Snapshot

By Alene Steinbach, NB Career Development Action Group

The New Brunswick Career Development Action Group (CDAG) is a cross-jurisdictional group (network) of representatives of stakeholders in New Brunswick involved in supporting and educating those who provide some form of career development (including counselling) services to the public. The scope of the CDAG’s work includes: leadership, advocacy, information, training and professional recognition.

On May 28, 1998 the New Brunswick Career Development Action Group/Le Groupe d’action en développement de carrière hosted their second major event “Click and Go! Career Development Moving at the Speed of Technology” Forum at the Wu Conference Centre in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

The purpose of the forum was to gather information throughout the day about what is required to integrate technology into the career development process, to learn how to offer and market career development services using current technologies such as Distance Education and the Internet, and to bring to light areas in which further use of technologies would be of value.

The forum generated considerable interest and participation from career development practitioners throughout the province and from Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Highlights of the forum included presentations from Liette Nadeau and Robert Beaudouin from New Brunswick. Mildred Cahill from Memorial University in Newfoundland, and Kirstie Kierford from the Calgary Youth Employment Centre.

Changes in the nature of work, the workforce, and the workplace are resulting in parallel changes in career education and career counselling. As counsellors and practitioners, we need to become familiar with the Internet in order to encourage students/clients to effectively use it in their job search. The NB Career Development Action Group believes that employment counsellors, school/college/university guidance counsellors, educators, consultants, career counsellors, and front line workers need to build upon the current methods of delivering services to students/clients and prepare for the next generation of multimedia and virtual tools.

For more information and membership ($20.00 for one year subscription), contact Lynn Morrison, 470 York Street, P.O. Box 6000, Fredericton , NB, E3B 5H1, Telephone (506) 457-4859, Fax (506) 453-3806, Email:lmorrison@gov.nb.ca.