As a vocational rehabilitation professional, you're dedicated to supporting clients achieve their career goals, including self-employment. To enhance your ability to guide them effectively, it's essential to assess and develop your own proficiency around self-employment. The Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC) Self-Employment Proficiency Scale is a valuable tool designed to help you do just that.
What Is the VRC Self-Employment Proficiency Scale?
Developed by the Center on Self-Employment, Business Ownership, and Telecommuting, the VRC Self-Employment Proficiency Scale assists VRCs and VR management in:
- Setting Realistic Expectations:
- Align your support for clients pursuing self-employment with your current proficiency level.
- Developing a Support System:
- Ensure all clients exploring or pursuing self-employment receive quality VR services, regardless of their counselor's proficiency.
The scale outlines three proficiency levels:
- Novice: Basic knowledge of self-employment concepts, policies, and procedures, typically gained through coursework.
- Competent: Applied experience in facilitating self-employment, capable of identifying patterns in common situations and deciding on appropriate actions.
- Expert: Extensive, applied experience, recognized as a mentor or technical expert within your organization.
It details 23 competencies, each with descriptors for the novice, competent, and expert levels. These competencies encompass various aspects of supporting self-employment, such as:
- Answering questions about self-employment options in an unbiased, empowering manner.
- Explaining the steps involved in self-employment.
- Assisting clients in developing business plans.
- Coordinating long-term supports for clients after case closure.
Why Use the Proficiency Scale?
By using this scale for self-assessment, you can:
- Identify areas for professional development.
- Ensure your clients receive consistent and effective support in their self-employment endeavors.
Discover Helpful Resources
Take a moment to reflect on your skills and discover helpful resources to boost your confidence to support clients on their self-employment journey: