2018

While we know parents and teachers are important influences on children’s career development, little research has existed around the nature of this influence. New CERIC-funded research from Memorial University shows how the early seeds of career development in children, aged 3 to 8, are planted and how they can best be nurtured. Two free webinars based on this research – full of practical tips and activities – are now being offered by Dr Mildred Cahill on May 28 and June 1, 2018.

Free Webinar #1 – Career Development for Young Children: How Educators Can Make a Difference Monday, May 28, 2018 | 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ET

Educators will learn how to:

• Facilitate children’s development of critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making skills
• Foster an appreciation of diversity, and promote the development of strengths, interests and abilities
• Enhance children’s confidence by encouraging them to try new things and to be open to change
• Encourage children to imagine many possibilities for future selves
• Counteract bias in books, texts, other resources and the media
• Infuse career development concepts into teaching and learning (curriculum)

Free Webinar #2 – Realizing Potential: How Parents Can Support Their Children’s Early Career Development Friday, June 1, 2018 | 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ET

Parents/guardians will learn how to:

• Enhance children’s confidence by encouraging them to try new things and be open to change
• Encourage children to develop and recognize strengths, interests and abilities, and think positively about themselves
• Provide children with opportunities for imaginative play
• Help children set and accomplish appropriate goals
• Monitor the games, books and media in which children engage
• Discuss work with children, including place of work, job tasks and responsibilities

Dr Mildred Cahill is a recently retired Professor, Counselling Psychology, Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland. She is a researcher (career development, diversity, multiple technologies and counselling) and educator involved in collaborative program development work locally, nationally and internationally.

Learn more about this webinar series and register today.

The webinars are based on two recent guides published by CERIC: The Early Years: Career Development for Young Children – A Guide for Educator’s and The Early Years: Career Development for Young Children – A Guide for Parents/Guardians. Both are available for free download or print copies may be purchased.

CERIC is pleased to announce the keynote speakers for Cannexus19, Canada’s largest bilingual National Career Development Conference. Cannexus is designed to promote the exchange of information and explore innovate approaches in the areas of career counselling and career development. The conference takes place January 28-30, 2019 at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa and is expected to welcome 1,000 delegates. Delegate registration will open on July 4, 2018.

Three exciting keynote speakers will be sharing their experiences and insights:

• Dr Deborah Saucier, President, MacEwan University
• Dr Mary McMahon, Honorary Senior Lecturer, School of Education, The University of Queensland (Australia)
• The Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada (2010-2017) and Chair, Rideau Hall Foundation

CERIC will be launching exhibitor registration on June 4, 2018. Expected to sell out for a third consecutive year, exhibitors are encouraged to secure their booth space early, while spots are available.

The Cannexus19 Call for Presenters is still open. Sessions can cover innovations and best practices in career counselling/coaching techniques, employment and training programs, employee recruitment and engagement, workforce planning and more. The submission deadline is June 8, 2018.

Cannexus is presented by CERIC and supported by The Counselling Foundation of Canada and a broad network of supporting organizations.

A newly announced CERIC-funded research project aims to positively influence the practice of career educators by enabling them to work better with post-secondary students with disabilities in assisting them through their career transitions. Led by the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS), the project seeks to determine the unique barriers and career transition issues for students with disabilities. It will also identify existing innovative career education practices and what professional development resources would allow career educators to maximize the impact of their interventions with this underserved population.

Entitled “Accessibility and Universal Design in Career Transitions Programming and Services,” the project allows NEADS to expand on post-secondary accessibility research already underway to include career education and explore this important aspect of student experience and graduate success. The additional research will help to map the current landscape of accessibility, accommodation and the application of universal design principles in the career education space within post-secondary education.

NEADS has been a national and international leader in higher education policy and practice research as it relates to students with disabilities over the past decade. The project is headed by Dr Mahadeo Sukhai, NEADS’ Director of Research. NEADS is a cross-disability charitable organization with a mandate that includes supporting full access to education and employment for post-secondary students and graduates with disabilities across Canada. Dr Sukhai is also currently the Head of Research and Chief Accessibility Officer at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB).

The research will consist of an analysis of large publicly available Canadian datasets as well as bilingual nationwide surveys of campus career educators and students in post-secondary education programs, in addition to focus groups and key informant interviews. Collaborating institutions – University of Toronto, BC’s Simon Fraser University, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Manitoba’s Assiniboine College are providing additional support.

Recommendations from this study are expected by fall 2018 and will help colleges and universities to shape new programs and practices in support of disabled students successfully transitioning from education to the workforce or moving into new careers. New service delivery resources and models and professional development initiatives, which take advantage of the learnings from this project, will begin to be developed throughout the national collaborative network NEADS maintains.

CERIC provides funding and other support to develop innovative career development resources. Individuals and organizations are welcome to submit project proposals for career counselling-related research or learning projects. This project aligns with one of CERIC’s five priority funding areas: Career practitioning with social and economic impact.