aerial photo of the campus in the fall season

CUPE Career and Professional Development

VIU and CUPE committed to develop a process to support and provide feedback for the professional development and career success of CUPE members. This was initiated through bargaining under Letter of Agreement (LOA) 3 and has come to fruition with the CUPE Career & Professional Development (CPD) plan. It has been designed to be a voluntary and supportive process available for CUPE employees after they pass probation. The steps below will guide you through developing your plan.

You are here because you are interested in learning more about professional development. Start with watching the LinkedIn Learning video on How to develop your career plan (24min) to understand what career planning and professional development means. 

You need access to VIU's LinkedIn Learning. To request access, email Employee.Training@viu.ca.

To help you know if starting a Career and Professional Development (CPD) plan is right for you, meet with your manager to start the discussion. During the meeting, focus on these discussion points:

  1. What initially interested you in professional development?
  2. Is there a desired outcome you want to achieve?
  3. What would this outcome look like?

An additional resource you can watch is the LinkedIn Learning video on “Build a personal learning plan and stick with it” (51min) to strengthen your understanding of how to assess your own strengths and weaknesses, identifying barriers, broadening your knowledge on the types of learning and resources, and the importance of celebrating progress and success. This video will assist you in understanding the concepts that are within Form 1: CUPE Career & Professional Development plan (form available in Step 4 of this guide).

Review

. Read over the four (4) parts to get a sense of the flow of the plan. Meet with your manager to begin to work through Part 1. After you work through Part 1, move to Step 5 of this guide.

Note: there are two options for Form 1. The difference is in Part 2 of the form. See below under "CUPE Career & Professional Development Forms" for both options (self-assessment open field option or rating option). 

In Form 1: Part 2, you have an option to gather feedback to help you with your self-assessment (see Form 1: Part 2 for details). This is optional and if you choose to utilize this opportunity, the information gathered can be kept private to only yourself. You have two options to gather feedback:

  1. An assessment survey sent to a handful of colleagues, of your choosing, to help inform your self-assessment.
  2. sent by yourself to a mentor/respected colleague(s) of your choosing to solicit feedback on the competencies within Part 2.

After you receive your feedback, return to Form 1: Part 2, then move to Step 6 of this guide.

Return to 

to continue developing your goals and establishing your progress review. Your manager can be a resource to assist you in crafting your Action Plan.

Staying on track with your Action Plan is important. Some helpful tips are:

  • Set task reminders for your objectives
  • Schedule your progress review meetings with your manager ahead of time
  • Print off your Action Plan and post it as a visual reminder

Use 

during the meetings with your manager. 

Available Resources

There are various resources available to assist CUPE employees and managers to work through the Career & Professional Development plan.

The following supports are available to help you succeed in achieving the objectives you outline in your CPD plan.

The following LinkedIn Learning videos are available to assist you working through the CUPE CPD plan material.

The following LinkedIn Learning videos are available to assist you in supporting your CUPE employees as they develop their CUPE CPD plan and work through the process. 

Do I have to work through the CUPE CPD plan with my manager or can I select a different manager at VIU?

The materials are constructed assuming that you would work with your current manager. However, there may be instances where working with another manager in a different department may be more appropriate or preferred. For example, your CUPE CPD plan focuses on career development and you wish to progress into a different department. If you do wish to work with another manager on your CUPE CPD plan, you will need to receive that manager’s agreement.

Reach out to your HR Advisor if you need assistance in making connections with a manager in another department.

I do not wish to use the feedback options. Do I need to select the survey or the informal feedback request form?

No. Requesting feedback in Form 1 – Part 2: Self-Assessment of Competencies is optional. You do not have to choose to include the feedback options.

If I choose the feedback option of the survey, who receives the survey information?

The survey data is collated by HR and emailed to you directly. You can choose to include it in Form 1 – Part 2: Self-Assessment of Competencies.

Do I have to select 5 people for the survey to be sent to?

No. It is recommended to select between 3 to 5 people so that you can receive an average rating on the competencies.

Is the survey information used by VIU?

No. The information received on the survey is only used for the purposes of your CUPE CPD plan. The data is not kept once it is provided to you.

I feel like there is specific training I need in order to do my job well. Should I initiate a CUPE CPD plan?

If there is specific training your manager has recommended or is a requirement of your position, speak to your manager or your HR Advisor. Required training is provided by VIU. That training would be provided with or without a CUPE CPD plan.

If the training is not specifically required of your role, but you feel specific training would help you in your role, there are options available to obtain that training, and completing a CPD plan should help identify training options.

Can I start a CUPE CPD plan while in my probationary period?

The CUPE CPD plan is not for use by CUPE employees who are in their probationary period.

Is the CUPE CPD plan available for regular and temporary employees?

Yes, the CUPE CPD plan is available to both regular and temporary employees who have passed their probationary periods and would like to engage in career and professional development planning.

My CUPE CPD plan requires more financial resources than what is provided by VIU. How do I pay for my CPD plan?

The CUPE CPD plan is self-initiated and developed by yourself. VIU does have some financial resources provided through CUPE Learning and Development and the Tuition Waiver program. There are other resources for training available through LinkedIn Learning, Homewood Health, and Mindwell U.

Can I have more than one CUPE CPD plan at the same time?

No. It is recommended that you focus on one CUPE CPD plan as this will help focus your efforts and increase your chances of success.

What CUPE CPD activities can I do during my work day?

Self-directed professional development is detailed in Article 20 of the collective agreement and is generally done on an employee’s own time. Employees may rearrange their work schedule to enable them to attend courses during their normal working hours with approval of their administrative supervisor.

Planning time in consultation with your manager may be done during working hours. This includes meeting with your manager and working through the CPD form.