By Lucie Morillon

We all know that the economy is currently undergoing major changes. Today, the average length of an individual’s tenure in a company is less than five years and it has become increasingly rare to “climb the corporate ladder” within a single organization, while job-hopping and non-linear career models are the “new normal.” At the same time, artificial intelligence and automation are helping shape the future of employment and redefining jobs. Career development professionals need to be informed and prepared for these changes in order to be able to help their clients effectively.

CERIC is excited to present this special collaborative Spring-Summer issue of Careering magazine focused on “The Changing Nature of Careers.” For the first time, we have partnered with the US-based National Career Development Association (NCDA) to provide readers a joint edition exploring changes in career development on both sides of the border. Please visit ncda.org/aws/NCDA/pt/sp/magazine for more information on NCDA’s Career Developments magazine.

Though the terms “career,” “job” and “work” have been defined differently throughout career development theory literature, the way most people conceptualize “careers” today differs from the way they have been thought of over the last century. The gig economy, flexible employment, virtual work and other non-stationary and non-permanent ways of working are becoming increasingly popular. This issue seeks to explore the implications for changing the way we teach and advise students, young adults and adults throughout their working years to prepare them for the future.

In this issue of Careering, we cover the ethical practices and the implications of these new ways of working: entrepreneurship as a future must-have career skill; learning how to pivot as a new approach to career uncertainty; welcoming career changers into career services; and integrating collaboration and collectivism into career theories, methods and practices as a necessary shift in career service orientation. This issue also includes a book review on The Episodic Career: How to Thrive at Work in the Age of Disruption as well as a conversation with Rich Feller on thought leaders in the career development field. In addition, this issue features an article on the benefits of a meaningful gap year for Canada’s youth.

Canada is already looking ahead and preparing its future labour force for the digital world by implementing programs to equip us with skills that will be needed tomorrow, whether it is by teaching coding in schools or by building a resilient workforce through the Futureskills Lab, an initiative of the federal government’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth. Career development and career development professionals have never been more vital to this endeavour.

Happy reading!