Got med school hopefuls? Special categories can helpCareering

Got med school hopefuls? Special categories can help

February 6, 2019By
From Indigenous students to military applicants, there are several special application categories related to identity, descent and status

By Christine Fader

Do you have students who are interested in medical school in Canada? Many advisors are excited to learn that there are special application categories that can benefit particular demographics. These include categories related to identity or descent (e.g. applicants of Indigenous descent) as well as categories related to status (e.g. graduate student applicants).

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Career BriefsCareering

Career briefs

February 6, 2019By
CERIC launches new book on how career theory informs practice

Career Theories and Models at Work: Ideas for Practice is a collection of contemporary and emerging career development theories and models that aims to inform the practice of career development professionals around the globe. The book was published by CERIC and edited by Dr Nancy Arthur, Dr Roberta Neault and Dr Mary McMahon. It has 43 chapters on the theories and models that define the practice of career development today, with contributors from four continents and nine countries.

Career Theories and Models at Work provides practitioners with a tangible resource they can use to develop theory-informed interventions. It is also anticipated to be used as a text for undergraduate and graduate courses in career counselling.

The publication is available in print and e-book via Amazon and Chapters.Indigo.

Learn more about Career Theories and Models at Work at ceric.ca/theories.

Students face barriers to work-integrated learning opportunities, HEQCO finds

A report from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) observes that student demand is rising for work-integrated learning (WIL) experiences, including co-op, internships, applied research projects, field experience and service learning. Many options for students are oversubscribed.

However, certain students still face barriers to participation in WIL. The report argues more could be done to increase the participation of first-generation, Indigenous and other minority students in WIL programs. It suggests one way to increase participation is to have faculty champions of WIL opportunities to promote them to students. Managing student expectations through consistent messaging is also important, HEQCO says. The report also notes that institutions must be prepared to help students with time and financial pressures they may face when taking part in a WIL program.

Check out the full report at heqco.ca.

NEADS releases report series examining experiences of graduate students with disabilities

The National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) released several reports this past fall as part of the Landscape of Accessibility and Accommodation for Post-Secondary Students with Disabilities in Canada national study, which was supported by CERIC and other organizations. The reports are based on a detailed analysis of the 2016 Canadian Graduate and Professional Student Survey. They include:

  • A Snapshot of the Experiences of Graduate Students With Disabilities Who Identify as Aboriginal
  • Graduate Students With and Without Disabilities: A Comparison
  • Comparison of STEM and Non-STEM Graduate Students With Disabilities

Some notable findings from the reports:

  • Of the 2,327 participants who identified as having a disability, 189 self-identified as Aboriginal. This equates to 8% of the sample of students with disabilities.
  • In the comparison of graduate students, the most common type of disability was mental health (43%); the least common was autism (3%).
  • Several demographic differences were found among graduate students with disabilities in STEM and non-STEM disciplines in terms of: age (students in non-STEM were typically older); marital status (more students in non-STEM were married); and number of children (more students in non-STEM had children).

Read the reports at neads.ca.

New CareerWise, OrientAction websites offer modern career development content and learning

At the end of November, CERIC replaced ContactPoint with the new CareerWise website, Your source for career development news and views, and also launched a brand-new OrientAction, its French sister site. The new sites reflect the evolving ways that people find and interact with information online. They feature relevant and thought-provoking articles on education, skills, counselling, employment and the workforce from a variety of publications. CareerWise and OrientAction also feature original perspectives from experts and community voices as well as round-ups of popular resources and events.

The new websites site build on the popularity of CERIC’s weekly content curation newsletters (CareerWise Weekly and OrientAction En bref), which were given a refreshed look.

Visit careerwise.ceric.ca and orientaction.ceric.ca to learn about the latest in career development, sign up for our newsletters or contribute a blog.

OECD report reveals findings on Indigenous employment in Canada

The report, Indigenous Employment and Skills Strategies in Canada, finds Indigenous underemployment persists, with Indigenous peoples still facing numerous barriers. The report states that Indigenous people are more likely to be in lower-paying jobs such as teaching, retail or social work. They are significantly under-represented in management, business and finance.

However, the OECD report also points to some positive changes. It finds skills-training programs are most successful when they are delivered and managed by Indigenous people for Indigenous people. The report also notes several municipalities have strategic policy frameworks targeted to local Indigenous populations, with city mayors meeting with communities to help build trust.

Read the report at oecd.org/canada.

TD Ready Challenge awards grants to organizations preparing for the future of work

Ten organizations were awarded $1 million grants through the TD Ready Challenge. The grants were given to organizations offering solutions in the areas of change identified by the Ready Commitment: Financial Security, Vibrant Planet, Connected Communities and Better Health. Among the winners:

  • ACCES Employment – providing immigrant women with training, employer connections and experiential learning to help secure and retain competitive employment in programming and cybersecurity
  • Woodgreen Community Services – helping mid-career participants achieve financial stability and sustainable employment through its accelerator program
  • Canada Learning Code – offering hands-on, accessible learning for mid-career individuals to increase their digital literacy and technological knowledge in order to thrive in a rapidly changing job market

View the other winners at td.com/readychallenge.

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Careering

Principles in Action: Embracing external influences to help guide career exploration

February 6, 2019By

By Gloria Welton

With a goal of bringing greater clarity and consistency to our national conversations about career development, CERIC developed a set of “Guiding Principles of Career Development” that have been enthusiastically embraced across Canada. These eight Guiding Principles are intended as a starting point to inform discussions with clients, employers, funders, policymakers and families.

Each issue of Careering features a Guiding Principle “in action,” exploring how a career professional is applying a Principle in practice.

Guiding Principle: Career development is often supported and shaped by educators, family, peers, managers and the greater community. ceric.ca/principles

Knowing your expectations and values, being inquisitive, attentive and willing to talk with

people who can help lead you along your career-planning path is essential. But we can’t do this in a silo. We need each other to get the support and information required to navigate our career choices.

As a career development professional (CDP), I know that career planners have many people in their lives to help inform their career decisions. So, whether figuring out how to make sense of labour market information (LMI), working on experiential learning partnerships or evaluating a career planner/jobseekers’ motivations, assessing the different influences in their lives is important.

How the personal affects career plans

Some career advice is given to jobseekers directly, with parents or teachers suggesting career paths they think would be a good fit. But other influences are subtler, coming from a personal interaction with an industry or career path.

Take Christie Hall, who worked in my office for 12 weeks on a preceptorship (a placement in a clinical or community setting to teach nursing students the complexities of the practice). She is a fourth-year nursing student at the University of Prince Edward Island. Although Christie comes from a family of many engineers, an experience with the health-care system sparked her interest in nursing at a young age.

“Ever since I was young, I wanted to work in a health setting,” says Christie. “It all started when my youngest sister needed to go to the IWK Health Centre in Nova Scotia for various health problems. I went with her to her appointments and procedures, and it turned out to be an opportunity to have an inside look at health care.”

However, Christie says that if her parents hadn’t been supportive of her choosing her own path, things might have turned out differently.

It’s important for career professionals to understand these influences when working with clients to help them set goals and decide next steps. They can also provide crucial context to help determine if their vision of an industry matches the reality.

Connecting to context

Much of the information jobseekers receive about the labour market is filtered through the parties highlighted in the Guiding Principle. However, this information may be based on anecdotes or reports coming through the news media.

With so many different factors affecting a career decision, one thing career professionals can do to offer some clarity is to share up-to-date, relevant LMI about the fields their clients are considering.

For 20 years, I have owned and managed a publication on Prince Edward Island called The Employment Journey on PEI, providing grassroots labour market information (LMI) to jobseekers, employers, career professionals and parents. The secret to the publication’s success is the same magic that jobseekers need as they explore their options: partnerships.

Career development professionals must pair their own labour market information with the other advice jobseekers are receiving. A chemistry teacher might advise a star student to pursue an academic path in the sciences, for example. Or a parent might suggest their arts undergrad apply for law school. It’s important for career practitioners and their clients to take into consideration the opinions of those who know them best – they might highlight certain attributes the client did not realize they possessed. However, without accurate LMI, this guidance could lead people down unsustainable paths.

“With so many different factors affecting a career decision, one thing career professionals can do to offer some clarity is to share up-to-date, relevant LMI about the fields their clients are considering.”

LMI is all around us, but we must be willing to dig for it and use the people in our life and in our community as a source of this information. Jobseekers also need to decide how this information relates to their career development. One way CDPs can facilitate that is by connecting clients with experiential learning opportunities.

Getting real-world exposure

As noted in the Guiding Principle, workplace managers and the greater community – including businesses and organizations – can also have a strong influence on career decisions. Experiential learning is one of the ways clients get exposed to these influences. This learning-by-doing gives us a closer, more realistic view of work environments and occupations. It might take place during co-op placements, internships, preceptorships, mentorship or volunteering.

As career professionals, it is our role to not only connect clients to these types of experiences but to ensure they’re equipped with the knowledge they need to succeed in them and apply what they learn in their career management.

Christie’s story is a great example of the value of hands-on experiences. To confirm her interest in nursing, she decided to volunteer at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown. Last year, she started working part-time at a community care home. This fall, the Career Development Association of PEI provided her with a 12-week preceptorship, during which she researched the health implications of a new program on seniors and people with disabilities. These experiences deepened her understanding of the nursing profession.

Career services have an important role to play in connecting students to experiential learning. Recognizing this, the University of Prince Edward Island has launched a new Professionalization Badge for students who want to develop and demonstrate their professional competencies.

“UPEI is helping students develop and communicate their skills,” says Tara Corman, a Student Advisor for the Experiential Education and Work-Integrated Learning office. “To earn their badges, students focus on labour market literacy, communication skills and professional skills.”

This initiative, which embraces the influences managers, labour market information and the broader community can have on students, may serve as a useful model for other post-secondary institutions.

Closing thoughts

With all the different influences jobseekers face, it can be challenging to decide on a suitable path. But by viewing educators, family, peers, managers and the greater community as potential resources, and helping jobseekers make sense of their advice and experiences with LMI, career professionals can help clients take steps toward a successful and rewarding career path.

Gloria Welton owns and manages The Employment Journey on PEI. Prior to her entrepreneurial endeavors, she was a Career Exploration Co-ordinator for Holland College and New Brunswick Community College in Saint John. She started in the career development field in 1986. She is amazed at the many opportunities that have come her way, providing enriched experiences working to help others navigate the world of career planning.

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How automation and data analytics will affect jobs in oil and gasCareering

How automation and data analytics will affect jobs in Canada’s energy industry

February 6, 2019By
Changes in every sub-sector of this industry are creating new or emerging opportunities for jobseekers

By Breanne O’Reilly

Economic ups and downs are not new for Canada’s energy industry. However, the market downturn that started in late 2014 hit the industry particularly hard.[i] In response, the energy industry focused on gaining efficiencies through the implementation of new technologies and a 25% reduction in its workforce.[ii]

The people, occupations and skills that remain to support the exploration, development and production of Canada’s oil and gas resources today have also changed.

PetroLMI – a division of Energy Safety Canada that provides labour market information and trends for Canada’s energy industry – conducted research into how jobs have changed and what skills are going to be required to work in the industry going forward. PetroLMI’s mandate is to collaborate with industry, government and training agencies to support and advance the development of a sustainable, skilled and productive workforce.

In June 2018, PetroLMI published a report funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program, A Workforce in Transition: Oil and Gas Skills of the Future, to share its research findings.

“Our research focused on key trends affecting the oil and gas labour market,” says Carol Howes, Vice President, Communications and PetroLMI for Energy Safety Canada. “An important trend influencing jobs and skills – not unlike other industries – is the increase in automation and more focus on areas such as data analytics.”

A deep dive into automation and data analytics

As with many other industries, the oil and gas industry is implementing automation and using more data analytics to improve its operations and decision-making in order to increase productivity, increase profitability and enhance safety.

“Automation is the use of control systems to operate equipment with minimal or reduced human intervention,” explains Howes. “You’ve heard of autonomous cars, but for the oil and gas industry think driverless heavy haul trucks, minimally manned drill rigs or remote sensors inspecting pipelines.”

Meanwhile, data analytics is the process of examining data sets to make better decisions about the information they contain.

“The oil and gas industry collects a lot of data but historically it hasn’t been used to its full extent. We hear more and more about how big data is being used, and the oil and gas industry is looking at how it can use its data to better inform decisions,” says Howes.

Increased use of automation and data analytics is occurring in every sub-sector of the oil and gas industry and creating new or emerging opportunities for career seekers. Below are some examples.

Exploration and production

Exploration and Production (E&P) is the sub-sector that finds and produces oil and gas. Many E&P companies are large, nationally recognized firms that employ a wide variety of workers, from land negotiators to geologists, technologists to administrative assistants, accountants to engineers, safety managers to environmental specialists.

Automation is largely a way to help workers do their jobs better by eliminating repetitive manual tasks. Companies are requiring more data scientists to apply data analytics to reduce costs. More technologists will also be needed to manage the data.

Oil sands

Oil sands – a mixture of sand, water, clay and bitumen – are produced in northern Alberta. Oil sands deposits are primarily deep in the ground and extracted via Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD). About 20% of the deposits are shallow enough to be extracted through open pit mining. As a result, this sub-sector is heavily reliant on heavy equipment operators in addition to people with expertise in engineering, upgrading oil sands into a light/sweet synthetic crude, safety, and environmental monitoring and reclamation.

Several mining operations are already piloting – or have begun using – driverless automated heavy hauler trucks, a trend that is expected to continue. The rollout of autonomous vehicles could result in job losses among heavy equipment operators across the oil sands mining sector. However, automation creates demand for instrumentation technicians and heavy equipment operators with upgraded training as these autonomous vehicles need to be maintained, repaired and updated on a regular basis.

Oil and gas services

Oil and gas service companies employ the most workers in the oil and gas industry. They provide support services during all phases of exploration and production (including oil sands). Many of the jobs are in remote field locations and use highly advanced technology.

Automation and the use of more data analytics are in early stages of adoption in this sub-sector. As more companies invest in the technology, more work will be accomplished with less equipment and fewer workers. The increase in automation means workers will continue to require mechanical skills to install or operate equipment, but they will also need to understand and operate newer electronic systems. There will be new occupations focused on installing, servicing and updating automated systems on drilling rigs and hydraulic fracturing equipment. Data analytics drive the ability to get more information from the field, and this requires skills in interpreting data and using the information to improve processes.

Pipelines

The pipeline sub-sector of the energy industry transports product to market. Some companies also gather, process and store oil and gas by-products. Jobs in this sub-sector are diverse, from laying pipe to consulting with communities, to working in logistics, pipeline integrity, safety or the environment, to researching in a lab developing new technologies.

Pipeline companies have been early adopters of automation technologies and therefore have already made many adjustments to their workforces. Additional skills in processing and interpreting data will be needed going forward, along with IT and instrumentation technologists to install and maintain the expanding array of remote sensors and other equipment. More data scientists will also be needed to interpret the ever-expanding amount of data available, to improve equipment maintenance and operations.

Future forward

For more information, you can read the report on careersinoilandgas.com. The website, Careers in Oil + Gas, also houses a Career Explorer online tool that allows users to not only search and compare more than 100 occupations in the oil and gas industry, but to view and apply directly to relevant job postings on the Government of Canada’s Job Bank website.

AUTHOR BIO

As PetroLMI’s Outreach and Communications Advisor, Breanne O’Reilly is responsible for communicating and distributing labour market data, trends and insights. As well, O’Reilly disseminates PetroLMI’s occupational tools and resources for workforce and career planning and manages the Careers in Oil + Gas website.

References

[i] Labour Market Outlook 2017 to 2021 for Canada’s Oil and Gas Industry. (PetroLMI)

[ii] Labour Productivity in Canada’s Oil and Gas Industry: A Discussion of Historical Trends and Future Implications. (PetroLMI)

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Careering

Fostering career agility in STEM

February 6, 2019By
These four fundamentals are key to success in a rapidly changing field

By Caroline Burgess

The number of disciplines and sub-disciplines in STEM already seems overwhelming and new fields continue to emerge. How can career development practitioners help their STEM clients navigate a diverse and increasingly digital economy? The answer, in my mind, is to focus on the fundamentals.

During 14 years as a mentor or coach to emerging adults pursuing careers in STEM, it has been my observation that career success in STEM depends on having the following:

  1. A growth mindset
  2. Valuable transferable skills
  3. Relevant work experience
  4. An internal locus of control
Developing a growth mindset

 Psychologist Carol Dweck has defined a growth mindset as a belief that your abilities can be developed through hard work and a willingness to iterate in the face of failure – to employ other strategies and try again1. A growth mindset is critical in STEM because of the need to upgrade or acquire new knowledge and skills to keep pace with advances in technology and changes in the economy.

The exercise outlined below is one I use with every client to encourage a growth mindset. It is based on the concept of “flow,” defined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihaly as an activity in which your whole being is involved and you are using your skills to the utmost2.

Write a brief description of three peak experiences that can be taken from any combination of school, work or extra-curricular activities. Each experience must have the following elements:

  •  It called on all of your skill or expertise (in a particular area)
  •  You felt challenged but not overwhelmed
  •  You were so engaged that you were unaware of the passage of time
  •  You felt a sense of power immediately after the experience, aware that you had met the challenge and, perhaps, even exceeded your own expectations

By tapping into a time when they have successfully tackled a challenge, clients seem more receptive to challenging themselves in other ways – for example, by taking a challenging course, considering a difficult degree program or applying for a job they are not completely qualified for.

Identifying key transferable skills

Valuable transferable skills are essential to agility in a dynamic economy because, unlike specialized knowledge, they can be applied in a variety of sectors; they are also the key to jumping on emerging fields. The most valuable transferable skills in STEM are mathematics, computer science and physics. These also take the most time and practice to master.

My recommendation to clients is to start acquiring valuable transferable skills early and to keep at it. I encourage clients in high school to take as many math and computer science courses as they can, and to take Grade 11 and Grade 12 Physics even if they are not required for admission to the STEM programs they are considering3. I encourage university clients in STEM to take a minimum of one full year of physics as well as advanced math and computer science courses, even if it means extending the length of their degrees; a BSc in biology with a minor in mathematics or computer science is a much more powerful degree than one without.

Tapping into the power of relevant experience

I encourage all of my clients, including those considering graduate or professional school, to acquire a minimum of 16 months of relevant work experience before they complete their undergraduate degrees in STEM – either through a co-operative program, or by incorporating a professional year between their third and fourth academic years4.

Students who have acquired relevant work experience, including industry experience, before they graduate, stand out from their peers with respect to: 1) the valuable transferable skills they have acquired and practiced, including technical and soft skills and 2) the size and diversity of their networks. In addition, these students also develop confidence from tackling challenging problems in work environments that encourage risk-taking and embrace the process of iteration.

Keeping clients in the driver’s seat

I strongly believe in the capability and resourcefulness of my clients, and my interactions with them are designed to foster an internal locus of control. I give clients homework to complete before each meeting to emphasize that they are the ones driving the career development process. To encourage my clients to be intentional, I ask each of them to complete the following exercise:

Construct a personal table of values with four columns and as many rows as you need. Label the columns “Value,” “Value Definition,” “Importance” (score from 1 to 5) and “How Presently Lived” (score from 1 to 5). In this context, a value is defined as something that you want to experience or “live” to some degree.

I let them know that their values are likely to change as they progress in their careers and their lives, but that it is important to understand why, at this stage, they might choose one option over another.

I also ask clients considering post-secondary options to construct a pie chart that gives a percentage weight to each of the following: “opportunity to acquire valuable transferable skills,” “opportunity for relevant work experience” and some combination of their values (adding to 100%). I then ask them to score and rank each of their options accordingly. Again, this exercise reinforces intentionality and an internal locus of control.

Success in STEM demands a commitment to life-long learning. It doesn’t stop at graduation. I often use the visual of a climbing wall to encourage clients in transition to be intentional about next steps. Where do they want to end up? What is attainable from where they are now? For example, a client with a degree in physics is a good candidate for a transition to data science, but an intermediate step might be online courses in Python coding and machine learning. By encouraging a growth mindset and fostering an internal locus of control, I hope to impart on my clients a sense that their future is in their own hands and that it looks very bright.

Caroline Burgess, CCDP, has spent her entire career in STEM. Trained as an engineer, educator and career consultant, she has experience and contacts in industry, research and government. She has been a mentor or coach to emerging adults pursuing careers in STEM since 2004 and can be reached through her website at CarolineBurgess.ca.

References

  1. The Atlantic, “How Praise Became a Consolation Prize: Helping children confront challenges requires a more nuanced understanding of the “growth mindset”.” (Dec 16, 2016)  https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/12/how-praise-became-a-consolation-prize/510845/ 
  2. Csikszentmihaly, Mihaly (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper Collins.
  3. Burgess, Caroline. “To Acquire Valuable Transferable Skills in High School, Avoid the Bin Mentality”. http://www.carolineburgess.ca/to-acquire-valuable-transferable-skills-in-high-school-avoid-the-bin-mentality/
  4. Burgess, Caroline. “Include Relevant Work Experience in Any STEM Education Plan”. http://www.carolineburgess.ca/include-relevant-work-experience-in-any-stem-education-plan/
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Is a science degree a guarantee of employment?Careering

Is a science degree a guarantee of employment?

February 6, 2019By
It is widely assumed that sciences offer students a ‘safe’ future. While there are many opportunities available, expectations do not always align with reality

By Lucie Demers

They are passionate about science: they read, examine, experiment. They are high achievers in mathematics, chemistry and physics. They dream of contributing to the improvement of health and the quality of life on a global scale. They are hopeful for the future: careers in science offer good, stable, well-paid jobs, don’t they?

Although this field offers many opportunities, the job market is not always favourable to graduates. The unemployment rate for graduate students is amongst the highest[i], compared to applied sciences, humanities, letters, etc. So why is it still so widespread that sciences offer a ​​”safe” future?

There are important elements to know about careers in science and research. The goal here is not to praise nor to criticize taking up a career in science, it is to present the essential information to better accompany teens and young adults who are considering a career in the scientific field.

Employment statistics of recent graduates

As in any career-orientation process, employment statistics indicate the ease (or not) that graduates of a specific field have entering into the job market.

In the field of science, data from statistical surveys are often very encouraging. On the other hand, some must be interpreted with caution.

  • In disciplines with few students (e.g. physics), the very small sample size may lead us to question the reliability of the unemployment rate. [ii]
  • 73% of civil engineering graduates with a bachelor’s degree have a full-time job related to their training, compared with 5.3% in physics.[iii]
  • A question must be pondered: have people pursuing a master’s degree pursued their studies by choice or for lack of finding a job?
  • There may even be different realities within the same discipline (e.g. chemistry) depending on the specialization chosen by the graduates (e.g. organic chemistry, materials chemistry or theoretical chemistry). Why? Statistics on training programs only show the average of their category. The difficulties of professional integration encountered by graduates of certain specializations are thus camouflaged.
  • Employee compensation, regional employment opportunities and changes in the employment market may also explain why some science graduates (in physics, chemistry and math) have a harder time entering the job market than science graduates in engineering or applied sciences[iv].
Evaluating employment data with a critical eye

Employment statistics are a treasure chest of valuable data, but are insufficient in making an informed career choice. It is therefore essential to consult other sources, but it is important to be aware of their limitations and know how to validate the information they provide.

First, the data provided by some institutions may seem reliable, but their interests must be weighed. Each student is a potential source of income for universities, so some may present their data to their best advantage to attract a maximum number of students. The same is true for professional groups, which must support their industry by meeting companies’ ever-growing workforce needs. Therefore, one should not hesitate to cross-check the employment statistics conveyed in certain advertisements.

Newspaper articles are another source of potential information, but there is also a need to be critical of them. For example, one should be wary of articles that cite only one source of information, only quote industry representatives or use statistics in isolation.

In some government information sources, which are otherwise quite neutral, the employment outlook indicators are rather vague (e.g. good, acceptable, weak). Other sources are very useful for taking the pulse of a field (e.g. job offers, student associations, recent graduates, mentors, etc.), but the information collected is subjective; it may not be representative of the entire field.

Overall, each source of information has its advantages and disadvantages. That’s why guidance counsellors and career professionals are the best sources to help jobseekers make an informed decision.

3 things to know about graduate studies and research

Have a client who wants to do a master’s degree or a doctorate in science, or who is interested in research? Here are some things you need to know.

  • In some areas, a graduate degree is not conditional to employment. For the employer, a doctorate is not a guarantee of resourcefulness or ability to innovate.
  • Research is an extremely competitive field, with a global span. Which researcher will publish his or her results first? Many scientists work evenings and weekends to stay in the race.
  • Researchers are accountable to the organization that hires them or funds their research. Their position may be up for grabs if they do not reach the expected goals.
Becoming a scientific researcher

Only 20% of doctoral graduates are employed as full-time university professors.[v],[vi] Students who are interested in this type of career should prepare by:

  • Reading scientific articles
  • Acquiring early experience such as internships
  • Differentiating themselves from other students in their class (by having good academic results, which are the main selection criterion for the award of summer research internships and master’s scholarships)
  • Approaching researchers they wish to have as supervisors early on
  • Doing a post-doctoral internship
  • Targeting the best laboratories, which welcome the most eminent researchers and have more resources to finance large projects
  • Applying to scholarships for research funding

In the end, the best choices are those made wisely, by knowing and acknowledging the facts, and respecting personal values ​​and interests.

This article was inspired by the book Les carrières en sciences – Astuces pour éviter les pièges (2017), by Dr Maxime Bergeron.

Lucie Demers is guidance counsellor and editorial director at Septembre éditeur, a publishing house specialized in career guidance content. She has contributed to the development of several books and digital tools over the last seven years.

References

[i] Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur (MEES). «Enquêtes Relance», MEES, http://www.education.gouv.qc.ca/references/indicateurs-et-statistiques/enseignement-superieur/enquetes-relance/

[ii] Idem.

[iii] Idem.

[iv] Paquin, G. (2012). «Inscriptions universitaires: le génie minier trouve le bon filon», La Presse, http://affaires.lapresse.ca/portfolio/ ingenieurs/201211/08/01-4591617-inscriptions-universitaires-le-genie- minier-trouve-le-bon-filon.php

[v] Braün, D. (2014). «Faire de longues études pour mal gagner sa vie», Radio-Canada, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/656835/postdoctorants-canadiens-difficultes

[vi] Munro, D. (2015). «Where Are Canada’s PhDs Employed?», Le Conference Board du Canada, https://www.conferenceboard.ca/press/newsrelease/15-11-24/Where_Are_Canada_s_PhDs_employed.aspx

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Careering

Case Study: Bridging the gap through profession-specific mentor matches

February 6, 2019By
Successfully matching clients with mentors requires a lot of preparation, but the outcome can make it all worthwhile

By Ritu Ganju

In this recurring Careering feature, career professionals share their real-life solutions to common problems in the field.

For close to eight years I have worked with immigrants, matching them with professional mentors in their field of work. I have seen magical partnerships form, resulting in life-long friendships. The newcomer mentees I work with arrive with unique skill sets, tremendous hope, courage and aspirations to build a successful career in Canada. In most cases, they also have extensive international work experience.

Pat’s story

The memory of one wonderful mentor-mentee relationship remains very close to my heart. During my first year of making mentor matches, I met Pat, who arrived in Halifax as a government-assisted refugee. He dreamed of becoming a pilot. It would have been quite a daunting task to embark on this challenging career if not for the support he received from the local settlement organization, his community and his mentor.

When I first met with him during my intake session, he said, “It was during my first flight I took from Congo that I dreamed of becoming a pilot.” Very innocently, he inquired if he could become a pilot in Canada and if I could match him with a mentor who could provide him with guidance and support toward achieving this goal.

I wanted Pat to go through the intake orientation and understand that a successful mentoring partnership would require him to drive the mentoring relationship and initiate regular contact with his mentor. I explained he would need to respect his mentor’s time and be available to meet his mentor with planned agenda items at a place and time convenient for both of them. The key to establishing a successful mentoring relationship would include creating a relationship of trust and honesty, establishing short- and long-term goals, and having open communications with the mentor at all times.

While I worked to find a mentorship match, I recommended Pat continue with his research on licensing requirements, complete his education and take up a survival job. During our intake session, I emphasized that his mentor would not get him a job or a pilot’s license.

Pat flew Air Ambulance with EHS.
Finding an ideal match

I did not have a pilot in my mentor rolodex. Recruiting a mentor for Pat would require deeper considerations and some extra efforts.

A mentor’s job is to serve as a positive role model. Mentors build a relationship with their mentee by planning and participating in activities with them, helping build their self-esteem and motivation, and assisting them in setting goals and working toward them.

In Pat’s case, the mentor needed to go an extra mile and understand his background and story. Arriving as a refugee can be quite traumatic. I wanted to match Pat with someone who would be empathetic, dependable and open-minded, as well as honest about challenges and how to overcome them. The mentor needed to support Pat’s larger vision of success and help broaden his professional network.

So, I was extremely fortunate to meet Alan, Pat’s eventual mentor, during a networking event. Professional pilots are extremely busy and have limited time to volunteer due to their extensive flying hours and busy schedules. As luck would have it, Alan had just retired from flying and was looking forward to volunteering and giving back to the community. Alan seemed to be a perfect fit because of his gentle and kind personality. I knew he would be a perfect role model for Pat. I discussed Pat’s background and expectations with Alan and he was more than happy to become his mentor.

In a short time, I was able to fix the first introductory meeting between the two, where goals and expectations were discussed. At the end of the meeting, Alan invited Pat to join him in servicing his personal aircraft over the weekend. I could see the excitement in Pat’s eyes – there was no looking back after that. Alan had taken Pat under his wings! The next time I followed up with them, I received photographs of them flying together. They even invited me to fly with them a couple of times, but I never gathered enough courage to go in the air.

The magic of mentorship

Pat and his mentor worked together, flew together and celebrated together. At every stage of Pat’s success, his mentor supported him. Whether it was providing guidance through the admission process to flying schools or assisting with access to technical materials, his mentor was always by his side.

Today, Pat is a licensed pilot and teaches people to fly. I look forward to one day flying on a commercial aircraft he captains.

Pat shared what the mentorship relationship meant to him in an email:

“Alan helped me in guiding me through my training. He advised me on what route to follow in achieving my childhood dream. After completing my commercial pilot license, Alan advised me to go through instructing. When I completed the course, I was hopeless, as I couldn’t find a job. Alan managed to get me contacts for the director of flight operations at the flight college. I sent my resume and lucky enough I was hired as a flight instructor at what happens to be one of the best flight schools in Canada.”

Ritu Ganju works as Coordinator, Professional Mentorship Program and Team Lead for the Business and Workforce Integration at Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia
(ISANS). She has over 20 years of experience in the field of education and career development. She constantly seeks creative ways to foster a dynamic learning environment for mentees and integrate immigrants into their work environment. Ganju received a nomination as one of The Top 25 Immigrants in the Maritimes 2018.

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Evolution of a career development association: Supporting practitioners on the journey toward professionalization

November 12, 2018By
How the Manitoba Association for Career Development has helped CDPs develop skills, share resources and build capacity within the field

By Deanna England

The first meeting of what would become the Manitoba Association for Career Development (MACD) took place in May of 2013. It was held in a local pub with a total of three attendees. Fast forward five years and the association has passed by-laws (June 2016), hosted Annual General Meetings (November 2016 and 2017), has an elected board, has a growing membership body including annual fees, offers professional development events and co-ordinates the provincial Career Development Conference “Let’s Get to Work,” which hosts over 100 attendees annually in November during Career Month.

The journey to creating a provincial association was the culmination of several events. In 2009, the Canadian Career Development Foundation (CCDF) released the “Pan-Canadian Mapping Study of the Career Development Sector.” This study had considerable Manitoban involvement and signalled a desire for the establishment of a local organization specifically to look at certification. The following year, current MACD board member Ahniko Handford returned from completing her Career Development certificate in BC, having noticed that the significant presence of a sector organization (such as the British Columbia Career Development Association) was absent in Manitoba.

At the same time, current President Troy Mercer and Vice-President Gail Langlais completed their Career Development certificates in Winnipeg. After participating in the CCDF study, many of their classmates acknowledged the same organizational gap in the local community. It didn’t take long before Mercer, Langlais and Handford found each other, and the first steps toward the creation of a network began.

Beyond the 2009 CCDF study, the vision for a Manitoban organization was informed by the needs and priorities of practitioners in the region, which were reflected in additional studies performed in Canada at the time. These studies suggested a gap in terms of support, resources and capacity-building in the career development field. Significantly, in 2011, CERIC sent out a national survey to career service professionals. The results showed that 11% of respondents were considering leaving the field due to burnout. In a 2015 followup, CERIC again found that burnout was listed as one of the most prevalent reasons for consideration of leaving the field.

In 2014 and 2018, MACD performed local surveys. The responses revealed that 59% (2014) and 45% (2018) of respondents had fewer than 10 years in the profession. In addition, when asked what they would find the most useful in terms of professional development, respondents overwhelmingly identified the opportunity to network with others in the field.

Similarly, in 2013, ContactPoint shared an article by Kathy McKee on “Career Practitioners and Mental Health.” McKee pointed out that “career practitioners … were puzzled by the complexity of working with people with mental health challenges and a feeling of inadequacy or lack of expertise in this area.” She indicated that “[t]he research uncovered that almost half of career practitioners themselves report as having mental health problems.” While the MACD survey did not address the mental wellness of practitioners, it did ask whether they felt they had sufficient coaching, mentoring and training opportunities. Only 42% confirmed that they had adequate training, while 85% indicated that they gained their knowledge and skills mainly while on the job.

In 2016, a subsequent article by Deirdre Pickerell and Roberta Neault highlighted the need for increased resilience within the career development field. Pickerell and Neault pointed out that “when the challenge is too great for the available capacity, individuals can feel overwhelmed; unaddressed, this can lead to burnout and, ultimately, disengagement or apathy.”

“On a national, provincial and local level, having the opportunity to develop skills, share resources and build capacity within the field has been consistently identified with each survey of CDPs.”

In MACD’s 2018 survey, respondents summarized what topics they would like to see at the next provincial conference; 25% reported wanting to learn how to get more done with less staff and 15% wanted strategies for managing workloads. When asked what kind of sponsor industries they would like to see at this event, over 88% selected health and wellness.

In 2017, MACD hosted a strategic planning session to allow Manitoban practitioners to connect and share their professional needs. From this meeting, an Operational Plan from 2017-2020 emerged, with Goal #1 identified as “Bring awareness and highlight the importance of career development.” This confirmed results from the 2014 MACD survey indicating that 70% of Manitoba practitioners feel that developing an identity for the profession should be a very important goal for the organization. Achieving this goal would more clearly articulate the practitioners’ sense of community, professional development and offer increased capacity via the connection to valuable resources. This strategic-planning session highlighted the desire and dedication of the local population to offer their time, energy and expertise to create a network of professionalism and support.

Career development practitioners have expressed a desire to network and build community.

On a national, provincial and local level, having the opportunity to develop skills, share resources and build capacity within the field has been consistently identified with each survey of CDPs. This priority informed the management shift of the “Let’s Get to Work” conference from Career Trek – a local not-for-profit that works with career development for young people – to MACD in 2017. This transition enabled the Manitoba sector to sustain this event and allowed revenues to flow directly back to the local career development community.

This matters, as notwithstanding issues such as staffing limitations and time, an additional barrier to participation in professional development (PD) opportunities is cost. Over 60% of the respondents surveyed by MACD indicated that PD is too expensive for them either personally or organizationally – not a surprising response considering almost 70% of the sector identifies as working either in a not-for-profit agency or as a private service provider. Recognizing the need to mitigate lack of funding as a potential added stressor, MACD’s “Let’s Get to Work” conference offers members discounted rates to enable them to attend. In addition to the annual conference, MACD in 2018 also hosted free workshops on the future of work, planned happenstance, and Manitoba’s labour market and job openings forecast.

The third Annual General Meeting in November of 2018 will display the first “passing of the torch” of the MACD board. The initial board elected in 2016 will have the opportunity to present their achievements since inception and offer the opportunity for others to join in the development of this burgeoning organization. The continuing growth of MACD not only allows the membership to take advantage of valuable resources and opportunities, it also lets practitioners have a voice in its direction and progress. Consequently, each practitioner’s contribution assists in developing capacity, expertise and overall wellness within the field. While still in its nascent stages, the future looks bright moving forward for the small but mighty Manitoba Association for Career Development and the resilience of its members.

Deanna England is a member of the inaugural board of the Manitoba Association for Career Development. This burgeoning organization was created to promote the standards of practice for career development practitioners through education, professional growth and certification throughout the province of Manitoba. More information may be found at: http://www.macd-mb.org/

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How Mental Health First Aid works and why it’s needed

November 12, 2018By
This interactive program helps participants identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness

By Stephen James Landry

One in five Canadians will experience a mental-health problem this year with a cost to the economy in excess of $50 billion, according to the Mental Health Commission of Canada. Given the prevalence of mental-health issues, it is crucial that workplaces are educated on how to respond.

What is Mental Health First Aid?

Mental Health First Aid, a program of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, is an interactive training program that teaches participants to recognize the signs that a person may be developing a mental-health problem or experiencing a mental-health crisis.  Participants learn how to provide initial help and guide the person to appropriate professional resources.

It helps participants build mental-health literacy, decreases stigmatizing attitudes, and helps individuals identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness.

Mental Health First Aid teaches about recovery and resiliency – the belief that individuals experiencing these challenges can and do get better, and use their strengths to stay well.

First established in Australia in 2001, more than 300,000 Canadians are currently trained in Mental Health First Aid. The program is active in 25 countries including Canada, China and the United States. MHFA Canada is available in both English and French.

How it works

MHFA is similar to physical first aid administered to an injured person before medical treatment can be obtained. MHFA is given until appropriate treatment is found or until the crisis is resolved. The opportunity to practice – through role playing, scenarios and activities – makes it easier to apply these skills in a real-life situation.

MHFA teaches participants to follow an action plan for a variety of situations, including:

  • Panic attacks
  • Suicidal thoughts or behaviours
  • Non-suicidal self-injury
  • Acute psychoses (e.g., hallucinations or delusions)
  • Overdose or withdrawal from alcohol or drug use
  • Reaction to a traumatic event
Why Mental Health First Aid is needed

Mental-health problems can affect a person’s ability to work, look after themselves and maintain relationships. This can also be costly for businesses.

According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada, 82% of organizations rank mental-health conditions in their top three causes of short-term disability (72% for long-term).

If unaddressed, the impact of mental-health problems on lost productivity (due to absenteeism, presenteeism and turnover) will cost Canadian businesses $198-billion over the next 30 years.

The vision for Mental Health First Aid is to have every Canadian in need within reach of effective mental health first aid. Too often people suffer in silence, not knowing where to turn. In order for this vision to become a reality, organizations provide a safe space for employees to discuss their mental health in the workplace and provide supports, in addition to Employment Assistance Programs (which are not available in every workplace).

Are you in crisis? Call Crisis Services Canada at 1.833.456.4566, text 45645 or go to crisisservicescanada.ca.

Stephen James Landry is an Employment Consultant at the City of Ottawa. He completed his CDP (Career Development Practitioner) accreditation from Career Development Practitioners Certification Board of Ontario. He regularly advocates for his clients to upgrade their lifelong learning, including taking Mental Health First Aid courses to increase self-awareness and to assist others. He has a strong connection to Mental Health First Aid through his current work and will be taking the Mental Health First Aid for Seniors in September 2018. Landry has helped clients with mental health issues for over 25 years.

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Self-care can combat burnout for career development practitioners

November 9, 2018By
How CPDs can develop a self-care plan to prevent compassion fatigue and burnout

By Dr Michael Sorsdahl

Career development practitioners (CDPs) are helping professionals who get drawn into their line of work due to their desire to help others. Jacobson’s research[1] in 2012 demonstrated that helping professionals often have a tendency to put others’ needs ahead of their own, which puts the practitioner at risk of experiencing mental-health issues such as compassion fatigue or burnout.

Shannon et al.[2] in 2014 outlined the same risks in the helping professions, and conducted research specifically on social-work students to see what self-care strategies could help build resilience against those risks. According to Shannon et al. and Merriman (2015)[3], some of the most common mental-health issues that helping professionals such as CDPs face are vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue and burnout. The articles cited above along with Sansbury, Graves and Scott (2015)[4] found that if these issues are left unchecked, helping practitioners risk doing harm to clients instead of helping them. However, there are ways to build resilience and counter these mental-health issues; it just takes awareness and commitment by the practitioner.

Consider the safety brief on an airplane that tells people to put their own oxygen mask on first before helping others; this concept of self-protection is just as important for helpers to heed, or they risk mental-health issues. CDPs must be aware that burnout, compassion fatigue and other conditions are a common by-product of working in the helping field. This can have consequences not only for the helper, but also for their family and friends if they take these issues home. Exploring and implementing ways to increase resilience, and becoming more proactive in looking after oneself, will lessen the mental-health risks of working in a helping profession.

Understanding what to look for is an important first step in the proper response to and prevention of vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue, which can lead to complete burnout. Vicarious trauma looks very much like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma injury symptomology as laid out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. PTSD or trauma reactions may occur after exposure to a traumatic event (including hearing details about one), which can result in the existence of intrusive symptoms such as negative thoughts or behaviours, avoidance of traumatic triggers, changes in mood, changes in reactions and arousal, and feeling highly distressed.

Compassion fatigue is a little different, and includes the following symptoms:

  • Changes in personal identity and world view
  • Social withdrawal
  • Lack of trust in others
  • Feelings of helplessness
  • Becoming easily emotionally overwhelmed
  • Numbing or disconnection from any distressing feelings related to the event
  • Loss of connectedness to others and self
  • Hypervigilance
  • Difficulty connecting with joy

If these symptoms are left unchecked, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment may occur. Ultimately, the perceived demands of the job will outweigh the resources to do it, which may cause people to burn out and leave the helping profession.

Developing a self-care plan

Career development practitioners can build resilience by creating a workable and adaptable self-care plan that is designed for the specific helper. Shannon et al. (2014) along with Sansbury et al. (2015) have shown that this practice increases life satisfaction and can help practitioners build resilience to cope with stress.

When creating a self-care plan, consider that a good self-care strategy meets these three conditions: 1) specific enough to be implementable, 2) flexible enough to fit into your busy life, and 3) enjoyable.

Shannon et al. (2014) and Sansbury et al. (2015) have shown that the best self-care plans span multiple areas of people’s lives. If a CDP creates one or two strategies in each of the following areas, then the plan is likely robust enough to help build resilience.

Examples of self-care strategies include:

  • Physical care: exercise, nutrition, sleep, massages and walking
  • Mental care: meditation, listening to/playing music, cooking, reading
  • Relational care: date nights with partner, games night with friends, dinner with friends and telephone/Skype calls with friends/family
  • Physical environment care: keeping a clean home, spending time outdoors, taking vacations

It can be helpful to reflect on activities that you have found enjoyable, along with things you might like to try in the future. This will give you a database of options to work from. If the activity is not enjoyable, it is not self-care. There are healthy things that we “should” do, but that does not make them self-care strategies – just necessary actions for healthy living. Depending on the helper’s life circumstances, either more strategies or increased time doing selected strategies may be required to counter the negative symptoms outlined above.

Vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue and burnout are a risk for helping professionals such as career development practitioners. If the CDP combines awareness of symptoms that indicate these conditions with a strong self-care plan, resilience to these stressors can be built. Making the helpers’ health a priority is essential to remaining competent in their work.

Assessing your need to review self-care strategies
  • Take a Quality of Life Assessment or wellness survey periodically to track dips
  • Journal regularly about your levels of stress
  • Review self-care strategies to see if you still enjoy them (if not, change them)
  • Ask a friend/family/co-worker to help identify any of your negative symptoms
  • Seek supervision in your work to debrief regularly

Dr. Michael Sorsdahl, CD, PhD(Education), RCC, CCC, GCDF-i, Provisional Psychologists (Alberta) is a psychotherapist, provisional psychologist, and educator who works in the areas of Trauma, Career, LGBTQ2+, Couples/Relationships, and counsellor education. He founded Juvenation Wellness, a counselling, coaching, and education service in BC.

References

[1] Jacobson, J.M. (2012). Risk of compassion fatigue and burnout and potential for compassion satisfaction among employee assistance professionals: Protecting the workforce. Traumatology, 18(3) 64-72). DOI: 10.1177/153476561 143 1833

[2] Shannon, P.J., Simmelink-McCleary, J., Im, H., Becher, E. & Crook-Lyon, R.E. (2014). Developing self-care practices in a trauma treatment course. Journal of Social Work Education, 50, 440-453

[3] Merriman, J. (2015). Enhancing counsellor supervision through compassion fatigue

education. Journal of Couseling & Development, 93(3), 370-378.

[4] Sansbury, B. S., Graves, K., & Scott W. (2015). Managing traumatic stress responses among clinicians: Individual and organizational tools for self-care. Trauma, 17(2), 114-122. 

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