Gillian Johnston and Dr. Rob Shea honoured with 2025 Wileman Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Career Development

Career development leaders Gillian Johnston and Dr. Rob Shea (posthumously) are the recipients of CERIC’s 2025 Wileman Award for Outstanding Achievement in Career Development. The announcement was made during an awards ceremony at Cannexus, Canada’s Career Development Conference in Ottawa on Jan. 27.

In recognizing Johnston, Andre Raymond, Chair of the Selection Committee, highlighted her nearly five decades of groundbreaking work in the field. “Her career development journey began in 1977 as a career counsellor, and since then, she has tirelessly championed excellence and inclusiveness in our field,” said Raymond.

Johnston was instrumental in founding the Career and Work Counsellor Program at George Brown College in 1993, which has become a cornerstone of professional training for career development practitioners. She developed specialized streams for Internationally Educated Professionals and industry-focused certificate programs, empowering thousands of practitioners across Canada.

Her influence extended internationally in the early 2000s when she developed a Bachelor of Education program in Career Advising and Counselling at the Higher Colleges of Technology in the United Arab Emirates, creating new educational opportunities, particularly for women in the region.

As a key contributor to the National Competency Framework and the National Code of Ethics for Career Development Practitioners, Johnston has helped elevate the field’s professionalism. As co-director of the Career Development Practitioner’s Certification Board of Ontario, she has overseen the certification of over 500 practitioners.

Selection Committee Chair Andre Raymond presents Gillian Johnston with the Wileman Award during a ceremony in Ottawa.

The second award was presented posthumously to Dr. Rob Shea, recognized for his remarkable professional legacy. Jennifer Browne, Selection Committee member, noted that “Rob’s impact extends well beyond CERIC.” He was the founding Chair of CERIC’s Board of Directors and a long-standing Board member of its funder, The Counselling Foundation of Canada. He was also the Founding Editor of the Canadian Journal of Career Development.

During his 30-year tenure at Memorial University, Shea served as an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education and held various leadership roles. His research on Career Integrated Learning with his wife Dr. Rhonda Joy demonstrated his ability to transform theory into innovative practice. In 2009, he established the Rob Shea Research Award with the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers (CACEE).

A dedicated mentor and champion for the military community, Shea was particularly passionate about military-to-civilian transitions. His commitment to this cause is commemorated in CERIC’s new Military 2 Civilian Employment: A Career Practitioner’s Guide, launched at this year’s Cannexus conference and dedicated in his honour.

“Rob was a dreamer with big, audacious goals who truly believed career development was a cornerstone to individual, community and overall societal success,” said Browne. The award was accepted by his wife, Dr. Rhonda Joy, with family members including his children Kathleen, Ryan and John Shea, and his sister Carole Charlebois and her husband Mike in attendance.

The award is given in the name of Etta St. John Wileman, who in the early 20th century was a champion and crusader of career, work and workplace development in Canada. She believed in the importance of work to the human soul and advocated for a national system of employment offices, while lobbying for the role of parents and schools in children’s career development guidance.

Initiated in 2007, the Etta St. John Wileman Award recognizes and celebrates individuals who have made an outstanding impact in enhancing the field of career development. Past recipients include Marilyn Van Norman, Denis Pelletier, Norman Amundson, Mildred Cahill, Bryan Heibert, Donald Lawson, Michel Turcotte, Roberta Borgen (Neault), Lynne Bezanson and Trina Maher.

The Selection Committee noted that 2024 saw their highest number of nominations yet, demonstrating the substantial depth of exceptionally talented and innovative individuals making significant impacts across Canada in the field of career development.

The family of Rob Shea accepts the Wileman Award for Outstanding Achievement in Career Development on his behalf at Cannexus.