What counts as an eligible training, practicum, or internship?
Please note that if you are an applicant with 12+months of full-time work experience at the time of application, no proof of training is required.
The ESPCC only asks for proof of training, practicum, or internship if the applicant for CESP™ certification has 9-12 months of eligible work experience at the time of the application. Read about what counts as eligible work experience.
The CESP™ application requests documentation about the practicum, internship, or training. Documentation includes a training certificate, information about the trainer, date of training, and the number of hours completed. For practicum or internships, please include how many hours per week were worked and what the primary duties were. The definition for a training that would be considered acceptable toward CESP™ eligibility by the ESPCC is listed below.
Training (Proof required for applicants with between 9-12 months work experience):
An internship or practicum of at least 2 months in length and/or successful completion of an intensive training course that includes at least 32 hours of ESP-related course work.
The content for acceptable training courses must be directly related to the CESP™ content outline. Acceptable training content is related to supported and customized employment as well as training relevant to providing employment and community-based supports to people with disabilities.
Examples of acceptable training content include but are not limited to: specialized training to work with specific disability groups (i.e. autism or mental illness), training on small businesses development, American with Disabilities Act (ADA) training, benefits counseling, and strategies for job development. Training related to segregated employment services or services that are not widely considered to be best practices will not be accepted.
Still unsure about your eligibility?
If you have questions around your eligibility, click the contact link in the upper right-hand corner.
Please note if you submit your application and are deemed ineligible to sit for the exam based on the requirements, you will be refunded your application fee minus a nonrefundable $40 application processing fee.