Level 6 Diploma in Career Guidance and Development

Summary

Become a qualified career adviser with this advanced diploma. Ideal for practitioners delivering career guidance, coaching, and employment support at a professional level.

Who is it for?

To achieve this qualification, you will be undertaking a professional role within the careers guidance sector, delivering in depth career guidance to clients.

You will be required to apply career guidance theories to practice, to support clients to make realistic and informed decisions and plans regarding new learning or training opportunities and career planning.

What topics does the qualification cover?

Preparing to work in the CIAG sector requires you to demonstrate your knowledge of the sector and analyse your own role within it. You will show the research you have undertaken and your analysis of developments in the sector.
Your development as a reflective practitioner is a key part of this diploma and you will provide evidence on an ongoing basis including for example, records of learning and development activities undertaken.
Your knowledge of Career Guidance Theory and research on evidence-based practice underpins your work as a guidance practitioner. You will be asked to complete a workbook, demonstrating your knowledge of this area.
Two of the mandatory units focus on your actual practice with clients. You will need to write in-depth case studies demonstrating your knowledge of interview skills and how you apply guidance techniques in your work with clients.
An essential part of the skill set as a guidance practitioner is to have an extensive knowledge of education and training systems and sources of labour market information and to be able to share this appropriately with clients. You will demonstrate this through your work with clients.
Your ability to network with other agencies, your work in referral planning and facilitation and your negotiation skills are covered in the final mandatory unit. You will need to develop case studies demonstrating this and support it with for example, referral documentation and minutes of meetings.
Optional units: a range of units to choose form are also included, with a variety of guidance related topics including specific units for those who lead and manage careers work in education settings.

Programme structure

You will provide evidence of your work practice, including completing assignments, case studies, written accounts and providing work products. Evidence is uploaded to an e-portfolio which is available 24/7 on computers, tablets and mobile devices.

An Open University assessor will observe work-based practice on at least one occasion, assess evidence uploaded to the e-portfolio and provide developmental feedback.

You will have access through VQLearner Home to online resources specific to your qualification and links to suggested further study with The Open University.

Support will be provided throughout the qualification by the VQAC Learner Support Team.