In this ever-changing landscape of professional practice, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) continues to validate its commitment to elevate Filipino professionals' professional standards, even during this challenging time.
As part of its Professional Development Plan, PRC endeavors to create career roadmaps for Professional Excellence to enable the professionals to possess higher proficiency and advanced skills set recognition for local and overseas opportunities. With this, the PRC through the various Professional Regulatory Boards (PRBs), and in consultation with the Accredited Professional Organization/ Accredited Integrated Professional Organization, the Civil Service Commission, and other concerned government agencies and stakeholders, is now in the process of formulating and implementing quality assured Career Progression and Specialization Programs (CPSP) as part of its mandate in spearheading the development of the Professional Career Progression and Specialization.
As part of its policy initiatives, the PRC initially mandated creating the Career Progression and Specialization Program and Credit Accumulation and Transfer System (CPSP-CATS) Committee for each of the regulated professions.
Further, the PRB CPSP-CATS Committee will provide assured quality standards consistent with the Philippine industries' job requirements and demands and career progression mechanisms leading to specializations/sub-specializations. Aside from this, they shall develop a quality assured mechanism for the validation, accreditation, and recognition of formal, nonformal, and informal learning outcomes, including professional work experiences and prior learning. These professional specific training standards and qualifications aligned with industry standards and the international qualifications framework shall be the basis for conferring professional qualification titles.
Likewise, as the CPD Act (RA 10912) provides a mechanism that allows competencies and credit units from the CPD activities earned, to be accumulated and transferred through Pathways and Equivalencies, CPD Activities that can contribute to the Program and Learning Outcomes of a particular Qualification can carry a Qualification Framework (QF) Credit. These can be achieved through the CATS. Modes of learning such as formal education, professional work experience, and recognition of prior learning, can allow a professional to progress from one qualification to another and be conferred a Qualification Title through government recognition, validation, and accreditation when applied with the PRB CPSP-CATS Committee.
The CPSP and CATS will enhance recognition of Philippine qualifications' value and comparability, significantly supporting the mobility of Filipino professionals globally through mutually recognized qualifications.
To orient its relevant stakeholders on the CPSP-CATS programs and policies of the PRC, a webinar on “The Professional Development Plan-Creating Career Roadmaps for Professional Excellence” via Microsoft Teams and Facebook live was conducted on 14 August 2020 to inform the public of the relevant concepts and frameworks of the CPSP and its relevance to professional development. The webinar, receiving a total of 16,948 registrants, serves as a timely response to the requirements and demands of local industries as well as the higher professional qualifications to meet globally acceptable standards. Highlights of the webinar include the discussion on the relevance of CPSP to professional development, the Philippines Qualifications Framework (PQF) and ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework (AQRF) and its Relationship to CPSP, the development of CPSP for professionals and its phases, procedures in the conferment of title, the CPSP structural organization, and functions, the CPSP Pathways for Electronics Engineering, and lastly, the composition and duties of the CPSP-CATS Committee. The ten (10) esteemed resource speakers were Commissioners Yolanda D. Reyes and Jose Y. Cueto, Jr., Hon. Melinda L. Garcia, Hon. Carmelita T. Pabiton, Hon. Cecilia Herras-Tence, Hon. Hermigio J. Orbe, Hon. Glenda S. Arquiza, and Ms. Maria Cecille P. Fernando, while Ms. Perla Gonzales Po facilitated the open forum. PRC Chairman Teofilo S. Pilando, Jr. also participated in the webinar with his welcome remarks. Participants in Microsoft Teams and Facebook live streaming after answering the feedback form were given e-Certificates equivalent to four (4) Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credit units.
With the success of the first CPSP webinar having a total viewership of 156,000 nationwide, all relevant stakeholders and the public will expect more webinars from PRC to ensure the continuum in implementing this Commission CPSP-CATS programs even in this time of global health crisis.
The PRC with the PRBs will continue to undertake collaborative efforts with all relevant stakeholders to institutionalize policies, mechanisms, and systems in developing globally qualified Filipino Professionals.
