How a CIPFA Qualification Can Help Further Your Career

If you want to work in public finance, a CIPFA qualification is the most suitable qualification to help with your career.
CIPFA, or the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, is the professional body for the public finance world. With over 14,000 members that work throughout the public services, CIPFA is the leading body in providing information, training, qualifications and benchmarking standards for the public finance sector.
CIPFA is well respected around the world for their views on sound public financial management and good governance. The body provides advice on a wide range of governments and accountancy bodies around the world in public finance and service matters.
CIPFA provides qualifications that cover different skills and knowledge needed for varied roles within the public finance sector. The professional qualification helps develop skills and understanding needed to work for bodies like local government, central government, the NHS and other organisations dealing with public finance.
For example for finance professionals seeking an opportunity within a charity CIPFA offers the Certificate in Charity Finance and Accountancy.
Similarly the certificate in International Treasury Management trains individuals in the fundamentals of treasury management for public services. CIPFA can also offer the Certificate Investigative Practice Qualification (CCIP) aimed at investigators who mainly have experience but no formal qualifications.
CIPFA is the world's only professional accountancy body that specialises in the public service sector making them a must for anyone serious about a career in this sector. CIPFA qualified accountants tend to have technical know how and ethical standards that is often highly sought after. So if you are looking to have a long and prosperous working within the public finance sector, you should definitely consider what qualifications CIPFA can provide.

Opportunities For Career Advancement in Criminal Justice Are Numerous

When it comes to criminal justice and opportunities for career advancement in criminal justice, there are numerous career choices and opportunities available, such as correctional officers, private investigators, paralegals, crime scene investigators, lawyers, police officers, and forensic psychologists.
It is the job of a correctional officer to oversee or supervise offenders sentenced to serve time in a penitentiary, jail, or reformatory and for those arrested but awaiting trial. They preserve inmate responsibility and security to prevent assaults, escapes, and conflicts. Regardless of the work setting, correctional officers help enforce regulations, rules, and maintain order along with monitoring the inmates work assignments and activities. They periodically search inmates and check for contraband such as drugs or weapons, enforce discipline, check doors, window bars, and locks for any sign of tampering and inspect visitors and mail for banned items. Correctional officers only have law enforcement duties and responsibilities in the penitentiary, jail, reformatory, or correctional institution where they work. There are many opportunities for career advancement in criminal justice for correctional officers such as correctional sergeant or correctional treatment specialists.
A police officer or sheriff's primary duty is to enforce the law, which involves arresting criminals, protecting communities, and investigating crimes. They search for and collect evidence to help prosecute offenders and criminals, keep detailed reports, and testify in court when necessary. Most police officers work in cities or towns while sheriff's deputies normally work in small, rural areas that do not have their own police department. They train police officers and sheriffs deputies to respond to a broad range of situations and emergencies. Opportunities for career advancement in criminal justice for police officers and sheriff's include heading up specialized units such as homicide. There is also career advancement in criminal justice opportunities available for police and sheriffs to replace people reaching retirement age.
Supervised by a licensed lawyer, a paralegal or legal assistant aids the attorney by drafting documents, interviewing clients, preparing trial notebooks, updating and reviewing files, helping the lawyer write legal briefs, and completing legal research. They also help the attorney prepare for trials, hearings, closings, and corporate meetings. The law prohibits paralegals from presenting cases in court, giving legal advice, setting legal fees, or other duties considered law practice. Paralegals duties vary depending on the agency, lawyer, law firm or organization. The career advancement in criminal justice opportunities for paralegals is exceeding good. Many accept employment with private law firms, U.S. Department of Justice, or gain experience and open their own business. Some continue their education and become attorneys, police officers or enter into other fields in criminal justice.

3 Green Careers in the Great Outdoors

Spring has finally sprung, despite what the thermometer or the weatherman might say. And after being cooped up all winter, you're probably looking for a way to cure that serious case of cabin (or cubicle) fever you've got going. Check out these 3 career options that will break you out of your office, get you into the great outdoors, and help you break into the green movement.
Careers with the National Park Service
If you've seen Ken Burns' new documentary, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, you know that title is not exaggerating. America's extensive public park service was the first of its kind and includes some of the most gorgeous and diverse terrain in the world. Today, our parks not only provide visitors with a chance to see coral reefs, volcanoes, and dinosaur fossils, but they also provide environmental protection for some of our greatest resources.
The National Parks hire about every kind of professional you can imagine, from masons to geologists to historians to mechanics. And of course, there's always the opportunity to become a park ranger, where you'll get to where that famous brown hat. For more information on job opportunities with the National Parks, visit their website.
Careers with the Environmental Protection Agency
If you want a green job, one of the quickest routes might be to join forces with the Environmental Protection Agency (also known as the EPA). The EPA's mission is to protect human health and the environment. To do so, they have 17,000 employees working across the country to monitor environmental risks, enforce federal environmental laws and regulations, protect our ecosystems, and collaborate with foreign counties to protect the Earth.
While a decent percentage of EPA employees are engineers, scientists, and policy analysts, they also need employees who have experience with law, public affairs, finance, information management and computers. For more information, visit their website.
Careers with the Nature Conservancy
Another great green job option is to work with The Nature Conservancy (TNC). This non-profit's goal is to protect the Earth's ecosystems and all of its inhabitants. They battle global warming, industrial pollution, and species extinction through a unique mission statement-Conservation by Design-a systematic approach to help TNC decide where to work, what to preserve, and how best to do so. They're looking for talented people to join their team and work in conservation, external affairs, finance, human resources, legal services, marketing, philanthropy, operations, science, and technology.
In addition to great benefits and flexible work arrangements [link to blog post on FWA], the Nature Conservancy also offers fellowship and mentoring programs to all employees to help grow their leadership skills and their conservation expertise. For more information, visit their website.