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June 12, 2026Military 2 Civilian Employment: A Career Practitioners guide
June 22, 2026
Author(s)
Taryn Blanchard, Sheila Rider and Lisa Taylor
Publisher
CERIC
ISBN
978-1-996817-01-8
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Career Development as Strategy: A Practical Guide to Creating Internal Career Centres
Synopsis
Career Development as Strategy is a practical playbook for organizations seeking to make career development more coherent, visible and effective. While many employers invest heavily in learning, mobility, leadership and wellness initiatives, these efforts are often fragmented, making it difficult for leaders to see impact, enable talent movement or connect people growth to business priorities.
This guide introduces internal career centres as workforce infrastructure – a way to intentionally connect existing career, learning and talent efforts into a co-ordinated system that supports mobility, capability-building and adaptability at scale. Designed for real-world conditions, the playbook helps organizations strengthen what they already have, rather than starting from scratch.
The frameworks and tools are adaptable across sectors, organization sizes and maturity levels.
Key topics include
- Why fragmented career and talent efforts limit organizational impact
- How internal career centres support mobility, reskilling and workforce adaptability
- Assessing organizational readiness before investing in new initiatives or technology
- Building an evidence-informed business case, including ROI considerations
- Prioritizing actions to improve workforce performance without adding unnecessary complexity
Who this resource is for
- Executives and senior leaders overseeing workforce strategy
- HR and talent leaders facing mobility, retention or scaling challenges
- Learning and development professionals seeking stronger alignment with business priorities
- Career development professionals supporting internal growth and mobility
- Post-secondary and workforce partners engaged in employer capacity-building
- Frameworks and tools adaptable across sectors, organization sizes and maturity levels
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How organizations use this playbook
Go deeper in the Internal Career Centre Bootcamp
Organizations can use this guide as a standalone resource to clarify thinking, align internal conversations and establish a shared language around career development as strategy. It can also be used as a diagnostic tool to identify gaps, assess readiness and determine where to focus first.
For organizations ready to move from insight to action, the playbook provides an entry point for deeper, applied workforce development work.
Watch a short video to hear from bootcamp facilitators and participants from organizations such as Aviso Wealth and Government of Canada.
Contact consulting@challengefactory.ca to learn more or join.
About the authors
Taryn Blanchard
Taryn Blanchard is Director, Research and Innovation Strategy at Challenge Factory, bridging research, consulting and AI to turn evidence into practical workforce tools. With a PhD in Anthropology, she translates complexity into human-centred career strategy.
Sheila Rider
Sheila Rider is an Associate and Trusted Advisor at Challenge Factory. Formerly a CHRO, she supports career development through strategic workforce design, leadership capability and practical change that enables people to thrive at work.
Lisa Taylor
Lisa Taylor has advised national governments, shaped workforce policy, and guided multinational organizations through complex transformation. Her insights appear in The Globe and Mail, Forbes and OECD reports. She is Founder and CEO of Challenge Factory.
Reviews
Empowering Organizations Through Career Development is a practical blueprint for creating career development centres of expertise.
Learn how the playbook reframes career development as workforce infrastructure to support retention, internal mobility and workforce adaptability.