Training & Certification

Next deadlines for accreditation portfolios: April 15, 2010 and June 30, 2010.

 

List of Certified Settlement Practitioners

AAISA is committed to facilitating the recognition of settlement and integration work as a profession.  As a result, AAISA is proud to offer the only accreditation program for settlement practitioners in Canada. This remarkable achievement has been an important step in fulfilling AAISA's goal of facilitating increased recognition of settlement work as a specialized profession, which requires a unique and specialized skill set.

Obtaining AAISA accreditation tells people, (clients, employers, funders and other human service professionals), that a settlement practitioner's credentials have been reviewed and evaluated as having met established standards for the settlement sector.

To apply for AAISA accreditation, you must be a “settlement practitioner” with one of the 20 member agencies of AAISA.  A settlement practitioner provides a range of specialized services to facilitate the orientation, integration, and settlement of newcomers to Canada so they can become actively engaged and acknowledged members of Canadian society.  (This excludes administrative and finance personnel, childcare workers, drivers, cooks, and language instructors and assessors.)

Summary of Requirements for Accreditation

There are 3 levels of accreditation:

• Level 2 Practitioner,
• Level 3 Practitioner,
• Mentor. 

Level 2 Practitioner

1. Documented Experience
• Minimum 24 months full time experience in Canada within previous 5 years
• Self-evaluation of 3-5 in 9 CORE functions

2. Documented Education/Training
• Minimum of 100 hours of training related to competencies

3. Foundational Knowledge and Skills
• Demonstration of training for 20/57 competencies in CORE areas
• Of these, a self evaluation rating of 3-5 for at least 15 competencies

Level 3 Practitioner

1. Documented Experience
• Minimum 5 years full time experience in Canada
• Self-evaluation of 5 in 9 CORE functions
• Rating of 3-5 in all functions of ONE option

2. Documented Education/Training
• Minimum of 200 hours of training related to competencies

3. Foundational Knowledge and Skills
• Demonstration of training for 45/57 competencies in CORE areas
• A self-evaluation rating of 4-5 for at least 15 competencies in either CORE or OPTIONAL areas

Mentor

1. Documented Experience
• Minimum 7 years full time experience in Canada
• Self-evaluation of 5 in 9 CORE functions
• Rating of 3-5 in all functions of ONE option

2. Documented Education/Training
• Minimum of 200 hours of training related to competencies

3. Foundational Knowledge and Skills
• Demonstration of training for 45/57 competencies in CORE areas.
• A self-evaluation rating of 5 for at least 15 competencies in either CORE or OPTIONAL areas.
• FIVE examples of leadership roles related to the competencies.

The Mentor level

The mentor level was initiated as a way to reflect a level of wisdom and expertise in the sector that is not reflected in the practitioner levels. It is not ‘more of ‘ but includes the practitioner level three plus an additional leadership and mentoring quality that supports the development of the settlement sector through supporting settlement practitioners, settlement organizations and the community in attaining the goals of the sector of – that of promoting full participation of immigrants and refugees in Canadian society.

Therefore I will attempt to define it more fully through the use of definitions and examples.

Leadership: Influencing, motivating and enabling others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are members.
(Canadian Organizational Behavior – Steven L. McShane)

Leadership at the mentor level would accordingly influence, motivate and enable others in their organizational settings and in the community to achieve greater success in accomplishing the goals and ideals of the settlement sector – this would include individual practitioners, immigrant serving organizations and community capacity building.

Leadership Examples:

1. Supervising, training, and managing performance of staff and volunteers who are practitioners in the settlement field.

2. Management/development at the organizational level in furthering the goals of settlement and integration through organizational leadership( i.e. program development, Executive Management)

3. Significant contribution at the community level through initiating and/or leading initiatives that increase the capacity of the ‘community' to provide settlement/ integration support to immigrants and refugees (diversity competency enhancement, community development)

4. Supporting processes within the global settlement sector for settlement practitioners and/or their organizations toward greater competency and professionalism( accreditation and professionalism)

5. Supporting good settlement practice at the policy level ( interfacing with policy makers)

Mentoring:

The process of learning the ropes of organizational life from a senior person within the company – (Canadian Organizational Behavior – Steven L. McShane)

Since the recognition we are offering to these individuals is at the mentor level – the role of such an individual is to be able in the broad sense to be a competent guide in the ways and ideals of the settlement sector for others who seek support in learning and growing. I think this is the optic and the value in having chosen to have a level 'mentor'.