About Us
The College’s authority to enforce standards & specific competencies derives from a global commitment of the Registrants to demonstrate their unique level of skills & competencies to those seeking their expertise & the public at large. The consumers of these services know & can take comfort in knowing that the professionals they are hiring have had their minimum level of competency evaluated.
Registrants of the College began a process of transformation from an association to a voluntary self-regulated college similar to many other professional groups who eventually became government regulated bodies.
The first stage was establishing a membership body (VRA Canada) & from there came the following developments & evolution: Accredited Rehabilitation Worker (ARW), progressed to Accredited Rehabilitation Professional (ARP), to Registered Rehabilitation Professional (RRP), to Certified Vocational Rehabilitation Professional (CVRP). The next & final step would be to seek government regulation &/or accreditation.
CVRP is continuing to work towards this highest level of validation of the uniqueness of the special skills & competencies of our Registrants, as compared to others without this demonstrated knowledge. This shows stakeholders & the public, how & why Registrants are qualified to do what they do &, as a result of certification requirements, are being recognized via government & stakeholder tender requirements. This is now occurring due to the peer review competency board exams & related peer review processes. Without which, anyone can claim to be qualified or claim to be competent by simply reporting employment in a particular job which, in itself, does not validate one’s knowledge & competency. This is the profession evolved from designations like the ARW to an ARP, to an RRP, to becoming certified (CVRP).
It is in best the interest of the public & Registrants that the College establish & maintain standards as it raises the profile of Registrants & their earned credentials in the marketplace.
The profession is small in Canada as compared to other professions (physicians, occupational therapists, registered nurses, lawyers, accountants, etc.) & if the College were at this time to pursue provincial legislation in each province granting legal authority, to either self or government regulation, this would result in a large number of our Registrants regressing at least a decade in professional development. As many provinces in Canada have only a few professionals doing this work, consequently, it is not financially viable to pursue legislation at this stage.
The latest example of this is the profession of Kinesiology in Canada. Currently Kinesiologists are only government regulated in Ontario. The rest of the Kins, residing or practicing in other provinces in Canada, are not. Also, the Canadian Association of Certified Counselors are also working towards government regulation. So, do the profession regress or move forward to protect the unique set of valued skills? If VR professionals do not continue with development as a unique profession, other government regulated bodies could adopt the VR scopes of practice. The profession will not be permitted to perform most of the work we do.
This progress of professional certification has been established in the USA for decades through bodies such as the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) & the International Commission on Health Care Certification (ICHCC) for life care planners or the life care certifying body for RNs, the Certified Nurse Life Care Planner (CNLCP), or the life care planning certification body for physicians, the Certified Physician Life Care Planner (CPLCP) & other professional groups certifying vocational evaluators, the American Board of Vocational Experts (ABVE), & case managers, the Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCMC).
The College of Vocational Rehabilitation Professionals is here to support like-minded professionals who want to demonstrate to stakeholders, via formal written examination of their skills, peer reviews, & other requirements, why the profession is qualified & why it meets the highest standards.
The College is a regulating body of professionals who want the highest standards for themselves & the public they serve. The College sets requirements & standards & has a complaints process for the public to avail itself. It is the certification process that protects the Registrants as they have professional guidelines which they must follow.
These steps are proving to be of great benefit to the public as witnessed by the limited number of complaints the College has received, especially since the established certification process for those doing transferable skills analysis (TSA) & vocational evaluations (VEs). The Colleges certification processes are proving to be of benefit to those who become certified, demonstrating that the training & requirements of the profession are working for all.