Assessing Professional Competence and Creating a Professional Development Plan

1.Assess your personal knowledge and skills against competency standards such as enterprise specific competencies or nationally endorsed units of competency.

In your journal, describe the process you undertook to assess your professional competency.

Journal Reflection 

2.Meet with two people who are familiar with your work and can assess aspects of your professional competency, such as employees, colleagues, clients or supervisors to seek feedback on your work performance. Take notes to submit as evidence of your meeting.

In your journal, describe the meeting, and the questioning and active listening techniques you used to elicit the feedback.

Journal Reflection

3.Using the template provided in Appendix 1, or one from your workplace, develop a professional development plan. You should include:

a.Development opportunities, such as training; include opportunities to undertake within one year and within five years

b.New skills you aim to acquire to achieve or maintain a competitive edge

c.Planned participation in networks or professional associations to enhance professional development

d.Timeframes in which to achieve development opportunities, new skills, participation in networks.

Attach Appendix 1 and fill all necessary columns. 

In your journal, you should discuss:

a.How you analysed and applied feedback to your professional 

development plan

Journal Reflection

b.The process you undertook to identify, evaluate and select the development opportunities included in your professional development plan – discuss learning styles and application to your planning

Journal Reflection 

c.New skills you plan to acquire – explain how acquiring these skills will provide a competitive edge

Journal Reflection 

d.Examples of networking you have undertaken or are currently undertaking to enhance knowledge, skills or work relationships

Journal Reflection 

e.How these plans align to relevant organisational policies and procedures and how they align to organisational goals and your work role.

Journal Reflection

4.Submit your professional development plan, feedback notes and answers to your assessor as per the specifications below. Ensure you keep a copy of all work submitted for your records.