by Chris Wright

CDC Conference 2009 Held in Vancouver on March 3, 4 and 5th.

The theme of the latest CDC Conference was Working Local and Shaping Global. This was a tipping of the hat to the Career Development Sector and the influence we exert in shaping the global economy by the work we do every day with our clients and employers in our communities.

People come together from across the country and province to keep abreast of the latest services and support materials in our field of expertise and take this information home to share with our coworkers and clients.

The keynote speaker this year was Vickie Gabereau. In fine form as usual and full of hilarious stories about people many of us dream of meeting. She kick started our session with a hand written fist of notes as her computer had crashed just before the conference and she was running on a non electronic memory stick. The thread of her presentation ran through the many facets of her colourful career and the unlikely path she has taken and continues to walk.

The range of sessions and workshops at the Conference included discussions about Competency and Exploration of Evidence by Maria Starosta from Training Innovations to the Role of Immigrant Employment Council of BC by Kelly Pollack of the Immigrant Employment Council of BC. The number of other sessions and subjects were vast and all relevant to today’s reality and the challenges facing us as we try to support our clients in an expanding world.

The challenge for all of us was to make the killer decisions as to what to attend and what to miss. Many hard decisions were made. It was also a great opportunity to network with each other and provide information regarding the work we do. This is a must attend meeting every year.

 

Chris Wright works for the Neil Squire Society as a Program Coordinator in the Employ-Ability Program. This is a national program that we deliver live on line across Canada for people with physical disabilties. Our aim is to use technology, knowledge and passion to empower Canadians with physical disabilities to reach their goals.