Advocacy is fundamental to CERIC’s mission of advancing career development in Canada. We champion career development as a public good that delivers significant social and economic value. It strengthens workforce resilience, enables inclusive opportunity and builds a more prosperous future for all. We want everyone in Canada to be able to use their talents to lead lives filled with purpose and possibility.
Through our advocacy, we seek to raise awareness of why and how:
- Individuals need to develop a career mindset
- Schools need to integrate career education into classrooms
- Employers need to support employee career development
- Policymakers need to invest in funding career services
Key Advocacy Goals
- Translate the value of career literacy to diverse audiences including employers, government policymakers and educators
- Mobilize sector leaders to support career development policy advocacy
- Enable interestholders in the broader career development ecosystem to contribute to prioritizing career development as a public good
- Build coalitions of advocates to inform government policy directions
Our Activities
We fund, produce and share evidence of the social and economic impact of career development. By transforming research into accessible insights, we help leaders craft informed career development policies and practices.
Two recent ground-breaking reports from CERIC provide an evidence base for advocacy:
- Hidden Sector, Hidden Talent: Mapping Canada’s Career Development Sector is the first-ever accounting of the people and systems delivering career services in the country.
- Career Development in 2040 outlines how the career development sector and policymakers must prepare to ensure workers have the support they need adjust to the futures of work.
CERIC works to shape public understanding of career development through pan-Canadian surveys, media outreach and awareness campaigns. We disseminate research insights and catalyze national conversations to highlight the impact of career development on individuals and society broadly.
- We regularly engage national media via op-eds and interviews with leading outlets including The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, CBC Radio, BNN Bloomberg and Global TV. Our media campaigns spotlight such themes as annual career checkups, early career development for children and the impact of AI.
- CERIC conducts recurring surveys of Canadians and employers with top pollsters as well as surveys of career professionals. Surveys take the pulse on career development issues from employee satisfaction to hiring practices to where jobseekers turn for career advice and their current career concerns.
CERIC’s advocacy aims to:
- Raise awareness of the vital role career development plays in driving prosperity throughout Canada
- Strengthen recognition of the meaningful impact career professionals have on individuals, families and communities
- Advance policy change that supports robust, responsive career development systems across the country
CERIC equips individuals and organizations with the tools they need to champion change in their communities. By nurturing partnerships and creating accessible advocacy resources, we enable Canada’s career professionals to advocate for inclusive and forward-thinking career systems. These tools are designed to encourage grassroots momentum while contributing to systemic change.
- In partnership with sector leaders, CERIC launched the national “Beyond Decent Work” advocacy campaign, providing a playbook with key messages and tools to help champion the role of career development in going beyond minimum standards toward meaningful work.
- An open letter co-authored by CERIC calls on government and industry to move away from fail-first approaches, draw on career development professional expertise, and expand policy priorities beyond solely jobs and skills to support Canadians’ careers at all ages and stages.
- CERIC co-led the “Career Development Changes Everything” campaign that used social media storytelling to elevate the field’s impact, encouraging public participation during Global Careers Month in North America through a hashtag and campaign prompts.
CERIC promotes professionalism in career development by cultivating shared language. We unify messaging and strengthen how career development is understood and communicated. At the same time, we build capacity among career professionals to advocate for their work, providing tools and training to articulate their value, engage in public dialogue and influence systems change.
- Developed in response to economic shifts – tariffs, AI disruption, hiring caution – CERIC’s Meet the Moment messaging tool equips Canada’s career professionals with evidence-backed language to convey their essential role in workforce resilience.
- To elevate public understanding of career development, CERIC offers a free, on-demand Media Relations Training program led by expert Keka DasGupta. Participants learn to secure media coverage, position career development in the headlines and build relationships with journalists.
- CERIC created the Guiding Principles of Career Development to establish a common language around careers. These principles define core career development values, such as lifelong growth and self-direction, and offer a starting point for conversations with clients and others.
We engage with all levels of government, in particular departments or ministries of Employment, Education, Advanced Education, Immigration and Industry. Our aim is to advocate for research-based career development policies that benefit all people in Canada.
- Our advocacy has championed a National Careers Strategy that includes public funding for greater access to career services, integration within K-12 education systems, and employer-supported career development.
- CERIC’s Retain and Gain: Career Management for the Public Sector Playbook makes the case that, from climate to health to digital strategy, a career development lens can be a powerful tool in public policymaking, given the impact on the lives and livelihood of every Canadian.
Get Involved
- Download tools – Including the Meet the Moment messaging guide, Beyond Decent Work playbook, 10 Ways toolkit – and apply them in your work.
- Join a group – CERIC’s Advocacy and Community Engagement Committee and other groups help shape strategies, messaging and interestholder outreach.
- Attend events – Be part of the national Cannexus conference and participate in Media Relations Training to strengthen advocacy.
CERIC convenes diverse voices across Canada’s career development ecosystem – from skills and employment to education and workforce development. Through conferences, roundtables and other forums, we identify areas of shared interest and foster collaboration among interestholders to support collective action and advance common goals.
- As Canada’s largest bilingual career development conference, Cannexus convenes nearly 2,000 delegates both in‑person and virtually to explore research, policy and practice. Cannexus fosters cross-sectoral connections and provides a space for advancing career development nationally.
- CERIC hosted virtual roundtables that informed a practical toolkit – “10 Ways Employers Can Address Their Talent Needs by Partnering with Career Development Professionals” – offering actionable strategies for employee recruitment, retention, training and engagement.