2022

CERIC ED Riz Ibrahim to become CEO of The Counselling Foundation of Canada

September 27, 2022By

It has been announced that CERIC Executive Director Riz Ibrahim will be leaving CERIC to take on the position of President & CEO of The Counselling Foundation of Canada. He will succeed current Foundation leader Bruce Lawson in this role. The Foundation established CERIC and has been its primary funder. This transition is expected to take place in spring 2023. 

Concurrent with these announcements, Candy Ho, Chair of the CERIC Board, announced that there will be a national search for a new Executive Director (ED) to replace Ibrahim, who has been the ED of CERIC since its inception in 2003.   

 “While we are sad to lose Riz as ED, given the close relationship between the Foundation and CERIC, he won’t be far away,” says Ho. “Riz has played a pivotal role in the development of CERIC as the leading Canadian organization advancing education and research in career counselling and career development. A new ED will have a strong foundation to build upon.”  

As CERIC Executive Director, Ibrahim expanded the reach and scope of CERIC’s work by actively engaging stakeholders from a broad range of sectors within the career development ecosystem. Partnership, collaboration and inclusion have been at the core of CERIC’s growth and development. 

Notably, he created research and learning vehicles that have made CERIC a credible and non-partisan voice in career development in Canada. Most significantly, Ibrahim was instrumental in initiating and expanding Cannexus, Canada’s Career Development Conference, now in its 17th year, as the premiere learning and networking event for career development professionals in Canada. 

In the coming weeks, CERIC will launch its national search to recruit a new Executive Director.  

Read the full announcement. 

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2022

Fall 2022 issue of Canadian Journal of Career Development released

September 16, 2022By

The newest edition of the Canadian Journal of Career Development (CJCD) has just been published to wrap up its 20th anniversary year. The current issue (Volume 22, Number 2) includes a range of timely research from priming jobs as skill development to artificial intelligence for résumé critiquing.

Articles

Academic Book Reviews

The Canadian Journal of Career Development (CJCD)  is a partnership between CERIC and Memorial University of Newfoundland with the support of The Counselling Foundation of Canada as well as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. CJCD is published twice a year. It is free to subscribe to the digital editions and all issues of the open-access journal dating back to 2002 are available online. 

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2022

Award-winning career development leader Dr. Candy Ho becomes Chair of CERIC Board

September 13, 2022By

CERIC is pleased to officially announce Candy Ho, EdD, as the new Chair of its Board of Directors for a two-year term. Ho, the inaugural Assistant Professor, Integrative Career and Capstone Learning in the University of the Fraser Valley in BC, will lead the Board in delivering on CERIC’s mission to advance career development in Canada. A national charitable organization, CERIC has two strategic mandates: promoting career development as a priority for the public good, and building career development knowledge, mindsets and competencies. 

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2022

Announcing fall webinars October-November 2022: Real-World Resume Strategy, Motivation at Work, and Reflective Practice

September 8, 2022By

CERIC will be offering three new webinar series on its fall calendar. The first series will help career practitioners to understand the foundation of strategic resume development. The second series will address clients’ motivation and how they can develop skills to remain energetic, enthusiastic and effective. The third series will guide career development professionals on effectively integrating reflective practice into experiential learning.

Today’s employment market demands a new standard for resumes that a template cannot deliver. Strategic resume development is vital for career professionals to provide customized and valuable support, address individual client backgrounds, objectives and needs, and help their clients meet their goals.

This webinar series will introduce participants to techniques that leading Canadian professional resume writers use to attract employer attention, appeal to hiring managers, deal with barriers, and optimize for ATS (applicant tracking systems).

Motivation is the most important driver behind achieving goals. If someone is not motivated, they achieve very little – or nothing at all. Developing the skills to motivate others is not a mysterious game of chance – rather, new research from the field of psychology reveals how we can help others to work more enthusiastically towards their goals and remain focused even when obstacles appear.

These webinars offer a range of valuable tools for professionals to pass along to clients in their career development journey. Participants will engage in a rich and varied learning experience with the opportunity to test their knowledge in the third and final webinar of the series through small group exercises.

With increasing investment in and expansion of Experiential and Work Integrated Learning programs, you want to ensure the most successful outcomes. But one of the stickiest challenges remains how to integrate quality Reflective Practice to help learners make meaning of their experience, and better translate their learning to their next steps in work or learning.

This series will move participants from Reflective Practice theory to evaluating specific resources that unlock Career Development’s value within Experiential and Work-Integrated Learning programs.

Registered participants in all the series will receive a video recording of each session. Individual certificates of attendance will be provided to all registered participants who attend the webinars live.

CERIC’s paid webinars are now hosted via the Zoom events platform to provide more interactive learning and networking opportunities. Participants will have access to a lobby where they can interact with other participants before, between and after the sessions, as well as many interaction options during the live webinars. An FAQ answers any technical questions.

CERIC partners with associations and organizations across Canada and beyond to present webinars that offer affordable professional development. Previously, CERIC has also worked with the Association of Service Providers for Employability and Career Training BC, Association québécoise des professionnels du développement de carrière, , Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers, Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association,  Career Development Association of Alberta, Experiential and Work-Integrated Learning Ontario, First Work, Labour Market Information Council , New Brunswick Career Development Association, Nova Scotia Career Development Association, Ontario Association of Career Management, Ontario School Counsellors’ Association,  Ordre des conseillers et conseillères d’orientation du Québec, Vocational Rehabilitation Association (Canada),  and the US-based National Career Development Association.

 

 

 

 

 

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2022

Project to map Canada’s career services landscape awarded to Challenge Factory and CCDF

September 6, 2022By

CERIC has selected Challenge Factory in partnership with the Canadian Career Development Foundation (CCDF) to take on a project that will scope out who is providing career services where across Canada, producing insights that can influence the future of the field. This project will demonstrate the breadth and depth of support that Canadians receive from this sometimes-hidden sector as we all navigate a changing labour market. The career development sector can be critical leaders over the next 10 years, shaping the future of work, employment, education, purpose and community. 

Canada currently lacks basic comprehensive data on the overall size, scope and composition of its career development sector. Having this valid and credible information is necessary to inform the field itself as well as policymakers – and Canadians broadly – as to the makeup of this varied group of professionals. Scoping the career development landscape will increase the core intelligence available to the sector to address a range of work related to determining the socio-economic impact of career development, understanding career professionals’ learning needs, and advocating for public awareness and recognition of the value of career development. 

Challenge Factory and CCDF bring deep expertise in research and the Canadian career development sector to this Scoping the Canadian Career Development Landscape project. Challenge Factory is a workforce development research agency and consultancy that helps purpose-driven organizations and communities shape the future of work, bringing transformative change to their people and workplaces. CCDF is a non-profit centre of excellence and innovation committed to ensuring every Canadian can be successful in their learning, work and career transitions, and to that end, conducts rigorous research to strengthen the evidence base.  

This project emerged from a Request for Proposal (RFP) that CERIC issued earlier in the year to undertake first-of-its-kind market research about the field. The purpose is to make the field more visible by answering fundamental questions around how many professionals are practising career development in some form in the country. As part of gaining a full picture of the career development landscape, the project will also seek to identify select high-level outcome measures that flow from the delivery of career services. Additionally, the research will consider the state of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigeneity (EDII) among career professionals in Canada and whether those providing career development services reflect learners and clients they serve.  

To date, research about the landscape of career development in Canada has been patchwork in nature and not produced reliable baseline date. This new mapping effort will create an up-to-date snapshot of the field by consolidating and leveraging information sources that already exist, then filling in the gaps using targeted primary data collection. Stakeholder engagement and collaboration throughout the project is planned to ensure incorporation of a diversity of sector-wide perspectives, knowledge and expertise.  

A key output of this project will be the development and testing of a “Scoping Model” that will provide a foundational evidence base about the structure of the pan-Canadian field. It will include insights and recommendations that will be of use to professional associations, educational institutions and employers who provide leadership and support to the field, and government policymakers who work on related policies, programs and funding. 

The findings of the project will be known by the beginning of 2024.

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2022

Survey reveals learning preferences of Canada’s career development professionals

July 28, 2022By

As career professionals juggle full workloads and pandemic-related challenges, a majority say cost and time are major factors driving their decisions about what type of professional development they engage in.  

This was among the results of CERIC’s 2022 Content & Learning Survey of Career Development Professionals*, which surveyed 644 people working in the career development field about their learning needs, preferences and behaviours in May 2022.  

The survey found 44% of career development professionals (CDPs) spend between 1 and 3 hours monthly on formal and informal professional development. Nearly one-third (28%) of respondents have less than $500 to spend on professional development annually (including money provided by their employer as well as personal spending), while 19% have no budget for learning.  

While the lifting of pandemic restrictions has enabled people to gather in person more easily, career professionals aren’t ready to walk away from the accessibility of online learning. The survey results show over half of CDPs plan to maintain their level of participation in virtual conferences, workshops and webinars. However, 46% plan to increase their attendance at in-person conferences over the next two years, suggesting that offering learning in a variety of formats will be key to meeting learner needs.  

Among the other findings: 

  • 51% of respondents say they would be most likely to use Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as a source of learning, compared with micro-credentials (37%) and paid, formal courses (13%) 
  • 22% use online learning platforms such as LinkedIn Learning, Udemy and Coursera most frequently as a source of learning 
  • The top 3 issues, topics or themes CDPs want to learn about to support their work are: labour market information, counselling/coaching practices and mental health. Many also identified topics connected to equity, diversity and inclusion.  

Visit the Content & Learning Survey page for a PowerPoint with detailed results on professional development and respondent demographics, as well as an infographic highlighting key results.   

*The 2022 Content & Learning Survey of Career Development Professionals was open online from May 11-25, 2022. 

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2022

Experience the Cannexus23 conference your way with registration now open

July 20, 2022By

The 2023 Cannexus Career Development Conference – to be held as a hybrid event for the first time – is now open for registration. This dual format for the 17th annual conference will offer the best of both worlds, providing an accessible, content-rich and value-packed opportunity for Canada’s career development communities to convene, share and learn. Canada’s largest bilingual career development conference, Cannexus23 will take place Jan. 23-25, 2023, both virtually and in Ottawa, Canada. 

Cannexus brings together professionals across the career and workforce development ecosystem to explore research, policy and practice. The conference will examine the big-picture impact of career development on education, the economy and social justice as well as offer skills-building content. Participants will share innovative approaches and exchange information with peers. In the past, in-person Cannexus conferences have drawn more than 1,200 delegates and virtual conferences more than 2,300 attendees.   

The Cannexus schedule for both the in-person and virtual portions is available with the full program to be posted by the end of September. Programming will cover current and emerging hot topics in career development, including: the future of work and workplaces, building mental health and resilience, and post-COVID labour market trends. Whether part of the in-person version or the virtual conference, delegates will be able to access:  

  • 150+ sessions both live and on-demand 
  • Presenters from across Canada and around the globe 
  • Networking opportunities 
  • Partners showcasing their products and services 
  • Recordings that are available for six months 

This instalment of Cannexus will again offer special Gratitude rates plus deep discounts for groups, students and members of supporting organizations. There are also bursaries available to support individuals in attending the virtual portion of the conference. The Marilyn Van Norman Bursary will be awarded to 13 applicants from community-based organizations. Additionally, the Young Professionals Bursary will support 12 emerging practitioners to attend, with preference given to those from equity-seeking groups. Application deadlines are September 30, 2022. For the first time this year, the Asia Pacific Career Development Association will also be offering scholarships to participate at Cannexus23. 

Cannexus is presented by CERIC and supported by The Counselling Foundation of Canada and a broad network of partners. For more information on the conference and to register by the Sept. 9 Gratitude deadline, visit cannexus.ceric.ca.  

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2022

New APCDA Scholarship supports practitioners, students to attend Cannexus conference

July 14, 2022By

CERIC is partnering for the first time with the Asia Pacific Career Development Association to offer scholarships to APCDA members to attend the virtual portion of the 2023 hybrid Cannexus conference. Announced during a keynote from CERIC Executive Director Riz Ibrahim at the APCDA/IAEVG 2022 international conference, the scholarships will allow 15 career development practitioners or students from non-high-income countries to participate. 

“Scholarships are such a wonderful way to spark surprising new developments in our field,” said Marilyn Maze, Executive Director of APCDA. “The energy of these enthusiastic winners added to the insights they gain from the experience helps to propel new career development activities in parts of the world that are in greatest need. APCDA is grateful for the scholarships CERIC has offered to Cannexus.” 

The APCDA Cannexus Scholarship includes free registration to the virtual conference – to be held January 23-25, 2023 both online and in-person in Ottawa, Canada – as well as access to 150 session recordings for up to six months. APCDA will accept the scholarship applications and determine the recipients.  

“This scholarship serves to further extend access to the world-class education and networking at Cannexus across the globe to current and aspiring professionals who might not otherwise be able to attend,” said Ibrahim. “The participation of more APCDA members will also enrich the conference experience for all attendees who can learn from their Asia Pacific counterparts.” 

Scholarships are available to: 

  1. Students earning a degree in counselling or related field, or students in a certification program in the career development field, or former students who graduated from such programs within the last five years 
  2. Career practitioners engaged in professional development 

Applicants must also meet these requirements: 

  1. Live in a “Not High-income Country*” 
  2. Plan to attend the entire conference 
  3. Your employer will not pay for you to attend 
  4. Can explain how this conference will help you to provide better career services in your home country 

The deadline for applications is October 1, 2022. 

Cannexus is Canada’s Career Development Conference. The largest conference of its kind in the country, Cannexus has attracted more than 1,200 participants in-person and 2,300 virtually. Cannexus23 will welcome career development professionals and related stakeholders from Canada and around the world to exchange information and explore innovative approaches in the areas of career and workforce development. 

* Examples of countries classified as High-income by the World Bank include Australia, Canada, Hong Kong SAR of China, Japan, Korea, Macao SAR of China, New Zealand, Singapore, United States and Taiwan. Residents of High-income countries are not eligible for this scholarship. 

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2021 printed on road going through forest2022

Resilience and Reimagining: CERIC releases 2021 Annual Report

July 4, 2022By

The 2021 CERIC Annual Report, with a theme of “Resilience and Reimagining,” reflects on a year that brought a sense of renewed hope that the colossal global disruptions caused by the pandemic were in some ways behind us. While it sometimes felt like we were taking two steps forward and one step back, it was the feeling that we were moving forward nonetheless that defined the year.

We started 2021 by hosting our first-ever virtual Cannexus conference, which drew an incredible response. As Board Chair André Raymond and Executive Director Riz Ibrahim outline in their Leadership Message, if there was any time that we could embrace the idea of a virtual community, this was it. The economic uncertainties that underpinned the year prior still remained and we continued to offer compelling rates to encourage more participation from groups and students. We also continued to leverage some of our new international partners to offer a set of globally focused sessions at the conference.

As we progressed through the year, there was a sense that the tide had turned and we could consider in-person events. In the end, our commitment to maintaining a high-calibre and broadly accessible conference led us to forego an in-person gathering in favour of planning a second virtual conference in 2022.

It was important to have a feeling of continuity amid these changes: we continued to develop a survey of Canadian businesses, offer webinars, publish books and fund projects. We translated one of our resources into multiple languages, reflecting an internationalization of interest in our work.

Internally, we started to define the organizational values we felt were needed to guide us toward the fulfilment of our dual mandates of “Promoting career development as a priority for the public good” and “Building career development knowledge, mindsets and competencies.” We also started to do work around defining and developing our equity, diversity and inclusion priorities.

Highlights for CERIC that promote career development for public good:

  • Published a new edition of our popular Playbook, Retain and Gain: Career Management for the Public Sector, to support public sector employers in developing an inclusive, agile and equipped workforce
  • Launched a Careers and Canadians discussion series, starting with guest former Saskatchewan Deputy Minister Alastair MacFadden, to explore the value of connecting careers thinking to the development, delivery and measurement of public goods and services
  • Surveyed 501 Canadian employers with Environics Research Institute to update and expand understanding of the state of career development in the Canadian workplace
  • Published the “Career Pivots” issue of CERIC’s Careering magazine, which highlighted how, with the support of career education and career professionals, Canadians can develop the change-ready mindset needed to thrive
  • Updated CERIC’s funding priorities to include career mindsets as a new key funding priority area
  • Worked with the media to raise the profile of career development, including articles published in Policy Options and Canadian HR Reporter and an interview on CBC Radio
  • Engaged with many organizations around shared advocacy goals, systems change and joint learning, including Future Skills Centre, the Institute of Public Administration of Canada, the Century Initiative, the Labour Market Information Council and the OECD

Key achievements for CERIC that build career development knowledge:

In addition to these highlights, as well as inclusion of financial statements, the CERIC 2021 Annual Report also includes an acknowledgement of CERIC staff this past year as well as a special thank you to the CERIC Board and Advisory Committee volunteers who helped us navigate these challenging times and to our funder, The Counselling Foundation of Canada, for its unwavering support.

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Image of Careering magazine cover on yellow background with text: Spring-Summer 2022 The Great Careers Disconnect2022

Spring-Summer issue of Careering dives into ‘The Great Careers Disconnect’

June 15, 2022By

For “The Great Careers Disconnect” issue of Careering magazine, we asked people working in all areas of career development to reflect on the question: What gaps are you seeing in career services, career education, the labour market and the workplace – and what are your ideas to address them?

Articles include:

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

The theme for the Fall 2022 issue of Careering magazine will be released soon. Check back on ceric.ca/careering for the call for article proposals or sign up for CERIC’s free CareerWise Weekly newsletter to get the latest updates.

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