F04 – Features

International Personnel Management Association – Canada

IPMA-Canada … national presence, national voice, international connections. IPMA-Canada is a national human resources association with eight Chapters and members in all provinces. We are globally connected through our affiliation with other IPMA associations throughout the world. Our mission is to promote excellence in the practice of human resource management. We aim to provide a wealth of professionally recognized programs and services that are designed to meet the certification standards, professional development expectations and communication needs of Human Resource (HR) practitioners across Canada.

Visit us at www.ipma-aigp.ca
E-mail: National@ipma-aigp.ca
Toll Free: 1-866-433-0234 or call 780-433-0234.

Qu’est-ce que l’AIGP – Canada

L’AIGP-Canada … une présence nationale, une voie nationale, des relations internationales. L’AIGP-Canada est une association nationale de professionnels et professionnelles en ressources humaines qui compte huit chapitres et des membres dans toutes les provinces. Nous avons créé des liens à l’échelle internationale par notre affiliation à d’autres associations de gestion du personnel du monde entier. Notre mission est de promouvoir l’excellence dans la pratique de la gestion des ressources humaines. Nous visons à offrir une variété de programmes et de services reconnus professionnellement qui sont conçus pour répondre aux normes d’agrément, aux attentes sur le plan du perfectionnement professionnel et aux besoins en communication des praticiens et praticiennes en ressources humaines du Canada.

Visitez notre site Web à l’adresse : www.ipma-aigp.ca, ou communiquez avec nous par courriel, à l’adresse : National@ipma-aigp.ca, ou par téléphone, au numéro : 780-433-0234 ou, sans frais, au 1-866-433-0234 (anglais); 1-866-433-0620 (français).

Starting Point for Mentoring
Christine Cuerrier
Les Éditions de la Fondation de l’entrepreneurship, 2003
ISBN: 2-89521-055-1

Christine Cuerriers’ Staring Point is the first guide in 6-part series on mentoring. This introductory guide to mentoring offers a basic tool for learning about the concept of mentoring and more critically it provides the means to distinguish mentoring from other forms of learning, such as coaching and tutoring.

By Ashley Kiani

Coming home from work in the midst of Toronto rush hour, in the smog heat of July, with a gaining headache, I had a crazy thought. It arose while overhearing a conversation of two middle-aged working women sitting next to me on the subway. It went something like this: “Well, as you know, my son Eric just finished his Master’s degree last spring. He’s spent 6 long years in university, and now has it in his silly head to start an eco-tourism camp up north. After all that money we invested! Can you believe it?” To which the other replied, horrified, “But he can’t seriously do that for a living!”

By Roger Sauvë, People Patterns Consulting

We all seem to acknowledge the fact that the job market is filled with change and uncertainty. We can put forth all kinds of great statistics and trends to prove our point … I actually do this for a living. Career development practitioners and career counsellors provide one-on-one personal advice on what this all means. This is all good and necessary stuff to help make short and long-term job related decisions. This is not enough.

By Katherine Halpenny

WoodGreen Launches Homeward Bound Program

In 2002 alone, more than 2,700 single mothers and their children were forced to live in Toronto’s shelter system. Research clearly shows that families experiencing homelessness need a number of essential supports in order to maintain a stable home and achieve financial independence. The Homeward Bound program provides these supports through employment training, transitional housing, on-site child care, one-on-one counselling for the mothers and their children, and many other vital services, all under one roof. The program’s primary goal is to support 32 women and their children to move into independent housing and to have employment with family sustaining incomes within 3 years.

All of the women at Homeward Bound will receive basic computer training through the International Computer Driving Licence program to prepare them for employment in a variety of areas including office administration and information technology. Upon completion, each woman will be given the opportunity to attend one of Seneca College’s computer studies diploma programs. WoodGreen also provides other essential skills that Homeward Bound participants will need to become more self-sufficient. Through career preparation training, participants gain skills in communication, workplace culture and alternate dispute resolution. Through their life skills training the women learn more effective parenting skills, a better understanding of housing and tenancy issues, and how to create and manage a family budget.

On October 14th, 2004, WoodGreen Community Services and their private and public sector partners officially launched Homeward Bound, an innovative new program designed to help women and their children transition from shelter life to economic self-sufficiency. Many members of the community including the Counselling Foundation of Canada took part in the celebration, and witnessed the true spirit of the program through personal stories recounted by two of the women participants. In his remarks, The Counselling Foundation President & Chairman, Donald Lawson congratulated WoodGreen on creating a program that so effectively provided the foundation for career and life transformation that is at the core of the Foundation’s mission. Numerous community leaders were also in attendance to learn more about this ground-breaking model for supporting the development of families.

WoodGreen Community Services is a non-profit organization which supports 37,000 individuals and families each year to become more self-sufficient and to live independently in Toronto’s east end. The organization does this through a number of essential services, including affordable housing solutions, employment training, quality child care, after-school programs, help for new immigrants, supports for individuals with mental health or developmental challenges, and care for seniors, because everyone deserves the essentials of life.

For more information on WoodGreen Community Services, please visit www.woodgreen.org.

Katherine Halpenny is the Director of Marketing & Fund Development for WoodGreen Community Services. She can be reached through email at khalpenny@woodgreen.org.

Myers Briggs Type Indicator® and Strong® go On-line in Canada

It seems that there is a faster more efficient solution to everything these days. Often that means changing from paper to on-line delivery. This trend continues with Psychometrics Canada offering two of the worlds top assessment tools through their on-line test administration system, CareerID.com.

“Each customer will have their own website that has their organization’s look and feel. This is where their client can log in and complete the MBTI,” says Psychometrics’ Director of Business Development, Mark Fitzsimmons. “Counsellors can then generate the specific report they need. It is instant feedback that they can print off or email back to the test taker.”

Counsellors and HR professionals wanted to be able to generate reports instantly and even have clients’ complete assessments from home. The on-line system was developed two years ago to enable the company to offer on-line access to their own assessments. Quickly they saw that the application could be expanded to host other publisher’s materials as well.

“We have been picking up assessments from around the world, and will be launching them soon as well. The MBTI and Strong are what customers have been asking for so they have been our top priority. French language MBTI products will be available in 2005, we’re still working on translations and field testing,” says Fitzsimmons.

Scheduled to be available by the end of October, Psychometrics has already begun taking advanced orders for websites. “It is really an exciting time. We have been working towards a Canadian solution to get the MBTI and Strong on-line for our customers for many years. Finally, we can say its available!”

Psychometrics Canada Ltd. is one example of a Canadian firm providing systems for counsellors to administer assessment tools on-line. High demand tests available in French and English include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®, Strong Interest Inventory®, Work Personality Index, Career Values Scale, and the Career Interest Profiler. More information is available at www.CareerID.com.

By George Fitzsimmons and Donald Macnab, Psychometrics Canada Ltd.

Are you considering switching from paper and pencil assessment of your clients to an on-line Internet based system? The traditional methods most of us were trained to use are rapidly being updated with new technology. Is it safe, secure, respectable? Are there precautions, processes, or policies to implement before taking the plunge? How could using on-line testing affect my quality of service and my client’s progress?

By Maureen Fitzgerald

Why do so many people begin their career search by looking at the job listings? They scan all the vacancies in the hopes that someone will hire them to do something. They start from the assumption that potential employers are in the driver’s seat and will either accept or reject them. Job searchers tend to see themselves as desperate and at the mercy of those hiring. This fundamental assumption is, in my opinion, the main reason why many applicants are unsuccessful at finding great jobs.

By John Harnett

The 2004 CACUSS (Canadian Association of College and University Student Services) Conference

The University of Manitoba certainly arranged a wonderful professional development and networking opportunity to members and other conference delegates at CACUSS 2004, held in Winnipeg from June 14 – 17, 2004.

Some may not be aware that CACUSS consists of five divisions each of which focuses on a specific area within Student Services.

1. CADSSPE – Canadian Association of Disability Services Service Providers in Post Secondary Education, professionals who assist university and college students who have a disability.
2. COUCH – Canadian Organization of University and College Health, persons who work in health services in Canadian post-secondary educational institutions.
3. CUCCA – Canadian University and College Counselling Association, counsellors and counselling psychologists in post-secondary institutions, counselling educators and graduate students in counselling-related programs.
4. NASSA – National Aboriginal Student Services Association, whose mission is to empower colleges and universities to become welcoming environments where Aboriginal Peoples can successfully pursue educational goals while maintaining their cultural identities.
5. SASA – Student Affairs and Services Association, whose members come from a broad range of student services professions within the university and college environment.

Each of the divisions attempts to ensure, along with the conference planning committee from the hosting institution, that the conference includes sessions that focus on the divisional areas.

Most divisions began with a pre-conference workshop designed to give members some specific, more in-depth skills, knowledge and information which will enable them to possibly enhance programs they are currently offering, or to offer new programs or further fine tune skills that they feel would be valuable to students who utilize their service.

The conference days all began with a powerful plenary session which focused participants on a theme for each day’s concurrent sessions. This year’s plenary speakers over the three days were Dr. Don Gehring, Mr. Justice Murray Sinclair, and Dr. Philip Berger. As with most conferences, the remainder of each day consisted of concurrent sessions which further allowed members to learn of new initiatives or to hear about the effectiveness of existing programs occurring across the country.

The other highlight at any conference is the opportunity for delegates to network with fellow professionals and discuss comparable issues with others from across the country. Delegates had the chance to meet socially with a host of other professionals either from their own or other divisions; new professionals had opportunities to meet with other new professionals or with more seasoned people; directors often met with like-minds to discuss issues at their level and; groups with specific interests had an opportunity to find out what colleagues were doing as well. Many delegates find this part of the conference to be very helpful in fine tuning what they do in their day-to-day responsibilities.

CACUSS conference 2004 was an outstanding opportunity to learn of new programs and initiatives occurring across the country and in the United States. Delegates left Winnipeg re-energized and revitalized with a host of new ideas to enhance the exceptional service they are giving to their students.

Written by John Harnett, President of CACUSS. John is a Counsellor at the College of the North Atlantic Engineering Career Centre in St. John’s Newfoundland. He can be reached atJohn.Harnett@cna.nl.ca

By Denise Hughes

One of the primary components that many career counsellors and practitioners rely upon is the administration of career assessment inventories. Often this takes place early in the process to assist students, clients, or job seekers in focussing their job search strategies and/or educational planning pathways to areas that will be in line with their preferences, education level and career goals. As part of the process of developing Career Portfolios, students may be asked to document personal and career-related experiences, and include the results of a career assessment inventory, to help plan and achieve educational goals, relate these goals to occupations, and prepare for entry into the workforce once their educational goals are complete.