Your portfolio must contain all of the following components. Each component serves an important purpose.

 

1) Competency Table

2) "Who I Am and What I Do" document (WIA)

3) Experience files 

4) Evidence files

5) Avalanche Work Resume

 

Details and templates for each of these required components can be found in the respective dropdown section below.

 

*It is your responsibility to create and deliver everything that is needed for your portfolio. You should have it proofread by someone to make sure the content and numerical references are correct. We recommend including your name in each document filename you are submitting.

 

The following flowchart and steps outlined below are a suggested method for building your portfolio. Additional details for each component are also provided in subsequent sections. The contents of your portfolio should be as brief as possible, while at the same time contain sufficient detail to prove that you are competent in the knowledge and skills required to be a CAA Avalanche Professional.

 

 

Step 1: Preparation

• Review the Avalanche Professional competency profile, assessment venues, and proficiency scale.
• Review the portfolio templates and the portfolio instructions in their entirety to ensure you understand what is required for each component. Note that the competency table template shows which competencies to include in your portfolio and indicates which ones require evidence.
• Review the samples, FAQs, and evidence examples provided in the resource section below.

 

Step 2: Who I Am and What I Do

• Using the WIA template, write a rough draft of your "Who I Am and What I Do" (WIA) document. This is effectively your professional autobiography.
  
• For each competency you discuss in your WIA document, write "WIA" in the corresponding "Where competency is discussed" cell of your Competency Table. It is likely that you will be able to cover many of the individual competencies with this description.
• Review which competencies were not addressed by your draft WIA. If possible, revise your WIA to address more competencies (and update the competency table accordingly).
  

Step 3: Experiences

• Identify which competencies were not addressed by your final WIA document.
• Using the experience template, write about specific experiences you had at work to demonstrate that you have achieved the remaining competencies. Typically an applicant will need to write one to four experiences to cover all of the required competencies. Each experience should be saved separately and be given a unique file name and number (ex. Experience1 - avalanche control, Experience2 - terrain mapping).
• It is common for a single competency to be discussed in your WIA and in more than one experience. That is OK and is in fact helpful to prove your capabilities and understanding.
• For each experience you create, enter the experience # in the "Where competency is discussed" cell of your Competency Table for each competency addressed by the experience.
• Double check that you have addressed all competencies required by your portfolio.

Step 4: Evidence files

• Identify which competencies require evidence.
• For each competency needing evidence, create an evidence file in electronic form that supports what you say in your corresponding WIA and experience sections. Save each evidence file with a unique name/number (ex. Evidence1 - log book, Evidence2 - SW map).
• Fill in the "Description of supporting evidence" and "Evidence #" columns of your Competency Table.
• Double check that you have provided evidence for all competencies that require it.

Step 5: Resume

• This is a summary of your career, you do not need to go into detail about how you meet any competencies in this document.
• Input your avalanche related work and experience into the Avalanche Work Resume template. Complete all columns for each role you held. 
• You do not need to include any recreational activities or non-avalanche related work.

 

Step 6: Review

• Confirm that all required competencies are discussed and contain evidence where needed. Are all data fields in the template forms complete?
• Have you entered the correct file names/numbers and pages in the competency table?
• Proofread everything for spelling and grammatical errors.
• We recommend creating a list of all of the documents needed to make up your portfolio. The number of documents needed for your portfolio will not necessarily be the same as another applicants.

Validation: Review which competencies require validation (as indicated in the Avalanche Professional Competency Profile and Competency Table template).  Each of these competencies must be validated by at least one of your references. You must therefore select references who are familiar with your skills and knowledge in these areas. All efforts should be made to have references that are CAA Avalanche Professional Members. 

 

Step 7: Submit

• Submit your portfolio to the CAA according to the Avalanche Professional membership application instructions.
• You will be asked to upload your WIA, experience(s), and evidence file(s) as part of the application form.
• It is your responsibility to ensure that you have uploaded all of the documents needed by your portfolio. Refer to the list you made in step five to ensure you have uploaded everything!
  
  

The “Who I Am and What I Do” (WIA) document provides an overview of who you are, the role you have in avalanche work, and what you do within that role on a daily basis. You are showing how you meet the proficiency level for as many of the competencies required by your portfolio as possible. You are also providing the assessment team with general context about who you are and your background.

 

WIA Template for Professional Membership

Your WIA document should be as brief as possible, but must contain sufficient detail to prove you are proficient in the competencies discussed.

• Create your WIA document using the WIA template for Professional membership. Click in the text boxes (coloured green in the image below) to enter data.

• Be sure to complete the section of the template about your first aid requirements and knowledge.

 

 Screenshot of the WIA template. Click inside of the boxes (highlighted here in green) to enter text.

 

• Compare your draft against the list of required competencies in the competency table:
  • Write the number for each competency discussed in your WIA at the end of the applicable sentence or paragraph (see image above).
  • Use the list of competencies as a checklist to identify which competencies are not included in your WIA document.  Update your WIA to talk about the "missing" competencies if possible.
  • Competencies that are not discussed in your final WIA document need to be  described by specific experiences you had in formal avalanche operations (see Experiences section below). 

 

Questions and details to think about as you develop the "Who I Am and What I Do" description of experience for your portfolio:

• Introduce yourself and briefly itemize your relevant work and educational history.
• Describe a typical day at your avalanche related occupation.
• What are your specific responsibilities, roles or duties as an avalanche worker? How do those duties contribute to the operational objectives?
• Include any relevant skills and non-avalanche specific or recreational activities that contribute to your capabilities as an avalanche worker.

 

Your Experience file(s) describe how you meet the proficiency level of competencies that are not addressed by your WIA document. They are descriptions of events that you participated in at the workplace. Typically, an applicant will need to include one to four experiences to cover all of the required competencies.

 

Experience Template for Professional Membership

 

Be sure to identify:

• Where and when the experience took place.
• What happened.
• Who was with you (supervisor? public?).
• Relevant data (weather? snowpack conditions?).
• Assessments and/or decisions you made.
• What you did.
• What the outcome was.

*Use a separate copy of the experience template for Professional membership for each experience and save each file numbered in order (Ex. Experience 1, Experience 2, etc.). Similar to the WIA template, click on the data boxes to enter text.

 

The competency table is used to link all of the components in your portfolio together.  It identifies which parts of you "Who I Am" document, experiences, and evidence files apply to each competency. 

 

Competency Table Template for Professional Membership: 

The competency table template shows you which competencies must be included in your portfolio and which of these competencies also require evidence. Additionally, it indicates which competencies need to be validated by your References. Once completed, the competency table enables you and the assessment team to confirm that all required competencies have been fully addressed by your portfolio.

 

*ALL competencies listed in the the Competency Table template must be addressed by your portfolio, and you must include evidence for all competencies which required evidence (see image below). 

 

*Text can only be entered in the white data entry boxes of the template; if a cell is grey and you cannot type in it then the corresponding information is not required. Your completed application should contain information in every white text box.

 

 

 

 The text boxes in the competency table template identify which areas are to be completed by the applicant, including which competencies require evidence.

 

• For every competency in the table: identify which file discusses that competency (your WIA file or a specific experience file).

• For every competency that requires evidence: describe the evidence you are providing for the competencies and identify the corresponding evidence file number.

 

*Not all competencies require evidence. If the evidence cells for a particular competency is grey (and there is no text entry box) then that competency does not require evidence (see competency table template image above). If in doubt, refer the Professional competency profile to determine which competencies require evidence.

 

*The competency table template is provided as a MS Word form. The data entry boxes identify which sections must be completed and what information is needed. Please submit your competency table in the original MS Word file format. Do not modify the template file format.

 

Validation

• Competencies that require validation by your Reference(s) are indicated by the word "Yes" in column [B] ("Requires Validation?").
  
• References validate your proficiency level of these competencies when they complete the online Professional Applicant Reference Form. Each competency that requires validation must be addressed by at least one of your References.
• References must be familiar with your work in the area they are validating, and agree with the accuracy of your description and evidence provided for that competency. If a Reference is unfamiliar with a particular competency they may indicate this in the Reference form.
  

*All efforts should be made to have References/validators that are CAA Professional Members.

*You must send a copy of your completed portfolio to your References before they complete the online Reference form.

 

Evidence files provide a verifiable way to prove that you meet the required proficiency level of critical competencies.

 

Not all competencies require evidence! As shown in the image of the  Competency Table Template image above, only competencies with white text boxes in the "Evidence" columns require evidence. If in doubt, refer to the  Professional competency profile.

 

*Templates are not provided for your evidence files; you must create or collect the evidence files in the format most appropriate for each.

 

• Evidence files should related to the description you provided in your WIA or Experience file(s) for the applicable competency.

• A single piece of evidence may be used for more than one competency if appropriate. You do not need to provide a unique piece of evidence for every required competency. Please try to use each piece of evidence for as many applicable competencies as possible. This reduces the amount of work required by you and the assessment team!

• The evidence used may be physical evidence, evidence supported by references, or any other verifiable method.

• Choose the most relevant piece(s) of evidence a competency—you are going for quality, NOT quantity, when it comes to evidence. You only need to include what is needed to confirm what you are saying in your written documents.

• Each evidence file must be numbered uniquely. This number is written in the competency table “Evidence file #” column as needed.

Here are some examples of types of evidence that you can use: 

• Copy of plans
  • Trip
  • Daily
•  Oblique photos and/or maps showing:
• • Routes selected & followed
  • Sites selected
• Video clips
• Photos
• Map(s) showing route(s) used in example(s) discussed in narrative
• Map(s) showing avalanche terrain identified from mapping products in your program
  
• Page(s) from avalanche safety plan (if permitted)
• Page(s) from operational guidelines (if permitted)
• Evidence of hazard
  • Daily forecast (if permitted)
• Evidence of your actions
  • Copy of log book entries
• Hazard assessment forms and other operational documents (if permitted)
• Incident report form (if permitted)
• Report from supervisor
• Technical data (if permitted)
• Copies of:
  • Registration forms
  • Certificates
• Evidence of participating in employer training
• Evidence of management/use of digital information
• Evidence of use of information technology
• Letter from a supervisor in support of a competency (including their credentials and relationship to applicant)

 

• Input your avalanche related work and experience into Avalanche Related Work Resume Template.
• This is a summary of your career, you do not need to go into detail about how you meet any competencies in this document.
• Ensure any work that you reference in your application is also listed here. Complete all columns for each role you held. 
• Please do not include recreational activities or non-avalanche related work.