STEP Supporting Talent to Employment Programme

Unit 3
Elements

Maintain yourself in professional practice

3.1
3.2
3.3

Maintain and develop your own professional competence

Establish and maintain working relationships with contacts in
your profession
Manage your own work

Unit Summary
This unit covers all the key aspects you need to maintain yourself in professional practice
continuing professional development, effective networking, managing own work
Element 1 covers your ability to identify the standards which are expected of professionals
in your industry. This can relate not only to knowledge and technique, but also other broader
skills such as time-keeping, reliability and attitudes and ways of behaving which are vital to
your professional reputation. It also covers keeping up to date with professional standards,
setting yourself targets for your own improvement, and allowing yourself enough time to
ensure you improve are also covered in this element
Element 2 covers your ability to seek out organisations and individuals who are influential
and important in terms of your work, and to build and maintain contact with them. This can
cover a very wide range of people and organisations; you need to be clear about who you
make contact with, and why. Contacts would include artists you might work with in future, or
professional bodies who might represent your interests are examples
Element 3 is about setting goals for your work, prioritising different pieces1 of work according
to their importance and urgency, estimating and managing the time and resources you need
to complete work on time, keeping interruptions and diversions to a minimum and
rescheduling work when necessary
1

pieces of work would vary with the artform eg delivering workshops, performing, developing artwork

Element 3.1 Maintain and develop your own professional competence

What you need to do

What you need to know and understand

the nature of your industry and its

role in society

ii

what you can learn by listening to,

and appraising, the activities and
achievements of other professionals

iii

how to recognise the technical

demands imposed on you by different
aspects of your practice, and by usual
ways of working

iv

how to identify and review your own

skills against industry standards

relevant legislation and compliance

e.g.
employment law, insurance, health and
safety and safeguarding children and
vulnerable adults

vi

how to identify areas for development

and set objectives

vii

how often you should update your

development objectives, and why this
should be a continual process

viii

how to estimate the time and

resources you need

ix

how your area of work is evolving,

what forces affect it, and what sorts of
information and systems you can use

industry organisations and other

sources of information, including
computer-based information, that you
can use to keep yourself up-to-date

identify the professional standards

expected in your area of work, by
referring to appropriate sources of
information
accurately identify your own skills and
competences, and review these against
the relevant standards

identify both general areas for

development and specific objectives2 for
improving your own practice

make sure you are legally compliant

choose objectives for improvement that

are challenging, realistic and achievable

regularly update your development

objectives

make sure you devote enough time and

resources to development to enable you
to reach your objectives

evaluate the history, significance and

forces affecting your area of work, and
use this to inform your professional
activities

objectives here means tangible goals, aims, purpose

or intention

Evidence requirements

Examples of evidence

You must prove that you maintain and develop your

own professional competence to a competent standard
To do this you must provide evidence to convince your
assessor that you consistently meet all the
performance criteria

Work activities

setting standards to assist your own

improvement

Your evidence must be the result of real work activities

undertaken by yourself. Evidence from simulated
activities is not acceptable for this element

keeping up to date with the work of others

Your evidence must also show that you

identify and work towards the following
standards

standards set by other practitioners

the technical demands of individual pieces

Your evidence must also show that you

identify and develop the following skills and
competences

technical skills in your area of work

broader occupational skills required in
professional practice

Products or outcomes

file of material showing how you keep up to

date with developments

your targets for improvement

a practice log or diary

Written or spoken reports

how you have used the example of other

practitioners to guide your own development

how you have identified your own strengths

and weaknesses

Your evidence must also show that you

access and use the following information
sources

Witness testimony

Media technology

publications
professional networks
personal contacts
programmes and events in your area of work
the internet

from a coach or teacher, detailing your ability

to achieve targets for improvement, and the
realism and challenge of your targets

how you have used technology eg.

film/video, audio, power point presentations

Element 3.2 Establish and maintain working relationships with contacts in your
profession
What you need to do

What you need to know and understand

review the activities of other

practitioners and organisations, and
assess their impact on the profession

ii
b

c
d
e

seek out contacts whose activities can

benefit your own work, and to whom
your own work can offer benefits

professional networks within your

area of work
industry organisations

iii

how to collect and review information

to assess the impact of other peoples
activities

communicate with contacts in a

professional manner

iv

what others are doing, and how your

own work relates to that

allow sufficient time to maintain

relationships with your contacts

how to communicate in ways which

maintain professional integrity

establish professional contacts in at

least one other European country

vi

how to estimate and plan for the time

needed to maintain contacts

vii

your work in a European context

Evidence requirements

Examples of evidence

You must prove that you establish and maintain

working relationships with contacts in your profession
to a competent standard.

Work activities

To do this you must provide evidence to convince your

assessor that you consistently meet all the
performance criteria
Your evidence must be the result of real work activities
undertaken by yourself. Evidence from simulated
activities is not acceptable for this element

Your evidence must also show that you

establish and maintain the following
contacts:

with individuals
with organisations

researching new contacts

keeping in touch with existing contacts

Products or outcomes

correspondence files with existing contacts

contacts lists or databases

Written or spoken reports

how you identify contacts who may be useful

to you

Witness testimony

from a professional network or organisation

Element 3.3 Manage your own work

What you need to do

What you need to know and understand

have clear goals for the work that you

undertake

the importance of having clear goals

for your work

prioritise different areas of your work

according to their importance and
urgency

ii

how to prioritise work according to its

importance and urgency

iii
c

plan your work so that you can achieve

these goals

the importance of planning your work

and different planning aids you can use

iv
d

estimate the time and resources you will

need to complete different pieces of
work as planned

how to maintain a clear focus on your

work and not be diverted by other things

focus on your goals and try to keep

interruptions and diversions to a
minimum

how to review the progress you are

making and when and how to
reschedule activities

vi

regularly review what progress you are

making towards your goals and replan
and reschedule work accordingly

achieve a healthy work / life balance

how to comply with legislation

Evidence requirements

Examples of evidence

You must prove that you manage your own work to a

competent standard

Work activities

To do this you must provide evidence to convince your

assessor that you consistently meet all the
performance criteria
Your evidence must be the result of real work activities
undertaken by yourself. Evidence from simulated
activities is not acceptable for this element

Your evidence must also show that you estimate

and plan all the following resources

money
equipment
materials
other people

planning pieces of work or larger projects

Products or outcomes

diaries

planners

schedules

Written or spoken reports

why you chose particular goals

how you decided to prioritise one piece of

work over another

Witness testimony

from others involved in your work