Non classifié(e)

Future Shock? The Impact of Automation on Canada’s Labour Market

Published by the C.D. Howe Institute in March 2017, this report assesses the impact of technological change on Canada’s labour market over the past 30 years and highlights its implications for the near future.

bit.ly/2r6rDNk

Literature Search: Entrepreneurialism and Work

This CERIC literature search, updated in January 2017, covers topics such as: Entrepreneurship and growth; Attitude of youth towards entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurship and innovation; Women business owners; Entrepreneurship within corporations; and more.

ceric.ca/literature-searches

Chaos Theory of Careers and the Changing World-of-Work

The world-of-work is changing. This Asia Pacific Career Development Association (APCDA) webinar presented by Brian Hutchison focuses on incorporating principles of chaos theory of careers to plan practical interventions for working counsellors and coaches.

asiapacificcda.org/event-1878067

Riipen

Riipen is a technology platform that connects the business community with higher education students, recent graduates and educators through project-based experiences. Launched by University of Victoria graduates, the platform helps students build a network of employers and demonstrate their skills in order to launch their careers.

riipen.com

The Changing Nature of Work

Published in 2016 by Policy Horizons Canada (Government of Canada), this scan presents an overview of the four major changes expected to be significant in the world of work over the next 10-15 years: the increase of virtual workers, the rise of artificial intelligence, the growth of a global online labour market and the evolution of work towards flexibility but uncertainty.

horizons.gc.ca/eng/content/changing-nature-work

Upwork

Upwork (formerly Elance-oDesk) is the world’s largest global marketplace where businesses and freelancers collaborate remotely. It seeks to connect employers who want access to a larger pool of quality talent and workers who want the flexibility to find jobs online. Jobs range from web development and graphic design to content writing and administration.

upwork.com

The Sharing Economy in Canada

Released in February 2017 by Statistics Canada, this report gives an overview of the presence of the sharing economy – e.g., the use of peer-to-peer ride services or private accommodation services – and the potential important role it could play in the Canadian economy.

statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/170228/dq170228b-eng.pdf

Digital Talent: Road to 2020 and Beyond

This report from the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) highlights the opportunities and challenges facing Canada’s digital economy and underscores the importance of digital talent as one of the most critical advantages for Canada in a global marketplace.

ictc-ctic.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ICTC_DigitalTalent2020_ENGLISH_FINAL_March2016.pdf

By Sarah Lubik

This article also appears in the 2017 Summer issue of Career Developments,
the National Career Development Association (NCDA) print magazine.

Right now, we are in a period of unprecedented change and uncertainty in the dynamics of the career market. Rapid advances in mechanical automation and artificial intelligence, in particular, will see many existing roles supplanted by technology – and many new, different roles created. Moreover, traditional industries are increasingly embracing technology. As these markets and technologies race forward, the soft skills required to succeed also change, requiring an entrepreneurial mindset and work ethic to keep up. Jobs are also far less secure than they once were, with many students starting with contract employment [1].

These conditions mean that students may be wise to reinterpret the concept of job security to mean being highly valuable, self-reliant and adaptable. This scenario also poses a number of substantial challenges for educators and career management professionals. As we strive to prepare young people with the skills they will need to thrive in the job market and in life, we are also unable to tell them what their future careers will look like.

Technological change and uncertainty

The impact of technological advances on traditional workplaces is already changing the landscape of industries. It is getting harder to draw the line between what is the “tech sector” and what is “a sector very reliant on tech.” No sector or industry is “safe” from the impact of disruptive technologies. The health field is changing due to empowering possibilities in personalized medicine, the pervasive nature of social media is shaping marketing, while human resources firms rely on web platforms and big-data [2]. This means comfort with technology and digital literacy are increasingly important regardless of career field. This does not mean that every student needs to be a coder, as is frequently suggested, but that every student needs to be able to work with technology and information processing to create and work with meaningful solutions. It also requires complementary, softer skills.

Entrepreneurship skills for future careers

It is estimated that some 65% of children entering primary schools today will likely work in roles that don’t currently exist [3]. To deal with this uncertainty, increased emphasis on innovation entrepreneurship is needed: the abilities to match new ideas or technology to market and societal needs, and sustainably create and capture value from innovation. Entrepreneurship and innovation training develops “renewable competencies” such as creativity and adaptability, team work and collaboration skills, communication and implementation [4]. These skills have also been found to lead to much greater ambition and productivity [5]. Interdisciplinary experiences have also been found to be increasingly important to gaining realistic experience and to taking on the more complex challenges students hope to tackle [6]. Moreover, millennial students are increasingly looking to entrepreneurship for meaningful careers [7]. Not all students will become entrepreneurs immediately, if ever, but The Centre for Business Innovation (CBI), part of the Conference Board of Canada, indicates these are also critical skills looked for in employees [8].

Trend towards temporary vs permanent positions

This entrepreneurial ability to create opportunities is further critical as employment statistics in Canada indicate that we are in the process of a major shift toward greater temporary employment and away from permanent roles. A recent report from Statistics Canada notes that “large declines in full-time employment have been observed among youth. From 1976 to 2014, the full-time employment rate declined by about 18 percentage points among men aged 17 to 24 and by about 11 percentage points among women in that age group.”[9] Meanwhile, younger generations are increasingly changing jobs more frequently than those that preceded them [10]. The ability to quickly learn and adapt, or create their own job begins to be fundamental rather than optional.

How do we prepare students for an uncertain workplace?

The challenge of developing and evolving curricula and support in order to ensure our students are ready for this unpredictable future may seem daunting, but existing programs can be infused with relevant skills and experiences and new programs have been developed that can be successfully emulated.

Technology skills – Where technology skills have often been siloed in tech fields, interdisciplinary programs can build not only comfort with technology, but also the complementary skills required to use them to their best advantage. At SFU, Technology Entrepreneurship@SFU (Tech e@SFU) [11] was named in the BC Technology Strategy as the type of program that should be encouraged. It has business and entrepreneurship students from all disciplines partner with students from mechatronics engineering to develop problem-driven and market-responsive products. Students must take a “cross over” course (Introduction to Entrepreneurship & Innovation for tech students and Mechatronics Design for Non-Engineers for non-tech students) to develop familiarity and then become functioning interdisciplinary teams, even leading to technology ventures in some cases.

For students not able or willing to commit to a full academic class or program, there are also possibilities to build capabilities through partnerships with external organizations. For example, Lighthouse Labs runs HTML 500, a one-day, 500-person conference to teach basic coding and using tech to find solutions to challenges.

For the intersection of soft and tech skills, self-branding and how to communicate in a networked world can be developed in courses like SFU’s Publishing 201: Publishing of the Professional Self, open to students from all disciplines.

Interdisciplinary & experiential entrepreneurship – Many of the world’s top universities including Stanford, MIT and Cambridge have launched highly successful interdisciplinary innovation programs. At SFU, a large number of interdisciplinary accelerator classes are co-taught with champions from multiple faculties, providing entrepreneurial frameworks and mentorship as self-driven interdisciplinary student teams engage with their communities to tackle challenges like community health needs (Health Lab), social innovation (Change Lab), sustainable product design (Business of Design) and how to commercialize their own research (Invention to Innovation) [12]. These types of programs also link technology with solving societal problems [13].

Support & mentorship – Increasingly, universities are developing incubators to support the students who create their own opportunities [14], a key feature of which is mentorship by established entrepreneurs. At SFU, the Coast Capital Savings Venture Connection incubator provides a range of services from Mentor Meet (where anyone from the university can have coffee with an experienced mentor) to Ignite (where students, faculty, staff or recent alumni with early-stage ventures can receive mentorship from a dedicated, seasoned entrepreneur). For those seeking socially driven entrepreneurship, Radical Ideas Useful to Society (RADIUS) offers a fellowship in changemaking as well as mentored early-stage and later-stage accelerator programs.

For those career professionals who are not in a position to start new entrepreneurship programs, it may be useful to develop relationships with local incubators, which are becoming increasingly common across the country, in order to introduce students to appropriate professionals and potentially early-stage training programs. They may also augment existing mentorship programs by seeking out entrepreneurial alumni who wish to re-engage with the university and support students.

Given the exponential rate of change in technology, required skills and the job market, traditional job security may soon be a vanishingly rare commodity. In this new career environment, it is critical to ensure not only that students are prepared with relevant, hands-on and adaptable skills that employers need, but also that they have the ability to create their opportunities rather than depend on others.

AUTHOR BIO

Dr Sarah Lubik is Simon Fraser University (SFU)’s first Director of Entrepreneurship. She is Co-Champion of the Technology Entrepreneurship@SFU program, a lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Beedie School of Business and researches university entrepreneurship. She has experience coordinating pan-European startup support programs, is a certified expert business coach and is the co-founder a high-tech startup. Lubik holds a BBA (honours) from SFU and a masters and PhD from Cambridge.

References

[1] The Globe and Mail (October 18, 2016), “University graduates juggle jobs of varying certainty”.
URL:www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/canadian-university-report/university-graduates-juggle-jobs-of-varying-certainty/article32408472/

[2] OECD (December 2016), Skills for a Digital World. URL: www.oecd.org/els/emp/Skills-for-a-Digital-World.pdf

[3] World Economic Forum (January 2016), The Future of Jobs: Employment, Skills and Workforce Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. URL: www3.weforum.org/docs/Media/WEF_FutureofJobs.pdf

[4] Miller (2013) The Rise of the Generalists. Globe and Mail Canadian University Report. October. 19-13

[5] Financial Post (August 20, 2012), « Why Next 36 matters for all Canadian entrepreneurs »
URL: business.financialpost.com/2012/08/20/why-next-36-matters-for-all-canadian-entrepreneurs/

[6] Interdisciplinary experiences have also been found to increasingly important to gaining realistic experience.

[7] Fast Company (January 6, 2016), « Millenials Are Reshaping The World of Social Impact ». URL: www.fastcoexist.com/3060085/millennials-are-reshaping-the-world-of-social-impact

[8] The Conference Board of Canada, Innovation Skills Profile 2.0.
URL: www.conferenceboard.ca/cbi/innovationskills.aspx

[9] Statistics Canada (November 2015), Full-time Employment, 1976 to 2014
URL: www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-626-x/11-626-x2015049-eng.htm

[10] Psychology Today (March 29, 2015), Are Millennials More Likely to Switch Jobs and Employers?
URL: www.psychologytoday.com/blog/diverse-and-competitive/201503/are-millennials-more-likely-switch-jobs-and-employers

[11] www.sfu.ca/techentrepreneurship/

[12] www.sfu.ca/entrepreneurship-courses.html

[13] Social Innovation Generation (August 13, 2015), Social Innovation’s Imperative to Be Ambitious and Think Big
URL: www.sigeneration.ca/tag/inclusive-innovation/

[14] www.aacsb.edu/vision

Welcoming career changers into career services

By Andrea Dine

This article also appears in the 2017 Summer issue of Career Developments, the National Career Development Association (NCDA) print magazine.

Professionals and researchers in career services have heralded and documented an evolutionary renaissance in the conception, structure and delivery of career services in higher education. A variety of influences will continue to fuel change, including shifts in the labour market and economy, rising costs of higher education and consumer examination of the return on investment of a college degree (Roush, 2016).

As we look to embrace and manage change, it makes sense to examine the shoulders upon which this change rests ─ the career centre staff. Career centres have been more open to individuals with diverse professional backgrounds and career changers than some of our neighbouring student affairs offices that source staff from student personnel or higher education administration degree programs. Career centres have welcomed professionals with backgrounds in higher education, counselling and human resources. However, our changing needs as a profession will drive us to become talent entrepreneurs. This article will make the case for embracing career changers, professionals who have not worked in higher education, into the field of career services and propose the creation of a supportive professional development framework to foster their transition.

Changing needs: skill sets, models and demographics

Career centres have evolved over the decades as hubs for vocational guidance, job placement, career counselling and planning (Casella, 1990), and now, customized connections and communities (Dey and Cruzvergara, 2014). No longer are career centre staff members’ skills limited to those traditionally associated with conducting career counselling appointments or co-ordinating on-campus recruiting. Highly desired, specialized skill sets may now include marketing, social media communication, online learning, operations and logistics, assessment, volunteer co-ordination and technology. Professional organizations, networks and individuals are working to address these skills and coalescing professionals with these strengths. For example, National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)’s Professional Standards for College and University Career Services includes a focus on technology and assessment, Assessment and Research in Career Services (ARCS) has created a listserv and quarterly newsletters, and Gary Allen Miller, Executive Director of the career centre at Hofstra University, hosts a blog titled Service Design, Marketing and Innovation for Higher Education. Career changers from industries including marketing, consulting, operations management and information technology could bring the very skills a career centre most needs in today’s market.

Shifting models of career counselling and coaching are also driving staffing needs. For example, the refocus to career clusters or communities aligns career centres away from majors and more towards industries. A variety of career centres are implementing industry-focused models including Columbia State Community College, Rutgers University, Stanford University and Wellesley College. The industry communities a career centre identifies as high priority are tailored to the specific campus, and includes groupings like, “Information Technology,” “Education, Non-Profit, Human Services,” and “Food and Agriculture & Environmental and Natural Resources.” Professionals from these industries could share with students’ important insights as natives who know the industry’s recruiting peccadillos, language preferences and professional practices.

The demographic origins of the students we serve, and therefore their needs, are also changing. As American high school graduation rates plateau, entering college students are projected to come from more diverse backgrounds including first generation college students, students of colour and low income (Seltzer, 2016). In addition to domestic shifts, many campuses have increased their enrolment of international students (Institute of International Education, 2016). Given this changing environment, recruiting diverse professionals skilled in inter and intracultural communication, and fluent in languages beyond English, would benefit our profession.

Challenges

Career professionals at conferences as large as NACE, and as small as the Boston Area Directors meeting, often ask each other, “How did you get into career services?” “Did you use career services as an undergraduate?” Frequently, the answer to the first question is an illustration of chaos and happenstance (Krumboltz & Levin, 2004), and the latter is, “No.” There are relatively well-worn paths from Master’s programs to career centre internships and assistantships, from academic to career advising, and HR recruiting to employer relations, but responses describing mid- or advanced-level career changes from other fields are less common. There are a variety of challenges in attracting, training and retaining talent in career services, beginning with the fact that individuals do not pursue opportunities they have never seen or heard of. Additionally, on-boarding may require training a new employee about career services, student development and higher education. Office or institutional retention of a talented career changer may require thinking about career trajectories in a new way. In the same spirit of our asking, “Where do you see yourself in five to 10 years?” we should consider potential trajectories for non-traditional professionals in our midst.

Proposals

Career centres sit in the centre of a complex community Venn diagram. We can draw on our own expertise and that of our constituents to reap the benefits and mitigate the challenges of welcoming career changers into career services.

Create awareness of our field and opportunities in it. We educate clients about diverse career fields, but do we ever mention our own? Here are ways to pave the path for new professionals to enter career services in higher education:

• Start local: Engage with undergraduate and graduate students on campus in programs that teach the skills that your staff needs ─ from research and assessment, to computer science, to marketing. If your campus has a higher education program, build a relationship with faculty and staff in it to open the door to young professionals who may initially work in other areas of the institution.
• Go wide: Get involved with professional organizations and communities online or in-person that attract the candidates you desire. For example, #SAChat, American Marketing Professionals, American Educational Research Association, Society for Human Resource Management, Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. Consider offering a professional development workshop to build credibility and exposure.
• Think big: Post opportunities beyond traditional higher education sites; consider posting on sites that use skill algorithms to source candidates, like LinkedIn. Tap your employer, alumni and social media networks for talent.
• Tell all: Write detailed position descriptions so that qualified career changers can imagine themselves in the work of a career centre.
• Answer questions: Accept informational interviews with professionals in other fields interested in higher education and career centre work.

Develop transitional supports and opportunities:

• Speak skills: Look at candidate’s skill set carefully; be careful not to dismiss a candidate based on the field from which they seek to transition.
• Set expectations: Articulate what you expect a candidate to learn before you interview them. You can reasonably expect a candidate to do due diligence in their research about your institution and office, but if you are expecting a candidate to address something as specific as the narrative approach to career counselling or how their MBTI type would fit in your office, you had best say so.
• Create transitional roles: Career centres have long had paraprofessional roles and graduate assistantships. Consider offering similar opportunities for career changers.
• Bridge the gap: Evaluate vacant administrative roles to determine if they could serve as a bridge into the field. If there is a particular skill set you seek, use language familiar to your target career changer.

Imagine and establish pathways for professional development and advancement:

• Seek knowledge: Identify professional development organizations and opportunities that compliment career changer’s role in your office. If no obvious match exists, consider being a convener.
• Play the long game: Look at potential advancement opportunities for your career changers inside your office and your institution. The former techy in your office that went on to work for the central university technology office may be your ticket to better institutional support for your department for years to come.

Conclusion

Career changers are poised to bring valuable skills, knowledge and perspective to our work, and help us tackle the challenges of today. Though it may take additional effort to find, develop and support these professionals, developing talent pipelines and support structures to welcome new professionals into our field will make us nimbler to face the challenges of tomorrow.

A complete list of references is available upon request from the author.

AUTHOR BIO

Andrea Dine, MA, is the Assistant Vice-President for Students and Enrolment, and Executive Director of the Hiatt Career Centre at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. At Brandeis, she is leading the evolution of the career centre, bringing communities of students, employers, alumni, faculty and parents together for purposeful career education and engagement.

A Necessary Shift in Career Service Orientation?

By George Dutch

Career development professionals are the mechanics of an employment machine that operates for the mutual interests of individuals, the state and private capital. We help the state ensure a steady supply of labour and, when the machine needs repairs, we apply a range of interventions—training, coaching, counselling, benefit systems, insurances, healthcare—for the temporarily unemployed, disabled, ill or injured.

We use a toolbox of career theories, methods and models to help individuals adjust their skills, behaviours and attitudes so that the machine runs smoothly. For example, when corporations and governments shed jobs by the millions in the early 1990s, we tweaked attitudes with the idea that individuals really work for themselves even when they have a traditional employer [1]. When the economic crash of 2008 cracked the engine block, many career professionals helped clients reconstruct their lives with a narrative or life-design approach that increased their capacity as active, holistic, self-organizing, masters-of-meaning to make trade-offs between career activities and personal preferences, such as work-life balance [2].

These tools reveal a cultural assumption that self-reliance and personal independence is the best way to manage a career when job security is threatened by economic upheaval. In short, career services are about helping “me” better manage “my life” within a cultural consensus organized around a simple formula: good school, good grades, good job, good life. When career professionals sit across from a client, the central question we ask ourselves is: how can I help this individual access and utilize this formula?

But, there is nothing “natural” about a social order based on this consensus; it’s the consequence of certain social, political and economic choices in a job market always expanding and providing new opportunities through competition and individual effort. For some, the formula still applies and career professionals will continue to help them determine how to best work within these boundaries…but for others, perhaps a majority, the employment machine is beyond repair.

The nature of careers is changing in our society because work as a form of social cohesion is unravelling. The UK government claims that half of university graduates there are unable to find anything other than what would be described as “non-graduate work.” It is estimated that the same situation exists for at least one-third of recent grads in Canada. Robots and intelligent machines threaten to replace workers in industries from finance to retail to transport, with estimates that 47% of jobs in Canada are vulnerable to some level of automation. The number of good-paying jobs with benefits are shrinking and situated for the most part within the public sector. There is a growing divide between a salariat and a precariat [3].

In the past, dire predictions about the end of work did not happen but many experts say that technological change today is occurring at a faster pace on a wider scale with negative implications for how work is currently organized.

Do career development professionals need a different toolkit? 

Society appears to be at a crossroads in terms of how to structure the supply and demand of work, allocate resources and distribute benefits. If a new employment machine is being built, career professionals might spend less time on equipping individuals for “Me Inc” and more time facilitating collective solutions for finding and creating work. For example, instead of teaching clients how to build a LinkedIn profile, should we be showing clients how to band together, develop creative enterprises and seek funding through Kickstarter? Or, educating them not on the job market but on how to engage with others in the sharing economy by teaching how apps can create new income streams? Or, coaching them on how to become activists, how to organize and advocate with others for a Guaranteed Basic Income as the best way to secure their future? Depending on the political and economic choices we make as a society in the next few decades, our focus as career professionals could shift to helping most clients adjust to a new work ethic that is based less on individualism and self-interest and more on interconnectedness and the common good.

Some thought leaders are calling for a structural shift that will measure the success of our economy not by gross domestic product (GDP) but by quality of life for citizens [4]. If steady jobs and professions become the privilege of a few, we need to collectively rethink work in a way that takes care of people and the planet that we depend on, not just produce and consume goods and services (many of which currently contribute to GDP but actually undermine the well-being of both people and planet). A new work ethic might be organized around the social capital necessary to solve big problems ─ such as climate change, income inequality, water shortages, kleptocracy ─ through a collaborative commons involving volunteering, research, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.

Through Careering and Cannexus and other “community” forums, career development professionals tend to look with a “hive” mind (networked by social and informational togetherness) for integrated solutions when solving problems. Should we now intentionally and deliberately integrate “We Inc” concepts of collaboration and collectivism into career theories, methods and practices?

We have the unique pleasure and privilege of witnessing how work gives not only meaning but also structure and stability to life. What influence will we have on designing and building an employment machine that works efficiently and effectively for citizens, government and private capital? The stakes are high for our future as individuals, professionals, and as a society.

AUTHOR BIO

George Dutch, MA, thinks and writes about the intersection between knowledge, work and power. He collates an online mag, UnDone, that tracks relevant trends & issues. He lives in Ottawa where he has been a career counsellor in private practice with JobJoy.com for 25 years. 

References

[1] Bridges, W. (1994). JobShift: How To Prosper In A Workplace Without Jobs includes a chapter called ‘Run You & Co. As A Business.’ But it was actually management guru, Tom Peters, who wrote an article in 1997 that coined the phrase “CEO of Me, Inc.” and famously captured this ideology of individualism in the workplace.

[2] Savickas, M. L., Nota, L., Rossier, J., Dauwalder, J., Duarte, M. E., Guichard, J., et al. (2009). Life designing: A paradigm for career construction in the 21st century. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 75(3), 239-250. Visit www.vocopher.org/resources.htm for more information about life-design and narrative approaches to careers.

[3] For these and other relevant statistics, visit Working Without a Net: Rethinking Canada’s social policy in the new age of work: mowatcentre.ca/wp-content/uploads/publications/132_working_without_a_net.pdf

[4] Rutger Bregman (2016). Utopia for Realists: The case for a Universal Basic Income, Open Borders, and a 15-hour workweek; Jeremy Rifkin (2015). The Zero Marginal Cost Society: The Internet of Things, the Collaborative Commons, and the Eclipse of Capitalism; Nick Srnicek (2015). Postcapitalism and A World Without Work.

Experiential learning, nurturing of self-awareness and skill development should frame every student’s planning for a gap year

By Jay Gosselin

Since 1973, Harvard College (yes, THAT Harvard) has been offering admitted students the opportunity to take a year “off” prior to engaging in their post-secondary education. The admissions office is so committed to this pathway that they suggest a gap year directly in their offers of admission. The reason for this approach is simple ─ Harvard students who complete a meaningful gap year return to their studies motivated, are high-performing and see purpose in their academic endeavours. Furthermore, professors speak highly of their engagement and maturity, both within and outside the classroom.

Every year, between 80-110 students delay the start of their education at Harvard. Until recently, they were the only institution in North America to support this path so earnestly. In recent years, schools such as Princeton and Tufts have followed suit, having witnessed first-hand the benefits that a year off before starting university offered their students. Unfortunately, Canadian institutions, by and large, have not yet embraced this approach to admissions. That is not to say, however, that Canadian students are not choosing this path.

Gap culture in Ontario

According to Statistics Canada’s Youth in Transition Survey, 43% of Ontario students took more than four months off between their high school graduation and entrance into post-secondary studies. While these statistics seem to indicate that we have embraced the “gap” culture here in Ontario, I would argue that our perspective is one more of tolerance than embrace. Having met roughly 12,000 high school students across the province during my three years as a recruiter for a large Ontario university, it is abundantly clear to me that the general consensus among students is that direct entry into post-secondary represented a “successful” transition to post-high school life. The 43% of students who decided to take some time between high school and post-secondary don’t quite radiate the same enthusiasm and pride as did a student who accepted early admission to, say, Queen’s University or the University of Toronto.

Understated successes

Ironically, I meet successful professionals every week who beam with pride and accomplishment when they tell me about their gap year experiences. In fact, many identify their year of self-discovery as a defining period in their life – a time when they learned what was important to them and built the character required to pursue those values. While there is still very little scientific research assessing the actual academic and career outcomes for students who choose this track, the anecdotal evidence is overwhelmingly positive. These former “gappers” echo the sentiment of Harvard’s students, professors and admissions officers: their year away enabled them to build motivation, maturity and self-awareness, and, perhaps most importantly, it helped them connect concretely with their purpose for attending university or college. They returned to their studies curious, determined and empowered to understand how academic principles could be applied in “real life.”

Creating meaning

Understanding that an intentional gap year can have significant positive impacts on a young person’s future studies, it is important to offer guidance as to how a student can go about creating meaningful experiences for themselves during this year of exploration. In this sense, meaning relates to the value of activities undertaken in helping the individual build intrinsic motivation, crucial skills and an optimistic mindset towards their future and the world around them.

Adaptability and identity

In today’s global economy, adaptability and “sense of identity” are often highlighted as crucial meta-competencies for successful career transitions. This age of rapid technological advancement necessitates ongoing adaptation to the constantly changing demands of the labour market. Adaptability requires confidence, critical thinking, creativity and resilience. It also requires a deep self-understanding of individual talents, preferences and values. Building these two meta-competencies should be at the core of any student’s plan for a meaningful gap year. At Discover Year, the development of these skills is woven into the fabric of our culture.

The three pillars of a meaningful gap year

Our innovative program was built around the three foundational values of our company, MentorU:  Action, Openness and Authenticity. We believe that the pursuit of these principles is important not only during a gap year, but throughout every stage of life. Our students integrate these values into their year through three pillars of growth: Experiential Learning, Self-Awareness and Skill Development.

Experiential learning

Practical experience enables learners to apply theoretical knowledge to their lives. Our students gain this experience in three important realms: paid work, volunteerism and travel. The merits of each of these outlets are well documented, but very few students are able to engage in all three in a purposeful manner prior to their foray into full-time employment. By supporting them in their navigation of the job market, offering travel resources and advice and re-framing the concept of charitable work, we empower our students to integrate all three of these important endeavours into a comprehensive learning experience.

Self-awareness

According to the Youth in Transition Survey, only 17% of students still identify the same career objective or track at age 25 as they did when they were 17. This seems logical – adolescents simply haven’t been exposed to enough experiences to truly understand their likes and dislikes, or how their natural abilities and values relate to different occupational fields. Therefore, we offer our students monthly individual coaching sessions with a career coach, as well as access to over 100 incredible mentors from a plethora of fields and occupations. These interactions help shape both the students’ understanding of their own interests and their awareness of what different fields offer and, how to integrate them.

Skill development

There have been hundreds of articles published in the popular media related to the “skills gap” we are experiencing here in Canada. Much of this literature relates to the so-called “soft” skills needed to perform at a high level in today’s economy. Communication, teamwork, creativity and critical thinking are among the skills that employers identify as increasingly important but claim are sorely lacking in recent graduates. Our weekly Discovery Days – held each Wednesday over the course of the year – revolve around these core competencies. These days include targeted workshops, career mentorship and group discussion.

Dedicated, successful professionals from our volunteer committee of over 100 mentors and educators help our students identify, contextualize and practice these skills. In our targeted workshops, subject matter experts help our students understand and practice crucial skills for their careers and lives. We cover topics such as active listening, professional writing, public speaking, receiving feedback, time management, entrepreneurship and many others. During the mentorship-oriented career panels, two to three different mentors share their journeys with us every week – their career path, failures and lessons learned as well as the skills that are most important in their line of work. They also explain the tasks and responsibilities of their current career, so that our students better understand the nature of various careers and industries. The facilitated group discussions cover a wide expanse of topics, and their intention is to help our students further develop their confidence, curiosity, communication and critical thinking skills.

While a Discover Year is not the solution for every young person, many students stand to benefit from a meaningful year away from school before the completion of post-secondary studies. I believe that experiential learning, nurturing of self-awareness and skill development should frame every student’s planning for a gap year. The pursuit of these principles necessitates action, openness and identification of the student’s authentic self. A Discover Year is not a guaranteed one-year journey to success, but this one year IS the start of a lifelong journey to significance. Let’s walk together.

See discoveryear.ca for more information.

References

Statistics Canada, Youth in Transition Survey (YITS). 2011.
http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=4435

AUTHOR BIO

Jay Gosselin is the founder of MentorU and the Discover Year program. He believes that significant lives are built through character and community development, and he has shared his message with over 13,000 students and professionals to date. Jay helps individuals and teams build effective communication and leadership skills through humanistic counselling and positive psychology interventions.

How US immigration changes could drive international students North

By Chantal Moore

Earlier this year, American President Donald Trump signed a revised travel ban blocking the issuance of visas to people from Libya, Syria, Iran, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, and suspending the refugee program. This ban could impact roughly 15,000 of the 1,000,000 international students in the US. [1]

Given the normal application-admission-registration cycle, it is premature to gauge the impact the Trump administration will have on international student numbers in Canada, but post-secondary institutions are reporting large increases in applications and web hits. According to The Globe and Mail, the University of Toronto had an 80% increase in US applicants this year; mid-to-small size institutions are reporting similar increases. [2]

Populist sentiments being expressed from high levels towards specific ethnic and immigrant populations may be enough to drive some international students North to Canada.

Complicating this, proposed H1-B Visa reforms could limit work visas for foreign workers and graduates. Legislation, actions and rhetoric that reinforces “America first” and “Us vs. Them” will be detrimental to attracting international students into the US.

Canada has been open and welcoming in reaction to US immigration changes. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted a welcome message to those escaping terror and persecution and Universities Canada issued a statement warning against the effects of a travel ban on International Education.

The appeal of a Canadian degree

Political factors aside, a Canadian degree is economical. The relative value of the Canadian dollar has made a Canadian education more affordable for many. For example, first-year international student tuition at University of British Columbia is roughly $34,000 CAD, the same as an American student might spend on domestic out-of-state tuition.

Canadian post-secondary institutions are known globally for high standards of quality and perform well in world rankings, with the University of Toronto, McGill and the University of British Columbia landing in the top 50 of the World University Rankings results.

Then there is the draw of safety and liveability. Canadian cities are known for their peaceful nature. Vancouver has been ranked the #3 most liveable city in the world by The Economist magazine due to factors such as health care and education.

Removing barriers to residency and employment

In a competitive market for international students, the world’s top education destinations must put more on the table than just attractive schools. Students are asking: “Will I fit in here?” “What are my long-term career prospects?” and “Can I become a permanent resident?”

As one American graduate who studied in Canada writes:

“When I was looking for graduate school, Canada seemed like a great option for many reasons. I liked the idea of being an international student given my research was looking at international student experience, I liked that there was an option to stay and work after graduation on a post-graduation work permit, and I will admit, the lower tuition (due to the exchange rate and my program choice) was a draw as well. Plus, I could take out US government loans to attend if I needed.

I am now going on my 8^th year here and still loving BC. I have been working since the second year of my graduate program and received my permanent residency just over a year ago. For me, my decision to move here for further education was a win-win. I could receive a world recognized degree, gain international work experience, not go in to copious amounts of debt, meanwhile, knowing that my experiences and education here would easily translate back to the US should I decide to return”.

Canada offers exciting career opportunities. Vancouver, for example, is known as “Hollywood North” for its thriving film and entertainment sector. According to the Seattle Times, employment of highly skilled tech workers in Vancouver has grown 27% over the past decade. Many US tech companies have set up shop in Canada due to more flexible policies on foreign workers. Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook now have outposts in Vancouver and more are expected to come. [3]

Canada has recognized the need to do more for its international students and is opening doors to recruit the best and the brightest. With a dwindling workforce and rising skills gap, attracting strong students who can contribute to Canada’s workforce is important. At the institution level, more universities and colleges are recognizing the need to help international students transition into the local job market. At the community level, organizations such as the Immigration Services Society of BC are supporting newcomers.

Canada offers full-time international students at designated learning institutions the chance to work up to 20 hours per week, easing their entry into work. Post-secondary advisors might also encourage international students to enrol in cooperative education (co-op) placements that introduce them to the BC workforce. The Province recently invested $1.3 million in co-op and has been promoting its benefits to students and employers. [4]

Finally, recent changes for Canada’s Express Entry immigration process have made it easier for international degree holders to become permanent residents. In 2016, the Express Entry program was updated to award more points for international students who complete degrees in Canada. Canada also lifted the Visa requirements for travellers from Mexico. Post-secondary advisors are staying up-to-date on Visa changes and how this may affect students.

While there is no guarantee that a Canadian education is a golden ticket to citizenship and a lucrative career, there is reason to be optimistic. Political, economical and social factors are combining to create the ripest conditions for Canada as an education destination.

AUTHOR BIO

Chantal Moore is the Manager, Communications at the British Columbia Council for International Education. She is a believer in the value of intercultural experiences, having lived abroad and travelled to over 25 countries. She has post-secondary degrees from Queen’s University and Acadia University and now lives in Vancouver, BC.

References

[1] theatlantic.com (13/03/2017). A pause in international students. URL: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/03/a-pause-in-international-students/519435/

[2] theglobeandmail.com (23/01/2017). Canadian universities see rise in US applicants. URL: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/canadian-universities-see-rise-in-us-applicants/article33713288/

[3] seattletimes.com (21/03/2017). Trump’s immigration policies give Vancouver’s tech sector an extra bump. URL: http://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/trumps-immigration-policies-give-vancouvers-tech-sector-an-extra-bump/

[4] news.gov.bc.ca (7/04/2017). Students and employers both benefit from co-op education opportunities. URL: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2017AVED0049-001131

The new and true reality of the millennial generation

By Matthew Thomas

Imagine, you’re 22-years-old.

You’re native to the world of constant information, social media, fake news and precarious work. You’re staring down 1,000 job postings in a sea of what feels like none at all. The famed linear career ladders of your parents and grandparents just don’t appeal. But they still want you to find one.

You have an average student loan debt of $25,000 ^[1].

Getting a “foot in the door” will likely require you to work for free, like more than 300,000 unpaid Canadian interns ^[2].

You’re living with your parents, just like 40 per cent of adults between 20-29, compared to just 27 per cent 30 years ago ^[3].

The eye-rolling response of the world?

“You’re part of the most entitled generation in history.”
There’s a certain comfort in labelling generations

It helps mark eras. It creates camaraderie. It also helps distinguish ourselves from our parents and our children.

Millennials will cultivate their careers in a world that is more culturally, politically and economically complex and unstable than at any other time in decades.

No motivated, university-educated person wants to live with mom and dad at 27-years-old. No one. Not 30 years ago. Not now. These aren’t choices.

Unprecedented student debt. Working for free. Living at home. An unstable economy and the certainty of job churn. This is the millennial reality.

The generation is also, officially, the most anxious, stressed and depression-addled generation…ever ^[4].
Unheard-of uncertainty

It’s well known that for the first time in modern history, we have three generations sharing the workplace – the boomers, Generation X, and the millennial boomer offspring. For these millennials, competition for jobs is fierce, while expectations for employment security, benefits, retirement and pension plans have been dramatically lowered – almost to the point of being accepted as the status quo.

And though all of us are feeling a bit out of sorts these days, it’s the millennials that will be tasked with finding a way out of the economic, environmental, political and overall global mess we’ve found ourselves in. It’s the millennials that will be paying for our healthcare, stewarding our environment, and supporting our quality of life as we age.

But only if they are working and fulfilled.

That’s why it’s so urgent to help this generation get their careers back on track.

Career paths just aren’t the same anymore

But the career paths and advice that worked for prior generations just doesn’t work for today’s young workers.

Millennials aren’t interested in locking into a job or even an industry for a generation. Compared to 20 years ago, today’s recent graduates jump from company to company at nearly twice the rate during their first five years of working ^[5].

Moreover, the next 20 years will see unprecedented levels of automation. This new reality won’t just affect low-skilled or precarious workers. A detailed analysis by McKinsey & Company of 2,000-plus work activities for more than 800 occupations found that automation and artificial intelligence will transform knowledge-intensive career paths too, such as medicine, law and finance ^[6]. Currently demonstrated technologies are already capable of automating medical image analysis ^[7], basic legal research ^[8], and financial reporting ^[9].

Preparing for non-linear careers

Gone are the days of linear career paths.

Instead, having a multi-pronged approach to career building is an absolute necessity today: where you build the resiliency to switch careers when you’re forced to, and the confidence to switch when you want to.

It’s time to leverage job churn instead of being victimized by it.

After interviewing over 200 professionals who successfully switched careers across sectors, disciplines, and functions, I discovered a set of habits that millennials will need to succeed in a non-linear career ^[10]. They include:

● Transferable Skills. Build a skillset that can be used across many careers, like problem solving, relationship building, project management, etc.

● Intellectual Thead. Have a core issue at the centre your career, and spend time understanding it from a variety of differing perspectives.

● Contextual Intelligence. Learn to notice and adapt to different working cultures, goals and jargon quickly. That’s critical to fitting in.

● Balanced Motivations. Understand your career motivations (e.g., doing good, making money, improving self), and make moves that satisfy them.

● Integrated Network. Build a network that cuts across many industries and sectors. A diverse network will help you switch careers later in life.

● Prepared Mind. Take on new challenges when they are presented, not just when you feel ready. There may never be a perfect time for a career move.

We need to change the nature of career education to prepare young people for the new, non-linear career paths ahead of them, and embrace modern-day technology tools to reach more students, and change more lives.

Let’s work together to turn this new reality into a strategic advantage.

AUTHOR BIO

Matthew Thomas is the Co-Founder and CEO of Paddle, a career discovery platform for millennials. His research on non-linear careers was published by Harvard Business Review and Oxford University Press, and influenced White House staffing during President Obama’s second term. Matthew previously worked across the public, private and non-profit sectors with McKinsey & Co., Department of Finance Canada, Morgan Stanley, and The Intersector Project.

References

^[1] http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-595-m/2014101/section04-eng.htm

^[2] http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/unpaid-interns-mostly-female-upcoming-study-claims-1.2649099

^[3] https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-312-x/98-312-x2011003_3-eng.cfm

^[4] http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/03/for-80-years-young-americans-have-been-getting-more-anxious-and-depressed.html

^[5] https://blog.linkedin.com/2016/04/12/will-this-year_s-college-grads-job-hop-more-than-previous-grads

^[6] http://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/digital-disruption/harnessing-automation-for-a-future-that-works

^[7] http://www.medicalimagingandgraphics.com/article/S0895-6111(10)00074-1/abstract

^[8] http://www.rossintelligence.com and www.beagle.ai

^[9] http://www.genpact.com/what-we-do/business-services/finance-accounting

^[10] Thomas, M., & Lovegrove, N. The Gifts of Breadth. Re-imagining Capitalism. Oxford University Press (2016).

Workplace values and ethics as a defense against the ever-evolving labour market landscape

By Kah Hock (Danny) Koh

When we discuss career pathways and labour market trends, is it appropriate for us to sum up the discussion using the phrase “change is the only constant”? Current realities seem to indicate that technology, healthcare careers and “green jobs” are the thriving industries where jobs are aplenty. Where are we getting all this labour market information from? Information on local, regional and national labour market conditions come to us via a variety of sources which include government; media; industry leaders; recruitment agencies; educators and career counsellors (not to mention the friendly advice from family and loved ones!).

How are we making sense of all this information in an era of increasing uncertainty and risk? Bland & Roberts-Pittman (2014) proposed a closer look at “existential theory” and the “chaos theory” of career decision-making to help both career counsellors and clients navigate career decision-making in the current era of uncertainty. While both theories will benefit from more practice-based research, they both seem to tell us one thing: an individual’s career identity is a fluid, ongoing process of self-discovery and engagement with surrounding environments.

In the age of information overload, how we interpret and make use of all career-related information is crucial. It is not surprising that many of us can get overwhelmed and confused, developing short-term views on careers which focus on “what is trending,” what new skills to acquire and where we can get them so we can land those elusive “good middle-class jobs.” The long-term view of career however – the real key to building a lasting, meaningful career – involves a great deal of introspection so we can bring unique value to any employer no matter which workplace we find ourselves in.

During my outreach to various local employers as part of job development efforts, I have heard from many who lament that workers want “work” but do not want “to work.” Some employers even directly ask me if I have “recent immigrants who are not locally born.” These employers stress that the work ethic of new hires leaves much to be desired. “Lack of punctuality” and “not calling in sick” are frequently mentioned examples.

Wanted: Work ethic

Recently, the Financial Post reported that a survey conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) in September 2016 revealed that 75% of small business owners were not impressed with the work ethic of new employees. Years before, renowned writer, speaker and entrepreneur Bill Taylor wrote an article for Harvard Business Review in which he expounded on why it makes strategic sense for organizations to hire first for attitude, then skill. These readings, employer feedback and further reflection has led me to realize that there is a key factor that distinguishes those who can find work, retain work and build a career from others who cannot. That factor is work ethic.

Individuals lacking work ethic will have a hard time finding meaning in their work. As jobseekers, they will have difficulty landing jobs and will probably find more than a few people to blame in the job hunt process. When they do find jobs, they will never add real value to the employer and, as a result, the employment relationship will be inevitably doomed. Whether or not a person shows up “for work” obviously matters – however, whether they show up “to work” is far more significant.

Work ethic does not translate into X number of hours you work for any employer but rather work ethic encompasses a combination of underlying values. These core values include: Accountability for One’s Own Actions; Integrity; Commitment to Organizational Objectives, Personal Leadership and Respect for Others. Being able to consistently embody these values with any employer gives one a strong work ethic which can withstand the shifting winds of labour market conditions. A strong work ethic is fundamental to nurturing an individual to be a contributing team member in any situation. It draws focus from “Me” to “Us” and allows the employee to focus on the larger picture of contributing to the organizational goals. A strong work ethic also facilitates an understanding that we are connected to one another through the work we do. We are more than self-serving individuals working for compensation benefits and prestige.

Providing real value to the employer

As staff at any organization, we are obligated to fulfill our responsibility to help our employers solve problems. For those in management, there is an added social and moral responsibility to make organizational decisions that can benefit society. In my opinion, work ethic is work ethic. We must not differentiate work ethic into “immigrant work ethic” because that risks stereotyping of immigrants and the perpetuation of precarious workplace situations if we only associate recent immigrants with work ethic. A strong work ethic must be nurtured at a young age. The role of caregivers, family members, educators, mentors and even peers during childhood is crucial. Later on, guidance counsellors, career counsellors and industry mentors can serve as facilitators but it is in the early years that the foundation for work ethic is established. There needs to be congruence between “work in theory” and “work in practice” and all stakeholders have a role to play. Potential strategies include:

• Parents and caregivers can nurture work ethic at a young age;
• Educators can nurture work ethic in school-age children through accountability and self-directed learning that is formally assessed at regular intervals;
• Mature staff at the workplace can impart a lessons on “maturity” and work ethic to new staff;
• Aside from formal supervision, employers can be mentors and allies in helping employees who are new or underachieving;
• Skills refresher sessions can be offered by employers to ensure all team members are adequately competent to carry out their responsibilities so the whole unit can function seamlessly;
• Individuals can take personal leadership in identifying continuous learning opportunities

We must not be so caught up in the hype of chasing new career opportunities or finding ways to acquire “in-demand” positions in the current economy. These are naturally important but we cannot lose sight of what is fundamental: the boundless promise of a strong work ethic. If as career practitioners we do our part and become active mentors, we can be optimistic that we are giving our future generation of workers the best defense against the ever-evolving labour market landscape.

AUTHOR BIO

Kah Hock (Danny) Koh first arrived in Canada as an international student from Singapore. He had worked with clients as an Employment Specialist at The Career Foundation in Toronto and currently holds a role as Job Developer at Wesley Urban Ministries in Hamilton, ON focusing on young adult jobseekers. Koh is a Certified Career & Résumé Strategist through Career Professional of Canada.

References

Bland, A. M., & Roberts-Pittman, B. J. (2014). Existential and Chaos Theory: “Calling” for Adaptability and Responsibility in Career Decision Making. Journal of Career Development, 41 (5), 382-401.

Taylor, B. (2011, February 1). Hire for Attitude, Train for Skill. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2011/02/hire-for-attitude-train-for-sk

Toneguzzi, M. (2015, September 3). ‘A worrisome trend’ for Canada’s workforce as work ethic, quality of new hires deteriorate. Financial Post. Retrieved from http://business.financialpost.com/executive/c-suite/a-worrisome-trend-for-canadas-workforce-as-work-ethic-quality-of-new-hires-deteriorate

Playbook helps small businesses retain and develop employees