Career Briefs
If you want to attend Cannexus16…
…it’s already time to register! Super Saver registration is open for Canada’s largest bilingual National Career Development Conference and will be available until September 9, 2015.
The conference takes place January 25-27, 2016 at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa, Canada, and is expected to attract 800 participants from across Canada and internationally. With keynote speakers Spencer Niles, Ratna Omidvar, Justice Murray Sinclair and Wab Kinew, it promises to be a very special Cannexus in 2016 as the conference marks its 10th anniversary.
Cannexus is a huge event every year in the career development field, with speakers from all over the country and beyond presenting more than 130 education sessions, and complete with TED-style Spark! talks, pre- and post-conference workshops, an exhibitor showcase, networking opportunities and more!
Career challenge reveals Canadians need and want help finding career satisfaction
The Canadian Council for Career Development (CCCD) released its findings for the Career Development Challenge. Results show that while participants are eager to be satisfied in their careers, they aren’t sure how to access information and resources that could help them. Career development professionals are well positioned to bridge that gap to ensure Canadians are happy, engaged and fulfilled at any stage of their careers.
Nearly 4,000 participants took part in the Challenge which was launched in November during Canada Career Week. The interactive quiz was a free, online tool that anyone could use to learn more about their personal skill and will as they relate to managing their career now and for the future.
CCCD also indicates that most Canadians don’t know how to interpret labour market information. When labour market information is released, it can appear like an encyclopedic ream of statistical data – like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for. This is one area where career development professionals can provide assistance.
Free Legitimate Opportunities to Work from Home resources now available
Materials produced from CERIC’s Legitimate Opportunities to Work from Home project are now available for free online. Created to educate career professionals, these resources allow practitioners to work confidently with clients who are seeking work-from-home opportunities and want to avoid the scams. The project also helps practitioners to engage traditionally underserved client groups, including people with disabilities, rural communities, Aboriginal communities, newcomers, caregivers and older workers.
Resources include:
- Legitimate Opportunities to Work from Home Workbook, which allows users to build their skills and knowledge related to legitimate opportunities to work from home and to be able to share this knowledge with clients
- Legitimate Opportunities to Work from Home Client Handout, featuring 70 validated work-from-home opportunities, from telephone-based work to virtual assistants to translation, e-learning and gaming
This project was created as a partnership between the Employment and Education Centre (EEC) in Brockville, ON and CERIC to answer the question “what are the legitimate opportunities for working from home?”
Canada’s got e-talent
The Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) launched an online platform to help Canadians, as well as educational and professional development institutions and policymakers make informed decisions about the information and communications job market in Canada.
The e-Talent Canada Portal is an online interactive map that provides access to dynamic labour market information. The portal offers: ICT job trends and tools pertinent to all sectors; highlights of which jobs are in demand; who’s hiring; wages; demographics; and educational institution that closely respond to the industry needs.
This online tool is useful for businesses wishing to find talent, jobseekers and new graduates wanting to find employment in this growing field, and any Canadian looking to learn more about careers in information and communications technology.
Career Services Guide supports people affected by mental health issues
A new CERIC-funded Career Services Guide is seeking to improve the employment outcomes for people living with mental health problems and illnesses at a time when one in five Canadians experience a mental health issue.
Entitled Career Services Guide: Supporting People Affected by Mental Health Issues, this free guide, along with supporting videos, has been developed by the Nova Scotia Career Development Association (NSCDA ) and project partners that include Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace, Canadian Mental Health Association, Healthy Minds Cooperative, Nova Scotia Certified Peer Support Specialist Program and Canadian Alliance for Mental Health and Mental Illness.
This guide is intended for all career service workers in non-mental health specific employment settings. It provides practical insights and includes tools for work-related coaching, motivating clients and dealing with disclosure.
Career advice for girls (and their parents!)
A new guide was published this spring in the United Kingdom to help parents support their daughters as they make career decisions. Your Daughter’s Future was developed with the help of girls aged 12 to 16 who have a wide range of career goals. It sets out what support they want from their parents as they weigh education and careers options. The guide offers parents tips on, among other things, organizing workplace visits to gain experience, managing exam stress and boosting confidence, with tailored information for different ages.
Women in the United Kingdom, as in Canada, remain much more likely to work in sectors traditionally regarded as female, which contributes to the gender pay gap. A recent survey by Network Rail (also from the UK) has found that more than a third (39%) of schoolgirls think certain jobs, such as those in the engineering and construction sectors, are more suited to boys. Often, young women lack advice and support to get into sectors traditionally perceived as male, and have too few female role models in these sectors to help challenge stereotypes.