Global Career Development Facilitator Romania: Training Evaluation and Job Analysis

The Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) Romania training program was the focus of the current study. GCDF is a paraprofessional certification program in the field of career counseling and development, which was created in the United States by the Center for Credentialing and Education, and was adapted to Romanian needs with the intention of preparing career specialists and of developing a national certification system. This cross-sectional quantitative study had two purposes: to evaluate the GCDF Romania training program and to conduct a job analysis of the tasks performed by Romanian GCDF career consultants. Kirkpatrick\u27s model was used in designing and conducting the training evaluation. The learning and behavior levels of this model were assessed. Learning was measured through self-reported preparedness ratings of the Romanian GCDF career consultants. Behavior was assessed through self-reported frequency and importance of the GCDF tasks performed by participants, in their career counseling related work places. The job analysis was grounded in the literature on subject matter experts (SMEs) and job analysis questionnaires. It included the frequency and importance ratings, and the tasks performed by the participants, but which were not covered by the GCDF curriculum. The results suggested a positive evaluation of the GCDF Romania training program. The job analysis indicated that most tasks performed by Romanian GCDF in their career counseling related work places are covered by the Romanian GCDF curriculum. The level of preparedness reported by the respondents was influenced by participants\u27 educational background, their GCDF trainer status, and by the institution in which the GCDF training occurred. The frequency with which Romanian GCDF career consultants performed GCDF tasks at their career counseling work places was influenced by their current job function, by the type of organizations in which they worked, and by the percentages of career counseling related tasks in their jobs. The latter demographic variable also influenced the importance ratings. Limitations of the currents study are analyzed. Its implications are discussed, especially in the context of the Romanian GCDF curriculum and of the development of the career counseling profession in Romania. Suggestions for improving the GCDF Romania curriculum are made