“Design thinking is an innovation methodology – a series of steps for generating options, testing strategies, and getting feedback.” (Fast Company). In CERIC’s new literature search, Design Thinking for Career Development, we explore important research and practices on how career professionals can apply design thinking to better support their clients.
Topics covered in the literature search include:
Definition of design thinking
Research and best practices on design thinking
Design thinking for career planning and career management
Design thinking and equity and inclusion
Employee engagement and design thinking
Design thinking for entrepreneurship
There are now 59 literature searches available, including Career Counselling Competencies, Ethical Issues in Career Development, Future of Work, Job Satisfaction and Career Development, Economic Benefits of Career Guidance, Generational Conflict in the Workplace, Mental Health Issues in the Workplace, and more.
Featuring comprehensive listings of key research and articles in career development, literature searches highlight critical points of current knowledge. As a student, academic or practitioner in the field, literature searches are helpful if you are researching the latest thinking or proven best practices. They are also valuable if you are considering a submission to CERIC for project partnership funding in order to gain an overview of major work already done in your area of interest.
Case studies from the US and Canada show rural communities and industries are adopting creative approaches to attract new talent
Kristin Kirkpatrick and Scott Fisher
This article was also published in the Summer 2020 issue of the National Career Development Association’s Career Developments magazine.
Agriculture to fill talent pipelines with diversity lens
To address the monumental challenge of feeding a rapidly growing global population while using fewer resources, some of the largest agribusiness interests on a worldwide scale have joined forces to think strategically about the pipeline of talent that will be needed to drive rapid innovation in agriculture. Recently establishing an educational and research centre in partnership with Colorado State University, the consortium members of the new Center for an Enhanced Workforce in Agriculture include such invested corporations as ADM, Bayer, Bunge, Cargill, Land O’Lakes, Caterpillar, DuPont and Tyson Foods.
As global population growth booms over the next three decades, reaching around 9.7 billion people by 2050, experts estimate that we’ll need to produce more food in the next 30 years than we have had to produce in all of human civilization. To add complexity to that challenge, we will be seeking to meet the demand for food while needing to use fewer resources and creating a lighter environmental impact than ever before. In fact, earlier this year, the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) announced its ambition to increase agriculture production by 40% while cutting the environmental footprint by half. Across the industry, there is broad recognition that the solutions to tackle these challenges will focus heavily on innovation that might drive production while lessening environmental impact, most likely through the deployment of existing and emerging technologies such as precision agriculture, genomics, precision breeding, predictive data analytics, and so on. However, we need to focus on more than the technology. We also need to think strategically about building the teams that will create this innovation and the individual contributors needed to power this work.
This focus on the challenge of feeding our future led to the formation of an industry consortium in 2016 called Together We Grow (TWG). Started by Michael D’Ambrose, the Chief Human Resources Officer of ADM, and Secretary Tom Vilsack, who served as the Secretary of Agriculture under former US president Barack Obama, TWG is working across the country to create awareness and opportunities for more people to do the important work of feeding our world. Together We Grow is a consortium of some of the world’s largest agribusiness interests focused on building a skilled, diverse and inclusive agricultural workforce in collaboration with nearly 50 members – including modern food and agriculture companies, educational institutions, government agencies and national non-profits – committed to improving and expanding diversity in agribusiness. For example, member organization Land O’Lakes, a Minnesota-based agricultural co-operative, has been working to more effectively reach and retain Latin talent in agriculture. The consortium sponsors invest in research to create scalable pilot projects and provide a platform to share best practices for building future workforce capacity.
Diversity is a proven strategy for driving innovation. According to research compiled by McKinsey & Company (Hunt, Layton & Prince, 2015; Hunt, Yee, and Prince, 2018) and also by the Harvard Business Review (Rock & Grant, 2016), diverse teams generate more solutions to a given problem, they are more objective and careful when discussing facts, they generate more innovations and they are also more profitable. TWG’s Center for an Enhanced Workforce in Agriculture has defined diversity broadly and is tracking gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity, ability and veteran’s status as starting points.
Meeting the next 30 years of complex challenges related to global hunger and food insecurity is not something that any one organization can do individually. As a consortium of diverse interests, Together We Grow aims to help more people from diverse backgrounds see their own future as leaders in agriculture.
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Growing diversity pipelines among our rural workforce
Professions North/Nord (PNN) is a unique regional Canadian program to develop new talent pipelines among diverse populations. Our strength is in our ability to reach individuals across an area of approximately 800,000 square kilometres. Add to the equation that the area is sparsely populated with large distances between centres and the challenges became daunting. However, the project has prevailed, developing techniques and tools that are well equipped to handle these conditions. These techniques/tools have been applied to further assist in the attraction of skilled professionals to add to our rural/remote/northern workforce. Many of these professionals are immigrants with international training and non-portable credentials that have not been recognized, as new residents of the province.
PNN was established in 2010 and is a part of a network of bridging programs. These bridging programs –mostly in the larger urban areas – facilitate the transition of highly skilled foreign-trained professionals into the labour market. PNN is part of the Faculty of Management at Laurentian University in Northern Ontario. Although it may seem like a very distant and remote area, Northern Ontario has so much to offer to professionals and families. A constant challenge has been to erase inaccurate stereotypes, and to instead highlight the wonderful opportunities and quality of life in our centres and region.
One project that has been developed to promote our centres to highly skilled-yet-unaware-talent pools of professionals located in larger, urban areas was to develop “Spotlights.” These were interactive, live-streamed events that promoted our northern/rural/remote areas with the purpose of attracting new talent to our area. The presenter was located in the city/region that we were highlighting, while all logistical aspects were co-ordinated through our central office—sometimes 16 hours away. During the real-time streaming, individuals had the ability to join in from anywhere; some would join from a classroom, others would join from their home or, in some cases, they would join from their car during a lunch break at their survival job. Not only those in Canada were participants; others were participating from abroad from countries including China. It was a robust and easy-to-use platform. Additionally, screen shares were incorporated – alternating between live video from the central office and the remote presenter – and dynamic chat features allowed for a seamless and fuller experience.
A key lesson learned is that the connection becomes meaningful when it is possible to simulate a realistic, live experience for the audience members. This has been instrumental in promoting our region (rural/remote/northern) to the masses in larger, urban areas that are surprised to learn about the opportunities and quality of life that our region can offer. Once this meaningful connection is established, there is a much stronger message – and more success – in attracting and growing our workforce.
Scott Fisher, MA-IOP, CCDPreceived his master’s from Colorado State University and has been a Certified Career Development Professional for over 15 years. He is currently a Project Manager for Professions North/Nord at Laurentian University in Sudbury, ON. Fisher serves on the Canadian Council for Career Development (3CD) board, and is a member of CERIC’s Content and Learning Committee.
Kristin Kirkpatrick, MURP is the Executive Director of Together We Grow and the Center for an Enhanced Workforce in Agribusiness hosted at Colorado State University. Kirkpatrick’s professional expertise centres on systems change to drive opportunity and equity. She received her Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Colorado and her undergraduate degree from Colorado State University.
The need to effectively bridge the gap between the classroom and the world of work has ignited interest in experiential learning. CERIC is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to invite interested resource developers to submit a detailed proposal on the linkages between experiential learning and career development. In particular, CERIC’s interest in this project is to develop an easily accessible resource that supports building reflective practice for career development into an experiential learning program for anyone currently delivering or considering delivering such a program.
There is growing optimism that experiential opportunities will introduce learners to the notions of work and the workplace, and in turn expose them to a variety of skills development opportunities. Yet, with a recent proliferation of experiential learning opportunities available at all levels of education as well as outside formal education, it is not clear how programs are connecting experiences to career management skills, specifically combining direct experience with focused reflection. Understanding what elements of reflective practice are beneficial to career development success may be valuable to learner, education at all levels, employers and community alike.
The purpose of this national initiative is to:
gain a better understanding of the intersections between career development and experiential learning;
determine how and where gaps can be best filled;
develop an easily accessible resource that supports building reflective practice into an experiential learning program and facilitating (greater) awareness of using such practices to enhance EL for the career management of program participants; and
highlight the beneficial value of reflective practice inherent in career development, how this can enhance the intrinsic value of experiential learning, regardless of setting, and how this can be incorporated into current programs.
Deadlines for this RFP are as follows:
Request for Proposals released: May 4, 2020
Intent to submit: June 12, 2020
Proposal deadline: August 6, 2020
Anticipated Award of contract: October 15, 2020
Project initiation: Late October, 2020
To learn more about the Scope of Work, Target Audience, Deliverables, Budget and Duration, and Eligibility Requirements, please download the RFP. For any inquiries, please contact CERIC Executive Director Riz Ibrahim at riz@ceric.ca.
Current times come with a lot of uncertainty, including for many students who might feel unclear on when and how they will return to their educational paths. CERIC is offering two upcoming free webinars on May 13 and May 15 with expert presenters who will explore what options students have and how career practitioners can support them.
What is work-integrated learning (WIL) when workplaces are remote? What is front-line experience when locations are essential staff only? How to host a placement student in these times? These are the questions we are facing. This practical session is about getting to “this is a possible option” by identifying priority outcomes, the design options that remain, and assessment/feedback and activities that could align.
Lorraine Godden of Carleton University specializes in understanding how career and life planning, work-integrated-learning, and other educational multidisciplinary and public policies are interpreted and enacted into educational programming and public policy interventions. Carolyn Hoessler specializes in designing relevant experiences, assessments and evaluation, and untangling key influencing factors to inform clear paths forward. As founder of Higher Education & Beyond, she works with teams (re)designing learning in higher education and professional development locally and nationally.
Gap years have always been a tool for promoting mental health, closing financial barriers to post-secondary, and providing clarity for life’s next steps. Whether you are a parent or a career practitioner working with students, in this webinar you will equip yourself with up-to-date data, ideas and tools for supporting your clients and families through deciding if a gap year is the right fit, its benefits and disadvantages in current times.
Michelle Dittmer, founder of the Canadian Gap Year Association, is an educator and youth advocate. She has taught elementary through college, developed international service learning programs, nurtured educational partnerships, and developed youth policy. She founded the Canadian Gap Year Association to raise the profile of the gap year as a solution to mental health, lack of clarity and the skills gap.
To ensure the construction of the most appropriate analytical models reflecting the latest evidence on successful career development strategies for youth, SRDC has examined the existing literature to consider (a) the stages of youth decision making and the key influences at each stage, (b) the role of career education in supporting post-secondary decisions, and (c) the kinds of career education resources available, taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of these sources.
The report has four parts:
First, it considers the context for supporting career development decisions in the 21st century: what is influencing the demand for information and support for career decisions among Canadian youth, giving particular consideration to NEETs (youth who are Not in Education, Employment or Training) and PINEs (Poorly Integrated New Entrants);
Second, it reviews mainstream theories and models in the literature for career development/educational decision making – including lessons informed by behavioural economics – for youth. This section explores the extent to which there is consensus in the literature on the ages and stages in the career decision-making process for young people in Canada;
Third, it emphasizes what is known about where career education and resources fit into the overall career decision-making process for youth in both the K-12 and post-secondary systems, including the role of labour market information and the role of intermediaries; and
Finally, it prepares the ground for producing evidence-informed recommendations for the forthcoming empirical analysis that support youth and those who influence them (parents, counsellors, peers) as they make decisions about post-secondary education and career choices.
The impetus for the project is that while Canada is an international leader on many indicators of K-12 education performance (OECD, 2019) and has among the highest rates of post-secondary education (PSE) attainment of all OECD countries, it still has a significant proportion of youth who leave the formal education system ill-equipped for their transition to the world of work. Transition “derailment” can take many forms from students leaving high school before graduating to PSE graduates who struggle to demonstrate the skills required by employers.
The project explores the key reason behind this: that Canadian students typically exit education with insufficient career education and first-hand experience of the labour market. If students leave high school without a basic idea of who they want to become and are under- or mis-informed about the relevant opportunities open to them, they will not plan appropriately and find themselves making poor choices. The chances of ending up in precarious employment or unemployment can increase. The situation can become chronic if they cycle through periods of work, poorly focused re-training and unemployment.
To tackle such problems, educators as well as policy and program decision-makers are likely to want to develop measures to target youth at different stages of their educational and early labour market careers. Well-designed supports to career decision making would ideally be delivered in ways that help youth grow into discerning consumers of education, who know when and how they should invest in their futures for optimal impact on their later lives. Such refinement and customization of career education need to be founded on the best evidence concerning how such interventions fit into youth’s decision making, which is where this project is intended to make a contribution.
This project will utilize new data to examine how the piloted early career education interventions in SRDC’s BC Advancement Via Individual Determination (BC AVID) and Future to Discover (FTD) programs affect the evolution of high school students’ career decision making. This project makes use of two rich longitudinal data sources created through the linkage of education records to surveys of youth and parents to examine the career expectations and decisions of students for five years since Grade 10.
From the literature review, SRDC researchers conclude that the research on youth career decision making is still in its infancy. There is limited evidence on the effects of youth career education on the long-term evolution of their career decisions. Also missing from the evidence is how career education helps especially vulnerable youth facing multiple barriers in their transition to the labour market.
The report summarizes the implications of this review for the project:
Social cognitive career theory is an important paradigm from which to consider career development because it sheds light on the importance of environmental and contextual factors. For example, parents, career counsellors, teachers and peers are all groups that can influence career decision making among youth.
Because of behavioural biases and tendencies among youth, career decisions are not always rational even if relevant and valuable career education and information are available. The empirical analysis should consider the effects of this in interpreting the results.
Age or stages of career development are important as they determine brain maturity, which affects decision making.
Institutional and social factors also influence the decision-making process.
Multivariate models and longitudinal models would help in the analysis, though the focus should be to take advantage, wherever possible, of the randomized control trials embedded in the datasets in assessing the long-term effects of career education on career path development.
SRDC is a non-profit research organization, created specifically to develop, field test and rigorously evaluate new programs. SRDC’s two-part mission is to help policymakers and practitioners identify policies and programs that improve the well-being of all Canadians.
The final report is expected to be ready in the coming months.
The new guide describes the five main computing disciplines as defined by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), as well as expands on six other popular computing specializations. These descriptions are designed to help support prospective students, parents, academic advisors and career counsellors in making sense of the maze of computing disciplines and post-secondary options. For each of the main disciplines, the guide provides an overview of job tasks, as well as listing core courses, sample degrees, and other pathways at Canadian colleges and universities, including many in Quebec and other French-language institutions.
The colourful, graphic-rich guide expands on the content of the popular first edition from 2017 to answer these three questions:
Why should you consider computing when choosing a career?
What kind of computing jobs are out there?
What kind of education pathways will guide you to the computing career you desire?
The guide builds on findings from a CERIC-funded international research project that surveyed thousands of students and faculty from Canada, the US and Africa. Research showed most undergraduate students did not understand the differences between computing disciplines. The guide was also developed to meet a need among career advisors supporting students interested in technology at both the secondary and post-secondary levels. The guide assists students to make decisions around computing education and career paths that align with their values, interests and skills. In particular, the guide helps equip students with adequate discipline information prior to application for program admission or prior to when they are required to choose a major.
The updated guide seeks to dispel myths about computing careers. Contrary to stereotypes, computing is often highly social. It also supports flexible lifestyles, can be creative and allows for work abroad. The guide also underscores that computer work is highly varied and is more than just programming.
The five different computing disciplines described in the guide are:
Computer Engineering – concerned with the design and construction of computers and computer-based systems
Computer Science – covers the widest range of computing topics from its theoretical foundations to the development of new computing technologies and techniques
Information Technology – prepares students to meet the computer technology needs of business and other organizations
Information Systems – focuses on integrating information technology solutions and business processes
Software Engineering – the discipline of developing and maintaining large software systems
Specializations include: network technology, data science, bioinformatics, game development, multimedia + web development and cybersecurity.
The guide highlights that there are many pathways to most computing careers. This includes three- and four-year degrees, two-year diplomas and one-year certificates in addition to stand-alone training or post-degree specialization. The guide also notes that computing careers can be confusing to navigate, as program titles don’t always map to the five discipline areas or to job titles in the workforce.
The new edition of the guide has been enhanced with alumni profiles and additional resources. More content can also now be found on a companion website, computingcareers.ca.
In addition to the French PDF that can be downloaded for free on CERIC’s website at ceric.ca/informatique (English is at ceric.ca/computing), print copies are available at $10/copy through CERIC for bulk orders of 10 or more. Contact sales@ceric.ca for more information.
Career Theories and Models at Work: Ideas for Practice, edited by Nancy Arthur (University of South Australia), Roberta Neault (Life Strategies) and Mary McMahon (University of Queensland) and published by CERIC, has gained popularity across Canada and beyond, generating interest from career development professors, researchers and practitioners around the world.
For the past few months, an international team of professors and doctoral students have been working on a project to translate the book into French. The French edition will be titled Théories et modèles orientés sur la carrière : des idées pour la pratique. All 43 chapters of the original edition will be translated with the addition of a preface reflecting the conceptual and regulatory distinctions in career counselling practices among the Francophonie in Canada, Europe and elsewhere in the world.
Readers will be able to discover a diversity of recognized and emerging theories and models of career development. Providing a theoretical perspective on the conception and practice of guidance and career counselling, each chapter includes a case study accompanied by a suggested intervention, with the aim of helping students, practitioners and researchers working in French to better design concrete applications of theory in the context of practice.
The publication consists of contributors from four continents and nine countries, including Australia, Canada, England, Finland, India, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States. The featured authors include the original theorists and those who have adapted the work in unique ways to inform career development practice.
Louis Cournoyer (University of Quebec at Montreal) is co-ordinating the French-language translation of the book, with the collaboration of Patricia Dionne (University of Sherbrooke) and Simon Viviers (Laval University). The team of academics reviewing the French translation includes Sabruna Dorceus (University of Sherbrooke), Émilie Giguère (Laval University), Liette Goyer (Laval University), Philippe Jacquin (University of Moncton), Lise Lachance (University of Quebec at Montreal), Jonas Masdonati (University of Lausanne), Shékina Rochat (University of British Columbia), Jérôme Rossier (University of Lausanne) and Michel Turcotte (Laval University).
“From Parsons, to Holland, then to Super, to the more integrative, cultural, contextual and systemic models of today, the theories of career counselling and development, as well as their intervention models, have evolved considerably for more than a century,” says Louis Cournoyer, Professor-Researcher at the University of Quebec at Montreal. This welcome, awaited and necessary book provides a rich and up-to-date portrait of the theories and models that can fuel the academic and continuing education of current and future professionals in career development. Cournoyer adds: “CERIC must be recognized and thanked for its commitment to invest in the translation and revision into French of such a work. This initiative will allow French-speaking students and professionals, in Canada, in Europe and elsewhere in the world, to acquire the most practical theories and models of intervention in their language!”
The English version of the book was released in January of 2019 at the annual bilingual Cannexus National Career Development Conference in Ottawa. To further disseminate knowledge from this resource, CERIC has hosted free webinars with authors from the book over the past year. The first French-language webinars are being offered with Louis Cournoyer, April 24, on An Adaptive Decision-making Approach to Career Counselling, and with Simon Viviers, April 27, on Psychology of Working Theory: A Transformative Approach to Work and Career.
The French edition of the book is expected to be available for January 2021.
To learn more about accessing or supporting this publication, please contact marketing@ceric.ca.
The COVID-19 pandemic has required career development agencies and practitioners to shift services to remote delivery. To support this demand in these challenging times, CERIC is pleased to be offering a free webinar – Remote Services: Career Development Practice in Unprecedented Times – next Thursday with online counselling pioneer Tannis Goddard.
Remote services are now essential to meet the career development and job search needs of clients. This webinar will introduce frameworks to support remote work with your clients. Drawing from decades of experience providing online services to career and job search clients, Goddard will explore ethics, service design, online technology tools and delivery techniques.
Date: Thursday, April 30, 2020, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ET
Goddard is the CEO of MixtMode Consulting and provides consultation to governments on career services, with a specialization in online career services. She has over 25 years of experience operating career centres in Canada. With keen interest in seeing this delivery option grow in our field, Goddard has been involved in research projects and presented on this topic all over the world.
Introverts work best when they can focus and dedicate time to independent work. However, in today’s workplace where collaboration is the key to success, introverts often struggle to reach their full potential. CERIC’s new literature search, Introverts and Career Development, gathers important research and practices on how introverts can make their voices heard in their personal and professional lives.
Topics covered in the literature search include:
Research and theories on career development for introverts
Job search and networking tips for introverts
Introverted women and their careers
Impact of introverted leaders
How introverts and extroverts can best work together
There are now 58 literature searches available, including Career Counselling Competencies, Ethical Issues in Career Development, Future of Work, Job Satisfaction and Career Development, Economic Benefits of Career Guidance, Generational Conflict in the Workplace, Mental Health Issues in the Workplace, and more.
Featuring comprehensive listings of key research and articles in career development, literature searches highlight critical points of current knowledge. As a student, academic or practitioner in the field, literature searches are helpful if you are researching the latest thinking or proven best practices. They are also valuable if you are considering a submission to CERIC for project partnership funding in order to gain an overview of major work already done in your area of interest.
CERIC invites individuals or organizations with an interest in presenting at the Cannexus21 National Career Development Conference to submit a brief outline for consideration using the Proposal Form and encourages them to inform colleagues or students of this opportunity. Planning for the 15th annual Cannexus conference, January 25-27, 2021, in Ottawa, remains underway at this point with all necessary precautions and contingencies. The deadline for proposals is Tuesday, June 2, 2020.
Although Cannexus takes place in January 2021, we understand with the concern surrounding COVID-19, individuals may be cautious about submitting a proposal at this time. We would like to assure you that submitting a proposal is not a commitment to present at the conference. If you submit a proposal and you are selected to present, you will receive a formal email invitation by the summer, and at that time you will be given a deadline to accept or decline the invitation.
Presenting at Cannexus provides you with an unmatched opportunity to exchange information and explore innovative approaches in the areas of career counselling and career and workforce development. You will gain recognition as an expert and leader in the field at the conference and beyond.
CERIC has identified areas of interest to assist presenters in targeting the content of their sessions. These are examples only; your ideas and suggestions are welcome.
Adult Education and Career Development
Advocacy & Profile Building (Sector, Services, Clients)
To address the monumental challenge of feeding a rapidly growing global population while using fewer resources, some of the largest agribusiness interests on a worldwide scale have joined forces to think strategically about the pipeline of talent that will be needed to drive rapid innovation in agriculture. Recently establishing an educational and research centre in partnership with Colorado State University, the consortium members of the new Center for an Enhanced Workforce in Agriculture include such invested corporations as ADM, Bayer, Bunge, Cargill, Land O’Lakes, Caterpillar, DuPont and Tyson Foods.
