2019

Persistent, incremental steps can lead to big jumps. Having spent much of the past 13 years striving to reach further with every step, 2018 was a year of reimagining, recalibration and reinforcement. CERIC’s 2018 Annual Report showcases how we laid the groundwork to allow us to take bigger leaps in the future.

In the 2018 Annual Report, Board Chair John Horn and Executive Director Riz Ibrahim discuss the many ways that CERIC has been advancing career development in Canada in order to enhance the economic and social well-being of Canadians. Throughout the year, CERIC continued to expand and deepen the knowledge of Canada’s career development professionals with a focus on how we can best engage with career professionals digitally going forward.

Some of the many highlights for CERIC from the past year:

• Reached a milestone at the Cannexus18 National Career Development Conference, bringing together 1,030 delegates
• Released three K-12 publications: The Early Years: Career Development for Young Children; Bridging Two Worlds: Supporting Newcomer & Refugee Youth; and Computing Disciplines: A Quick Guide for Prospective Students and Career Advisors
• Produced our 50th literature search with topics ranging from the Gig Economy to Future of Work
• Published the second edition of Retain and Gain: Career Management for Non-Profits and Charities Playbook based on the popularity of the first edition for small business
• Launched new CareerWise/OrientAction websites as sources of current content and learning in the field
• Engaged the next generation of researchers with a record 33 applicants to our Graduate Student Engagement Program
• Partnered to host 11 roadshows bringing together local stakeholders around workforce development

A few measures of our impact include:

• Achieved 9,739 free downloads of our publications and other resources
• Delivered webinars to 2,973 participants
• Distributed more than 10,000 copies of the Guiding Principles of Career Development

The 2018 Annual Report includes a review of key activities from the past year across CERIC’s three strategic priorities: Research & Learning, Community & Collaboration and Advocacy & Profile, as well as an overview of financial performance in 2018. Special thanks is also given to CERIC’s funder The Counselling Foundation of Canada, volunteers, staff and partners.

CERIC has released a new companion document to its popular Guiding Principles of Career Development that outlines a selection of the extensive research which underpins them. Compiled by Yvonne Rodney, Guiding Principles of Career Development: Anchored by Evidence lists the eight Guiding Principles with expert quotes and references from a cross-section of journals and reports that illustrate the principles’ currency, relevance and validity. The resource provides stakeholders with the theoretical grounding behind the principles.

This compendium is intended to supplement CERIC’s Guiding Principles of Career Development and demonstrate that career development is a field with decades of evidence-based research behind it. The Guiding Principles define the core elements of career development using simple and concise language presented in a colourful and engaging infographic. Created to bring greater clarity and consistency to our national conversations about career development, they serve as a starting point for discussions with clients, employers, funders, policymakers and families. Importantly, they also highlight the need to make the career development of our citizens a top priority.

The Guiding Principles of Career Development, reflecting multiple voices across CERIC, were first released to coincide with Canada Career Month in November 2016. Career professionals have been encouraged to use and share it widely. Initial response was very positive. Career professionals put the Guiding Principles infographic up in their offices and classrooms, added it to their websites, discussed it during staff meetings, included it in client counselling sessions and incorporated it into career planning curriculum.

CERIC continues to look for ways to further embed and expand the use of the Guiding Principles. More than 10,000 copies of the Guiding Principles posters have been distributed. Their practical application has been discussed at the Cannexus National Career Development Conference. They have been featured in our publications, in particular the Retain and Gain: Career Management for Small Business Playbook and Retain and Gain: Career Management for Non-Profits and Charities Playbook. A regular case study column in Careering magazine now also appears in each issue where career professionals explain how they apply one of the eight principles in their work.

As a next development, this fall CERIC will release a series of Guiding Principles Action Plans for career practitioners to use when working with different client groups (eg, high school-aged youth, post-secondary students, educated and underemployed individuals, long-term unemployed adults, older workers transitioning to retirement and newcomers). The purpose of the Action Plans is to offer insights and ideas for working with particular populations of clients that align with the Guiding Principles of Career Development, including discussion questions and activities.

“Green” has been a buzzword in recent years. But what does environmental sustainability mean to career professionals and their clients amid a changing climate? CERIC’s literature search, Climate Change and Career Development, highlights important implications of climate change for the future world of work.

Topics covered in the literature search include:

• Top trends and reports on green careers
• Green-positive life counselling and decent work
• Educational programs available in Canada for green employment
• Impact of climate change on careers
• Green careers and future labour market
• Career challenges and opportunities led by climate change

There are now 54 literature searches available, including Career Development Theory and Career Management Models, Economic Benefits of Career Guidance, Parental Involvement in Career Development, Labour Market Trends, Mental Health Issues in the Workplace, and more.

Featuring comprehensive listings of key research and articles in career development, literature searches highlight critical points of current knowledge. As a student, academic or practitioner in the field, literature searches are helpful if you are researching the latest thinking or proven best practices. They are also valuable if you are considering a submission to CERIC for project partnership funding in order to gain an overview of major work already done in your area of interest.

The Canadian Journal of Career Development (CJCD) has been granted a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) award of $72,750 to help the journal update its website and continue to provide full open access. The funds will support plans to redesign the website, appoint a new editorial advisory board and create an interactive, digital submissions and editing platform to grow a stronger base of international contributors and readers over the next three years.

CJCD is a partnership project between CERIC and Memorial University of Newfoundland with the support of The Counselling Foundation of Canada. CJCD is a peer-reviewed, open-access publication focusing on career-related academic research and best practices from Canada and around the world.

“The SSHRC award allows us to improve the journal as a vehicle for academics, scholars and graduate students to continue to publish their research in a multi-sectoral approach to the field of career development and career-related issues,” said Dr Rob Shea, the journal’s Founding Editor, who is also Associate Vice-President of Academic and Student Affairs at Memorial University’s Marine Institute

“The Canadian Journal of Career Development is honoured to receive the SSHRC Aid to Scholarly Journals grant,” said Diana Boyd, the Associate Editor of CJCD. “This grant will assist the journal over the next three years to adapt to and compete in the changing market, grow both our readership and authorship and create a strong base to so we can continue to provide career-related research into the future.”

CJCD is published twice a year, once in digital format in the fall and then in both print and digital formats in the winter. It is free to subscribe to the digital editions and all issues of the journal dating back to 2002 are available to access online.

The need to effectively bridge the gap between the classroom and the world of work has ignited interest in experiential learning. CERIC’s new literature search, Experiential Learning and Career Development, takes a wide lens to experiential learning or “learning through reflection on doing,” which can include classroom-based learning (eg, case studies, simulations, team work) as well as well as workplace-integrated or community- based learning (eg, internships, co-ops or volunteering).

Topics covered in the literature search include:

• Research and best practices in experiential learning
• Role of experiential learning in advancing career development
• Evaluation of experiential learning and student outcomes
• Impact of experiential learning in the corporate world
• An experiential learning approach to support youth development

There are now 53 literature searches available, including Career Development Theory and Career Management Models, Economic Benefits of Career Guidance, Parental Involvement in Career Development, Labour Market Trends, Mental Health Issues in the Workplace, and more.

Featuring comprehensive listings of key research and articles in career development, literature searches highlight critical points of current knowledge. As a student, academic or practitioner in the field, literature searches are helpful if you are researching the latest thinking or proven best practices. They are also valuable if you are considering a submission to CERIC for project partnership funding in order to gain an overview of major work already done in your area of interest.

Career professionals often work with clients by using a variety of assessment tools and strategies. How do we identify the right type of tool to fit client needs? The Spring-Summer collaborative issue of Careering magazine with the US-based National Career Development Assessment (NCDA) highlights the theme of “Career Assessments” from a broad range of perspectives.

Articles in this issue:

• Finding the pieces, focusing on the patterns and finishing the puzzle, By Deirdre A. Pickerell
• I took five popular career assessments and here’s what I learned, By Stephanie Warner

• The role of assessment in guided career intervention, By JoAnn Harris-Bowlsbey
• A musical approach to career assessment, By Herky Cutler

More from the print edition:

• The power of play, By Marisa Brown
• Principles in Action: Change is inevitable in career development. Fear of it shouldn’t be, By Chris Callanan
• Client Side: It’s a small world after all – reflections on a career coaching journey, By Debra Thompson
• 10 Questions with Dr Chris Wood,
• Infographic: What’s in your career assessments toolbox?

…and these Online Exclusives:

• Challenges and opportunities in qualitative career assessment
• The role of assessment in the development of employability skills
• New tools for integration: Credential assessment for displaced individuals
• Case Study: Wearing many hats to help a young client find his path
• Experiential career counselling: A holistic approach to working with clients in transition
• Managing expectations about assessment results key when working with students
• How career practitioners can assess themselves
• How a lightbulb moment became a powerful narrative assessment practice

Careering magazine is Canada’s Magazine for Career Development Professionals and is the official publication of CERIC. It is published three times a year both in print and as an emagazine, including select content in French. Subscribe to receive your free copy. You can also access past issues for free online.

The next issue of Careering magazine (Fall 2019) will be on the theme of “Green Careers.” We welcome topic proposals representing a range of interpretations of this theme, from the intersection of climate change and career development, to emerging industries, to discussing sustainable careers with students in K-12, and much more. Please review our submission guidelines and send your article pitch to the Editor: lindsay@ceric.ca by June 28, 2019.