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The latest CERIC Annual Report describes 2022 as a year that was unlike anything that preceded it or that we may see again in the future. With a theme of “Embracing Transition, Catalyzing Change,” this Annual Report chronicles a series of transitions for CERIC as an organization as well as for the broader career development communities we serve. It highlights CERIC’s activities, impacts and reflections as we worked to promote career development for public good and to build career development knowledge and mindsets.
In their Leadership Message, Board Chair Dr. Candy Ho and outgoing Executive Director Riz Ibrahim discuss the experience of needing to pivot in the face of ongoing challenges with COVID to offer our flagship Cannexus conference as an all-virtual gathering for the second time. But with more than 1,700 delegates in attendance, it was evident that the learning at Cannexus and broader access of a virtual event held strong appeal. These were notable factors as we worked to plan the first hybrid Cannexus for 2023.
The year was a busy one, filled with new and continuing research and learning projects:
- CERIC launched several new projects, including a landmark research project to uncover the scope of Canada’s career development sector.
- Another research project that was announced will equip career professionals to help workers manage career shocks such as those coming out of the pandemic.
- Yet another project focused on unlocking the career development value within experiential learning and culminated with the launch of the Wayfinder site, curating an array of reflective practice resources.
- CERIC also released the results of its National Business Survey, garnering important insights from employers on the state of career development in the Canadian workplace, which received widespread media coverage.
- Additional projects underway are examining critical workforce issues: what career development in 2040 will look like, how to better integrate refugees into decent work and how career education can be embedded into elementary classrooms.
This past year was also one to build on existing partnerships and forge new relationships:
- CERIC engaged with the Future Skills Centre to develop a new stream of programming for Cannexus23.
- We worked with the Asia Pacific Career Development Association to develop a scholarship program that would provide access to Cannexus programming to individuals from non-high-income countries.
- Partnering with the Labour Market Information Council and OECD on a successful series of webinars allowed us to examine inclusive career guidance for a changing labour market.
- We collaborated with international partners to develop Latvian and Estonian translations of CERIC’s Career Theories and Models at Work book, following a Japanese edition published the previous year. (In 2022, the book’s French adaptation won a prestigious award from Ordre des conseillers et conseillères d’orientation du Québec (OCCOQ) and a forthcoming companion guide to the popular original English edition was announced).
- CERIC also co-led the first North American social media campaign for Global Career Month with the National Career Development Association (NCDA) and Canadian Career Development Foundation (CCDF) called “Career Development Changes Everything.”
Meanwhile, during 2022, CERIC continued to invest in its core programming. The Canadian Journal of Career Development celebrated 20 years of publishing as the country’s only peer-reviewed academic journal in the field. Our CareerWise and OrientAction sites continued to empower career practitioners with insights and resources. CERIC’s Graduate Student Engagement Program was paused for relaunch in 2023 and is being retooled to best support the next generation of career development researchers in Canada.
In early 2022, CERIC started to engage in organizational work around equity-centred leadership. This work would immediately start to redefine our Board and Committee composition, increase the focus on equity and access to our learning offerings, and give us an opportunity to explore how the Etta St. John Wileman Award could become a more inclusive, accessible recognition of outstanding achievement in career development in Canada. This was envisioned as just the start of many changes to come in the years ahead.
A major transition for CERIC saw Executive Director Riz Ibrahim announcing that he would be moving on to the role of President and CEO of CERIC’s funder, The Counselling Foundation of Canada, in spring 2023. After a national search, we ended the year with a new incoming Executive Director, Kay Castelle. Castelle would join CERIC at the end of February 2023, ushering in a new era for the organization.
In addition to these highlights of transition and change, the CERIC 2022 Annual Report includes the organization’s financial statements and an acknowledgement all those who have contributed to the promise of even deeper impacts in the years ahead. A special thanks went to CERIC staff for their resilience, to Board and Advisory Committee volunteers for their guidance and to The Counselling Foundation of Canada for its ongoing commitment to the work of CERIC.
