ABSTRACT
Practitioner Summary ............................................................................................ 165 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 166 Initial Professional Development ........................................................................... 167 Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other Factors .................................................... 167 The Professional Development Process ................................................................. 167
Knowledge and Educational Standards ........................................................ 168 Knowledge and HF/E Professional Standards .............................................. 168
Skills ...................................................................................................................... 169 Abilities and Other Factors .................................................................................... 171 Being a Useful Graduate ........................................................................................ 172 The Education-Practice Gap .................................................................................. 172
What More Could Universities Do? ............................................................. 173 Applied, Scenario-Based Assessment ............................................... 173 Developing Professional Skills ......................................................... 174 Careful Project Selection .................................................................. 174
What More Could Employers Do? ............................................................... 175 Codesigning Content, Methods, and Assessments ........................... 175 Sponsorship and Work Placements ................................................... 175 Project Opportunities ........................................................................ 175
What More Could Early Career Practitioners Do? ....................................... 176 Make Use of Opportunities Afforded by Afliation with
Academic Institutions ........................................................ 176 Get a Mentor ..................................................................................... 176 Keep Current ..................................................................................... 176
Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 177 References .............................................................................................................. 177
constraints. The development of these KSAOs occurs as part of initial professional development (IPD) and continuous professional development (CPD) throughout a practitioner’s career. IPD is a fundamental step toward formal professional recognition and demands input from academic institutions, trainee and mentor practitioners, and employers. Academic institutions try to ensure that practitioners develop skills and underlying knowledge such that graduates are useful to employers from the outset. But academic institutions work within constraints placed on them by academic regulation and available time, and cannot provide everything required. HF/E students must be active learners and look to develop real-world skills. Mentor practitioners need to help develop skills and knowledge, particularly in light of the realities of particular market requirements. Employers must accept that students will not emerge from university courses as fully capable for independent HF/E work, and will need time and resources to continue their development.
