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 Understanding how recent graduates have navigated the job search process will better equip career professionals when helping students and graduates make informed career decisions

By April Dyrda

The generation of students currently graduating from university was expected to experience the luxury of economic stability, where integration into the labour market from academia would be assured and essentially seamless.[1] However, the recession of 2008 brought extreme economic decline to the country, with the Canadian job market still struggling to rebound. Fortunately, unemployment rates on average have decreased since this time; however, youth unemployment has continued to rise in recent years. Although obtaining relevant employment after finishing school is a common goal for university graduates, these individuals are increasingly finding themselves without work.

While not all university-educated individuals are jobless (with a post-secondary education providing, on average, benefits regarding employment prospects), those with jobs are commonly involved in work that does not align with their career goals. One-third of employed 25 to 29-year-olds in Canada with a university degree are overqualified for the work they are doing, employed in jobs that are either low-paying, part-time, or that do not require post-secondary training.[2] According to the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada, the proportion of this population employed in low-skilled occupations has remained relatively unchanged over the past 20 years despite the number of highly educated youth having increased substantially in that time.[3]

The Costs of Unemployment

University graduates who are temporary workers, underemployed or unemployed often suffer a number of occupational and psychological costs as a result of their economic position. Recent research has found unemployment and underemployment to be associated with disengagement in not only the labour market, but also political processes and the community more generally.[4] Ultimately, as youth begin to feel apathetic towards the economy, these same feelings of indifference tend to be projected into other areas of life. Additional costs include the erosion or loss of previously developed skills, knowledge and abilities, diminished current and life-long income, as well as general job dissatisfaction.

Beyond these occupational risks, unemployment and underemployment have also been associated with personal and social concerns, many of which are known to worsen over time. These include, but are not limited to, deteriorating levels of self-efficacy, social support, optimism, and achievement motivation.[5] Negative effects such as these have been shown to contribute to a variety of mental health issues and physical health concerns among unemployed youth and young adults.[6]

A Call to Action

It is clear from the literature that a gap has emerged between how a post-secondary education is expected to benefit the future careers of students, and the realities of our economy. Higher education may be seen as necessary to obtaining a good job (with up to 80% of the work created in Alberta over the next 10 years requiring a post-secondary credential[7]), but it is by no means sufficient. While the risks of unemployment and underemployment are commonly understood, little is known about how new-entrants to the workforce are navigating the process of finding work, and particularly why some graduates are successful in this search while others are not. Given our current economic climate and the contextual constraints placed on employment, the value of understanding the diversity of influences on the job search process is now more pronounced than ever.

Research currently being conducted by myself and Dr Nancy Arthur at the University of Calgary, entitled Beyond generation jobless: How recent university graduates are finding meaningful employment, has been exploring factors that promote and discourage the ability of graduates to find meaningful employment (i.e. work in one’s chosen field of study deemed to be personally fulfilling). Findings from this study are believed to aid in the identification of critical factors and events, beyond an academic degree, which provide university graduates with the necessary means to successfully become employed. With an analysis of how recent university graduates have navigated the job-search process to find work, a better understanding of their perspectives as new entrants to the workforce can be realized, encouraging students and university graduates alike to make more informed career decisions.

Anticipated Benefits

The application of this research is broad in scope and should be recognized for the potential benefits provided not only to students and graduates, but also to the field of career development and to the community at large. Some of these benefits and their implications for practice are discussed below:

Students/Graduates

• Develop a more informed approach to their job search and a better understanding of what contributes to success in this process
• Benefit from enhanced competitiveness in the job market and a more seamless transition from academia to the workforce
• Experience heightened occupational and psychological wellbeing (e.g., levels of optimism, self-efficacy and social support)

 
Practitioners

• Increase effectiveness in their approach to the process of career counselling and development with clients in a stage of transition
• Develop job-search strategies and other counselling interventions that foster client awareness and development of factors deemed relevant to obtaining meaningful employment

 
Community

• Stimulate economic prosperity and the occupation of jobs that require or would benefit from those with post-secondary training
• Create opportunities for knowledge dissemination that speak to and develop an understanding of factors contributing to positive pre-employment outcomes, occupational success, and psychological wellbeing among university graduates
• Better tailor academic courses designed for the purpose of career and life management to maximize their utility

 
For more information about this research and to receive updates on research findings, please contact April Dyrda at ajdyrda@ucalgary.ca.

April Dyrda is currently pursuing her Master’s of Science degree in Counselling Psychology at the University of Calgary. She works as a practicum counsellor at Mount Royal University and serves as a student mentor through the Canadian Psychological Association and the University of Calgary. She has also worked as a research consultant for Canada Career Counselling and served on Calgary’s Psychological Healthy Workplace committee.

[1] Foot, D. K., & Stoffman, D. (2001). Boom, Bust & Echo: Profiting from the demographic shift in the 21st century. Toronto, ON: Stoddart Publishing Company Ltd.
[2] Saunders, R. (2008). Pathways for youth to the labour market: A synthesis report. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Policy Research Networks.
[3] Ariganello, A. (2012). Youth unemployment in Canada: Challenging conventional thinking? Ottawa, ON: Certified General Accountants Association of Canada.
[4] Standing, G. (2011). The precariat: The new dangerous class. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Publishing.
[5] Cassidy, T., & Wright, L. (2008). Graduate employment status and health: A longitudinal analysis of the transition from student. Social Psychology of Education, 11, 181-191.
[6] Goodchild, S. (2012). Hidden cost of youth unemployment is depression and poor physical health. London Evening Standard. Retrieved from http://www.standard.co.uk/news/work /hidden-cost-of-youth-unemployment-is-depression-and-poor-physical-health-8163179 .html
[7] Council of Alberta University Students. (2011, June). Securing Alberta’s future: How Alberta can lead in post-secondary education. Retrieved from: http://www.caus.net/docs/11- 06_ Vision.pdf

Canada’s first digital strategy seeks to increase digital skills

A new report from the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC), Digital Talent: Road to 2020 and Beyond, estimates that the demand for jobs in the information and communication technology sector will rise significantly, up 182,000 jobs by 2019, well outpacing the available domestic talent currently available.

To ensure that Canada remains competitive in the growing digital economy, the report outlines a made-in-Canada strategy with seven major recommendations, including:

1. Nurturing a strong youth talent pipeline;
2. Leveraging Canada’s diverse talent;
3. Supporting workforce upskilling to enhance digital adoption;
4. Attracting and retaining global digital talent;
5. Strengthening digital literacy and digital skills for Canadians;
6. Fostering digital entrepreneurship; and
7. Building labour mobility pathways to fill high-demand occupations.

Engaging youth, diverse populations and fostering technical, business and management skills, along with soft and interpersonal skills are an integral part of the strategy.

To find out more about Canada’s first digital strategy, visit ictc-ctic.ca/strengthening-canadas-talent.

Summer Skills Academy features Mark Savickas on constructing careers in the digital age

The popular Dr Mark Savickas will discuss and demonstrate practical techniques for using stories and life themes to foster educational and career decision making at this year’s CERIC Summer Skills Academy in Toronto. The July 13 session has already sold out with another date – July 14 – added, pending a minimum number of registrations.

Participants will learn how to integrate career construction approaches into their ongoing practice and may even use them to better understand why they became advisors and counsellors, and how their occupations allow them to advance their own life stories.

Bridging theory and practice, Dr Savickas is renowned for his work on Life Design Counselling and currently teaches at Northeast Ohio Medical University in the Family and Community Medicine Department. The one-day training session will include a variety of practical activities to assist career professionals in putting Life Design Counselling and other career interventions to use with their clients.

Summer Skills Academy is an annual event that provides in-depth, budget-friendly training, intended for anyone involved in the career development field.

For more information about the event, visit ceric.org/2016/03/registration.

Workopolis releases the Job Search Guide for New Canadians

With the Syrian refugee crisis at the forefront of the news and Canada’s newest immigration strategy set to welcome 300,000 permanent residents into the country over the next year, Workopolis has released the Job Search Guide for New Canadians.

The guide is currently only available in English and is intended to equip anyone working with immigrants and refugees with the basics of job searching in Canada.

A list of jurisdiction-specific organizations included in the guide is meant to provide a starting point for individuals seeking assistance with finding employment. The guide also includes: a list of the documents new Canadians will require in order to find work; instructions on crafting resumes and cover letters; an overview of regulated professions; tips on building a network; and tips on acing job interviews.

Access the guide in epub, pdf or mobi under the Job Search Strategies section at workopolis.com/en.

New wiki explores how professionals and their clients can best use social media

From research to personal branding to networking, a new ContactPoint wiki covers the do’s and don’ts of social media for career development across a range of the most well-known platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter, as well as more recent apps including Periscope.

The new wiki was added at the same time as the wiki feature on ContactPoint, a free online community for career professionals run by CERIC, was upgraded. The upgrade allows users to more easily contribute wiki content.

In addition to the social media wiki, ContactPoint also features wikis on:

• Career Development Theory
• Mental Health and Employment
• Glossary of Career Development

Share your knowledge with the career development community!

Contribute to the wiki at contactpoint.ca/contactpoint-wiki.

Federal Government expands the number of youth who can access the Skills Link program

In an effort to increase the ability of youth to gain the skills and work experience they need to find and maintain employment, the latest federal budget added an additional $165.4 million to the Youth Employment Strategy. The money is earmarked for new green jobs for youth, new jobs under the Young Canada Works program and an expansion of the Skills Link program.

For-profit and non-profit organizations, governments and Aboriginal organizations that create employment opportunities for youth facing barriers to employment can currently apply for funding to the Skills Link program year round, though the program will transition from continuous intake to a Call for Proposals process in the future. The program defines these employment barriers as potentially impeding a successful transition to the workplace, for example: non-completion of high school, being part of an official language minority or being a person with a disability.

For more information about the Skills Link program, visit servicecanada.gc.ca.

Impact of Caregiving on Careers is the topic of a new literature search

Caregiving for aging parents, other family or friends is especially challenging when caregivers are also engaged in the workplace. The latest literature search from CERIC reviews existing studies related to the impact of caregiving on careers today.

Topics covered in the literature search include:

• Informal caregiving
• Engagement in the workplace
• Transitioning out of caregiving
• Gender issues
• Effects of caregiving on health and finances

A total of 35 literature searches are currently available for download, including Economic Benefits of Career Guidance, Transitions from Athletic Careers, Career Counselling Competencies, Ethical Issues in Career Development, Mental Health Issues in the Workplace, and more.

Literature searches are intended for use in research and feature comprehensive listings of key articles in various areas of career development, highlighting critical points of current knowledge.

To access the full list of literature searches, visit ceric.org/literature-searches.

Tony Botelho is the Director of Career and Volunteer Services at Simon Fraser University, an office that was recognized with the Special Award for Innovation by a Career Centre at the 2015 TalentEgg National Campus Recruitment Excellence Awards.

In 2014, Botelho received the Rob Shea Research Award by the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers (CACEE) for his research on the role of career education in the contemporary university environment. And of particular pride, his grade two teacher once said he was “a pleasure to have in the class.”

Botelho will be presenting at Cannexus17, Canada’s largest bilingual National Career Development Conference, in January 2017.

In one sentence, describe why career development matters.

Career development matters because figuring out your place in this wonderfully weird and constantly changing world can be really hard – and for some it’s even harder.

Which book are you reading right now?

I am reading The Secret History of Costaguana by Juan Gabriel Vasquez. It’s a fun and uniquely Latin American response to Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was in kindergarten I clearly remember wanting to be a lion tamer. I think I would actually make quite a good lion tamer despite the fact that I’m not that good with animals nor am I particularly brave or daring. Actually… maybe I wouldn’t be that good.

Name one thing you wouldn’t be able to work without?

Humour, or at least my interpretation of what humour is. It makes even the most mundane activity more fun or interesting and it is an under-appreciated educational tool.

What activity do you usually turn to when procrastinating?

Answering Top 10 question lists.  🙂

What song do you listen to for inspiration?

This is a tough one as I love music. But if I had to choose one song I’d go with Rufus Wainwright’s rendition of Leonard Cohen’s « Hallelujah. » Admittedly, I have no idea what the song is about but I am moved by it every time.

Which word do you overuse?

That you’re allowed to publish? Sadly I say the words, « That was a joke » or « That was meant to be a joke » far too often. This likely stems from the fact that the humour that I previously mentioned not wanting to work without is something I’m not that good at. Inspired by Jeb Bush’s now famous « Please clap » comment I’ve also incorporated a « Please laugh » line. The reactions have been similar.

Who would you like to work with most?

I think it would be cool to be a « Careers Correspondent » on a satirical/comedy program like the Daily Show or This Hour Has 22 Minutes. The careers field needs its own Bill Nye!

Which talent or superpower would you like to have?

I’d love to be able to play any song on any instrument I came across. I hope this doesn’t sound greedy as I already play the triangle (and I’m quite good) but I feel my repertoire would be expanded by adding other instruments.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Another tough one. I suspect my greatest achievement is less about one thing but more to do with the relationships I’ve been able to nurture in my personal and professional life. I’ve really been quite fortunate in this regard.

Canada Careers and Jobs Finder

A web portal and job matching tool that filters jobs according to education and interest and allows the user to apply for certain jobs directly.

canadacareersfinder.ca

Raise Your Flag

A career exploration tool designed to connect youth to meaningful careers that do not require a post-secondary education.

raiseyourflag.com

Youth Career Initiative

An international program that provides at-risk and disadvantaged youth between the ages of 18-21 with employment opportunities globally.

youthcareerinitiative.org

Magnet

A project out of Ryerson University, Magnet was initially launched to assist with post-secondary recruitment and uses job-matching technology to match employers and jobseekers.

magnet.today

Career Decision-making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ)

This site features free career assessments, guidance about career decision-making and advice for career professionals.

kivunim.huji.ac.il/cddq

International Experience Canada (IEC)

Government of Canada program for Canadian and foreign youth between the ages of 18 to 35 seeking work abroad in the form of a working holiday, international co-op internship or as a young professional.

canada.ca/iec

To celebrate a decade of Cannexus, Canada’s bilingual National Career Development Conference, we asked 10 of our pre-eminent Keynote Speakers from past conferences to answer three questions about the past, present and future of career development. They had some important – and fascinating – things to say. Read their full responses at contactpoint.ca under Blogger Central.

Question: As you look ahead, what factor do you see most influencing the future of career development?

Dr Nancy Arthur is Professor of Educational Studies in Counselling Psychology and Associate Dean of Research at the University of Calgary 

The future of career development is increasingly tied to local markets and world economies. There is an underlying tension in defining the work that we do – is our role to fill the labour market trends or to help people live satisfying lives? We are called upon to support our clients to determine how best they can live out the values that matter most to them, with or without the forms of employment that they would like to hold. More than ever, it is time for us to look beyond our roles of serving clients directly, to consider how we can continue to advocate with policy-makers to invest in the infrastructure to support people in building sustainable futures.

Dr Rod McCormick is a Professor in the Faculty of Human, Social and Educational Development at Thompson Rivers University 

The growing recognition and acceptance that Canada needs to provide the same level of education, health-care and standard of living for Indigenous peoples as it does for non-Indigenous Canadians. Not only are we the fastest growing segment of the Canadian population (46% are under the age of 25), but we are increasingly being recognized as having a great deal of knowledge to offer non-Indigenous Canadians in numerous fields such as health, resource management, environmental protection, etc.

Dr Mark Pope is Chair of the Department of Counseling and Family Studies at the University of Missouri-St Louis’ College of Education

Career development has and continues to be influenced by the economic processes of society. As we moved into the new global/digital era, the field had found itself being extended in a variety of new directions with an increasing societal focus on culture and poverty, the environment, rapidly advancing technology, and the shortening of the economic boom and bust economic cycles of capitalism. It is quite an exciting time to be in our field.

Dr Jim Bright is a Professor in Career Development at the Australian Catholic University and visiting Professor at the University of Derby

We are, have always been and will always be in the change business. In the exciting embrace of the new, it is always tempting to abandon the past. From a Chaos Theory of Careers perspective, order and disorder are composites of the same reality and patterns emerge where characteristic repeating patterns can be discerned in the novelty. Increasingly it is, and it will be apparent, that the present is part of the past, and the past and present are part of the future. For career development, and more importantly the users of our services to thrive, we must continue to appreciate and reflect in our work the relationship between order and disorder, change and stability and individuality and community.

Dr Rich Feller is a Professor and University Distinguished Teaching Scholar at Colorado State University

The inability for the economy to naturally create enough livable wage jobs to meet the high personal satisfaction and engagement needs of traditional workers. As a result society will have to decide how to subsidize access to training, income and privileged information (which is very much tied to social capital). The present bifurcation of access, income and wealth creation will expand as exponential growth and disruptive technologies will reframe what are understood as good, bad and not enough jobs. Increasingly people will come to see their identity tied to relationships and their success tied to adaptability

Dr Mark Savickas is Professor of Family and Community Medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University

Individualization of the life course and career path is the hallmark characteristic of the global economy. Digitalization, like industrialization before it, had reorganized the way people work and make a career. In this risk society with high levels of uncertainty, individuals must learn to develop themselves through work and relationships, rather than depend on institutions to show them the way. The two meta-competencies of identity and adaptability will help individuals make their own way in this new world.

Roxanne Sawatzky is the founder of Empowering Change and specializes in employment services for marginalized populations

I think Canada has spoken loud and clear that they want change and I think that desire for change is going to ripple into career development. The practitioners I meet day-to-day have passionately shared that they want to be both effective and skillful in their interactions with those they serve. I believe we will see a significant rise in bottom-up and side-to-side leadership where practitioners will greatly influence career development and they will be the change they want to see.

Dr Denis Pelletier is a Professor at the Faculty of Education Sciences at Laval University and co-founder of Septembre, a publisher specializing in the field of career and education

There is an important distinction to be made between choosing and deciding. Choosing is a cognitive activity while deciding has to do with motivation. I am now looking for a decision-making equation that takes into account the conditions through which the decision becomes affective and effective. Luckily, I have access to a large quantity of responses obtained from a study on seizing opportunities. Opportunities feature a strong, intense moment, in which one is offered a real opportunity to “take it or leave it,” with little time to decide – with all the attendant unknowns. I believe that the decision, in this context, is mostly emotional, and that it overcomes the uncertainty and complexity by making an intuitive assessment. Could this be a promising future direction for career counselling?

Dr Norman Amundson is a Professor of Counselling Psychology at the University of British Columbia

I am hoping that career development will continue to direct efforts toward current social, political and economic events. For example, the need to offer assistance to refugees and immigrants should include a strong career development component. Demographic shifts need to be addressed through a life-long career development approach. Working with diverse, indigenous and multi-cultural clients also requires some attention. We are living and working in an increasingly complex and diverse society, and career development needs to play an integral part within that ever-changing and evolving landscape.

Denise Bissonnette is an internationally renowned trainer and keynote speaker who has authored several celebrated books in career development

Career development is part and parcel of both community development and spiritual development. Rather than looking to create new and shinier models of career development, we will bring a sense of curiosity and humility to what we can learn from those who have traveled the distance in other times of great change. We are on the frontier, but when has that ever not been true? I do believe that at the heart of career development lies the eternal question, “What part shall I play in the larger world before me?” In that spirit, more stays the same than changes.

Strategies to strengthen resilience – spending time with loved ones, using humour, attending to our spiritual lives, engaging in physical activity and maintaining a sense of control – cross cultural and national boundaries

By Jeanette Hung

Just past the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where the mother of my driver was buried in a mass grave, is a right turn down a bumpy dirt road. I gasp with each bump. The red dust flies up and around our car and coats everything in a dry, thirsty film. I am told that this red soil is very rich – it reminds me of the red soil in the green fields of Prince Edward Island. However, there is very little green here. July is one of the dry months and there is no water in these houses and certainly none to spare for even the tiniest of lawns.

We arrive at our destination. The small sign says “Aspire” I learned about Aspire through a friend and started to correspond with the founder, Peace Ruzage, to see if there was something I could offer her staff while I was volunteering in local hospitals with my family. Aspire is a non-governmental organization (NGO) which provides “vocational training, skills and education to vulnerable women living in poverty.” As I am shown around the offices, I see welcoming smiles but also weariness on the faces of the staff. Ruzage is worried about staff burnout; that is why I am here. I will meet with some of her staff and facilitate workshops on stress, burnout and resilience and will meet with all of her staff for workshops on communication skills.

As I try to learn about the needs of the staff, I also try to understand some of the needs and pressures of their clients. The clients are women whom they refer to as beneficiaries. I am introduced to some of the beneficiaries in their classrooms. These women are here because Aspire provides an opportunity for each of them to develop a new career and create a new life for themselves. It will not be easy. For many it will provide a way to escape life on the streets or to give them a way out of an abusive relationship. These women have had entire lifetimes of violence. I see traces of the pain they have endured. These could be scars from the genocide, domestic violence or a john.  Will what they learn today help lift them out of poverty?

As I look at the enormity of the need and the work to be done in Rwanda, I am overwhelmed.  What does a career counsellor have to offer? I tell myself that every academic work I have studied and every pain I have experienced has prepared me for this moment. I will teach the staff what I have learned. Together we will discuss their current needs and challenges and develop strategies each of them can adapt for their beneficiaries. I will be honoured to hear any stories no matter how painful. I will celebrate each story knowing that with each narrative there is a little more healing.

It strikes me that my reaction to Rwanda is like so many other countries I have visited. It is the similarities, not the differences, which captivate me. As the staff begins to respond to me, I sense a familiarity in our discussions. I could be talking to my clients and colleagues in my office back in Canada. The pressures of a career, the concerns of a family, the nearly self-destructive instincts of a parent to put family and work before self, provide much to talk about. I use my handouts on stress, burnout and resilience to guide and encourage our discussions. We debate the literature, place value on the research, and discuss how to use this knowledge with our clients and most importantly right now, we examine ourselves.

When does stress become burnout? We discuss how stress can be the result of being over-engaged while disengagement is a result of burnout; emotions as over-reactive during stressful times and blunted with burnout. What are our triggers? It seems different for each of us. We look at risk factors such as work overload, lack of control, insufficient rewards and absence of fairness. We agree that personal reactions impact our work and our families and that not having enough resources can impact our abilities to cope with stress. We discuss what we can do to avoid the risk of burnout and increase resilience. We will practise the strategies we discussed and commit to: time with loved ones, finding balance, using humour, attending to our spiritual lives, engaging in physical activity and maintaining a sense of control.

In other workshops I am teaching communication skills which rapidly morph into counselling skills, parenting philosophies and self-discovery, as well as using advanced therapeutic techniques and interventions. I ask myself, how does a person learn to raise a family when their own parents and siblings were killed, leaving them and most of their friends orphaned? What do you tell your own children about resisting revengeful thinking? We have conversations about forgiveness, acceptance, and creating meaning from death and destruction. I hear a lot of laughter and hopeful talk about a better life and a different future. We discuss what concrete actions they are taking.

I think of John Krumboltz when we discuss how to make luck happen. Norm Amundson when we discuss listening to metaphors and hope. David Burns and Yvonne Dolan when reviewing cognitive distortions, especially those which are so deeply rooted from years of remembering and suffering in silence. I often think of Nancy Arthur, as there are many opportunities to have an impact on social justice and equality. It starts by simply contacting an organization, describing your skills and offering assistance.

I think I am of help. I wish those teachers who so generously taught and encouraged me could see their work being used in this tiny village, down this dirt road, with this wonderful staff who work every day with these brutalized families. I am aware that the staff has also suffered greatly, for no one escapes the impact of the genocide. As I listen to their concerns I see how hard they work, with so few resources, to help their beneficiaries create a different future.

I hope the staff will find some release and renewal in our work together. I think they feel my support and the support of their colleagues as they increase their skills and repertoire of interventions. Our discussions are animated as we apply the insights to ourselves, our families and our clients. I am aware of the differences between us; there are so many but I have also found similarities and felt a connection at Aspire. I think, for us, there is no greater work on Earth than to help people strive toward what they aspire to do and so find their lives transformed.

Jeanette Hung, MEd (Counselling) CCC, RCT is a founding Director of the Board of CERIC (Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counselling) and presently serves on CERIC’s research committee, was the founding Chair of the Nova Scotia Association of Professional Counsellors (NSAPC), and is the Co-ordinator of Career Counselling Services, Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS.

By Joanne Kviring

Employment programs that work with employers are the best way to ensure youth have in-demand skills and experience to succeed in the job market

Advising jobseekers on careers in financial services begins with an understanding of the sector’s business lines, areas of high demand and being able to match jobseekers’ soft and technical skills to the needs of the employer

By Kamini Sahadeo

Toronto’s financial services sector ranks among the world’s top financial centres, is an important driver of the economy of the Toronto region and it is the second largest employer in the region. According to the Conference Board of Canada[1] the sector directly accounts for about one out of every 13 jobs in the Toronto metro area and, as a percentage of the total workforce, Toronto has a higher proportion of people in the financial sector than either New York or London.

Financial services is a knowledge-based industry and, as such, talent is an important strategic asset for its continued growth and success. People with the right skills, knowledge and competencies are therefore always in high demand. The many business lines in the sector provide a vast range of career opportunities for jobseekers at different stages of careers and from a variety of academic and experiential backgrounds.

While this is an exploration of Toronto’s sector, the employment areas discussed in this article are also in demand across Canada. Career professionals can assist their clients in preparing for a career in the financial sector by becoming familiar with the steps outlined in this article.

Understanding the financial services sector ecosystem

An important first step in understanding how to chart a career path in this sector is to have a clear understanding of what it looks like. In its Financial Services Sector Comprehensive Workforce Model, the Centre of Excellence in Financial Services Education has mapped out a model of the sector’s workforce which outlines seven distinct business lines:

Deposit-taking: banks, trust companies and credit unions.

Lending:  companies, other than deposit-taking institutions, whose primary business is lending money.

Insurance: companies that underwrite insurance policies to compensate policyholders against specific risks.

Asset and Investment Management: manage clients’ assets, which involves making careful decisions about the best use of the clients’ assets in order to meet the clients’ investment objectives.

Securities: engaged in the buying and selling of stocks and other financial instruments that are traded but are neither the owners nor the managers of the underlying assets.

Independent Distribution: independent intermediaries between buyers and sellers of financial products.

Business and Professional Services: support financial services activities and the people in financial services firms such as lawyers, accountants, advertising, management consulting and more.

Each of these business lines is also broken out into its respective segments, totaling 35 separate segments.[2]

Targeting in-demand areas of the financial services sector

The second key step in planning a career in the sector is to understand where there is employer demand for people with specific knowledge, skills and competencies. Financial services employers in the Toronto region have identified 10 in-demand areas for talent:

1. Insurance – this segment is projecting the highest need for talent given demographic and business factors.
2. Compliance/Audit – these roles protect the integrity of financial institutions by monitoring, reviewing and investigating internal processes and functions.
3. Financial Advisory and Investment Management – these professionals are responsible for understanding the financial goals of their clients and designing the right investment or financial plan to help meet those goals.
4. Risk Management – these areas monitor, identify, measure and mitigate risks that can cause damage to the organization.
5. Technology – this function is constantly evolving and touches every aspect of financial services operations.
6. Project Management – these roles apply specialized knowledge, skills and techniques to execute projects efficiently and effectively.
7. Business Analysis (IT) – these roles help organizations achieve business objectives through the effective use of IT.
8. Business Analysis (Non-IT) – these roles focus on identifying the required changes to an organization, for it to achieve strategic goals. These changes can include strategy, structure, processes, information systems and finance.
9. Back Office Operations – these areas are concerned with the timely and efficient processing and reconciliation of information and relate to processes such as account administration, underwriting and securities services, treasury settlement, and claims management.
10. Contact Centres – as an alternative distribution channel that provides sales and services to customers of financial institutions over the internet or telephone, roles in this area include sales, account management, control, help desk and process improvement.

Details of over 30 in-demand roles within these areas may be found on the Financial Services Career Advisor portal explorefinancialservices.com .

Leveraging transferable skills and experience equivalencies

Finally, a third important step in planning a career in the sector is to understand how one’s skills, knowledge and experience could be applied to new and different areas. A new graduate from an accounting program, for example, might find that his or her interests and knowledge could be taken far beyond a narrowly-defined accounting role, which is in relatively low supply, to areas of higher demand such as compliance, audit and risk management. A mathematics grad would be very much in demand in an actuarial role in insurance. For those with some work experience, there could be equivalent occupations with a very high overlap of skill, knowledge and activity requirements with these in-demand areas. For example, a nurse could become a health insurance underwriter[3]. The in-demand roles on the Financial Services Career Advisor portal provide details of the main duties and key competencies required, and enable career professionals to aid jobseekers in best positioning themselves for these roles.

A demand-driven approach to career planning

This approach of targeting in-demand careers can also be applied to other sectors. By taking a more holistic view of an industry, seeking to understand the breadth of its ecosystem, and understanding how to tailor one’s knowledge and experience accordingly, career professionals can help jobseekers vastly increase their chances of building a long and fulfilling career in today’s economy.

Kamini Sahadeo is the Director, Strategy Implementation at the Centre of Excellence in Financial Services Education (workinfinancialservices.com). She has over 15 years’ experience in project management, policy implementation, business analysis, adult learning and community development. Sahadeo holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Schulich School of Business at York University and a Master of Social Science in International Studies and a Bachelor of Social Science in International Studies from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.

[1] M. Burt, K. Audet, & G. Sutherland. “Ensuring the Future: Understanding the Importance of Toronto’s Financial Services Sector”. Conference Board of Canada, 2013 study commissioned by the Toronto Financial Services Alliance
[2] For further information, please refer to “The Financial Services Sector Eco-System in the Toronto Region,” Centre of Excellence in Financial Services Education, February 2015 https://www.workinfinancialservices.com/Files/Resources/3-20-2015/COE_FSSEcosystemReport.pdf
[3] “Talent Opportunities in Insurance”, Centre of Excellence in Financial Services Education, April 2015 https://www.explorefinancialservices.com/Download/Publications/27D7CE12A0-19F458924E

Help for military to civilian transitions

The Military to Civilian Employment: A Career Practitioner’s Guide is now available, having launched at the Cannexus16 National Career Development Conference. An average of 5,000 Armed Forces personnel exits the military each year, many of whom seek to use their unique skill set in the civilian labour market. The guide will equip career professionals with what they need to know to assist veterans.

Highlights of the guide include:

• Understanding the needs of veterans and military culture
• Equipping veterans for the job search
• Enhancing coping and adaptation
• The education/qualification conundrum
• Career needs of military spouses

Produced by CERIC in partnership with Canada Company, the guide is available in both English and French. It can be purchased in print, ebook or downloaded for free at the CERIC website.

More information at ceric.ca/military.

The PhD goes beyond the Academy

Academia is not the end of the road for PhDs, according to a recently published Conference Board of Canada report entitled Inside and Outside the Academy: Valuing and Preparing PhDs for Careers. Whether PhDs are choosing to work in alternative careers due to issues of precarious employment within universities, or because their skill set is in demand in a variety of occupations, the Conference Board reports that fewer than 20% of PhDs in Canada are employed as full-time tenure-track professors.

The report examines the social contribution of PhDs, the knowledge and skills PhDs have gained, the need for professional skills development, and describes existing national and international programs.

If you have not already encountered PhD clients transitioning from academia to the workplace, chances are seemingly high that you will.

Read the report at conferenceboard.ca.

Syrian refugee employment challenges and opportunities

As Canada begins to welcome 25,000 Syrian refugees, career development professionals have a unique opportunity to assist and advocate for the influx of individuals set to enter the workforce.

New Canadians face difficult challenges related to employment and often experience underemployment as a result of language barriers, lack of an established social network, qualifications not being recognized and cultural misconceptions. Underemployment of newcomers was estimated to cost Canada more than $20-billion in 2012, according to a report from CIBC.

With support from CERIC and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), a research team led by the University of Winnipeg will investigate four cities in Canada to examine best practices for career development and integration of newcomers, in particular refugee youth. The project aims to create strong support networks, co-create new projects and services, and prepare counsellors and teachers to provide career development through the education system.

Learn more about this project at ceric.ca/projects.

Assisting students with career decisions in the computing disciplines

In partnership with Mount Royal University, CERIC will fund a new project to improve career counselling for students interested in information and computer technology. The project will produce both a Practitioner’s Guide and Student’s Guide.

Over the past 15 years, computing has undergone significant change, resulting in five sub-disciplines (or career areas). These five disciplines, defined by the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), are: computer science (CS), information systems (IS), computer engineering (CE), software engineering (SE) and information technology (IT).

Research and practice have shown that there is considerable overlap between the computing sub-disciplines, but universities tend to offer distinct computing degrees that typically do not blend curricula between the different disciplines. For students, this poses a strain, as majors need to be chosen early on in their post-secondary education process. The outcome of this project for students will be to support their career selection process, so that they may make career choices that are more in line with their values and interests.

Learn more about this project at ceric.ca/projects.

Labour market experiences for people with disabilities in Canada

Statistics Canada recently released two reports on the experiences of Canadians with disabilities based on the 2012 Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD), stating that 13.7% of Canadians aged 15 years or older reported some type of disability which limited their daily activity as a result. At the same time, 0.6% of Canadians were identified as having a developmental disability (e.g. autism, cerebral palsy or Down syndrome).

The Developmental Disabilities Among Canadians Aged 15 Years and Older report found that the prevalence of developmental disabilities is highest among young adults. More than half of this population was found to have less than a high school education and less than one quarter were employed, often in part-time and poorly paid positions.

A Profile of the Labour Market Experiences of Adults with Disabilities Among Canadians Aged 15 Years or Older found that most people with disabilities who had workplace accommodations requested modified/reduced hours, which was reported as being a barrier to employment advancement. Skills development and education were found to be the two factors that led to more successful employment. The report calls for more research incorporating employer and service provider perspectives to progress toward full participation of people with disabilities in the labour market.

Read the reports at statcan.gc.ca.

An overview of the career service sector in Canada

More than 1,000 respondents completed CERIC’s 2015 Survey of Career Service Professionals. The survey takes place every four years and provides a snapshot of demographics within the field, research trends and education needs.

The landscape in career services continues to evolve as funding service models change, new technologies emerge, and shifting economic conditions persist. Survey findings help CERIC, and the field at large to understand interests and challenges of career service professionals, including: what they are most proud of, what keeps them up at night and how they think the public perceives their work.

Detailed results will appear in future issues of Careering magazine and on the CERIC website throughout 2016, including regional and sectoral analysis.

Keep up-to-date on survey findings at ceric.ca/surveys.