.
5. Use computer-delivered assessment measures effectively and
appropriately.
6. Select assessment techniques appropriate for group administration and
those appropriate for individual administration.
7. Administer, score, and report findings from career assessment
instruments appropriately.
8. Interpret data from assessment instruments and present the results to
clients and to others.
 9. Assist the client and others designated by the client to interpret data from
assessment instruments.
10.Write an accurate report of assessment results.

Information/Resources

Information/resource base and knowledge essential for professionals engaging in

career counseling. Demonstration of knowledge of:

1.  Education, training, and employment trends; labor market information and

resources that provide information about job tasks, functions, salaries,
requirements and future outlooks related to broad occupational fields and
individual occupations.
2. Resources and skills that clients utilize in life-work planning and
management.
3. Community/professional resources available to assist clients in career
planning, including job search.
4. Changing roles of women and men and the implications that this has for
education, family, and leisure.
5. Methods of good use of computer-based career information delivery
systems (CIDS) and computer-assisted career guidance systems
(CACGS) to assist with career planning.

Program Promotion, Management, and Implementation Knowledge and skills

necessary to develop, plan, implement, and manage comprehensive career
development programs in a variety of settings. Demonstration of knowledge of:

1. Designs that can be used in the organization of career development

programs.

2. Needs assessment and evaluation techniques and practices.

3. Organizational theories, including diagnosis, behavior, planning,
organizational communication, and management useful in implementing
and administering career development programs.
4. Methods of forecasting, budgeting, planning, costing, policy analysis,
resource allocation, and quality control.
 5. Leadership theories and approaches for evaluation and feedback,
organizational change, decision-making, and conflict resolution.
6. Professional standards and criteria for career development programs.
7. Societal trends and state and federal legislation that influence the
development and implementation of career development programs.

Demonstration of ability to:

1.  Implement individual and group programs in career development for

specified populations.
2.  Train others about the appropriate use of computer-based systems for
career information and planning.
3.  Plan, organize, and manage a comprehensive career resource center.
4.  Implement career development programs in collaboration with
others.
5.  Identify and evaluate staff competencies.
6.  Mount a marketing and public relations campaign in behalf of career
development activities and services.

Coaching, Consultation, and Performance Improvement

 Knowledge and skills considered essential in relating to individuals and organizations

that impact the career counseling and development process. Demonstration of ability
to:

1.  Use consultation theories, strategies, and models.

2.  Establish and maintain a productive consultative relationship with
people who can influence a client’s career.
3.  Help the general public and legislators to understand the importance
of career counseling, career development, and life-work planning.
4.  Impact public policy as it relates to career development and
workforce planning.
5.  Analyze future organizational needs and current level of employee
skills and develop performance improvement training.
6.  Mentor and coach employees.

 
Diverse Populations

Knowledge and skills considered essential in relating to diverse populations that

impact career counseling and development processes. Demonstration of ability to:

1.  Identify development models and multicultural counseling competencies.

2. Identify developmental needs unique to various diverse populations,
including those of different gender, sexual orientation, ethnic group,
race, and physical or mental capacity.
3. Define career development programs to accommodate needs unique to
various diverse populations.
4. Find appropriate methods or resources to communicate with limited-
English-proficient individuals.
5. Identify alternative approaches to meet career planning needs for
individuals of various diverse populations.
6. Identify community resources and establish linkages to assist clients
with specific needs.
7. Assist other staff members, professionals, and community members in
understanding the unique needs/characteristics of diverse populations
with regard to career exploration, employment expectations, and
economic/social issues.
8. Advocate for the career development and employment of diverse
populations.
9. Design and deliver career development programs and materials to hard-
to-reach populations.

Supervision

Knowledge and skills considered essential in critically evaluating counselor or career

development facilitator performance, maintaining and improving professional
skills. Demonstration of:

1.  Ability to recognize own limitations as a career counselor and to seek

supervision or refer clients when appropriate.
2.  Ability to utilize supervision on a regular basis to maintain and
improve counselor skills.
3.  Ability to consult with supervisors and colleagues regarding client
and counseling issues and issues related to one’s own professional
development as a career counselor.
4.  Knowledge of supervision models and theories.
 5.  Ability to provide effective supervision to career counselors and
career development facilitators at different levels of experience.
6.  Ability to provide effective supervision to career development
facilitators at different levels of experience by:

 knowledge of their roles, competencies, and ethical standards

 determining their competence in each of the areas included in

their certification

 further training them in competencies, including interpretation of

assessment instruments

 monitoring and mentoring their activities in support of the

professional career counselor; and scheduling regular
consultations for the purpose of reviewing their activities

Ethical/Legal Issues

Information base and knowledge essential for the ethical and legal practice of career
counseling. Demonstration of knowledge of:

1.  Adherence to ethical codes and standards relevant to the profession of career

counseling (e.g. NBCC, NCDA, and ACA).
2. Current ethical and legal issues which affect the practice of career
counseling with all populations.
3. Current ethical/legal issues with regard to the use of computer-assisted
career guidance systems.
4. Ethical standards relating to consultation issues.
5. State and federal statutes relating to client confidentiality.

Research/Evaluation

Knowledge and skills considered essential in understanding and conducting research

and evaluation in career counseling and development. Demonstration of ability to:

 
 1. Write a research proposal.
2. Use types of research and research designs appropriate to career
counseling and development research.
3. Convey research findings related to the effectiveness of career
counseling programs.
4. Design, conduct, and use the results of evaluation programs.

5. Design evaluation programs which take into account the need of various
diverse populations, including persons of both genders, differing sexual
orientations, different ethnic and racial backgrounds, and differing
physical and mental capacities.

6. Apply appropriate statistical procedures to career development research.

Technology

Knowledge and skills considered essential in using technology to assist individuals

with career planning. Demonstration of knowledge of:

1. Various computer-based guidance and information systems as well as

services available on the Internet.

2. Standards by which such systems and services are evaluated (e.g. NCDA
and ACSCI).

3. Ways in which to use computer-based systems and Internet services to

assist individuals with career planning that are consistent with ethical
standards.
  

4. Characteristics of clients which make them profit more or less from use
of technology-driven systems.

5. Methods to evaluate and select a system to meet local needs.