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Provide career consultation to career consultation clients
Level
5
Credits
20
Purpose
People credited with this unit standard are able to: establish rapport with
clients in the career consultation process; assist clients to identify their career
development needs; assist clients to identify and clarify career goals; assist
clients to develop career plans; assist clients to produce a curriculum vitae
and cover letter; and review the career consultation provided to clients.
Subfield
Career Practice
Domain
Career Consultation
Status
Registered
Status date
20 November 2009
Date version published
20 November 2009
Planned review date
31 December 2013
Entry information
Open.
Accreditation
Evaluation of documentation and visit by NZQA and
industry.
Standard setting body (SSB)
The Skills Organisation
Accreditation and Moderation Action Plan (AMAP) reference
0121
This AMAP can be accessed at http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework/search/index.do.
Special notes
1
Definitions
Career refers to the wide range of occupational, family, civic, and political roles which
individuals will undertake throughout their adult lives. It includes paid employment,
self-employment, unpaid work, multiple jobbing, entrepreneurial enterprise, homebased enterprise, study as an adult, and unemployment. A career is a
developmental and lifelong process.
Career options refer to contractual, portfolio, self-employment, salaried, wages, fulltime, part-time, or voluntary work.
Career practice refers to the umbrella profession under which the following vocations
sit – career resources, career information, career education, and career consultation
which includes career counselling, career advice, and career guidance.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
25172 version 1
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Circumstances may refer to the home learning environment, access to funding,
accessing education, application completion.
Clients refer to people receiving a career related service who may be individuals or
groups, associated with employment, education, or training, or in some cases may be
an organisation.
Education may include training.
Ethical practice refers to the code of practice as defined in the constitution of an
established career practice association, for example, the Career Practitioner
Association of New Zealand.
Needs, in the context of this unit standard, are those relating to gender, culture,
Māori, ethnicity, age, religion, philosophy, learning, disability, socio-economic group,
career options, and language.
Practitioner refers to a specialist who gives expert advice or information.
2
Legislation relevant to this unit standard includes but is not limited to the: Privacy Act
1993, Human Rights Act 1993.
3
This unit standard must be assessed against on the basis of evidence of
demonstrated and repeatable performance in a workplace situation.
Elements and performance criteria
Element 1
Establish rapport with clients in the career consultation process.
Performance criteria
1.1
Rapport is established in career consultation in terms of the physical and
emotional needs of the clients.
Range
rapport – greeting, welcome, encouragement given.
1.2
Goals for the career consultation are established with the clients in terms of
limits, expectations, and plan of session.
1.3
Interactions with the clients during career consultation demonstrate active
listening, use of questioning techniques, and use of body language in
accordance with cultural and language needs.
1.4
The approach used in career consultation with the clients meets their personal
and cultural needs.
Range
approach includes but is not limited to – the establishment of
commonalities, non judgmental attitudes, respect of person, use of
familiar examples, respect for the values, respect of boundaries,
active listening, micro-counselling, action planning, feedback,
listening.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
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Element 2
Assist clients to identify their career development needs.
Performance criteria
2.1
Factors that influence the career development of clients are identified in
accordance with their circumstances.
2.2
The needs of the clients are identified in terms of cultural influence on their
background and language.
2.3
The needs of the clients are analysed in terms of access to, and funding for,
education; access to employment; and client strengths.
2.4
Barriers to clients’ career development are identified and strategies to deal with
barriers are developed with them in accordance with their needs.
2.5
Clients are assisted to prioritise their needs in terms of career preference and/or
expectations, realistic fulfilment, and current situation.
2.6
Clients are assisted to interpret their career history in terms of its impact on the
career planning process.
Element 3
Assist clients to identify and clarify career goals.
Performance criteria
3.1
Career options are identified with the clients in terms of their strengths, skills,
needs, expectations, and preferences.
3.2
Selected career options are explored, assessed and prioritised with the clients
in accordance with their needs and expectations.
3.3
Career goals are formulated with the clients that are achievable, and realistic for
clients in terms of time, funding, access, location, and academic ability.
3.4
Strategies to achieve career goals are identified in accordance with the clients’
needs.
3.5
Referral of the clients is in accordance with their identified needs and goals.
Range
referral includes but is not limited to – employment, education,
other agencies, other services.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
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Element 4
Assist clients to develop career plans.
Performance criteria
4.1
Decision-making and action planning processes are selected in accordance with
the individual needs of the clients.
4.2
Career options are identified and introduced in terms of their respective
advantages and disadvantages for the clients.
4.3
Career options are evaluated with the clients in accordance with decisionmaking and action planning processes.
4.4
The career plans constructed by the practitioner and clients take into account
external influences and individual needs of the clients.
4.5
The career plans constructed by the practitioner and clients incorporate
timelines and agreed milestones.
4.6
Career plans are modified and adjusted to meet the individual needs of the
clients and, where applicable, the expectations and choices of their families and
communities.
Element 5
Assist clients to produce a curriculum vitae and cover letter.
Performance criteria
5.1
The purpose of the curriculum vitae and cover letter to be produced are
identified in terms of type of employment and/or education to which it is
targeted.
5.2
Clients are assisted to identify and compile information for the curriculum vitae
and cover letter in accordance the purpose of each document and the
circumstances of the client.
5.3
The curriculum vitae and cover letter format is discussed and agreed with the
client in accordance with the intended purpose and the needs of the client.
5.4
The curriculum vitae and cover letter produced includes the required information
and are in the agreed format.
5.5
The curriculum vitae and cover letter produced meet the requirements of the
type of employment and/or education to which it is targeted.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
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Element 6
Review the career consultation provided to clients.
Performance criteria
6.1
The review confirms the match of the work and education options provided to
the needs and goals of the clients.
6.2
The review evaluates the follow up action of the practitioner in accordance with
the identified needs and goals of the clients.
6.3
The review of the career consultation process examines the ethical practices
demonstrated in accordance with the code of practice as defined in the
constitution of an established career practice association.
Please note
Providers must be accredited by NZQA, or an inter-institutional body with delegated
authority for quality assurance, before they can report credits from assessment against
unit standards or deliver courses of study leading to that assessment.
Industry Training Organisations must be accredited by NZQA before they can register
credits from assessment against unit standards.
Accredited providers and Industry Training Organisations assessing against unit standards
must engage with the moderation system that applies to those standards.
Accreditation requirements and an outline of the moderation system that applies to this
standard are outlined in the Accreditation and Moderation Action Plan (AMAP). The
AMAP also includes useful information about special requirements for organisations
wishing to develop education and training programmes, such as minimum qualifications for
tutors and assessors, and special resource requirements.
Comments on this unit standard
Please contact The Skills Organisation info@skills.org.nz if you wish to suggest changes
to the content of this unit standard.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016