Unit

STEP Supporting Talent to Employment ProgrammeUnit 3

Maintain yourself in professional practice

Elements3.1Maintain and develop your own professional competence

3.2Establish and maintain working relationships with contacts in your profession

3.3Manage 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

Element 3.1 Maintain and develop your own professional competence

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 elementYour evidence must also show that you identify and work towards the following standards

standards set by other practitioners

the technical demands of individual piecesYour 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 practiceYour 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 internetExamples 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 diaryWritten 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 weaknessesWitness 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

Element 3.2Establish 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 countryWhat 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 peoples 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

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 databasesWritten or spoken reports

how you identify contacts who may be useful to you

Witness testimony

from a professional network or organisation

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

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 elementYour 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

schedulesWritten or spoken reports

why you chose particular goals

how you decided to prioritise one piece of work over anotherWitness testimony

from others involved in your work