This occupational title designates individuals working in a variety of career development settings. A CDF may serve as a career group facilitator, job search trainer, career resource center coordinator, career coach, career development case manager, intake interviewer, occupational and labor market information resource person, human resource career development coordinator, employment/placement specialist, or workforce development staff person.  The Thomas Edison State College School of Professional and Continuing Education's CDF online Workforce Career Coach Facilitator course provides the training to help obtain the GCDF credential.

The counseling profession has made great progress in defining professional counseling and the career counseling specialty and state licensing and registry requirements. However, several professional groups recognized that many individuals who are currently providing career assistance are not professional counselors. The CDF credential was developed to provide standards, training specifications and credentialing for these career providers. The goal was to define and differentiate two levels of practice.  However many professional counselors choose to take the CDF training such as the Workforce Career Coach Facilitator course because they want to obtain more indepth career development knowledge.