2024

The future of work is changing. Youth are motivated and embrace lifelong learning as a key to their success – but they still need support. 

Join us for this FREE webinar series from RBC Future Launch to hear from three different valuable groups of panellists composed of researchers, youth-serving organizations and social enterprises discussing resources focused on supporting Canadian youth with skill development, practical work experiences, networking and mentorship supports. 

This 3-part webinar series will cover a range of engaging topics, from scholarships to post-secondary education, to practical tools for youth seeking job experiences and skill development opportunities. Participants will also get the chance to gain insights from research on the labour market and further understand the outcomes for youth participating in career development programming. 

Throughout the series, career practitioners and educators will get the chance to engage with subject matter experts and sector leaders and get actionable insights on programs and initiatives that have made a significant impact on youth. Participants will be exposed to a diversity of free programs and resources to add to their tooldkit. By the end of the series, career development practitioners – especially those working with youth aged 15-29  – will leave with practical knowledge, tools and resources they can apply and share in their work with their young clients.  

In this webinar researchers from the Youth & Innovation Project at the University of Waterloo will share the results of the RBC Young People & Economic Inclusion Longitudinal Study. A panel of youth will respond to the findings of the study. 

• Learn from research conducted by the Youth & Innovation Project at the University of Waterloo about employment outcomes for youth across Canada participating in career development programming 
• Engage with data-informed insights into young Canadians’ current reality and the future of work 
• Learn from youth directly about their outlook on the future of work 

In this webinar, RBC will share the findings of its recently published thought leadership report Untapped Potential: Opening Doors to Opportunity Through Scholarships. You will also learn about the RBC Future Launch suite of scholarships that support access to post–secondary education for youth who remain underrepresented in colleges and universities. 

• Understand the barriers youth face in accessing scholarships for post-secondary education  
• Discover how career development professionals can play a role in supporting youth navigating the ecosystem of scholarships 
• Explore collaboration opportunities across sectors to better support youth to access and benefit from scholarships 

In this webinar, participants will learn about free online programs and resources offered through RBC Future Launch from RBC partner organizations in the career development ecosystem. 

• Hear from career development professionals and other youth-serving team members at RBC partner organizations including charities and social enterprises about how their work supports youth with tools for the jobs of today and tomorrow 
• Learn what tools are available through RBC Future Launch to support skills development, practical work experience, networking and mentorship, and youth mental well-being  
• Explore how to incorporate online tools and resources into your career development/coaching practice 

Youth deserve a better chance! RBC Future Launch is a catalyst for change bringing people together to co-create solutions so young people are better prepared for the future of work. With that in mind, RBC has made a commitment to youth and to Canada’s future. Going beyond financial investment, RBC is engaging the public and private sectors to further understand the issue and make a significant impact on the lives of young Canadians. 

Access hundreds of programs, tools and resources designed by RBC’s partners to help youth launch their career. 

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Storytelling is perhaps the most time-honoured form of communication. More often than not, our first professional encounter starts with an invitation: “So, tell me about yourself”. Yet many of us are not equipped to tell our story to someone unfamiliar with our culture. Indeed, the art of storytelling draws on self-awareness, cultural sensitivity, and effective message delivery. So, how do we support a client and alleviate the stress resulting from cultural misunderstandings? How do we eliminate the risk of a client being “dismissed” before they even get assessed for the job? How can career practitioners, especially those working with diverse populations, equip their clients with the knowledge of storytelling and support them in navigating not only the process of their job search, but also their life transition?    

The series aims to empower practitioners by providing a comprehensive understanding of storytelling’s profound role, with a specific focus on pivotal aspects during significant transitions. It will prepare career practitioners with practical skills to guide clients through storytelling nuances, fostering self-confidence and preserving cultural distinctiveness. 

We’ll start the series by reviewing the differences between cultural assimilation and cultural integration. We’ll explore the essentials skills that career development practitioners need to build when helping clients to integrate their story with their culture and how they can empower clients to cultivate cultural competency by encouraging authentic storytelling. Our presenter will use intercultural learning models and point participants towards tools and resources to support their clients in finding common communication grounds when conversing with people from different cultures. 

At the end of the series, practitioners will be able to better coach their clients in telling their own stories and will have the tools to effectively support them in implementing practical steps that allow for a smooth cultural transition. Our end goal is to empower clients to preserve and appreciate their cultural uniqueness while learning how to nurture their own understanding and appreciation for cultural differences. 

Career practitioners will gain an understanding of the mechanisms that underpin cultural integration, which in turn will help them illustrate the steps clients would need to take so they can move forward. CDPs will look at these steps through the lens of those who are just entering a new workplace culture.

• Learn about intercultural relations: describe, interpret, evaluate 
• Take practical steps towards improving your understanding of other cultures 
• Revisit common cultural assumptions 
• Reevaluate the way you perceive yourself culturally 
• Observe your cultural identity in your own intercultural communication  

The importance of storytelling in one’s life will be the highlight of this second webinar of the series. With a focus on the span of a major life transition, such as moving to a new country, we will be using Nancy Schlosberg’s transitions theory to look at factors describing the Self. To showcase the importance of storytelling, we will watch video interviews and review the implications that “dismissed” or “muted” stories can have on one’s professional development, growth and mental health. 

• Revisit the history of storytelling and what determines how we communicate 
• Learn why our cultural identity is a powerful analytical tool 
• Travel through life transitions, hear about “cultural aliens” and understand the social process of “othering” 
• Locate situations, revisit the self, available supports, and learn to build new strategies 
• Review implications of intercultural miscommunication 

Learn how to find common communication grounds and encourage diverse clients to use authentic storytelling in all their professional encounters. 

• Support clients to communicate their sense of self and apply their awareness 
• Clarify with your client how to integrate their story with their culture and their listener’s culture 
• Use the transaction model of communication in various ways 
• Inspire the storyteller to align their story to their industry standards 
• Motivate storytellers to address cultural assumptions 
• Evaluate tools for analysis and self-reflection: revisit experiences, cultural assumptions, self-perceptions and fixed mindsets 

Magdalena Mot is currently the Senior Manager for Work-Integrated Learning at Capilano University. With an academic background in cultural anthropology and several years of work experience in project management, Dr. Mot’s current research interests are focused on the ties between one’s cultural heritage and the ways this inheritance affects one’s career development decisions, especially when in a major transition. Dr. Mot’s work connects experiences scattered over 25 years of living, working and studying in four different countries and speaks directly to her core values of diversity, authenticity and her drive to build inclusive communities. 

Dr. Mot is an experienced educator and she has over 12 years of teaching experience. Her specializations include career development and intercultural communication in a global business ecosystem. Currently a Certified Master of Career Services (CMCS), Dr. Mot is also the Chair of NCDA’s Global Connections Committee, and an active member of CERIC’s Practical and Academic Research Committee. 

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Artificial intelligence is now a power skill, and will soon be integrated into roles across the workforce. Generative AI is a requested skill in job descriptions across industries, and AI is one of the top skills employees want to learn. We read posts about how AI tools can be used in career services and the best prompts to use, but most are still unsure of the appropriate tools to use, how to incorporate them in a way that best serves their clients’ job search process, and what to watch out for to ensure ethical use and avoid missteps. We lack practical case studies shared from a career development lens and a reframe of “prompt engineering” that incorporates our expertise for the best outcomes from the tools. 

Generative AI and other AI tools are a powerful addition to the career service toolkit, speeding up research, improving jobseeker approach, and freeing up time for transformational coaching interaction. But they can also create content that raises red flags and provide incorrect or misleading answers.

In this series, career services providers will get a comprehensive toolkit for using AI tools and generative AI alongside career development best practices for the best client outcomes. Participants will engage in a hands-on learning series where they will be walked through several tools and scenarios to experiment with, along with opportunities to exchange and discuss with colleagues in smaller groups. Based on tests of dozens of tools, attendees will get recommendations for free or low-cost resources for working with clients, guidelines for using these tools ethically, and new ways to think about prompting in generative AI tools.

At the end of the series they will know how to use tools to improve career exploration and research, job search and interviewing, and writing career search documents like resumes, LinkedIn profiles and cover letters. 

• Review new AI-enabled assessments to increase self-awareness related to career choice 
• Use generative AI to improve brainstorming and considerations to reduce system bias in responses 
• Evaluate appropriate tools for career research and labour market information and when AI might not be the best tool 
• Get hands-on experience using the tools based on case studies 
• Learn from peers to get new ideas on using the tools to improve career exploration, research and decision-making 
• Have ways to evaluate the ethics in using systems to gain the benefits while minimizing the risks 

• Understand the many options available to jobseekers in terms of AI tools  
• Evaluate the options, advantages, disadvantages and ethical issues related to job search and interview preparation tools 
• Learn a unique prompt sequence to assist job seekers in understanding company and industry needs 
• Get hands-on experience using generative AI tools based on case studies and an understanding of how to use the tools ethically 
• Exchange ideas with peers and reframe how you approach prompts related to job search, company research and interview preparation 

• Dive deep into understanding how generative AI tools craft content and what that means for creating resume content for clients 
• Use prompts to transform career marketing content with uncanny insights into the current challenges of the target audience 
• Get a list of dos and don’ts when using generative AI in writing resumes, profiles, and other documents and tips to evaluate tools that will be best for each task 
• Wade through the popular suggestions on how to use AI tools to for writing to understand a career development professional writer’s best use case 

Marie Zimenoff is known as a pioneer on the leading edge of career industry trends and technology. She began her professional career as an advisor and recruiter in higher education while completing her M.Ed. in human resource studies, career and counselling development. In 2008—the peak of the Great Recession—Marie left the university to start her business. Inspired by a passion to make a difference in the industry, as CEO of Career Thought Leaders and Resume Writing Academy, she releases an annual industry trends white paper and trains career professionals around the globe in resume writing, career coaching and business development. She has been speaking on technology topics in the careers industry at international events like the Asia Pacific Career Development Association, national industry conferences, and career and technical education events. 

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According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, one in two Canadians have faced a mental health challenge by the time they are 40 making mental health the leading cause of disability in the country and preventing nearly 500,000 employed Canadians from attending work each week. Given this, it is likely that career development professionals are having conversations with clients who are struggling with their mental health. However, these career conversations can be difficult and challenging for CDPs.  

This webinar series will provide you with the tools to engage in these conversations in ways that are respectful, meaningful and within the bounds of your work. Indeed, as “Declining Mental Health & Well-Being” emerges as one of the 10 major changes shaping Career Development in 2040, it’s becoming more crucial than ever for CDPs to be trained in providing mental health support. To be effective, CDPs need to first understand the connection between mental health and trauma-informed practices. It is also important to understand the social determinants of mental health which involves recognizing the factors that contribute to our mental health at the individual, community and global level. Finally, and as equally crucial, CDPs must know how to take care of their own mental health while working with clients.  

This series of webinars is intended to provide career development professionals with concrete, trauma-informed tools and strategies to engage in difficult conversations and address issues related to the social determinants of mental health. Grounded in the wealth of the presenters over 50 years of collective experience working with clients in the career space and on issues of trauma and grief. The series will offer evidence-based insights crucial for CDPs.   

Participants will learn essential skills to handle difficult conversations about mental health including: how to ask trauma-informed questions; how to apply trauma-informed strategies in conversations; and how to assess the trauma-informed practices of referral sites to make appropriate referrals.  

By the end of this series CDPs will not only have the trauma-informed tools to assist them in pre-referral conversations, but they will also have the tools to elicit skills and abilities in the lives of their clients,  recognizing that when we shy away from these conversations we are missing out on key life skills and therefore career possibilities.  Furthermore, participants will leave the series with essential knowledge and self-care practices to maintain their own mental well-being. 

Participants will engage in a rich learning experience through extended 90-minute webinars, with opportunities to engage and reflect in small groups.  

• Understand the connection between trauma and mental health 
• Identify different types of trauma and how they impact career development 
• Address worries about retraumatizing: the process of rupture and repair 
• Listen for the career possibilities in trauma and mental health  conversations 

• Understand the continuum of mental health:  How to check in with clients on their mental health and the impacts on job search  
• Understand the social determinants of mental health and how to talk about these with clients 
• Learn how to make trauma-informed referrals

• Notice the signs and signals of needs for support in yourself.  
• Identify types of care – looking beyond self-care and Employee Assistance Plans 
• Understand levels of support – the role of conversations with your organization

Seanna Quressette, MEd, CCDP, is a trauma therapist with 30+ years in career development. Seanna lives with Complex Post Trauma Stress Disorder. She has taught career development professionals for 25+ years and is currently faculty at Douglas College. 

Dr. Catherine Hajnal facilitates an understanding of trauma, loss and grief including their transformative potential. For over 25 years she has been committed to creating learning environments that foster a deeper understanding of the human condition.    

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