CERIC has announced the recipients of this year’s Graduate Student Engagement Program (GSEP) Award, providing support for four graduate students to attend the Cannexus21 National Career Development Conference, January 25 & 27 and February 1 & 3, 2021 online.
The recipients are:
Roxy Merkand, PhD Candidate, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, University of Waterloo
Gabrielle Beaupré, PhD Candidate, Education, Université du Québec à Montréal
Janet Payne, PhD Candidate, Education, University of Prince Edward Island
Walaa Taha, MSc Candidate, Educational Psychology, University of Calgary
The award, presented annually to select full-time graduate students studying career development, provides free registration to Cannexus – going virtual in 2021 – and $1,000. The Cannexus conference promotes the exchange of information and explores innovative approaches in the areas of career counselling and career and workforce development.
Eligibility for the award is based on participation in CERIC’s Graduate Student Engagement Program (GSEP) and submission of a one-page article on any career development topic. Read the award-winning articles and all the thought-provoking submissions on CERIC’s GSEP Corner.
Many GSEP members will also be presenting student posters at Cannexus – a great opportunity for attendees to learn from the next generation of career researchers.
GSEP encourages the engagement of Canada’s full-time graduate students whose academic focus is in career development and/or a related field.
A new CERIC-funded study has found evidence to support that career education in high school changes students’ career choices and pathways. The research by Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC) uncovered that career interventions particularly help lower-income students in clarifying their career plans. The research project, “Role of career education on students’ education choices and post-secondary outcomes” aims to understand when, where and how youth initiate and craft their career aspirations.
The report generates new evidence from unique Canadian data to support decisions of policymakers and practitioners on a) how and when to intervene to assist youth in their career decision-making, and b) for whom supports are effective yet currently lacking. This builds on an earlier literature review from SRDC published this spring. Overall, the analysis equips the career counselling profession to respond authoritatively to increasingly urgent policy questions about how optimally to structure career education for young people.
In the research, SRDC uses two rich longitudinal data sources to test career interventions through the linkage of education records to surveys of youth and parents in three provinces. The data document the lives of 7,000 young Canadians over 10 years, including their occupational aspirations as high school students at age 14, their post-secondary education and their employment outcomes. The interventions tested very different types of prompts to youth that might influence their careers.
From the Future to Discover project:
Learning Account (LA) – A promise made at the end of Grade 9 of an $8,000 grant automatically payable upon enrolment in post-secondary education over two years
Explore Your Horizons (EYH) – These expert-designed career education workshops support participants in preparing for career development through a carefully constructed developmental sequence of classroom-based activities
LA+EYH – Encourages engagement and preparation with more certainty around the availability of financial aid, by combining the supports in the above two interventions
From the BC Advancement Via Individual Determination (BC AVID) project:
BC AVID – Promotes and supports academic engagement with specially trained educators and counsellors intended to change the high school experience of students with as-yet-untapped potential to succeed in post-secondary education
The literature review established youth are often in their career exploration stage until age 20. It follows that youth can have low clarity on their career aspirations as well as less information or knowledge about the program requirements, which hinders matching their career aspirations to a program of study. Because the interventions provided additional support or focus (or both) to prepare or engage youth in their career development, students could be helped by them in clarifying and realizing their career interests. The analysis was designed to detect 1) what intervention made a difference and 2) to whom, in either switching from their initially unclear career aspirations to a clearer career plan OR maintaining their career aspirations and being able to identify the steps they need to realize their aspirations at an early stage. At this point, the researchers did not assign a positive or negative value to the changes observed.
The report draws the following broad conclusions:
The LA early guarantee of a post-secondary grant and EYH offer of career education workshops appeared to directly impact lower-income students, switching them away from their early career aspirations. BC AVID had similar impacts.
There is evidence that the effect of EYH workshops for students from higher-income families was more often indirect, inducing them to increase volunteering activities. Among this group, more tended to change career paths as an effect of the volunteering.
Career education typically increased the number of other career-related activities students engaged in, which appeared in turn to delay some disinterested students from entering the labour market via easy-to-obtain jobs straight after high school.
Having a LA increased participation in career activities, academic engagement, parental valuation of post-secondary education and volunteering for students from lower-income families, pointing to the importance of addressing the financial barriers to further education.
Notably, the interventions decreased the likelihood that students from lower-income households carried out their early career aspirations, suggesting that career programming is effective at changing the focus and choices of youth with more disadvantaged backgrounds.
The study also found evidence of career teachers/counsellors, parents and peers influencing the impacts of career education.
What was apparent from the research is that there are differences in career pathway decisions between socioeconomic groups. Students with a lower socioeconomic status start with less clarity in career aspirations or less often have firm career plans than their counterparts from families with higher socioeconomic status. Career education interventions seem disproportionately to help those without post-secondary-educated parents and from lower-income families clarify their career plans (and thereby result in more changes for these youth to their intended program of study at Grade 12 relative to their intent at Grade 8/9).
According to the report authors, led by Research Director Reuben Ford, while this large set of findings sheds important light on a poorly understood yet key stage of youth career decision-making, much more needs to be done. They will be seeking to apply the research approach to consider how career education affects outcomes beyond career choices, to:
improve life chances of the youth involved (health, well-being, earnings);
improve the functioning of the labour market or economy, including minimizing disruption in future, adult career transitions; and
reduce the time spent out of work or NEET, underemployed or in occupations where their skills are misaligned with the tasks they must perform.
The authors state that “Career decision making is, by definition, a long-term endeavour of critical importance to the life chances of individuals and the functioning of economies.” Therefore, they recommend further investment in data that can help youth, those who advise and support them and policymakers, understand the consequences of those decisions and the environments that support optimal outcomes. They also flag that there is a need to consider gender, language and racialized dimensions of career decision-making. Additionally, they highlight the need to project the results onto the labour market and educational realities of the 2020s, to ensure further recommendations are relevant to an era transformed by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, automation and artificial intelligence, other influences on labour market precarity, new online learning as well as diversity and inclusion.
School counsellors play a pivotal role in supporting Black students’ sense of connectedness to their school community, and in setting students up for academic and professional success beyond their elementary and secondary school experiences. By attending this webinar series, current and prospective guidance counsellors as well as other educators and career practitioners, will learn how to approach guidance using an anti-racist, healing-informed approach.
Webinar #1: Enough is Enough: Disrupting Marginalizing Practices within Guidance – presented by Nicole Baxter-Lyn, Wednesday, November 25, 2020 | 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm ET
Webinar #2: A Focus on Inclusion – presented by Kamilah Clayton, Wednesday, December 2, 2020 | 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm ET
Baxter-Lyn is the co-founder and Vice-President of The Canadian Multicultural LEAD Organization for Mentoring or Training. Currently, she is a Provincial Equity Leadership Facilitator and she is also the Equity Teacher Facilitator Co-ordinator who oversees a team of anti-racist, anti-oppression consultants within the York Region District School Board. Clayton is a Registered Social Worker and psychotherapist, with over 10 years’ experience working with children, youth and families in multiple settings. She utilizes an Identity Affirming approach to mental health and wellness for people of African descent/heritage, and her practice areas include: anxiety, depression, stress and racial identity.
This webinar series is generously sponsored by the Ontario School Counsellors’ Association (OSCA). Thanks to their contribution, the series is offered at a discounted rate for non-OSCA members ($99) and for free if you are a member of OSCA.
In recognition of Marilyn Van Norman’s valuable contribution to the career development field, CERIC is awarding 13 bursaries to community-based counsellors for Cannexus21, courtesy of The Counselling Foundation of Canada.
CERIC received a total of 21 applications and wishes to acknowledge all the organizations that applied. Recipients of this year’s Marilyn Van Norman Bursary (formerly the Elizabeth McTavish Bursary) come from across the country, including British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Bursary winners this year represent organizations that support newcomers, youth, Indigenous peoples, and people with disabilities.
The bursary is given in recognition of Marilyn Van Norman, the recently retired Director of Research Initiatives at CERIC. Known as a collaborator, visionary and expeditor, she is widely respected for her more than 40 years of leadership in the career development field.
A bursary provides a full registration for the Cannexus conference. The Cannexus21 conference takes place in January 27 & 29 and February 1 & 3, 2021.
CERIC’s Career Superpowers issue of Careering magazine highlights the many ways career professionals can help clients and students become the heroes of their own career journeys. Authors provide tools to help get you and your clients through tumultuous times, and offer guidance on navigating barriers to career success, such as discrimination.
As we all continue to make our way through COVID-19, it is easy to focus on the challenges. We can’t escape them. However, the strengths, skills and tools described in this issue are ones that anyone can use or develop. Career development is a superpower, and we need it now, more than ever.
Careering magazine is Canada’s Magazine for Career Development Professionals and is the official publication of CERIC. It is published three times a year both in print and as an emagazine, including select content in French. Subscribe to receive your free copy. You can also access past issues for free online.
The Winter 2021 issue of Careering magazine will be on the theme of “Social Justice.” New contributors are welcome, and can submit in English, French or both languages. Please review our Submission Guidelines and send a 1-2 paragraph proposal outlining your topic idea to Editor Lindsay Purchase, lindsay@ceric.ca, no later than October 9.
Being able to deliver a compelling career story will help jobseekers identify their value and communicate it to employers
Alastair MacFadden
Contemplating a path through an uncertain future can be agonizing. For students and workers, it can be particularly uncomfortable. They are bombarded with information and advice. From the future of work to the impact of COVID-19, the labour market context is noisy.
In the face of uncertainty, many will seek refuge by just getting by; focusing on the short-term horizon and making choices that can undermine their preferred future.
Short-term thinking comes naturally in times of stress. A job applicant might relay the chronology of their resume rather than reveal their ambition or true self. A university student might choose more education over a leap into the job market. The impulse is to survive the immediate threat. It is an instinct that comes at a cost. By avoiding risk, we also foreclose on opportunities.
How can a person shape a career plan in the face of uncertainty? How do you excite strangers about your fit for a new opportunity? How can you become the hero of your own story?
These questions are fundamental for anyone engaged in a career journey. To help a client find their way, an essential superpower involves helping them master their story.
Why storytelling matters
We’ve all overcome difficulties, stumbled and learned. This personal narrative includes the stories we tell ourselves and others. In that sense, they define who we are. (Other leaders in career development have also described the importance of a personal narrative. Lysa Appleton (2018) offers another angle on storytelling in career development based, in part, on Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. )
Here’s why storytelling is so powerful in career management:
Our minds are built to share and remember stories. Our physiology drives us to link fragments of information in patterns (Gottschall, 2012). When something is unclear, it is automatic to jump to conclusions, fill in gaps with assumptions and make up stories (or even conspiracies).
Arranging the story arranges the mind. Research has proven that knowing and applying your strengths leads to better engagement, productivity and well-being (Seligman, 2002). Stories integrate emotions, sensations and events into meaning. You can find confidence by exploring patterns and themes that reveal talents and resilience (Dingfelder, 2011).
A personal narrative positions you as the protagonist. When you’re the agent and not the victim of your story, you gain a sense of control and hope for what is still to come (Ibarra and Lineback, 2005). A story forms the context needed for self-compassion. The work of narrative psychology shows that those who find positive meaning in life events express greater life satisfaction.
Storytelling is a way to make sense of our lives. As you arrange the plot points, you highlight what has taken place and frame what is next in your career journey. Turning points gain significance through recall and interpretation, and maturity surfaces as we relate our past to our present and foreshadow possible futures. Your story gives you the words to close one career chapter and begin another.
We communicate and connect through stories. By mastering and then sharing your story, you form relationships with strangers. You can become someone memorable because sharing a multidimensional story creates an associative map across multiple brain regions (Lazarus and Snow, 2018).
There’s value in being able to tell a good story. Good stories transport the audience toward connection. Character-driven stories activate the production of oxytocin in the brain – a hormone associated with feelings of empathy, generosity, trust and co-operation (Zak, 2014). If you want help from others, your story helps them feel they have a stake in your success.
Building a coherent and compelling career story
A random, accidental and incoherent story is a drag. Compelling stories have structure that grabs attention and transports the audience into another world.
A coherent career story also has flow. It identifies plot points and draws connections between them. To help your client explore their story, ask them what has been significant or inspiring in their work life. Try using these questions as a prompt:
As you look back, what are key turning points or events? What are personal experiences that best reflect your strengths, passions and achievement? Describe a time or two when you’ve been happiest in your work – what skills were you using in those moments?
What has been the role of other people in your journey? Who are the mentors, coaches and allies who have influenced you? What advice have you received? What was the impact?
Next, work with your client to create headlines that capture these critical moments and relationships as the chapters in their career story. Encourage them to craft a vivid, concise description of experiences that are most relevant to the impression they want to leave others about their character and story.
Storytelling can serve as a powerful tool to connect with others. (iStock)
Delivering a story that connects
When someone asks your client, “What do you do?” or “Tell me about yourself” they are inviting a short story. Converting career chapters into human connection involves linking past experiences with the present and future.
To arrange the chapters and deliver a story that connects, good stories offer a consistent formula:
Know your audience. The aim is to share a career story that will resonate with the audience. The client should tailor their narrative to the opportunities they are exploring. Scanning a job ad for keywords, for example, can point to elements of the story that should be emphasized in a cover letter or interview.
Start by sharing something that may be surprising, such as a time you embarked on a personal challenge or crossed a career threshold.
To sustain attention, build tension by sharing obstacles that have shaped you, such as a crisis or failure or an unusual project. Describe the insights gained, before leading to …
The present state – a career crossroads – where you are taking a further step toward your preferred future.
Over time, each interview and tailored job application will bring the client clarity and a deeper sense of direction as they master their career story.
Anticipating the next chapter
Heroes don’t just endure difficulty and accept their fate. They exercise their strengths to prepare for the future. If a client feels they are preparing for an uncertain future, help them build their story with scenario planning. Have them focus on what is known:
Theirmain talents, gifts and competencies. For example, what patterns are evident in the interests, experiences and life lessons in their career story?
Trends shaping the future of their work life. What will be the impact on the client of personal and labour market trends over the next 10 or 20 years? Can they envision multiple futures or scenarios? (E.g. technological change or other trends in their profession, changes within their family or their family status, wider economic or social trends such as access to childcare or eldercare.)
Choices in a changing world. How can the client’s talents be deployed in each of the future scenarios they envision? What partnerships or allies will matter? How can their knowledge, skills and attributes best be deployed? Of the tactics that fit each future scenario, which ones appear again and again? Those are the tactics that offer the most robust next steps for any plausible career future, and they should inform the client’s choices and their next chapter.
It is worth reminding the client that they are protagonist of their story. By helping them master storytelling, you are helping them gain a superpower that will build their confidence, form relationships and propel their career forward.
Alastair MacFadden is an Executive in Residence at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy. He has worked in the non-profit sector and government to advance career development practices and to help individuals reach their full potential.
It is vital that career professionals understand how systemic racism affects the career and educational pathways of their clients to help them succeed
Jodi Tingling
Systemic racism in Canada has affected individuals who are Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC), and for many has had a negative impact on their career pathways. As a career practitioner it is important to understand how systemic racism affects the clients you see and to assess how you can help dismantle a system that can be oppressive to ensure everyone has an opportunity to succeed in their careers.
Addressing inequity and its impacts
Equity means being fair and impartial; this includes having opportunities for all – not only a certain group. Understanding the challenges that BIPOC face is an important aspect of addressing their true career journey and its impacts. From challenges in the educational system to biased recruitment practices, to microaggressions in the workplace, to being screened out of senior leadership positions – these issues can negatively impact BIPOC’s career journeys.
As a career professional, be aware that BIPOC clients may have experienced racial trauma, which can affect their career and many other aspects of their life. Racial trauma results in the psychological and physical distress of individuals and can be attributed to varying experiences because of one’s race (Comas-Díaz, Hall, & Neville, 2019).
Addressing inequity and its impacts requires a commitment to understanding the system in which BIPOC navigate their careers. It is important to be aware that standards of professionalism are ingrained in white supremacy culture and serve to oppress those who are BIPOC. According to two grassroots organizers and scholars, Tema Okun and Keith Jones (n.d.), white supremacy shows up in many organizations and has characteristics that are embraced in the workplace. This includes expectations of white-coded behaviours and attitudes ranging from perfectionism, to standards of hair, clothing and communication patterns, to overall expectations like adhering to organizations’ “culture fit.” These expectations amplify toxic workplace environments and serve to hurt BIPOC’s careers.
“As a career professional, be aware that BIPOC clients may have experienced racial trauma, which can affect their career and many other aspects of their life.”
Your strategy to empower BIPOC’s career trajectory needs to begin with commitment to becoming an ally to support and dismantle a system that serves as a disadvantage to the BIPOC community. This requires challenging the system and providing a space for BIPOC to thrive in their careers.
Education and career pathways
Barriers to career pathways can start in the education system, where educators’ racial biases can alter the educational trajectories of racialized students. Only recently, the Government of Ontario announced that it would end the controversial practice of streaming students into applied and academic tracks, a practice that has widely been known to discriminate against racialized students. A 2017 report from York University, Towards Race Equity in Education (2017), concluded 53% of Black students were in the academic program of study, compared to 81% of white and 80% of other racialized students. These discriminatory practices in the education system ultimately limit career trajectories and can alter and create a negative perception of school and career navigation for BIPOC.
Employment earnings and job security
BIPOC are affected negatively in their careers when it comes to unemployment, earnings and opportunities. According to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), racialized workers were more likely to be unemployed in 2016 at a rate of 9.2%, compared to non-racialized workers at 7.3% ((Block, Galabuzi, & Tranjan, 2019). Additionally, the earnings gap has remained relatively unchanged since 2006. For every dollar that non-racialized men earn, racialized women earn 59 cents and racialized men earn 78 cents. In the By the numbers: Race, gender and the Canadian labour market report, the CCPA also concluded there has been little progress to close the racial gap in unemployment. One of the report’s key learnings is that labour market discrimination against racialized workers continues to be an issue both in the wage gap and in unemployment rates.
Similarly, the Conference Board of Canada (2017) concludes there are discriminatory practices that contribute to the employment and wage gap. One factor during the recruitment process included “having an ethic-sounding name.” When comparing resumes that had similar content but differences in names, they found those with non-ethnic sounding names were 35% more likely to get a callback. Belonging to a racialized group also decreased employment security; 20.9 % of visible minorities reported experiencing discrimination as a barrier to maintaining employment opportunities.
Career mobility
Career mobility among the BIPOC community is a major issue that needs to be addressed. BIPOC are consistently underrepresented in senior leadership positions. A report from Ryerson University’s Diversity Institute (2019) found that although Greater Montreal’s population was made up of 22.6% of racialized people, only 5.3 % held senior leadership positions. Additionally, in The Black Experience Project, Black people living in the Greater Toronto Area were asked how being Black has affected their work experience (Ryerson Diversity Institute, 2017). Participants cited challenges in their career including “having their level of competency questioned, dealing with racism and stereotypes, and having their qualifications overlooked or not recognized.” Expertise in the BIPOC community is often overlooked and this can be very discouraging for those who want to be in senior leadership roles.
Assess your biases
When thinking about the ways you as a career professional can help your BIPOC clients, first, assess your bias. Harvard has a race-based Implicit Associate Test (IAT) that can help you understand your blind spots when it comes to race. Take this test to understand where your biases may be and develop a strategy to actively work on them. Understand that systemic racism in Canada exists and professionals from the BIPOC community have historically been discriminated against, both during the recruitment process and in the workforce. Next, if you realize you have blind spots, take the necessary steps to learn, listen and be receptive to the experiences of BIPOC.
Building resilience
Challenge systems that serve to benefit certain populations and cause harm to others. Ask yourself what you can do to propose alternative processes that support and provide equitable opportunities for BIPOC.
Here are some strategies that you can start to engage in to advocate for opportunities for the BIPOC community:
Become an ally; use your power and privilege to help dismantle oppressive systems that serve to promote white supremacy and negatively affects BIPOC’s career journeys.
Partner with organizations that do advocacy work to address the specific needs of BIPOC.
Assess if education streams your BIPOC clients are being steered into are limiting and help provide options to expand career opportunities.
Empower your BIPOC clients by connecting them to mentorship, networks and leadership opportunities to help them build their career.
Speak to employers about potential biases and blind spots, advocate for opportunities and amplify BIPOC voices.
Stand up to racism and oppression when you see it, engage in crucial conversations and seek reinforcements to help support your work.
Form a network that can be a referral source for culturally appropriate resources that can support mental health, build networks and enhance growth.
With these strategies in mind, continue to help your BIPOC clients succeed and navigate the barriers they may be experiencing in their career.
Jodi Tinglingis a career and wellness practitioner who works with leaders, professionals and organizations to ensure they meet their true potential. Her true passion is working to empower the voices and experiences of Black Indigenous Women of Colour (BIWOC). As the founder of Creating New Steps, she amplifies organizations and professionals to meet their unique workplace goals.
Comas-Díaz, L., Hall, G. N., & Neville, H. A. (2019). Racial trauma: Theory, research, and healing: Introduction to the special issue. American Psychologist, 74(1), 1-5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000442
Ryerson Diversity Institute. (2017). The Black experience project in the GTA: Overview report. Retrieved from ryerson.ca/content/dam/diversity/reports/black-experience-project-gta—1-overview-report.pdf
The career development gap in schools can only be bridged by prioritizing and scaling programming
Adriano Magnifico
I grew up with superheroes.
I loved their superpowers – Superman leaping tall buildings in a single bound or the Torch igniting into a flaming comet.
I always had a soft spot for Spiderman, who could spew silk from his wrists and stick to the sides of buildings. He constantly helped those in distress but struggled to gain the respect of the public.
It reminds me of the typical career development (CD) practitioner.
CD has a respect problem in schools, a notion echoed by Deirdre Pickerell, Dean of Student Success at Yorkville University, who noted how hard it to get career development to “stick” (2020) in the hearts and minds of leaders.
CD’s transformative power must become higher profile – by integrating a Spiderman-like “stickiness” into K-12 programs.
The problem: A career development gap
Career development has long been a part of high school, but its delivery is intermittent and scattered. Program leads, usually guidance counsellors, are often besieged with mental health issues, family engagement, academic recovery programming, at-risk students and graduation credits. Schools laud graduation rates far more than post-high school planning initiatives.
The problem is a sizeable gap between research (RBC, 2018, Statistics Canada, 2020, The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, 2014) purporting that career development is “central to learning across K-12” (CMEC, 2017) and the implementation of school plans that treat CD as a bonus activity available to students when time permits.
The gap can be only be bridged by selling, prioritizing, planning and scaling CD programming in K-12 schools. The challenge is getting leaders and school teams on board.
But it can be done.
Bridging the CD gap
For 25 years, I have worked to bridge this gap in schools by adopting a “blue sky” perspective of the larger mission. These are my key action steps to build a school career development program that sticks:
Talk to the leaders. The CD gap will never be properly tackled until practitioners sell career development to school administrations and then take time in staff meetings to stimulate discussion about how career development can supercharge any classroom subject. Without the school administration identifying career development as a priority, any effort, while worthy, will ultimately miss its larger mark.
Find the CD champions. Teacher-champions exist in every school who can spread the mission and build a collaborative interschool framework. I run a Career and Innovation Group in Louis Riel School division that meets regularly to discuss our CD initiatives and plans.
Establish a foundation. Is there a 24/7 CD tool that every student, parent and teacher can access? Scaling career development in a building is difficult without one. Our division uses an online tool called myBlueprint, but there are other options. Every Grade 7-12 student has an account and access to self-assessment tools, school credits, occupations, goal setting, e-portfolios and scholarships.
Integrate CD into courses. Some provinces mandate career courses. Manitoba offers optional career electives. These are useful, but they tend to compartmentalize career development. A stronger strategy is to integrate career development into everyday courses such as math, English and biology, and to get bigger buy-in from all subject teachers in schools.
Involve parents. Research continuously shows that parents are the No. 1 influence when students decide on post-high school paths. Connecting with parents on CD initiatives in school is essential to having robust conversations about future pathways.
Collect the dots; connect the dots. School and community do a great job of helping students collect dots – academic courses, clubs, sports, dancing, volunteer work, part-time jobs, etc. – but they do a poor job of helping students connect their dots, which is the key to effective career development. In Louis Riel School Division, we’ve created the LEAN Career Design Canvas, a tool that enables students to connect the dots of their experiences and to prepare for a career path that will last a lifetime. I share the Canvas with any practitioner who wants to try it out; it’s been iterated in 23 cities in and outside Canada.
Build networks. Teach students the art of networking and model how to build professional and supportive networks. While telling students “to get out there” and connect with professionals may seem like a reasonable expectation, it’s really not. Without school networks of community professionals who offer internships, job shadows, volunteer experiences and mentorships, students will have no idea how to connect with employers or volunteer organizations. Most high school students need training, nudging and places to go.
Create extra options. Offer more to students who want more. In partnership with RBC Future Launch, we’ve created the LRSD Skills Credential, an optional intensive career management program for Grade 11 and 12 students who complete career management workshops in financial literacy, labour market information, personal branding, ethics, problem-solving, project management and networking. Seventy-one LRSD students completed the Credential Program in 2019-2020; over 100 are in the pipeline for next year.
Go online. COVID-19 has forced us to convert career development processes into fillable PDFs, one-on-one video chats and group video-conferencing. During the pandemic, 60 students presented their LEAN Career Design Canvases via TEAMS videoconferencing. The online canvas experience worked well; online tools will likely augment teacher-student engagements in the future.
Build inclusivity. CD programming needs to appeal to the wide range of students in every school. For example, how does career programming connect with newcomer, Indigenous and LGBTQ2+ students? The Circle of Courage (Brendtro, 2009) has been an effective philosophy in Louis Riel School Division’s mission to build a culture of inclusivity.
Plan and pitch large
Currently, career development is too dependent on the will and persistence of a dedicated few working in the trenches with a minority of students. To bridge the career development gap that permeates K-12 schools, we need to build collaborative networks, pitch research and effective practice to school decision-makers and create inclusive plans that bring systemic CD into classrooms
Scaling career development programming that “sticks” to students’ lives can be transformational – they will not only collect the dots of their experiences, but also engage in thoughtful reflection that connects their dots in ways to help them see their best selves and future pathways. We can’t wait for a radioactive spider to make this happen.
Adriano Magnifico is your friendly neighbourhood Career and Entrepreneurship Consultant in the Louis Riel School Division in Winnipeg.
References
Brendtro, Larry K. Brokenleg, Van Bockern Steve. (revised edition 2009). Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Our Hope for the Future. Bloomington IN: Solution Tree Press.
Council of Ministers of Education, Canada Research & Publications. (n.d.). (2017). Retrieved from cmec.ca/9/Publication.html?cat=2
Queen’s University card sort and mapping activities can help students acknowledge and articulate their skills with confidence
Carli Fink
There is a lot of chatter about a graduate skills gap, but a skills awareness gap may be more appropriate. Post-secondary students and recent graduates have many skills — skills they have learned in classes, developed in workplaces, sharpened in the lab, honed on the field, practised on stage and demonstrated in their communities. Their curricular and co-curricular pursuits have shaped their ability to perform a wide range of tasks. Yet, as career development practitioners, we often hear students claim they are not qualified for any opportunities. This article will explain why the supposed skills gap is more of a skills awareness gap, and describe practical ways to support students and recent graduates in bridging this divide.
The role of skills awareness
The foundation of building a career is understanding the skills required to succeed in a given field and how these align with one’s own strengths. Communicating one’s value to a prospective employer is the ticket into the labour market. Reflection helps one become aware of their own strengths and competencies, enabling them to then articulate those assets and how they align with a given industry’s or employer’s needs.
A need for greater skills awareness is common among post-secondary students: despite their numerous achievements, many struggle to explain what they bring to the table beyond a list of past job and volunteer titles. Some do not connect their experience as a swim instructor to their strong communication skills, or realize that they are adaptable and culturally competent thanks to their experience living in two countries. Therein lies the “gap” — the skills are not absent, so much as unacknowledged and unarticulated. Those who can speak about their skills with clarity and confidence are able to demonstrate their value to prospective employers.
Reflection is a career superpower and, when it comes to skills, flexing this muscle gives individuals the ability to identify and share their strengths. At Queen’s University, we have created a web of supports to help students with skills awareness and articulation, including: Skills Cards, Experiential Learning WrapAround and Major Maps.
While reflecting on skills is important, it can be a challenging undertaking. We decided to create a hands-on activity to help make this essential activity more engaging. The Queen’s Skills Cards are an innovative card sort based on the Queen’s Learning Outcomes Framework and employer data on desired skills. The cards name and define common transferrable skills, break each skill into components and provide an example of what that skill looks like in action. These cards help students identify and describe their skills, which boosts their confidence and provides a clearer sense of how different roles suit their strengths. The interactive and fun resource was designed as a physical deck of cards for career counsellors to use in appointments and workshops with students. Our hands-on resource has had to adapt to the COVID-19 times – a virtual version is also available. Guides for career practitioners at other institutions who wish to use the Queen’s Skills Cards or create their own institution-specific set are forthcoming.
We’ve created a variety of exercises that advisors can lead students through using the Queen’s Skills Cards. “You’ve Got Skills!” asks students to sort the cards by their proficiency, and then by the impact of each skill on their energy – that is, whether they find it energizing or draining to use that skill. An advisor can probe students to help them make meaning of their results: what kinds of jobs might rely on the skills they have identified as both high proficiency and energizing? How might they further develop the skills that feed their energy, but at which they are not yet proficient? A graph is also available so that students can plot their skills and see patterns more easily.
Queen’s Skills Cards. (Images courtesy of Queen’s University)
Another activity, “Getting What You Need to Succeed,” asks students to sort the skills by their relevance to a particular industry or job posting of interest. The student and advisor can then discuss whether the student has the skills they have identified as necessary. If the student believes they do possess those skills, the conversation can move toward finding examples to emphasize in their application or in an interview. If the student lacks one or more key skills, the advisor can help them find opportunities to develop those skills.
Update: The Queen’s Skills Cards won a 2020 CACEE Innovation in Student Engagement award as a hands-on skills assessment exercise to help students identify and articulate their skills. Once the pandemic hit, it was clear an online version was needed – it’s hard to use a deck of cards when all appointments and workshops are remote. The new Online Skills Sorter and Facilitator Guide are now available and accessible to anyone.
The Queen’s Skills Cards are now being used within other skill-building and skill-reflection activities. For instance, students can engage in skills conversations through the Experiential Learning WrapAround. The EL WrapAround provides training for university staff and faculty who supervise student employees or volunteers, with the goal of supervisors facilitating their students’ reflection at strategic points within the arc of these positions. At the beginning, middle and end of their students’ roles, supervisors lead their students in an intentional, supportive conversation about what skills they hope to build and how they can do so. A standard form centred on a short list of key skills helps supervisors focus and make the discussion concrete.
Finally, the Major Maps (careers.queensu.ca/majormaps) and Grad Maps (careers.queensu.ca/gradmaps) allow students to see a list of skills they can develop through each major available at Queen’s. The maps also outline the range of career-building experiences available within each of these programs of study. Prospective students as well as first-year students in general arts, science and engineering enjoy using the maps to evaluate how different majors will prepare them to achieve their career goals. Each map has a list of the skills developed in that particular major – these lists provide students with a starting point for talking about the skills and knowledge developed in their program, and how these differ from the outcomes of other programs.
Conclusion
Skills reflection and articulation are superpowers critical to finding a path that suits one’s strengths and in conducting an effective job search. As society enters a new era – one in which opportunities to gain experience in certain fields may be more limited – it is essential that students and recent graduates be able to explain their strengths and provide evidence of their transferability, ideally in language that is meaningful across industries. The fact that students and recent graduates have skills doesn’t mean they automatically know what to call them, how to describe their development or where in the labour market these skills might prove valuable. To foster this knowledge and bolster their confidence, students and recent graduates must intentionally reflect on their experiences. In helping individuals harness the power of their past experiences, reflection provides the key required to unlock the doors of future opportunities.
Carli Finkis a Career Counsellor at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON, and led the launch of the new Queen’s Skills Cards, which were recognized with a 2020 CACEE Excellence in Innovation: Student Engagement Award.
Cannexus21, Canada’s bilingual Career Development Conference, will bring stakeholders together around the theme of Career Development for Public Good and feature 150+ live and on-demand concurrent sessions in both English and French. Live sessions will be held over four days (Jan. 25 & 27 and Feb. 1 & 3, 2021) and registrants will be able to access session recordings for a full year after the conference. Virtual Cannexus21 will feature inspiring live keynotes from Zabeen Hirji, Executive Advisor Future of Work at Deloitte; Dr. Kris Magnusson, Professor, Simon Fraser University; and Perdita Felicien, Olympian, author and sports broadcaster. Register by Nov. 12, 2020 to get the discounted Early Bird rate.
A report from the Business + Higher Education Roundtable in partnership with the Business Council of Canada finds employers are expecting more from new graduates, with 75% saying their expectations are higher than five years ago. Employer expectations focus on productivity, resiliency, technical and human skills. Candidates also have greater expectations around work-life balance, flexibility, empowerment and meaningful work. The results suggest that Canada’s post-secondary system is doing a good job of keeping pace with respondents’ demands for technical skills, but human skills are not meeting expectations.
New bursary recognizes career development leaderMarilyn Van Norman
The Counselling Foundation of Canada has established the new Marilyn Van Norman Bursary to support community-based career development and employment practitioners in attending the Cannexus conference each year. The bursary is given in recognition of Van Norman, the recently retired Director of Research Initiatives at CERIC and one of its founding Board members. Known as a collaborator, visionary and expeditor, she is widely respected for her more than 40 years of leadership in the career development field, with particular expertise in career centre and student services management.
Report finds Black leaders mostly absent from Canadian boards of directors
A report from Ryerson University’s Diversity Institute shows women continue to make slow progress on boards of directors, but in some cases, representation of racialized people is moving backward. The study analyzed the representation of women, Black people and other racialized persons among 9,843 individuals on the boards of directors of large companies; agencies, boards and commissions; hospitals; the voluntary sector; and educational institutions. It found that while racialized people represent 28.4% of the population across the eight cities studied, they occupy only 10.4% of board positions in the sectors analyzed. Among 1,639 corporate board members, the study found only 13 who were Black (0.8%).
CERIC-funded project to examine foundational skills in Grades 4-6
A new CERIC project will examine how foundational concepts and skills that are introduced and developed by classroom teachers connect to career-related learning in Canadian elementary schools. The Career Development in Children: Identifying Critical Success Conditions and Strategies project was awarded to an international team of academic researchers led by Dr. Lorraine Godden, Ironwood Consulting and Carleton University; Nicki Moore, University of Derby, and Dr. Heather Nesbitt and Dr. Stefan Merchant, Queen’s University. The research will inform the development of a teacher’s aid toolkit that validates teacher practice.
Contemplating a path through an uncertain future can be agonizing. For students and workers, it can be particularly uncomfortable. They are bombarded with information and advice. From the future of work to the impact of COVID-19, the labour market context is noisy.
Systemic racism in Canada has affected individuals who are Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC), and for many has had a negative impact on their career pathways. As a career practitioner it is important to understand how systemic racism affects the clients you see and to assess how you can help dismantle a system that can be oppressive to ensure everyone has an opportunity to succeed in their careers.
I grew up with superheroes.
There is a lot of chatter about a graduate skills gap, but a skills awareness gap may be more appropriate. Post-secondary students and recent graduates have many skills — skills they have learned in classes, developed in workplaces, sharpened in the lab, honed on the field, practised on stage and demonstrated in their communities. Their curricular and co-curricular pursuits have shaped their ability to perform a wide range of tasks. Yet, as career development practitioners, we often hear students claim they are not qualified for any opportunities. This article will explain why the supposed skills gap is more of a skills awareness gap, and describe practical ways to support students and recent graduates in bridging this divide.
