Maintain yourself in professional practice
- 1. STEP Supporting Talent to Employment Programme Unit 3 Maintain yourself in professional practice Elements 3.1 Maintain and develop your own professional competence 3.2 Establish and maintain working relationships with contacts in your profession 3.3 Manage your own work Unit Summary This unit covers all the key aspects you need to maintain yourself in professional practice – continuing professional development, effective networking, managing own work Element 1 covers your ability to identify the standards which are expected of professionals in your industry. This can relate not only to knowledge and technique, but also other broader skills such as time-keeping, reliability and attitudes and ways of behaving which are vital to your professional reputation. It also covers keeping up to date with professional standards, setting yourself targets for your own improvement, and allowing yourself enough time to ensure you improve are also covered in this element Element 2 covers your ability to seek out organisations and individuals who are influential and important in terms of your work, and to build and maintain contact with them. This can cover a very wide range of people and organisations; you need to be clear about who you make contact with, and why. Contacts would include artists you might work with in future, or professional bodies who might represent your interests are examples Element 3 is about setting goals for your work, prioritising different pieces1 of work according to their importance and urgency, estimating and managing the time and resources you need to complete work on time, keeping interruptions and diversions to a minimum and rescheduling work when necessary 1 pieces of work would vary with the artform eg delivering workshops, performing, developing artwork
- 2. Element 3.1 Maintain and develop your own professional competence What you need to do a identify the professional standards expected in your area of work, by referring to appropriate sources of information b accurately identify your own skills and competences, and review these against the relevant standards c identify both general areas for development and specific objectives2 for improving your own practice d make sure you are legally compliant e choose objectives for improvement that are challenging, realistic and achievable f regularly update your development objectives g make sure you devote enough time and resources to development to enable you to reach your objectives h evaluate the history, significance and forces affecting your area of work, and use this to inform your professional activities 2 objectives here means tangible goals, aims, purpose or intention What you need to know and understand i the nature of your industry and its role in society ii what you can learn by listening to, and appraising, the activities and achievements of other professionals iii how to recognise the technical demands imposed on you by different aspects of your practice, and by usual ways of working iv how to identify and review your own skills against industry standards v relevant legislation and compliance e.g. employment law, insurance, health and safety and safeguarding children and vulnerable adults vi how to identify areas for development and set objectives vii how often you should update your development objectives, and why this should be a continual process viii how to estimate the time and resources you need ix how your area of work is evolving, what forces affect it, and what sorts of information and systems you can use x industry organisations and other sources of information, including computer-based information, that you can use to keep yourself up-to-date
- 3. Evidence requirements You must prove that you maintain and develop your own professional competence to a competent standard To do this you must provide evidence to convince your assessor that you consistently meet all the performance criteria Your evidence must be the result of real work activities undertaken by yourself. Evidence from simulated activities is not acceptable for this element Your evidence must also show that you identify and work towards the following standards • standards set by other practitioners • the technical demands of individual pieces Your evidence must also show that you identify and develop the following skills and competences • technical skills in your area of work • broader occupational skills required in professional practice Your evidence must also show that you access and use the following information sources • publications • professional networks • personal contacts • programmes and events in your area of work • the internet Examples of evidence Work activities • setting standards to assist your own improvement • keeping up to date with the work of others Products or outcomes • file of material showing how you keep up to date with developments • your targets for improvement • a practice log or diary Written or spoken reports • how you have used the example of other practitioners to guide your own development • how you have identified your own strengths and weaknesses Witness testimony • from a coach or teacher, detailing your ability to achieve targets for improvement, and the realism and challenge of your targets Media technology • how you have used technology eg. film/video, audio, power point presentations
- 4. Element 3.2 Establish and maintain working relationships with contacts in your profession What you need to do a review the activities of other practitioners and organisations, and assess their impact on the profession b seek out contacts whose activities can benefit your own work, and to whom your own work can offer benefits c communicate with contacts in a professional manner d allow sufficient time to maintain relationships with your contacts e establish professional contacts in at least one other European country What you need to know and understand i professional networks within your area of work ii industry organisations iii how to collect and review information to assess the impact of other people’s activities iv what others are doing, and how your own work relates to that v how to communicate in ways which maintain professional integrity vi how to estimate and plan for the time needed to maintain contacts vii your work in a European context
- 5. Evidence requirements You must prove that you establish and maintain working relationships with contacts in your profession to a competent standard. To do this you must provide evidence to convince your assessor that you consistently meet all the performance criteria Your evidence must be the result of real work activities undertaken by yourself. Evidence from simulated activities is not acceptable for this element Your evidence must also show that you establish and maintain the following contacts: • with individuals • with organisations Examples of evidence Work activities • researching new contacts • keeping in touch with existing contacts Products or outcomes • correspondence files with existing contacts • contacts lists or databases Written or spoken reports • how you identify contacts who may be useful to you Witness testimony • from a professional network or organisation
- 6. Element 3.3 Manage your own work What you need to do a have clear goals for the work that you undertake b prioritise different areas of your work according to their importance and urgency c plan your work so that you can achieve these goals d estimate the time and resources you will need to complete different pieces of work as planned e focus on your goals and try to keep interruptions and diversions to a minimum f regularly review what progress you are making towards your goals and replan and reschedule work accordingly g achieve a healthy work / life balance What you need to know and understand i the importance of having clear goals for your work ii how to prioritise work according to its importance and urgency iii the importance of planning your work and different planning aids you can use iv how to maintain a clear focus on your work and not be diverted by other things v how to review the progress you are making and when and how to reschedule activities vi how to comply with legislation
- 7. Evidence requirements You must prove that you manage your own work to a competent standard To do this you must provide evidence to convince your assessor that you consistently meet all the performance criteria Your evidence must be the result of real work activities undertaken by yourself. Evidence from simulated activities is not acceptable for this element Your evidence must also show that you estimate and plan all the following resources • money • equipment • materials • other people Examples of evidence Work activities • planning pieces of work or larger projects Products or outcomes • diaries • planners • schedules Written or spoken reports • why you chose particular goals • how you decided to prioritise one piece of work over another Witness testimony • from others involved in your work