Professionalism in the context of public sector professions is a changing concept, which is subject to different interpretations. The sociologist Julia Evetts has developed two models, occupational and organisational professionalism, which are useful conceptual tools which help us to understand from a wider theoretical perspective the changing nature of professionalism. Occupational professionalism refers to a model of professionalism that involves collegial authority, practitioner trust by both clients and employers, controls operationalised by practitioners and professional ethics monitored by institutions and associations. In this model, discourses about professions are constructed from within professional groups primarily by teaching and training institutions and professional associations. In contrast, organisational professionalism refers to a new form of professionalism which emerged in the 1990s whereby discourses about professions are constructed from outwith professions primarily by government, policy makers and management in the employing organisations where professionals work. This model involves a discourse of control increasingly used by managers in work organisations, rational legal forms of authority, hierarchal structure of authority and decision making, new public managerialism, accountability, and externalised forms of regulations, target setting and performance review. In this article, Evetts' models are applied to the professional field of practice which in Scotland is known as Community Learning and Development. The article considers the ways in which CLD was historically influenced by both models and argues that the organisational model has intensified in recent years in a context shaped by austerity and its transformative impact on local government.