Certification of employability
Get your job skills recognized with a Concordia University certificate. Solidify your job profile. Secure your position in the workforce. Get objective information from your candidates.
Overview
The experts at Concordia Continuing Education have developed this employability skills assessment program to measure 12 cross-cutting and transferable competency areas. Through counselling and introspective assessments, our team of subject matter experts will help job candidates improve their professional standing, while providing employers with a reliable framework to better assess those prospective candidates during the recruitment process.
Testimonials
Participating in the process increased my self-esteem and helped me better articulate my strengths and experiences.
We all say we have soft skills, but there isn't a way to prove it. I didn't have any documented credentials for skills like decision-making and adaptability.
I came to the realization that, "You know what? I can do this. I have the skills and I know what I’m doing. I’m capable of thinking critically and finding solutions." I needed that boost.
—
The benefits
For job candidates
The certificate can help you:
- Get employers to recognize your work experience.
- Prove your skills are transferable.
- Prepare for career advancement or professional re-orientation.
- Get employers to trust your unique job profile.
For employers
The certificate can help organizations:
- Maximize the potential of your talent, support staff development and help validate past work experiences.
- Get objective evaluations for prospective candidates or employees looking for new job functions.
- Better assess prospective candidates during recruitment, and eliminate ambiguity during the hiring process.
- Improve employee retention.
- Showcase the qualifications that contribute to your organization's credibility.
The certification process
1. Schedule a virtual orientation meeting with our expert. Make sure to familiarize yourself with our competency areas beforehand. During the 30- to 60-minute meeting, our expert will help you identify the competency areas you should validate based on your experience. You will also receive more information about the assessment process and a guide to prepare for it.
2. Prepare for your assessment using the guide to help you identify and document your most relevant professional, academic and personal experiences to leverage during your assessment. You may also get help from our advisor if needed.
3. Undergo a 2-hour online assessment for each competency area. In this exercise, you will be asked to resolve workplace scenarios to demonstrate your proficiency in the competency area selected.
4. Have your responses evaluated by our assessment experts.
5. Receive a report detailing your performance along with a certificate for each validated competency area.
Creative thinking
Employ a variety of approaches to gather and combine data and concepts to generate ideas and solutions
Decision-making
Formulate a process to generate safe, ethical and environmentally friendly options to choose from to achieve results
Problem-solving
Leverage data, talent and resources to generate productive solutions to issues and problems
Information
Process and manage data and information from trusted sources to identify trends and opportunities and generate meaning to leverage in decisions and communications
Inclusion
Create an inclusive and diverse environment that respects individuals for their talents, skills, and abilities to the benefit of the collective, and identifies the uniqueness of individuals
Communication
Communicate thoughts, ideas and information through various channels and approaches
Collaboration
Collaborate with one or more people, entities, or organisations to accomplish a task or achieve a goal.
Client focus
Recognize the needs of clients, both internal and external, to deliver an effective client experience
Adaptability
Demonstrate flexibility in behaviours or approaches to respond to changes and evolving contexts
Digital agility
Leverage digital knowledge to create value for the organization
Learning Mindset
Establish a growth mindset within the organization
Autonomy
Implement actions and take initiatives in a context of minimal supervision and with knowledge of impacts and responsibilities
FAQs
Having your competency areas validated by a reputable academic institution will provide employers with clarity and trust in your abilities. Through this introspective process, you will also gain knowledge about your own abilities and how to promote them.
Our competency framework was developed in partnership with industry clusters representative of the economy of the greater Montreal region. Employers and institutional partners have shown strong support. Earning a certificate from a reputable academic institution like Concordia University can help bring credibility to your profile and improve your professional standing.
Candidates will undergo a two-hour online assessment for each competency area they wish to validate. In this exercise, you will be asked to resolve workplace scenarios. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) will then evaluate your responses.
You do not need to have all 12 competency areas assessed. The competency development specialist will help you identify the areas that will not only help you accomplish your career goals but are also likely to lead to certification.
There is no minimum or maximum number of competency areas that you can have assessed. The competency development specialist will help you identify the areas that are relevant to your career objectives and are likely to lead to certification.
Each competency area takes about eight hours to validate over the course of about four to six weeks.
The assessment is performed entirely online to provide candidates with better convenience and accessibility. You can book your assessment session in the morning, afternoon or evening.
There is no minimum number of years of experience required to obtain a certificate. A meeting with the competencies development specialist will help you determine your potential for certification.
When submitting your application for registration, you will need to provide your current resume (in French or English). This document is necessary to allow the evaluator to better guide your choice of skills to be evaluated.
Any person 18 and over and has a valid work permit in Canada.
The evaluators are Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in the competency areas we validate.
Yes, you will receive a formal certificate. Once you have completed all of the requirements, you will receive a formal certificate signed by our executive director.
Minimum requirements to take part in this online program are a computer, functioning webcam, access to wi-fi or a data plan, and microphone.
If you have additional questions, please contact Concordia Continuing Education:
In partnership with the Commission des partenaires du marché du travail
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