What is Continued Professional Development?
Becoming a Debt Counsellor
To become an NCR registered Debt Counsellor, suitable candidates have to complete a short course about the National Credit Act and then apply to the National Credit Regulator to practice as a Debt Counsellor.
After the NCR do some checks, they may issue the applicant with registration as a Debt Counsellor. The Debt Counsellor will receive an annual certificate (as long as they pay their fees) and a sticker to put outside their office.
Many people who complete the short course say they have a global view of the debt review process but they then have to start work as a Debt Counsellor to get practical hands on experience. This helps them go from theory to how things work in practice.
Most say it is a steep learning curve.
Running a Practice
Not only is debt counselling is a complex process but those who begin working in the industry soon find there are other complexities such as running an office, managing staff, paying bills and get new clients.
Add to these, requirements such as set by the Occupational Health & Safety Act, PoPI Act, Basic Conditions of Employment Act, the Magistrates Court Act and more.
Running a debt counselling practice is not for the faint of heart.
Even those who qualify while working for a practice or qualify then join an existing practice have lots to learn and lots to do.
Things Change
As with any legislation, there are areas of the National Credit Act which have only been clarified through legal action over the years.
There are other parts of the process which have no set rules. In many such areas the National Credit Regulator has tried to bring uniformity by issuing non binding guidelines on various topics.
Such guidelines occasionally have to be adjusted as they become out of date or as new court cases give clarity or new related legislation comes out.
All this means that debt review as it is done today is not the same as 15, 10 or even 5 years ago. Those stuck in the past, often find they run into push back from industry role players or even fall afoul of the Regulator.
Continued Professional Development
In most established industries (Yes, debt counselling is now almost at that point), industry parties or industry bodies drive initiatives to help keep registrants up to date with the current industry landscape.
It is aimed at helping registrants learn and improve skills and expand their knowledge.
This is sometimes done via self learning, workshops, conferences, online course, industry reading or professional networks.
Keeping Track
Many times, CPD is linked to some system of measuring participation in such ongoing learning. This could be a points system with professional development points or units.
Attending or participating in such continued professional development in one form or another gives the registrant access to a certain amount of points and these contribute towards an annual goal.
So, they may attend a workshop at the start of the year and get some points, read some articles during the year and get points and attend a professional conference near the end of the year and receive points. These add up across the months and progressively help the registrant achieve their annual target.
The point is not to make such learning impossible or complicated. Rather it should be simple and easy to access with realistic goals.
Debt Counsellors and CPD
There is a growing push by various industry parties to see such continued professional development processes put in place for Debt Counsellors.
This will help those who have registered for a both a short or even a long time to keep up to date with new developments in the industry.
Associations like DCASA and NDCA have lots of members and will probably play a crucial role in any such developments. Debtfree Magazine will also be a source of industry reading.
It remains to see exactly how continued professional development will role out in the debt review industry but it is a good thing which can help keep Debt Counsellors learning and improving their skills.
You can click the button below to complete a small review of this article and see what this process is like:
Please note that this is for NCR registered Debt Counsellors only and for illustrative purposes
