News

BCPLAN Snapshot Presentation 2018

An update on the state of RPL in British Columbia’s Post Secondary system and Trades/Industry systems, compliments of Lori Woods.

Thank you to all who attended our event on June 22nd. We had over 30 people this year. If you have ideas for next year please send us an email!

Charles Joyner (Chair)

cjoyner@bcplan.ca

Tanis Sawkins (Secretary)

tsawkins@bcplan.ca

Check out our YouTube Channel! Coming Soon!

Click here for more details.

Candidates should submit their Letter of Interest to cjoyner@bcplan.ca no later than September 5, 2018

The PLIRC Document Database is an initiative of the Prior Learning International Research Centre (PLIRC) at Thompson Rivers University. Intended for scholars, practitioners, and policy-makers, the database provides a free, full-text resource of research-related documents in the area of prior learning assessment and recognition.

The database was made possible by the donation of basic software from Observal, a database recently established by EUCEN (European University Continuing Education Network) to the Canadian Institute for Recognizing Learning who in turn contributed the software to PLIRC. On-going support for the database comes from the community of researchers around the world, with financial support from Thompson Rivers University.

PLA resources allows students to earn credit toward a course or program offered by a post-secondary institution if they can demonstrate, through a systematic and valid assessment process, that the learning is equivalent to that which normally would be acquired through conventional study at the post-secondary level.

Recognition of prior learning is an educational response to the need to widen
participation in education and training for economic advancement and social inclusion. See recent scholarly articles in Google Scholar.

Join the Conference Board of Canada on February 19, 2016 at 02:00 PM EST for this 60 minute webinar as they evaluate the state of Canadian learning recognition since the publication of the first Brain Gain study in 2001.

Based on the recently released study: Brain Gain 2015: The State of Canada’s Learning Recognition System, this session will explore how the country has adapted to our increasingly mobile workforce, and the consequences of not getting it right.

Canada has long been a country of mobile people. Among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, Canada’s total immigration numbers trail only the United States and France; and relative to the size of its population, only Australia and Luxembourg. In 2011, immigrants represented 20.6 per cent of Canada’s population, the highest proportion among the G8 countries. In a typical year, Canada welcomes over 250,000 immigrants as permanent residents. Over a five-year period, almost 1 million Canadians move between provinces, often to pursue employment or education opportunities.

However, even with one of the most mobile workforces in the world in terms of international and interprovincial migration, Canada’s learning recognition system continues to be organized along provincial lines. In 2001, The Conference Board of Canada published Brain Gain: The Economic Benefits of Recognizing Learning and Learning Credentials in Canada. The study was the first to collect original data (via a household survey) from Canadians who had experienced challenges with learning recognition. At the time, we calculated that Canada would stand to gain between $4.1 and $5.9 billion through improved learning recognition.

Learn more about CAPLA’S fourth and final webinar in the 2014-2016 series on quality assurance for the recognition of prior learning (RPL) and its implications for practice.

Now that the RPL QA MANUAL is complete, we want to showcase its contents, share ideas and discuss recommendations, to ensure all users have confidence in RPL processes.  

This special session will provide:

1. Observations on the importance of recognizing prior learning in Canada and the urgency to ensure that quality systems are in place to foster the development of the RPL process 
2. Illustrations on how the Manual can serve as a catalyst for organizational effectiveness and public policy direction to meet the needs of Canadians and newcomers
3. An overview of the Manual with special attention on its effectiveness for auditing, developing or improving existing human resource and RPL systems
4. Examples of how RPL is being successfully integrated into organizations and institutions to support and promote the development of individuals within the workforce

When: Thursday, January 28, 2016 at 12:00 noon (Eastern Standard Time)

Presenters: Susan Simosko, Susan Simosko Associates; Philip Mondor, President, Tourism HR Canada

Length: 60 minutes

Fee: The webinar is FREE but you are required to register HERE.

For more information contact the Webinar Secretariat at capla@agendamanagers.com or call 1-877-731-1333.

Please download your free copy of the Introduction to the MANUAL by clicking HERE, so you can review some of the MANUAL’s resources. You can also purchase a digital or print copy of the entire publication for as little as $50 by clicking HERE.

This webinar will be conducted in English.

The Pan Pacific’s Executive Chef, Daryle Nagata works as an assessor with the Multiple Assessment Pathways (MAP) project.

“In the restaurant industry, working under the old system of standardized written assessments, we had known for some time that the certification system wasn’t fully meeting the needs of the industry.” It’s true. Prior to the introduction of ITA’s MAP system, chefs were expected to pass traditional, one-dimensional tests in order to attain certification. “But how do you judge taste on a written exam?” Daryle asks. “So when a chef presented their certification with their resume, it was a start, but we still had a lot of work to do to determine if the chef met industry standards.”

“Of course, we still do our homework, you always have to when you hire someone, but knowing that a chef has been certified using Multiple Assessment Pathways, makes it a lot easier. We know that the chef’s skills have been evaluated in person by a trained assessor, and that’s worth a lot more than passing a written exam.

The program does not allow Daryle to assess members of his own team who are looking to further their certification, so he finds himself mentoring any of his team members with aspirations. “We want everyone to succeed and this program allows me to be a part of their success. It inspires people.”

“I’m so impressed by the work that’s been done to implement this system. Since it’s a much more authentic way to assess chefs, and much more useful as a tool for our industry, there has been tremendous buy-in from all of the stakeholders.”