The 10-year anniversary of the GCDF certification program provides an opportunity to reflect on the growth of the program as a quality assurance mechanism. The GCDF was initially developed for the United States. Today, career guidance and counseling certification programs in nine countries are based on the Global Career Development Facilitator framework. This is a major accomplishment, and the CCE staff is proud of its role in promoting quality in career guidance and counseling services around the world. At the same time, reports from respected organizations such as the International Labor Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development suggest that there is much work yet to be completed. In many countries, the preparation of career guidance and counseling service providers needs improvement.

In light of the need for quality assurance in career support services, CCE continues collaborating with global partners interested in developing GCDF certification programs. Our policy is not to approach practitioners in a country and denigrate their work as ‘less than’ because they lack a certification program. Instead, we simply provide information about the benefits GCDF programs offer and the consultation CCE can provide if and when they, as a group, decide they would like to establish a certification program.

International Promotion Updates
CCE has revamped its effort to make information about the benefits of and process for establishing GCDF certification more accessible. Through NBCC International (NBCC-I), CCE staff is also working to provide a regional/local human resource for those who might have questions about GCDF certification programs. This regional/local resource strategy has already proven successful as our NBCC-I office in Romania was instrumental in establishing our newest GCDF program in Bulgaria.

Training NBCC-I Field Office Staff
CCE has begun the process of training NBCC-I field office personnel to respond to questions about the GCDF certification program. NBCC-I field offices are open in Bulgaria, China, Mexico, and Romania with offices in Jamaica and Venezuela opening soon. Field office staff are an important complement to headquarters staff and may be more accessible for some non-U.S. career and guidance practitioners. Thus, training our representatives abroad is an integral part of our growth process. With the support of CCE headquarters staff, our field offices provide consultation on the benefits, challenges, and mechanics of establishing a GCDF program. If a potential partner needs to add modules beyond the original GCDF core competencies, field office staff help assure that the certification is both relevant to the local context and a positive reflection of the GCDF’s integrity.

GCDF-Bulgaria
Dr. Dawna Jackson-Sanford, Chair of the NBCC Board of Directors, and Ted Iliff, Executive Vice President of NBCC International, were present to celebrate the transfer of administration of the GCDF-Bulgaria program to the Business Foundation for Education. In the short time that career/vocational support services have been growing in Bulgaria, the Business Foundation for Education has distinguished itself since its establishment by JobTiger (http://www.jobtiger.bg), a Web-based employment search enterprise. As an example of the value of having regional/local representatives, CCE’s contact with our new partners was facilitated by the promotion efforts of Dr. Andreea Szilagyi, the director of NBCC-I’s field office in Romania and NBCC International – Europe. CCE looks forward to continued collaboration with our colleagues in Bulgaria and will provide further updates, as appropriate.