Career Development and Employability Postgraduate Diploma (Distance Learning) drafted
| Program start date | Application deadline |
| 2023-09-01 | - |
Program Overview
About the course
Reasons to study
This course is for those seeking a professional qualification in Career Guidance. You’ll have the opportunity to take the Qualification in Career Development (QCD) - the nationally recognised professional qualification awarded by the Career Development Institute (CDI) - alongside the Master's qualification. You’ll learn about policy, practice and theories underpinning career guidance, equality and diversity, partnership working and research-based practice.
Why Career Guidance and Development?
Discover more about Distance Learning at Huddersfield.
Program Outline
Course detail
Core Modules
Whether you’re on the full-time or part-time course, you will study two core modules:
Developing Professional Practice: Organisational Culture and Professional Practice
This module examines approaches to professional practice in a range of contexts. It considers the nature of the organisation within which your practice is located. You will develop practical skills and knowledge, using theoretical justification for a range of practices. Issues such as safeguarding, guidance policy and working within a formal educational setting will be considered. Learning in the workplace will focus on your own learning contract and your progress against it.
The Guidance Network
This module will help you to examine the networks and contexts in which guidance work is carried out. You'll address underpinning theories of careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG), how these tie in with models of one to one and group interaction and how guidance is addressed in various learning settings.
Option Modules
You will also have the option to choose two of the following optional modules:
Developing Professional Practice: Work with Individuals and Groups
The module examines the professional role careers guidance practitioners in order to enable you to develop as reflective practitioners who draw on developmental supervision. It considers the theory, principles and practice of working with individuals and with groups in guidance setting. The module explores techniques, approaches and a range of models appropriate for use by careers guidance practitioners and it provides the opportunity for you to critically assess and evaluate your own skills, knowledge and values as careers guidance practitioners. You will consider ethical practice and professional boundaries and analyse your own professional practice. You will draw up a learning contract for your Work Based Learning setting and critically assess your progress against it. You will produce a portfolio which will include and assignment and evidence of your practice.
Leadership & Management in Career Education & Development
This module will develop your understanding of theories of leadership, management and the organisation of professional practice within the career education and development sector You will explore relevant theory and practical factors such as: the impact of organisational structures and culture on practice; the value and practice of developmental supervision, coaching and mentoring; the management of change in professional practice, networking and inter-agency working. You will be provided with opportunities to develop your skills in relation to these aspects of management and leadership, both in class and (as appropriate) in the workplace.
Higher Education in Context
This module focuses on the networks and contexts in which guidance work is carried out in the higher education sector. The module addresses underpinning theories and policies related to career development, social mobility, curriculum design, graduate employability and the graduate labour market. Theory relating to the use of data within the context of the higher education careers and employability sector will also be considered and evaluated. You will be encouraged to examine relevant theories and policies and will relate your understanding and awareness of the sector through a written assignment where you will address and critically analyse a key issue in higher education.
Employer Engagement and Business Support
This module focuses on the key policy, strategic and operational issues relating to employer engagement, business support and Knowledge Exchange in the context of the Careers and Employability effort and offer in and around Higher Education. The module explores opportunities and challenges for Careers and Employability professionals at the interface between the Educational and Knowledge Exchange missions of Higher Education institutions and the range of external relationships and partnerships which are essential to the endeavour. These are all considered in the light of relevant theories and models.
Teaching and Assessment
On this course you’ll have the opportunity to develop an understanding of critical reflection and how to employ independent learning strategies to enable you to evaluate and inform your professional practice. You’ll also develop and deepen your knowledge and understanding of educational research.
The distance learning course starts in January and takes 12 months full-time and 24 months part-time to complete.
Our course offers a combination of teaching styles: lectures, tutorials, independent study and work-based learning. Assessment is continuous and varied and includes written assignments, presentations, and reports.
The course is assessed through coursework; there are no timed tests or exams. The assessment on the course allows you to demonstrate your practical knowledge and skills alongside developing your critical and theoretical understanding of the subject. The assessment builds on your particular interests and context and is likely to have outcomes that will be of benefit to your professional life and to your employer. You’ll be provided with guidance to help you develop your assignment work by module tutors and specialist learning support staff. For international students, we provide weekly academic study skills support workshop to help you get the most from the main modules.
Feedback (usually written) is normally provided on all coursework submissions within three term time weeks – unless the submission was made towards the end of the session in which case feedback is available after the publication of results.
Teaching excellence
-
Triple proof of teaching excellence: our staff rank in the top three in England for the proportion who hold doctorates, who have higher degrees, and hold teaching qualifications (HESA 2022). So, you’ll learn from some of the best, helping you to be the best.
-
We are joint first in the country for National Teaching Fellowships, which mark the UK’s best lecturers in Higher Education, winning a total of 20 since 2008 (2022 data).
-
We won the first Global Teaching Excellence Award, recognising the University’s commitment to world-class teaching and its success in developing students as independent learners and critical thinkers (Higher Education Academy, 2017).
Placements
A significant amount of your learning also takes place whilst on placement where you’ll gain the practical skills to successfully work with adults and young people in the wide range of settings in which careers guidance is practiced. These include workplaces, the voluntary sector, higher and further education careers services, secondary education and the National Careers Service.
For those students undertaking the Qualification on Career Development Tthe course involves a compulsory work placement consisting of a minimum of 30 days. Typically, students are able to experience a placement involving a guidance agency and also within an education organisation e.g. a school/academy, or within Further/Higher Education. The aim of the placement is that students should have a wide-ranging experience of information, advice and guidance provision and should be strongly involved in developing practical skills within the guidance sector.