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4.4 The assessors and advisers are constantly developing their professional skills It would be perfect if RPL assessors and advisers were aware of the need for continuous self-development arising from their role and would plan training courses accordingly. This can probably be most easily achieved in an organisation with an internal ethos that facilitates learning and development. It can be said with relative confidence that lack of time resulting from work overload is the main reason for giving up in-service training and other activities supporting self-development. However, this also means that individual development of both RPL assessors and advisers has to be consciously directed, allocating time for it and recognising individual development. Please note! The professional skills of RPL assessors and advisers, as well as the need for their development, can also be dealt with during development interviews or accreditation as part of the motivation scheme.
example
In the context of a development interview/accreditation, employees can use self-assessment as a learning method, providing them with an opportunity to think through and formulate clearly the roles of particular individuals in the assessment/advising process, and to identify best practices and significant issues.
In a situation where time resources are critical, the way the opportunities offered for self-development meet the expectations of participants is of central importance. They should not feel that they have wasted their time. It is difficult to apply the principle that every training course provides something useful if there is a lack of time, and the motivation to participate in subsequent training may suffer. In addition to external in-service training and seminars, it would be wise to provide RPL assessors and advisers with a variety of means of self-development; for example, opportunities for independent self-development (“study days�), internal training for selective sharing of the knowledge acquired (only focusing on the essential), exchange of written memos, round table discussions to share best practices with colleagues from their own and other educational institutions.