New on ContactPoint: Glossary of Career Development

CERIC and the Canadian Council for Career Development (CCCD) have collaborated to produce a glossary of career development.

From Abilities to Workplace Training, the glossary is primarily intended to serve as a resource to those working or studying in the field of career development, though it will also be of value to Canadians more broadly who are looking for definitions of terms in relation to their own careers.

Given the richness and diversity of the field, it is also hoped that this glossary can facilitate a common vocabulary and shared understanding of career development. With that in mind, the glossary is presented as a living document in the form of a “wiki.” Everyone in career development is invited to participate.

Check out the glossary on the CERIC website.

MB, SK unveil career exploration, planning resources

The Government of Manitoba has introduced Career Prospects, a new program to help create connections between students, parents and employers, in order to help youth get a better idea of which careers they would like to pursue and what jobs are in-demand. This new program was launched in partnership with the Alliance of Manitoba Sector Councils (AMSC). amsc.mb.ca/

Meanwhile, the Government of Saskatchewan, in partnership with the Saskatoon Industry-Education Council (SIEC) unveiled Saskcareers.ca, a one-stop career development resource to discover and explore career paths and learn about education and training opportunities in the province of Saskatchewan. This site aims at meeting the career planning needs of all Saskatchewan residents from kindergarten to retirement, with an initial focus on youth in school and those transitioning beyond high school. saskcareers.ca

Career Crafting the Decade After High School

CERIC is launching an updated version of the popular book The Decade After High School: A Professional’s Guide. Written by Cathy Campbell and Peggy Dutton, this guide will provide support for career development professionals and educators who work with young people in their teens and 20s.

Called Career Crafting the Decade After High School, the revised book outlines in more detail the context in which young people’s career journeys are unfolding today and the strategies they use to find a career-related place. It also introduces eight “career crafting” techniques that can help career professionals integrate traditional career counselling practice with chaos-oriented approaches that emphasize the uncertainty of most young people’s career development.

The new guide will be launched at Cannexus in January 2015. It will be available in print and ebook at a low cost or as a free downloadable epdf.

What to do about the skills gap

The skills gap debate continues throughout Canada with a trio of new reports.

First, from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, A Battle We Can’t Afford to Lose: Getting Young Canadians from Education to Employment argues that to close the skills gap, the priority needs to be on moving youth from education to employment. The report recommends a focus on labour market information, career decision-making and work-integrated learning.

Another report, Better Work: The path to good jobs is through employers, by Metcalf Innovation Fellow and labour market policy expert Tom Zizys, examines Canada’s under-performing labour market and challenges the popular notion that the threat to good jobs is inevitable, and includes strategies to promote efficient workforce development with an emphasis on the role of employer-led training.

Finally, a report from Toronto Region Board of Trade and United Way Toronto finds many Toronto region residents could be left behind, despite 520,000 job openings over the next five years. The report, Closing the Prosperity Gap, highlights the emerging paradox of workers who should benefit from an increase in job opportunities due to retirement and economic growth, but could continue to face barriers to accessing these jobs.

CERIC funds study to better meet school and career needs of refugee youth

Having lived through the trauma of war, family separation and loss, thousands of refugee children arrive in Canada each year and struggle to fit into classrooms. Led by the University of Winnipeg’s Jan Stewart, a new study will aim to help these refugee youth navigate school and find meaningful careers. The study is funded by CERIC and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

There are approximately 240,000 newcomers who settle in Canada each year and about 6,000 of these people are refugees who are under the age of 18, according to Statistics Canada. It is estimated that by 2031 roughly 30% of the population will be a visible minority and approximately 36% of these people will be under the age of 15.

Called, Bridging Two Worlds: Culturally Responsive Career Development Programs and Services to Meet the Needs of Newcomer and Refugee Children in Canada, the three-year study involves researchers in Winnipeg, Calgary, St. John’s and Charlottetown.

“We have some very good programs that are working but there is a piecemeal approach,” says Stewart. “Refugee youth have experienced disrupted schooling as well as emotional trauma and that requires additional knowledge and training on the part of educators. Our goal is to develop practical resources that schools and teachers can use. We still have a lot to do to prepare ourselves to work as a diverse city and country.”

Learn more at ceric.ca/projects.