The University of King’s College, in partnership with CIM|Chartered Managers Canada, has launched an innovative new Pathway to Management Recognition to help liberal arts graduates attain professional certifications that recognize skills gained through their working and civic lives.
Funded by the Province of Nova Scotia’s Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration, the initiative uses online Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) to assess and credential management competencies that graduates have developed through the contributions they make in workplace or community settings.
Participants use evidence from their work to demonstrate their management skills against a professional learning standard, earning digital badges for areas of competence and building toward two professional designations: Certified in Management (C.I.M.®) and Chartered Manager (C.Mgr.®).
The initiative is open to liberal arts graduates living in Nova Scotia, regardless of which university they attended, and will be offered free-of-cost until March 2028 or until the training levy is exhausted.
The partnership represents an innovative step that expands the role of a university, formally recognizing that some of the most important learning in a person’s life continues after graduation and outside the campus walls.
“A liberal arts education builds the foundation for a life of contribution. So many of our alumni go on to be successful administrators, managers and leaders in workplaces and communities across the province and country. This initiative gives us a new way to recognize and mobilize that talent, making an important contribution to building a more skilled and adaptable workforce,” says Dr. Tim Vine, President and Vice-Chancellor of King’s. “I am delighted that King’s can contribute to Nova Scotia’s rapid-skilling agenda in an innovative way that supports graduates—and reinforces the enduring strength of a university community bonded by lifelong learning.”
The initiative was designed to serve two types of graduates:
- Those who already demonstrate management competencies, for whom the initiative provides a way to receive clear recognition for what they know and can do.
- Those building their foundational management skills, who can use the framework as a map for self-initiated professional development that shows them the terminology, practices and work outputs associated with professional management and gives them a clear path for developing their capabilities on the job.
“Formal education can accelerate and structure the development of management capability, but the capability itself is built through experience and demonstrated in practice,” says Belinda Riles, C.Mgr., Maritime Chapter Chair for CIM | Chartered Managers Canada. “This initiative gives us a rigorous way to assess what people have learned through their work against the same professional standard, without requiring them to return to the classroom to learn what they already know. By bringing that process online, we can make professional recognition more accessible while maintaining the standards expected of a professional manager.”
Recognition of Prior Learning Accomplished Online in Increments for Busy Professionals
Participants will use narrative reflection, work artifacts and witnesses to establish their competency in each area, assessed and validated by third-party industry professionals who hold the Chartered Manager designation.
Training items and units will be recognized with digital badges, allowing participants to build a record of demonstrated competencies incrementally. Those who complete the four core units plus four elective units will have completed the educational requirement for the professional designations Certified in Management and Chartered Manager without needing to return to school.
The Contribution Exchange, an organization focused on advancing learning rooted in lived experience and purposeful contribution, is the service delivery partner working with King’s on the initiative. “If we take lifelong learning seriously, we have to recognize that learning continues after graduation and throughout a person’s working life,” says Jeremy McQuigge, C.Mgr., and Secretary-General of the Contribution Exchange. “That raises an interesting question about how a university can continue to support graduates after they complete their studies. We’re thrilled to support the innovative approach King’s is exploring to offer one answer—allowing the university to continue as a contribution broker throughout a person’s working life.”
For King’s, the project reflects a conviction in the value of a liberal arts education that helps develop people who can make sense of complexity, exercise judgment, adapt to new circumstances and continue learning. These are capacities that matter across the many forms of life in which graduates participate—from civic and community life to the workplace.
“Management is a profession, and professional standing has to be earned by meeting a standard, not assumed from a job title,” says Dr. Matthew Jelavic, C.Mgr., Chief Executive Officer of CIM | Chartered Managers Canada. “The liberal arts develop the judgment that good management depends on, and many of their graduates are already managing well. This pathway lets them prove it. The route is new. The standard is not.”
The University of King’s College recognizes the support of the Province of Nova Scotia through the Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration.
Banner Photo by CoWomen on Unsplash
