CCDP: Certified Career Development Professional

CCDP Pathways:

The CCDP was officially launched on April 28th, 2005 at the CDAA Annual General Meeting held in Edmonton, Alberta. The CCDP designation recognizes career development as a specialized field of practice with professional standards for its practitioners.

Since the initial Grand-fathering period closed in 2005, the CCDP credential continues to be awarded to those members who completed a post secondary training program in career development.  In May 2010, the CCDP process was expanded to include an alternative route based on experience in the career development field.  In short, there is now an education and an employment pathway as a means for members to obtain their credential. The two options are summarized as follows:

The CCDP designation is only open to CDAA members. If you are not a member of the CDAA and would like to apply for the CCDP designation, you must start the CCDP process by first completing the CDAA Membership application form.

Members of the CDAA who have the required qualifying work experience and educational credentials and wish to apply for CCDP designation can start by reading the CCDP Application Guide (Microsoft Word; link will open a new browser window). The Guide outlines the CCDP criteria and the application process. The CDAA Registrar, Alice Funk, would be happy to answer any questions you may have about the CCDP designation.

After consulting with the Registrar, download and complete the appropriate application form. This form is designed to be completed using a computer; please do not fill it out by hand. The application form must be accompanied by all supporting documentation, including three Reference Questionnaires. Please have three professional references complete the Reference Questionnaire (MS Word; link will open a new browser window). This form is also designed to be completed using a computer. Have your references return the Questionnaires to you in signed, sealed envelopes. Include these envelopes as attachments to your application.

Once you have completed the application form and have collected all supporting documentation, sign the form where required, make a photocopy for your own records and send the original along with the required fee to the CDAA for processing. The fee covers the cost of administering your application and reviewing your credentials. The fee is non-refundable. The fee schedule is as follows:

Schedule of Fees

Mail your application to the CDAA Registrar.

Please note: Applications are received on an on-going basis and are reviewed monthly.

A Registry of those holding a valid CCDP designation will be maintained by the CDAA Registrar who will be able to confirm CCDP status on request.

Find out why practitioners may want to become Certified Career Development Professionals, the history of the initiative, and the committee members who currently volunteer to do this work.