Competency

Portfolios
Connecting Life, Learning
and
CPCA
Work

CPCA
@life_learn_w
ork

Competency Portfolio
Community Alliance (CPCA)
Community representatives in Lindsay and Peterborough, Ontario
meet to review how a competency portfolio can be used with
individuals who are upgrading skills and/or seeking employment.
Funding obtained in three phases:
1. Train staff in prior learning assessment fundamentals and Portfolio
Development. Research and Develop a Resource Manual for
Competency Portfolio Development.
2. Develop workshop materials for portfolio development and train
staff on its use and implementation.
3. Deliver portfolio workshop materials to 3 at risk populations: older
workers, youth and social assistance recipients. Develop 3 videos
promoting competency portfolio development. Start an employer
advisory group.

Competency Portfolio
Community Alliance (CPCA)
Opportunities:
Job seeking clients often lack confidence and do not fully
understand their skills so have difficulty in promoting themselves
to employers.
All clients regardless of skill and educational background can
develop a portfolio.
Employers are having difficulty finding the right people so will
need to look at new ways of recruitment. The word equivalency
has not been defined.
Competency portfolio development has created an opportunity for
service coordination between employment and literacy agencies.

Project Challenges
o Negative connotation with the word Portfolio
o Perceived funding and staffing challenges around running portfolio
workshops and adding portfolio development into training/learning
plans
o Credential guarding
o Attracting rural participants

Be the Change, Career Consulting

http://bethechangecareers.com/the-process/

PLAR Workshop
Create an Employment Portfolio

Benefits for the job seeker:

Reflection
Understand knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's)
Reflect, story tell, prove it
A targeted job specific portfolio
Gain a competitive edge related to soft skills
Build Confidence!

PLAR Workshop
Create an Employment Portfolio
o Identify Learning:
o Characteristics and Attributes;
o Knowledge and Skills (existing, gaps); and
o Sharing their experiences through story telling.
o Gather Documents:
o Prove Learning with documentation - Valid & Targeted
Documentation (Direct and Indirect sources).
o Implementing the Plan:
o Goal Setting; Pathways to Employment & Training; and Linking
with Community Partners.
Activities provided can be changed/modified based on the needs of
the client

PLAR Workshop
Create an Employment Portfolio
Agency Benefits:
Employed! In Training! Service Coordination!
Flexibility to incorporate into current programming and emerging
solutions
Know the clients your agency serves, build confidence in their KSA's
Better serve at risk clients youth at risk, older workers, clients
accessing social services and literacy programs
Gain insight into career goals and learn about retention factors
Challenge credential creeping and "equivalency" experience

PLAR Workshop
Create an Employment Portfolio

OTHER 8%
SOCIAL SERVICES 34%
YOUTH 24%

OLDER WORKERS 71%

Employed/In Training
77%
Service Coordination
45%

Innovative Practices in
Recruitment
o Assess equivalency and "valuable" experience, validate KSA's
o Competency based recruitment (is now prevalent in most
organizations)
o Note: This recruitment process is based on the ability of the job
seeker to produce anecdotes about their professional
experiences.
o Enhance competency based recruitment through a visual story board
(portfolio documentation)
o Increase competitive intelligence as portfolio can be a form of
benchmarking
o Economize on duplicate training

Linking Employment and Adult

Literacy Programs
o Activities and portfolio development link academic and employment
goals
o All activities are aligned to the Ontario Adult Literacy Curriculum
Framework:
o Fosters learner empowerment and self determination;
o Provides a central process for learner growth, reflection and
planning;
o Creates a holistic learner centered approach; and
o Develops learner self awareness, goal setting and decision
making skills .

Portfolios as assessment tools in

literacy training
o The wide variety of instructional materials included in the portfolio:
Checklists;
Student self-reflection; and
Written summaries.
o Provides a wealth of information to base further instruction and
evaluate learner progress.
o Portfolios are an excellent way to bring assessment and instruction
together seamlessly.

Lessons Learned
o Changes to best practices in recruitment need to be employer
focused and not employment agency focused
o Identify the flexibility of the tools for greater awareness and
ownership in utilizing them independently
o Capturing the referrals that are happening to receive credit for the
work taking place and reflecting on successes

Project Response
o 80 learners have taken the portfolio workshop training to date.
o 2 day train the trainer session delivered - 14 practitioners in
attendance.
o 9 workshops completed - 2 more workshops scheduled.
o Key marketing tools have been established to represent the CPCA .
o Case Study being completed with a local employer to review the use
of competency portfolios in the recruitment process regarding
equivalency challenging
o Implementation of employment portfolios into post secondary
delivery with CICE and Academic Upgrading

Project Response
o Increased ability to better market clients with little work experience
for entry level positions and apprenticeships
o Adds confidence and value to past work experiences with TIOW clients
o Building of e-portfolios with the Online Digital Skills Link Groups
o Making connections with individuals representing the Aboriginal
emphasis regarding PLAR
o Provided support of Employment Services, Literacy and Basic Skills
programming and Ontario Works in one seamless process

Creating Connections
Amanda Middleton
Competency Portfolio Project Coordinator
amiddleton@careerservices.org
(705) 328-0180 ext. 253
Carol Timlin
Joan Connolly
Executive Director VCCS
Executive Director LOCS
ctimlin@careerservices.org
joan@locs.on.ca
(705) 328-0180 ext. 226
(705) 749-0675