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by Nicole Miller
When Hannah Leroy found out last November that her spouse, a retail manager, was going to be promoted to vice-president, her enthusiasm was stifled by the news that this move up the corporate ladder would entail relocating across the country. As a paramedic, she had spent the last 12 years moving up the seniority list of the local county services, only to have to face the prospect of starting at the bottom once again!

As the business world begins to demand the relocation of more executives, the sub-community of trailing spouses will grow exponentially. In our practice, we have found that with a structured coaching approach, these willing clients increase their perceived potential while allowing their career star to shine brightly within portable careers. Utilizing Hannah’s situation as an example, we have sketched out one of our most successful methodologies that will help you commence to work with the growing number of trailing spouses within your own coaching practices.

1. Identifying skill sets and personal goals. As a paramedic, she identified her abilities within the context of her position with county services. When she came to work with our firm, she soon realized that she could not hang her hat on landing the perfect position within a new institution (and hope to retain seniority). As with each and every trailing spouse, Hannah was shown that she has her own unique experiences that have shaped who she is and where she saw herself going. Helping her to solidify her goals was done through formal assessments, many of which were accessed through the Internet. Taking the time to ensure that she owned her unique career path helped frame the rest of the process.
2. Create fervour about their abilities and begin marketing their unique personal brand. The creation of superior marketing documents (résumé, cover letter, social media bio/profile) was the next important step. Remember to take time to get this right the first time; your clients will not get a second chance to make a first impression. Ensuring that Hannah could speak to each point that was included within her marketing documents guaranteed authenticity in everything that created her brand. Helping her to reframe her skills set as her own personal brand, she discovered that this could help her market herself as a desirable commodity. Active marketing utilizing more than one avenue ensured success.
3. Identifying possible road blocks within the new locale. By utilizing the web, you can help teach your clients to quickly identify any and all possible difficulties that securing employment in their new city would bring; be that language differences, lack of industry within the area, etc. Planning for these will raise the success rate amongst your clients in securing employment. In Hannah’s case, research identified that the paramedic and county agencies were in a hiring freeze and would make her securing a position within the next few years an impossibility.
4. Guidance through entire process. With the help of her coach, she repackaged herself as a corporate first aid trainer within the medical field and now enjoys contracts (making much more than a paramedic would) with the various hospitals in her new city. Your clients will require this continued support not only as a way to market their new brand effectively, but also as a means to ensure that they maintain themselves on the path to success.
5. Identifying a spousal network. Within the scope of your guidance, helping your clients find a community of like-minded individuals will assist in maintaining positivism during their job search. One idea is to create an online forum within your own practice, which then would be a means to assist in perpetuating your coaching methodologies, and thus ensuring identifiable collaboration of success stories such as Hannah in the continued support of future trailing spouses.

Nicole Miller is at present working at the University of Ottawa, helping prepare students with their job search. She is also the President of Mil-Roy Consultants, a career transition firm that dedicates its practice to helping trailing spouses. You can contact her via email at nmiller@uottawa.ca or resumes@milroyconsultants.com.

Interested in the plight of trailing spouses? Check out Miranda Vande Kuyt’s article on how trailing spouses can adapt their careers to frequent moves.

by Marc Verhoeve

In an earlier article I wrote, A Look at Donald Super’s Stages of Career Development in the 21st Century (available on contactpoint.ca), I ended with a discussion about Super’s redefinition of the Decline Stage. As I have just reached the “65 Level”, I thought that I would discuss this stage… as a member of the first wave of Baby Boomers edging into retirement.

In my previous article, I stated:

“As I counsel these clients, I have the challenge of investigating with the client the range of options, from full-time to part-time “portfolio workers” to searching vehicles that service the non-work dimensions of one’s career. I have defined this stage as “career renewal” because it allows the client to investigate a wider range of activities because they are, in many cases, not constrained by the financial bonds of a full-time job. They become a “temporal millionaire” because they now fully own their time.”

Five years ago, when I turned 60, I “retired” from the education sector as a school counsellor after 32 years. I immediately transitioned to the role of Executive Director for the Ontario School Counsellors’ Association (OSCA). The transition of work culture was quite dramatic. After being in a work environment where I interacted daily with almost 2,000 students and over 100 staff, the shift to SOHO worker (Small Office/ Home Office) was a culture shock. No more bells to remind one of the time and no more interruptions via walk-in traffic or phone calls. While I missed the face-to-face interaction with students, teachers and parents, working from home significantly increased my productivity in projects and research. The downside was two-fold. First, one is forced to be an aggressive time manager, otherwise it can evolve into a 24/7 job. Second, there is the danger of professional isolation, unless one continually communicates with colleagues (via phone or email) to network and solicit feedback.

After five years, I have left my position at OSCA… to transition to the next stage in the retirement continuum. Interestingly, I received inquiries from colleagues and friends asking whether I was now REALLY going to retire. My response was: “You can’t pasture-ize me yet!”

As I indicated in my previous article, I have been consulting with Research Psychologists Press since the 1980s. When I left OSCA, RPP contacted me about providing input on the development of a new career assessment tool, Jackson Career Explorer, as well as working with them in the design of a JCE training webinar for school counsellors.

In addition, my previous career assessment private practice has auto-rebooted thanks to referrals from colleagues. (I had placed my practice in hiatus while I was working for OSCA). I have also initiated re-involvement with professional and community agencies.
On reflecting on my career-pathing in this last stage of Donald Super’s developmental model, I return to his redefinition of “career”, as I had discussed at length in my JVIS Manual:

Donald Super stated that one’s “career” encompasses all activities that comprise your identity; your job is that part that you get paid for. One’s “career resilience” increases when one does not invest all of one’s identity into one’s job (I termed this being “fire-proof”).

As one moves into retirement, this becomes even more critical. I have watched friends and colleagues move into retirement. Those who had extended their identity into the other sectors of Super’s constellation experienced a smooth transition into retirement. However, it was tragic to watch teacher-colleagues who retired before me return to the school staff room daily after their retirement day… lost, and not knowing where else to go.

Havighurst discussed this issue in his Activity theory:

“Thus older adults who are actively involved in a variety of situations and who establish new roles and relationships are more likely to age with a sense of satisfaction.” (Mosby’s Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. © 2009, Elsevier.)

This final stage in “career” development is becoming more critical because it has become a larger segment of one’s lifespan. German chancellor Otto von Bismarck created the world’s first comprehensive government social safety net in the 1880s, providing for old-age pensions and setting 60 as the age of retirement. He chose 60 because he thought that the number of citizens older than 60 would be insignificant. At a Teacher Pension info-session that I attended, we were told that, for most retired teachers in Ontario, their years in retirement usually outnumber the years that they worked as teachers!

A segment of my private-practice clients were “golden-handshakers” (early retirees). Their career paths were in one of three directions:

• Continuing (part-time) in their work sector
• Trying a new work sector
• Community/Volunteer work

These clients were proactive. They sought input before they reached retirement, not after retiring. I well remember an American Counseling Association conference workshop I attended 20 years ago which spoke to this; it had a very articulate session title: “After the World Cruise, What Then…?”

As I stated in a previous article about the evolution of one’s job, a bend in the road is not the end of the road… unless you fail to make the turn.
As one sees the distant pasture on one’s career path, one must remember that the pasture is not a destination, but a gateway to new activities, events and bucket-list locations that continue to enrich one’s life.

After 32 years in secondary school counselling, Marc Verhoeve has just completed a five-year term as the Executive Director of the Ontario School Counsellors’ Association.  He continues in his role as a Careerpathing Consultant. You can contact him at careerpathing@bell.net.

by Tami Anderson

The experience of being human entails being connected and interconnected to a whole. The workplace is exactly the same. We are in touch directly and indirectly to the entire world. What we do in our daily lives affects the people we can see and those we do not. The products and services provided by a company links to companies around the world, through consumers, suppliers, raw material producers and as far as global economic relationships. This has always been the case yet we are now more aware of these connections through instantaneous access to information, email, online shopping, social media and by local effects of foreign financial circumstance. Our world is becoming accessibly smaller.

Being this integrated means employers and employees are no longer tied to their immediate geographical resources to handle their employment needs. Then why do they both continue to stay within boundaries? Well, although human beings have a natural instinct to survive, moving to where food can be found (or jobs to pay for the food), we are limited by our thinking, expectations and perceived needs. The survival criterion has personalized from our prehistoric ancestors. Now, our perceived eminent danger includes any form of change that causes or could possibly cause a negative emotional response such as fear, shame or pain. When faced with something new, we challenge it with resistance or avoidance. We become stuck. Moving beyond boundaries takes awareness that we exist within those borders.

Awareness can be exactly what we need for a psychic change to a new way of thinking. A paradigm shift: At any given moment in time, there is an exact workplace for every person because for every job there is a person and for every person there is a job. Denise Bissonnette shared this thought with us at Cannexus 2010 in her keynote, Beyond Barriers to Passion and Possibility. That, in itself, is an absolute truth. We are interconnected for this primary reason. Every person is here to fulfill a purpose and their purpose includes having a job where their work is an extension and expression of who they truly are; not the role they play. It is each person’s job to figure out what this looks like and where it is because that is our key barrier.
Moving beyond this barrier, we actually begin to own this responsibility, the intent sets into motion our future. Alternatively, since nothing actually happens by chance, if we always do what we have always done, we will always get what we always got. What prevents each of us from this path of discovery is the change required to do it. It takes great fortitude, courage and supporters in our corner to make this happen.

Those in the career field are those supporters; guiding their clients to broaden their scope for opportunities into new, different or other areas. We remove barriers in this self-discovery.  According to a Cannexus 2010 and 2012 keynote speaker, Mark Savickas, people shift toward their life design when they move from tension to attention to intention. Seeing our life tapestry, we can break free to focus our work, enabling us to identify the job, industry and company that best fit. Or, a person may know their work passion and transcend their skills into a different industry. Which job, industry or company? What are my choices? Where is it? Endless possibility presents when we move beyond these self-imposed borders.

Alison, unhappy with her employer, asked for a resume, cover letter and job search direction, staying in her field. First, we looked at her uniqueness – her distinct skill, passion, aptitude, experience and essence. She discovered what she has that 98% of the population doesn’t. Then we identified the thoughts and feelings blocking her from seeing her special gifts. Then a package was creatively compiled to present to employers or clients. The final step is to investigate all the places to offer her unique solution. This blockage comes when people only see what is immediately in front of them, such as location. An opportunity presented itself to work in Australia! This did not come to pass but it opened the mind and she now explores all possibilities.

Many jobs are outside our home territory and our comfort zone. The same effective search tools apply to all job locations. Right now there are companies across Canada literally screaming for employees. Relocating to foreign countries may be desirable, especially among the youngest working generation; it may be preferred since working abroad fulfils both employment and the travel bug. Who needs what your client has to offer? Search location sites, company websites, employment agencies, outplacement firms, companies growing or diversifying, even recruitment agencies. Network and communicate with people working in a selected region. Help clients create a list of Canadian companies in their field. Find out what they offer such as training, career advancement or relocating. The cost of relocating can be cause for concern. Negotiating the cost over a period of one to three years minimizes the pressure and shows a two-sided commitment.

The biggest hurdle to change is feelings. In our field, we need to deal with these more effectively to help people move beyond what is holding them back. It takes support, knowledge, courage and a plan to make these kinds of changes happen and move beyond the borders.

 
Tami Anderson lives in Okotoks, AB with her hubby, Jack. They enjoy their array of pets – cats, horses and anew dog. Through her business, Best Foot Forward Consulting Inc., her focus is on the essence of Life at work for companies and all their people.

Buried by Career Anachronisms?
by Sheryl Spanier, MS/CMF

Have you ever, in the process of doing a mundane task, gotten a sudden blast of insight?

The other day I decided to clean out the drawer in my night table. It had become a catch all for anything I thought I might need in the middle of the night, anything I didn’t know what to do with, and a repository for anything I needed to tidy up in the face of company.

I found six bookmarks.

I read my tablet almost exclusively now. No more heavy, dust-collecting, guilt-producing magazines and books piled high on my night stand and desk. I used to love books. Still do, but in a different form. Don’t need bookmarks though!

Got me thinking: What else am I hanging on to that no longer has a use? What notions, activities or belongings am I hanging on to?

And then I started thinking about how that relates to my practice as a career management consultant. My clients are weighed down by expectations and disappointments based on career “bookmarks.” Some are still holding on to a belief that if they just do more of what used to work, they will succeed as in the past. Not true!

Here are just a few changes:

• Career ladders and five-year plans have been replaced by flexible, opportunistic, synchronistic, risky moves, portfolio careers and detours
• Standard resumes focused on past achievements, produced on heavy stock and sent to recruiters now are trumped by a compelling online identity, crisp branding and a relevant unique narrative
• A multitude of long face-to-face lunch information meetings are converting to quick connections via Twitter and LinkedIn, IMs, emails and Skype calls
• A career path of progressive positions and secure employment is giving way to entrepreneurial thinking
• Waiting for the “right opportunity” to be presented make less sense than creating your next gig based on marketplace needs

If you are burdened by a career challenge and keep looking in that drawer full of outdated, outmoded and useless tools, replace them with some of these up-to-date alternatives.

 
Sheryl Spanier’s background in career counselling/coaching spans education, public service, executive career services and individual practice. In her over 30 years in the field, she has worked globally, as a practitioner and market leader for four top consulting firms as well as founding her own firm, focusing on leadership and professional level clients. A founding member of ACPI (formerly IACMP), she served on the Board for 10 years and is now an ICCI Board Governor. She publishes broadly, is often quoted in the media and has published a career series, NoTime4Theories.

The “Why” Behind Continued High Unemployment in America
by Dr. David C. Miles

In the United States, for the first time in more than 70 years, there are and will be significantly more people seeking work than there are open positions available. I expect this reality to continue for at least five more years – probably longer. Seven critical factors are driving this trend:

1. Longer life spans. People are living longer. The long-held notion of retiring at 65 has become irrelevant; people will continue working into their late 70s and even their 80s.
2. Expanding technological capability. Technology has eliminated many mundane, repetitive positions. Increasingly, everything is becoming automated, and this extends far past entry-level and low-level jobs.
3. Enhanced robotics and automated manufacturing. Higher-end technological innovation is replacing the need for human intervention. From computers to home appliances to automobiles, we are progressing rapidly to a true plug-and-play economy.
4. Higher birthrate. An exploding birthrate is adding a massive number of applicants to the country’s employment pool, particularly among the Millennials (people born after 1986).
5. Unrestrained immigration. Rising numbers of immigrants – who often accept basic jobs at the lowest pay rate – are adding to the job squeeze. Domestic job seekers who might have obtained their first toehold on the corporate ladder are less likely to do so today.
6. Separation of job categories. We are seeing a greater divide between jobs requiring “knowledge” and those needing “basic skills”. Many people’s outdated skills aren’t relevant anymore, leaving these workers with nowhere to go.
7. Outsourcing. With both manufacturing and knowledge work being outsourced, workers are now competing globally with workers accepting substantially lower wages.

These seven factors represent a “perfect storm” in the United States for workers 30 to 50 years old as well as people who wish to see what opportunities might be available.

 
Dr. David Miles is the Chairman of The Miles LeHane Companies, and author of The Four Pillars of Employable Talent and Building Block Essentials.

by Donald Smith
Career coaches have repeatedly seen clients fail to follow up on references from their former employer. This happens even though the client has invested years in making a sincere and useful contribution to their employer’s success, and this reference problem can frequently be prevented. The main reasons for a reference problem are lack of a plan, lack of guidance and lack of courage under understandably stressful circumstances.

Most career practitioners know somebody who has had a good career with their employer, had positive relationships with their boss and colleagues and had at least pulled their weight. Then something happened, relationships soured, their reputation slid downhill and the result was resignation in anger or termination under miserable circumstances.

Unfortunately, this happens wherever there are employees, employers, tasks to perform, money to spend and the inevitable political interactions between factions and colleagues with differing interests, values and ambitions.

It is natural for the ex-employee to avoid dealing with references. They may be clouded by feelings of anger, embarrassment, disempowerment and vulnerability. Creating a plan of action is a challenge too great for many people to handle on their own, and frequently they opt to avoid the reference.

If the reference issue can be resolved, it generally follows that managers and former colleagues will be available to support the job search. It is enormously helpful for them to provide networking introductions and career suggestions. But until the references issues are resolved, this support will generally not be provided. Seen from this perspective, arranging references may be of greater value than having an updated resume.

The career transition experience with Murray Axmith & Associates across Canada shows that positive steps can be taken; this is preferable to avoiding the references issue and hoping that everything will be ok. But the coach needs to have a game plan. This includes:

• Discussing the feelings which pushed the client towards denial or avoidance, and determining if the assertiveness and motive power are there to proceed with references
• If yes, helping to develop a plan specific to that client and their former management
• Developing text, which is believed to be discussable by former management and HR

This text includes the individual’s history with the organization (titles, dates responsibilities), core strengths, some examples of work, a weakness, reason for leaving and whether the employer could re-hire. Taken together, this text is the “Suggestions for telephone references”.

Once the client and the career coach have developed this text, they write “Draft for discussion” on it. The client makes a call to the former manager and asks if it is possible to discuss the references issue. If yes, they send the draft with a request that the employer modifies it and then calls back for a discussion. The desired result is to discover a text that describes what the employer will say when asked each of the reference questions.

Many people believe it is impossible to discuss references with the former employer following termination, but it is a useful premise to assume that if the employer does not feel vulnerable, they would prefer to be helpful (or at least not harmful) to the former employee.

A surprising number of reference issues can be resolved to the benefit of both the employer and the individual. After all, the value of congruence between what the individual says and what the former employer says is enormous. Mutually agreed references help to support a shorter and more successful search for appropriate work.

Donald Smith, MSW, CMF is an independent career coach in Toronto. He worked with Murray Axmith & Associates and Right Management Consultants in career transition (outplacement) services in Toronto for years and has published numerous articles, manuals and books. He has the Fellowship (CMF) designation with the Institute of Career Certification International.

To have your event listed in this section, you must first add it to the Event listings on contactpoint.ca.

Cannexus13

JANUARY 28-30, 2013

Ottawa, ON, CANADA

cannexus.ca

Theories and Models: Human Development & Life Skills Coaching

FEBRUARY 6-19, 2013

Life Strategies online course

lifestrategies.ca/store

Career Practitioner Institute

FEBRUARY 7-9, 2013

San Diego, CA, USA

ncda.org

CERIC Webinar: Remote Employment 3.0: Legitimate Opportunities to Work from Home

FEBRUARY 26, 2013

Anne-Marie Rolfe, Manager of Special Projects, Employment and Education Centre

cericwebinar4.eventbrite.com

National Careers Week 2013

MARCH 4-8, 2013

Everywhere in the UK

nationalcareersweek.com

16^th Annual Career Development Conference (BCCDA)

MARCH 4-5, 2013

Vancouver, BC, CANADA

bccda.org

CERIC Webinar: Introduction to Positive Psychology and the PERMA Well-Being Model

MARCH 5, 2013

Louisa Jewell, MAPP and Shannon Polly, MAPP

positivematters.com/workshops-and-events.html

CERIC Webinar: Positive Psychology for Career Counsellors and Coaches

APRIL 2, 9, 16 & 23, 2013

Louisa Jewell, MAPP and Shannon Polly, MAPP

positivematters.com/workshops-and-events.html

Opening the Doors in Asia: Sharing Career Development Practices (APCDA)

APRIL 3-5, 2013

Seoul, SOUTH KOREA

asiapacificcda.org

Global Innovators 2013 Conference

APRIL 4-7, 2013

Doha, QATAR

globalinnovators2013.com

Workforce One-Stop 2013

APRIL 23-24, 2013

Toronto, ON, CANADA

conferenceboard.ca/conf/13-0047

Contact Conference: Exploration. Navigation. Destination.

APRIL 23-24, 2013

Saskatoon, SK, CANADA

contactconference.ca

CCPA – ACCP 2013 Conference

MAY 14-17, 2013

Halifax, NS, CANADA

ccpa-accp.ca/conference/

10^th International Conference on Occupational Stress and Health

MAY 16-19, 2013

Los Angeles, CA, USA

apa.org/wsh

Career Development Association of Australia (CDAA) – 22nd Annual Conference

MAY 22-24, 2013

Sydney, NSW, AUSTRALIA

onqconferences.com.au/CDAA13/index.html

Canadian Association for Supported Employment (CASE) Conference

JUNE 11-13, 2013

St. John’s, NL, CANADA

supportedemployment.ca

Contract World
A unique website at the centre of the expanding world of contract work for home-based customer service agents.
contractworld.jobs

Elance
You create a profile and businesses invite you to submit proposals for jobs. Has a focus on contract positions in programming, marketing and administration.
elance.com

Remote Worker Daily
Offers free resources, advice and daily motivation for “Making Work at Home Work For You.”
remoteworkerdaily.com

Experiencing e-Learning
This blog provides information for people interested in a career in e-learning.
christytucker.wordpress.com/instructional-design-careers

FlexJobs
This site connects jobseekers with “flexible” jobs, including telecommuting, part-time and freelance roles.
flexjobs.com

Source: Anne-Marie Rolfe

To obtain a 20-page report of verified links to remote worker opportunities, sign up for Anne-Marie Rolfe’s webinar on February 26, 2013: cericwebinar4.eventbrite.com.

Discover the new ContactPoint and OrientAction!

In 1997 the contactpoint.ca website was launched as an innovative virtual community dedicated to the needs of career development professionals. ContactPoint has been around ever since, offering free access to job listings, learning opportunities and support.

Now, ContactPoint is relaunching – harnessing the power of social media to build community, delivering updated content that reflects the changing information needs of a growing field and presenting a fresh, sleek design. ContactPoint’s French-language sister site, OrientAction, is also being redesigned.

Among the new community features of the websites are the ability to create a profile and virtually network with other users via discussion forums and groups. A wiki section will enable those of you with a deep knowledge of the field to share your expertise in this people-powered encyclopedia of career development. The job board will remain, and will be enhanced with a skills database, detailing the competencies required for different positions. And, of course, all the resources you know and love will remain – only updated with new directories, such as promising practices in career services, multimedia content and assessment tools.

ContactPoint and OrientAction are also embracing the latest technological innovations, as the websites will now be compatible with all mobile devices.

Special thanks to our ContactPoint Task Force, who helped us to update the content: Basak Yanar, Connie Augustus, Deirdre Pickerell and Krista Payne.

Stay tuned for the launch of the new sites on January 21, 2013!

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Report urges private sector role in employment for homeless youth

A new report by the not-for-profit organization Raising the Roof advocates a greater role for private businesses in addressing youth homelessness, by providing at-risk youth with opportunities such as mentoring, training and apprenticeships. The report also presents concrete ways in which the private sector can engage with this collective issue that, in a time of high youth unemployment, is more relevant than ever.

Titled Everybody’s Business: Engaging the Private Sector in Solutions to Youth Homelessness, this report seeks to complement the work accomplished by myriad community-based agencies across the country that deliver valuable services to youth by helping them develop life and employment skills. Such efforts can only bear fruit if there are businesses to hire these youth. However, homeless and at-risk youth often lack the connections and support necessary to land a position.

The report draws on already existing, successful partnerships between private businesses and community agencies to offer recommendations to those wanting to emulate this model. It is hoped that sharing this knowledge will make this kind of initiative more common, change attitude and policy in the private sector and create more opportunities for at-risk youth across the country.

The full report, as well as a summary, can be downloaded in both French and English at raisingtheroof.org

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First-of-its-kind career and employment website for Canadians with vision loss

A new career planning and employment website features dedicated resources for teachers, guidance counsellors and employment specialists working with individuals who are blind or partially sighted.

Created in partnership with the World Blind Union and the CNIB with funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the site is called Project Aspiro and includes information about education, interview techniques and workplace accommodations.

Individuals with vision loss experience among the highest unemployment or underemployment rates of any group in Canadian society. Project Aspiro was designed to ensure individuals who are blind or partially sighted have equal access to information so they can be independent, productive members of society.

The digitally accessible website also supports friends and family, and employers. To learn more, visit projectaspiro.com.

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‘Haves’ and ‘have nots’ in the labour market

A new CIBC report points to a growing divide in Canada’s labour market with, on the one hand, an increasing number of positions going unfilled for long stretches of time because of a lack of skilled candidates; and, on the other hand, a growing “surplus pool” of lower-skilled, unemployed workers. The report, The Haves and Have Nots of Canada’s Labour Market, states that the vacancy-to-unemployment ratio is at its highest point since Statistics Canada has started to measure vacancy information.

This is a symptom of a shift in the labour market, where some traditional employment opportunities are disappearing (office administrators, school teachers, butchers, tailors, etc.), while other occupations, especially in the health care sector, face a skills shortage.

The mismatch of companies unable to hire and people unable to find jobs « is simply big enough to impact the economy as a whole, our productivity, our potential growth and therefore our standard of living in the future, » says the report’s author.

Recent changes in the immigration system are meant to address this issue; however, the report warns, these changes are too small to deal with the current skills gap in the Canadian labour market: no less than 30% of businesses in the country have indicated facing a labour shortage.

The report is available online at research.cibcwm.com/economic_public/download/if_2012-1203.pdf

Occupations in demand

• Construction and transportation
• Auditors, accountants and investment professionals
• Human resources
• Physical and life science professionals
• Civil, mechanical, electrical and chemical engineers
• Physicians, dentists and veterinarians
• Optometrists, chiropractors
• Nursing
• Psychologists, social workers, counsellors
• Mining, oil and gas

Occupations with surplus supply

• Manufacturing and utilities
• Clerical, general office skills
• Finance and insurance
• Secondary and elementary teachers and counsellors
• Sales and service
• Cashiers
• Food and beverage services
• Travel, accommodation and recreation
• Butchers and bakers
• Pulp/paper production and wood processing

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Canada’s Career Imperative: How do we fix the ‘talent disconnect’ dilemma?

In 2013, CERIC will launch Canada’s Career Imperative, bringing together leaders from business, education and government for a series of cross-country interactive roundtables to find some common ground for answering the question: “How do we fix the ‘talent disconnect’ dilemma?”

All groups have a stake in the economic imperative of crafting a clearer strategy to develop, connect and retain the best of our talent to meet the ever-changing needs of disruptive regional and global markets.

Recognizing the constant swings in and out of recession and the major forces that influence the changing world of work (technology, demographics and social behaviour), our need for a genuine fix to our “talent disconnect” will require a greater grasp of how:

• Regional markets across Canada differ in the skills shortage and talent match
• The educational process could better prepare and connect young people with realistic choices offered by employers
• Patterns of recruitment and selection are amplified by social networks
• Society’s cycle of work, continuous learning and personal life aspirations is upside down to 21st century norms

At CERIC our goal is to be a catalyst for conversation on this topic. The aim is to promote networks across the country to foster a better understanding on how career development services intersect as part of the solution for fixing the “talent disconnects”.

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Career Evaluation Guide showcased as an innovative tool

A career centre evaluation tool developed in partnership between CERIC and a working group of university career centres directors was recently cited by a report of the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) as a promising practice. The report, How Ontario university career services prepare students for the future, highlights “the breadth of services and innovation in career services at Ontario universities” that helps their students adapt to a labour market that is constantly changing. The report showcases the best practices in fields such as experiential learning, skills development, understanding and adapting to the students’ way of life, diversity and services to alumni.

Career Centre Evaluation: A Practitioner Guide is a customized online resource to help university career centres design effective evaluation strategies. This resource provides a look at how five different career centres have tried to understand the components of evaluation and how they developed tools to use in their settings. The guide provides an introduction to a framework for evaluation, sample tools that you can adapt to your own setting, and case studies of evaluation activities at other career centres.

This project was created through a partnership between CERIC and a working group of the career centre leaders at the University of Toronto, Trent University, the University of Waterloo, the University of Western Ontario and the University of Windsor. The evaluation guide can also be used by career centres in other post-secondary as well as community settings.

The COU report cites it as a promising practice to prepare the next generation of career services, along with other initiatives such as the WhoPlusYou system developed by Ryerson University to revolutionize the concept of the job board, and municipal partnerships established by career centres at Queen’s University and McMaster University.

The guide is available online at ceric.ca/careercentreevaluation.The COU report is also available online at cou.on.ca.

by Anu Pala

Technology has played a significant role in the evolution of distance learning and how we access education today. It feels like just yesterday when I received my learning materials for my very first communications course in the mail. I still recall how excited and enthusiastic I was. After all, I loved to learn, and courses offered through correspondence were outside of the regular public school program – kind of outside the box. Some years later, during a career transition, I was once again led towards courses offered through distance learning.

Even though the concept of taking courses in the comfort of my own home appealed to me, it also presented some challenges – especially the second time, as I had lost my vision a few years prior. Although reading materials in audio format were sent by mail, they did not always reach me on time. Along with this, simply navigating through the cassettes was time consuming and draining. Being a person who thrives on social stimulation, staying motivated and engaged was a task at times.

Now, thanks to the web, accessing online programs and courses has become simpler and more interactive. For example, participants learn through numerous mediums including videos, articles, forums, etc. Not only does this create variety, it also keeps participants engaged not only with the content but also with other participants. Along with this, the advancement of screen reading software for sight-impaired individuals allows users to navigate the computer just as efficiently as their sighted peers. Platforms such as Moodle and Blackboard Collaborate, just to name a few, have the capacity to be made into a user-friendly format.

As I reflect back, I wonder if my past distance learning experiences have prepared me for my career on some level? I was working recently as a facilitator and career coach in a national online employment program for people with disabilities. Along with this, I recently completed my coach training certification online.

From both perspectives, I can speak to the value of participating in an online course or program. However, it is important to note that online learning is not for everyone. Whether you have a disability or not, some questions to ask yourself include:

1. What is my personal learning style?
Some students learn better by reading and working through things on their own, while others need that physical connection.

2. Do I have good computer skills?
In order to maximize your learning opportunity, moderate to advanced computer skills are usually required.

3. Am I disciplined?
It is important to be realistic and determine if you have the discipline and time management skills as you most likely will not have someone nudging you.

Anu Pala, a certified life coach and career development practitioner, brings her positive attitude and pro-active nature to her life and work. Over the past 15 years, Anu has worked towards initiatives that promote women’s empowerment and the inclusion of persons with disabilities. Through her vision loss, she uses her personal journey to inspire, empower and move her clients towards reaching their personal and professional goals.

by Sarah Lupker
What do a sommelier, a cultural heritage specialist, an event co-ordinator and a support rockstar have in common? They are all in the early stages of careers they love. And they have all shared their work story on WorkStory.net!

WorkStory.net is a web-based initiative, and pet project, created last year by two Canadian psychology professors, Natalie Allen from Western University and David Stanley from the University of Guelph. Their goal was simple: to create a place where those in the early stages of their careers could share their work-related stories with their peers and near-peers. The project was inspired by conversations Natalie and David have had with their own students and by their recognition that – although people love to talk about their work – many of us only know about a small selection of jobs. And by their conviction that hearing an authentic story, from someone who is not-so-very-different-from-you, can inform, intrigue and inspire.

Aimed at high school, university and college students, recent grads, those new to the job market, and career changers, WorkStory.net features a collection of videos and text-based stories. Think “virtual information interviews”. Each WorkStory is recorded – or written – by someone in the relatively early stages of his or her career. In each WorkStory, contributors explain what they do and what they love about their job. And, perhaps most importantly, they describe the (sometimes unexpected and convoluted!) path that they took to get there.

Still in its early days, WorkStory.net currently features over 50 videos. From the science-grad-turned-sommelier to the English major who landed a job in publishing (her dream industry!), contributors to WorkStory represent a variety of occupations and wide range of experiential and educational paths. Currently, WorkStory features graduates from over 25 Canadian universities and colleges, who were in various programs, as well as participants whose paths included less formal post-secondary activities. Sharing one’s WorkStory is easy – and requires no invitation! Simply visit our website and follow the Sharing your WorkStory instructions.

Since its launch, WorkStory has enjoyed terrific support, and received great ideas, from career professionals across the country. This year, based on one of those ideas, WorkStory initiated a student ambassador team at Western University. The team is comprised of four students in different programs who work together to spread the word about the project to students and recent grads. In the coming years, we plan to roll out WorkStory Ambassador Teams with students in other educational institutions across Canada.

Interested in learning more about WorkStory? Or sharing your WorkStory? Visit our website at workstory.net to learn more!

Sarah Lupker is a third-year anthropology and psychology student at Western University. She is a member of the student WorkStory Ambassador Team at Western. She can be reached at slupker@uwo.ca.