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CERIC has released an updated version of its French-language guide to computing careers, responding to strong demand for computing graduates in Canada and a changing technology landscape. Authored by Randy Connolly, Janet Miller and Faith-Michael Uzoka of Mount Royal University, the second edition of Disciplines et carrières en informatique : guide rapide à l’intention des étudiants et des conseillers en orientation provides the latest information on types of computing careers and the academic pathways to get there. The 2020 edition of the English version of the guide, Computing Careers & Disciplines: A Quick Guide for Prospective Students and Career Advisors, was released earlier this year.

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.

CERIC is also making available another free webinar, in French on Tuesday, May 5 – Accompagnement à distance : Guider les professionnels en développement de carrière sur la pratique en ligne – to deepen your knowledge of remote practice, with Michel Turcotte.

Learn more about this webinar and register today.

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)
• Career Development for Youth Outside of School
• Career Education K-12 Students
• Career Education Post-Secondary
• Client Mental Health
• Current Research, Theory & Methodology
• Effective Career Counselling/Coaching Techniques
• Employee Recruitment & Engagement
• Employment/Training Programs (Community, Government, Industry)
• Entrepreneurship & Self-Employment
• Experiential/Work-Integrated Learning
• Indigenous Career Development
• Job Search Strategies
• Labour Market Information
• Leadership Development
• Management & HR Issues for Career/Employment Centre Directors
• Mature Worker Career Development
• New Technology & Tools for Career Professionals
• Online Career Service Delivery/Remote Learning
• Rural Career & Community Economic Development
• Self-Care for Career Professionals
• Supporting Clients with Disabilities
• Workforce Planning & Development
• Working with Newcomer and Refugee Communities

Please review the terms and guidelines of presenting prior to submitting a proposal.

Cannexus is presented by CERIC and supported by The Counselling Foundation of Canada and a broad network of supporting organizations and sponsors.