The certificates you choose will depend on the areas in which you wish to build expertise or to review and update skills and knowledge. You may wish to:
- Pair CRTWCR with CSWRTW to build foundational RTW skills with strong communication abilities.
- Pair CDMPAE with CDMLPE to blend program administration with legal/policy expertise.
- Combine CRTWCR with CSWRTW with CMLPE for a strong foundation in RTW and awareness of the legislative and regulatory challenges that can arise in RTW planning and implementation.
- Combine CRTWCR → CSWRTW → CDMPAE to obtain a well-rounded body of skills and knowledge moving from frontline skills to people management and then to program leadership.
Further suggestions for sequence:
- Students should start with CRTWCR for a strong practical RTW foundation, pairing it with CSWRTW to build stakeholder and communication skills, or with CDMLPE if legal and compliance knowledge is a priority. For those aiming at leadership, the strongest combination is CDMPAE + CDMLPE, blending program administration with legal/policy expertise.
- A well-rounded 3-certificate sequence is CRTWCR → CSWRTW → CDMPAE, moving from frontline skills to people management and then to program leadership. Managers who need to step into oversight roles quickly might prefer CRTWCR → CDMPAE → CDMLPE.
- If your goal is to complete all four, the most logical progression is CRTWCR → CSWRTW → CDMLPE → CDMPAE, ensuring you build practical, interpersonal, legal, and strategic capabilities in a natural order that maximizes both job readiness and career advancement.
Our suggestion is if you’re new to disability management / return-to-work and want the most broadly useful, practical start — begin with Certificate in Return-to-Work Coordination and Rehabilitation (CRTWCR). It gives core, hands-on skills you’ll use immediately and helps you decide which specialization to take next. You can use the following questions to help you consider where to start:
- Do I need hands-on RTW skills to do my job? → Yes: CRTWCR.
- Is my role about bringing people together, identifying needs and negotiating return plans? → Yes: CSWRTW.
- Do I advise on policy, or handle claims, or need to reduce legal risk? → Yes: CDMLPE.
- Do I need to be aware of legislation and regulation in carrying out disability management or return to work responsibilities or am I involved in writing policies that might have a foundation in legislation and regulation? → Yes: CDMLPE.
- Am I (or will I be) responsible for designing, improving, measuring, or reporting on a DM program? → Yes: CDMPAE.
Evaluation is done at the module level. The DMPCP (25-module program) allows up to six modules of PLAR/exemption credit. Each of the four individual 8-module certificates allows up to two modules of PLAR/exemption credit.
Anyone who registered for their first modules on or before August 31, 2025, has the following options:
- Continue towards the existing 25-module DMPCP certificate if they intend to complete the modules by June 30, 2026.
- Switch to seek progress towards the new certificates. If a change in registration to different module(s) is desired to facilitate completion of one or more of the new certificates, they will be able to transfer to other module(s) of the same cost.
- Withdraw from the program and request a refund for any registrations for upcoming modules.
Anyone who registers in their first modules after September 1, 2025, will only be eligible for the new certificates.
Yes. Students who complete all 25 modules within 3 years — whether pursued through the four individual 8-module (modules may appear more than one certificate) certificates or the single DMPCP pathway, since the modules are shared between them — can choose to receive either the DMPCP certificate or the four separate certificates.
We don’t expect any of the supporting processes to change. The current approach allows you to access and pay fees for any course that is offered (although a few have the prerequisites) and to opt for a certificate upon completion if the requisite modules.
No. If you completed the 25-module Disability Management Practitioner Certificate Program (DMPCP) before the four individual certificates were introduced, you already hold a credential covering that same content, so it can’t be issued again as four separate certificates. If you’re currently working toward your modules now, see “What happens with students who are currently registered in the DMPCP” above — different rules apply to you.
The Disability Management Practitioner Certificate has been renamed the Disability Management Practitioner Certificate Program (DMPCP), it’s the same 25 modules as before. Students can continue working through modules at their own pace. If a student completes all 25 modules within 3 years, they can choose to receive either the DMPCP certificate or the four individual certificates, based on the modules they’ve completed.
We’ll continue to support this. We’re working with the Academic programs to confirm how the new certificates will map to BDM specific courses; it will be similar to the current approach, but students will likely be able to identify transfer credits earlier, since the certificates are shorter.
