By Jan Basso

CACEE Conference Draws Employers And Career Educators

In early June, the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers held its annual recruitment and career services national conference in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Over 200 delegates attended the event which brought career services professionals and co-op practitioners from within post-secondary educational institutions together with human resources professionals who recruit on campuses across the country.

This annual conference focuses on innovative initiatives for career development practitioners, implementation of leading-edge campus recruitment and career services strategies, and co-operative education issues and trends. A key benefit for delegates is the networking opportunities that present themselves through both the program and social activities.

In 2000, CACEE will be partnering with the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education in hosting their national conference. The Conference will be held from May 28 – May 31 in Victoria, B.C. For further information, contact:

Maryanne Forrayi
The Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers
Suite 470, 301 14th Street N.W.
Calgary, Alberta T2N 2A1

Tel: (403) 283-9478
Email: maryanne@cacee.com

Jan Basso is the Director of Co-operative Education and Career Services at Wilfrid Laurier University. She has been an active member of CACEE for 20 years and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Contact Point.

By Bernadette Beaupre

OPPORTUNITIES – A Dialogue on Career Development and Employment Preparation in Ontario

OPPORTUNITIES – A Dialogue on Career Development and Employment Preparation in Ontario the first annual conference, was held at the Canadian Pacific Hotel Toronto East May 6-8, 1999.

Approximately 600 career development practitioners attended over 40 workshops and 2 panel discussions on a range of different career development and employment preparation-related topics. The goals of the conference were to bring people together to share information, ideas and best practices that are related to career development and job preparation and are specific to the province of Ontario. The other goal was to forge across sector partnerships to include individuals and groups that are responsible for service delivery throughout a wide spectrum of agencies.

The content of the conference focused on four themes which included: “Transitions; Trends: New Methods, New Models and Current Information; Lifelong Learning; and Cultivating Opportunities”.

The keynote speaker Silken Laumann gave an inspiring talk on her successes and failures as an Olympic rower during 17 years of international competition. Mark Swartz, career counsellor, speaker and author of “Get Wired, You’re Hired, The Canadian Guide to Job-Hunting On-line”, gave an effective closing keynote address. He noted that career development professionals are doing very important work as they are helping people to make positive changes in their lives. He also stated that the OPPORTUNITIES conference enabled participants to network with people from different sectors and to grow professionally.

Bernadette Beaupre is the Executive Director at ONESTEP (Ontario Network for Employment Skills Training Projects). She has been with ONESTEP for 1.5 years and brings with her extensive experience in the literacy and education field.