volume 6, issue 1, july 2015 canadian career development...

Career DevelopmentsCareer Developments Volume 6, Issue 1, July 2015 Canadian Career Development Foundation

119 Ross Avenue, Suite 202 Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 0N6 CANADA

Tel: 613-729-6164 Fax: 613-729-3515 [email protected] www.ccdf.ca

The 7th International Symposium on Career

Development and Public Policy was held in Des

Moines, Iowa June 14 – 17, 2015. The Symposium

was hosted by Kuder Inc. in partnership with the

International Centre for Career Development and

Public Policy (ICCDPP) and facilitated by Sareena

Hopkins and Lynne Bezanson of the Canadian

Career Development Foundation (CCDF).

Countries from around the world formed teams

made up of policy makers, researchers and career

development practice leaders and engaged in

focused discussions, exchange and action planning

to advance career education and development for

youth in their home countries.

Team Canada was strongly represented by:

William Borgen, Professor and Head of the

Department of Educational and Counselling

Psychology and Special Education at the

University of British Columbia

Kathy McDonald, Student Success and

Transition Specialist with the PEI Department

of Education and Early Childhood

Deirdre Pickerell, Vice-President of Life

Strategies Ltd., Instructor and Writing Lab

Coordinator at Yorkville University, and

recipient of the 2014 Stu Conger Award for

Leadership in Career Development and the

2006 Human Resources Association Award of

Excellence.

Valérie Roy, Deputy Director of the

Regroupement québécois des organismes pour

le développement de l’employabilité

(RQuODE), and Treasurer of the Canadian

Coalition of Community-Based Employability

Training (CCCBET)

Paula Wischoff Yerama, Executive Director

and former Chair of the Career Development

Association of Alberta and Chair of the

Canadian Council for Career Development’s

Certification Working Group

In advance of the Symposium, each of the Country

Teams prepared a paper on this year’s

theme, Building the Talent Pipeline and

Providing Youth with Hope for the Future, and

explored its four sub-themes:

Engaging Employers

The Role of Emerging Technologies

Why Return on Investment Matters

Integrated Policies: Creating Systems that

Work

Following three hard-working days filled with

engaging catalyst presentations and intensive

group work, attendees were sent home with an

official Communiqué summarizing the collective

conclusions and recommendations of those present

at the Symposium. This Special Issue of Career

Developments includes the Communiqué, as well

as Canada’s 2-year Action Plan, in anticipation of

the 2017 International Symposium to be held in

South Korea.

FEATURED ARTICLESFEATURED ARTICLESFEATURED ARTICLES Introduction to CommuniquéIntroduction to CommuniquéIntroduction to Communiqué ................................................................................................ 111 CommuniquéCommuniquéCommuniqué .................................................................................................................................................................................... 222 Introduction to Canada’s Action PlanIntroduction to Canada’s Action PlanIntroduction to Canada’s Action Plan ................................................ 666 Canada’s Action PlanCanada’s Action PlanCanada’s Action Plan ....................................................................................................................................... 666

Upcoming Professional Development Upcoming Professional Development Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities & ConferencesOpportunities & ConferencesOpportunities & Conferences ................................................................................................ 777

1

INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNIQUÉINTRODUCTION TO COMMUNIQUÉ



COMMUNIQUÉ: COMMUNIQUÉ: 77thth International Symposium onInternational Symposium on

Career Development and Public PolicyCareer Development and Public Policy

Preamble The global community faces many challenges:

demographic pressures; increasing automation;

and complex and changeable labour markets. At

the heart of this is the need to build the talent

pipeline to enable skills to flow from education

into the economy and to be deployed where they

are most needed. To address these issues, the 7th

International Symposium on Career Development

and Public Policy was held in Iowa in 20151. The

purpose of this Symposium was to consider how

governments, researchers and career development

leaders could best ensure the talent pipeline and

provide youth with hope for the future. The

Symposium explored the economic, social and

demographic issues impacting on youth under/

unemployment in developed and developing

countries and the policy, research and practices

required to address these challenges.

The Symposium was attended by 103 policy

makers, researchers and leaders in the field of

career development from 20 countries and 6

international organizations2. New countries joined

the Symposium community for the first time,

including: Egypt; the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;

Nigeria; and Tunisia. Country Teams prepared a

Country Paper prior to the event and articulated a

plan for country action following the event.

Symposium sub-themes 1. Engaging employers

2. The role of emerging technologies

3. Why return on investment matters

4. Integrated policies: creating systems that work

This Communiqué is a summary of the collective

conclusions of those present at the Symposium.

Key challenges in the youth labour market Global labour markets are extremely diverse and

challenging. Issues include: significant over-

qualification and underemployment of youth in

some regions and youth inactivity in others;

reform of social security/unemployment systems;

and an expansion of the informal economy and a

weakening of both the traditional employer-

employee relationship and organised labour often

with detrimental effects on job quality and

employment standards.

A substantial issue affecting all labour markets is

the growth of automation which is increasingly

replacing many forms of work, including both

routine functions and high skilled roles.

Many young people are finding that entry level

positions are no longer stepping stones to career

progression pathways. There is a weak alignment

(continues on page 3)

2

1 Previous events were held in Canada (1999, 2001), Australia (2006), United Kingdom (2007), New Zealand (2009) and Hungary (2011) 2 Asia Pacific Career Development Association (APCDA), European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP), European

Lifelong Guidance Policy Network (ELGPN), European Training Foundation (ETF), International Association for Educational and Vocational

Guidance (IAEVG) and National Career Development Association (NCDA)

Des Moines, Iowa, USA June 14-17, 2015



Continues from page 2… Communiqué

between education and employment. In many

countries education and employment are poorly

integrated and vocational education is under-

developed.

Responding effectively to these changes requires

significant shifts in both policy and practice.

Building the talent pipeline and providing youth with hope for the future Labour markets across and within countries are not

homogeneous and cannot be conceptualized

simply. This complexity is extremely challenging

for young people across the globe. Some countries

have responded to this by building new career

development systems or strengthening existing

systems to better support young people to address

these challenges. However, others have reduced

funding for public career services leaving young

people unsupported.

Career development is a powerful tool of public

policy which can nudge the way in which people

act and education and employment systems

function.

Recommendations to countries Career development policies, systems and

services need to attend in a balanced way to

both the supply and demand sides of the

labour market. This has significant implications

for policy related to employment practice,

labour force development, the training of

careers professionals and the provision of

career services.

Individuals enact their careers across their

lifetime. To maximise individuals’ potential

and address labour market needs, countries

need to develop systems and services that

support individual choice while emphasizing

the development of career management skills

and the acquisition of the skills that are in

demand in the labour market.

Career development policies, systems and

services need to reflect labour market

realities. In many countries there is a lack of

formal employment opportunities and a need

to prepare people for entrepreneurship and/or

help them to access opportunity in the

informal economy.

Career development services need to be

appropriately resourced to ensure that all

young people can access the support that they

need to be successful in a challenging labour

market.

Engaging employers Employer engagement is central to effective

career development systems. Gaining and

sustaining employer engagement in partnerships to

address labour market gaps and mismatches is a

global challenge. A range of incentives are being

tried, including connecting career development to

corporate social responsibility, quotas and tax

incentives. It is important that career

development is placed at the heart of such

initiatives as it serves as a critical bridge between

education and employment.

Recommendations to countries A cross-sectoral partnership approach to

employer engagement is needed nationally,

regionally and locally.

Career development systems need to include

an infrastructure for brokerage and partnership

building between education and employment.

Career development policies, systems and

services need to support young people to

access work-related learning from an early

age. Work-related learning should be a core

part of the education system for all young

people and include learning about

entrepreneurship and social enterprise.

Work-related learning needs to be supported

by clearly articulated quality standards.


3




The role of emerging technology The use of technology in career development

systems and services has increased dramatically in

recent years. Although ICT access and

infrastructures have improved considerably, many

regions and populations continue to have limited

digital access. However, for many young people

using new technologies is central to their lives. It

is critical that a clear distinction is made between

being tech dependent and being tech savvy and

that policy and practice supports the latter.

Technology has the potential to strategically

enhance services, but not if it is seen simply as a

cost-saving measure. Online systems and services

will be most effective when they are coordinated,

cohesive and streamlined.

Recommendations to countries National coordination of ICT-based career

information and services is essential to avoid

fragmentation and promote ease of access.

Ministries need to share responsibility for this

coordination.

Governments need to establish and support the

acquisition of a baseline of digital literacy for

all citizens. This should include digital career

literacy which provides people with the skills

they need to build their careers in the digital

world.

Governments need to treat ICT in career

development as part of wider national e-

Governance mechanisms.

Technology-driven career tools, games and

apps need to be co-developed by career

development and technology experts.

Training for career professionals in the use of

ICT in the delivery of career services is a

priority.

Codes of Ethics must be developed and/or

expanded to guide effective and ethical uses of

ICT in career development systems and

services.

Why return on investment matters Quantitative and qualitative data on the impact of

career interventions on individuals, employers and

society is critical to informing policy and practice.

The use of well-conceived and validated quality

assurance frameworks and evaluation instruments

helps to ensure that ROI is not based on what is

easy to measure, but rather on what is meaningful

and important to measure. Several challenges

exist in establishing ROI for career development

interventions including: inadequate measures;

inadequate data; difficulty in linking interventions

to outcomes; unfair assessments of career

interventions; inadequate resources for the

complexity of the task; and inconsistent use of

existing evidence. Despite these challenges,

considerable progress has been made

internationally in advancing the evidence base for

career development.

Recommendations to countries Existing evidence should be carefully reviewed

to ensure that policy and practice reflects

research findings.

Given the complexity of current labour

markets, governments are encouraged to move

beyond reliance on blunt employment and

training outcome measures and adopt more

nuanced indicators of effective career

development.

Governments are also encouraged to articulate

the baseline for acceptable evidence to

support accountability and include evaluation

as a routine part of service delivery.

Governments should align research funding

with their evidence requirements. If the long-

term impacts of career development need to

be established, longitudinal research should be

funded.

Collaborative partnerships between

researchers, employers, career professionals

and developers of career resources should be

encouraged.


4




Integrated policies: creating systems that work Career development should be a major part of

government strategies to ensure the talent pipe-

line. However, because career development is

lifelong, related policies are often poorly coordin-

ated across multiple government departments and

agencies, resulting in fragmented and inadequate

systems and services. A national strategy is a

mechanism to break down silos, meet citizen

needs and support the progression of youth from

education to work. Systemic and sustainable policy

solutions that entitle citizens to adequate career

development support are needed to solve systemic

labour market challenges.

Recommendations to countries Countries should develop national career

development strategies with associated

resourcing to ensure policy and service

cohesion. In most countries, this will require

collaboration and coordination across

government ministries.

Strategies should aim to provide national

coordination, benchmarks and evaluation,

while respecting the need for regional/local

tailoring.

International collaboration The Symposium is a vital opportunity for inter-

national co-operation around career development

policy. There are substantial benefits for all

attendees in participating in this kind of

community of practice and having opportunities

for knowledge exchange and policy lending and

borrowing.

Recommendations Countries should complete templates profiling

innovative and promising practices and publish

them on the ICCDPP website.

ICCDPP should provide regular email updates,

briefings and invitations to contribute to all

countries represented at this and previous

Symposia.

The ICCDPP should continue to coordinate and

support the International Working Group on

Evidence-Based Practice.

The ICCDPP should leverage technology,

including social media, in actively engaging,

supporting and connecting the career

development community in policy exchange.

The ICCDPP should aim to organise the next

Symposium in 2017.

Annex The Communiqué from the 2011 Symposium

(Hungary) included an Annex highlighting the need

for consistent and coherent language and branding

in the career development sector. This issue was

raised again in 2015, with specific reference to

engaging employers. Language and branding

continue to be a significant challenge.

5


Tel: 613-729-6164 Fax: 613-729-3515 [email protected] www.ccdf.ca 6

INTRODUCTION TO TEAM CANADA’S ACTION PLANINTRODUCTION TO TEAM CANADA’S ACTION PLAN

The work done by the Country Teams during the International

Symposium is really only the tip of the iceberg; the real work begins

when Teams return home. On the last day of the Symposium,

Country Teams were given the chance to work together to develop a

Country Action Plan, outlining the specific priority actions to be

taken between now and the 2017 Symposium when we will be invited

to form a new Team representing Canada and will have the

opportunity to report on progress. Below you will find Canada’s

Action Plan. In it, they have identified a number of priority issues to

be addressed. This is your chance to get involved; if you see an area

where you can help, have information or want to volunteer, contact

Canada’s Team Lead, Deirdre Pickerell at [email protected].

BUILDING THE TALENT PIPELINE & PROVIDING YOUTH WITHBUILDING THE TALENT PIPELINE & PROVIDING YOUTH WITH

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE HOPE FOR THE FUTURE Country Action PlanCountry Action Plan

Top Three Priorities:

Priority 1— Canada has invested in the development of two key career development competency

frameworks. These frameworks will be renewed to reflect the changing demands of today’s world.

The Canadian Standards & Guidelines (S&Gs) for Career Development Practitioners: to more

effectively address Information and Communication Technology (ITC), especially around ethical

practice.

Blueprint for Life/Work Designs: to reflect the shifting and ongoing demands of life, work, and

learning today and in the future.

° 6 Month Indicators:

Agreed upon “home” for Blueprint; Teams pulled together to update both Blueprint and

S&Gs.

° Intended Outcome for Priority #1:

Update Blueprint for Life/Work Designs and S&Gs, specifically the Code of Ethics with

regards to ICT. (continues on page 7)

“My main reason for writing is simple: I do not know what I think until I have written it. In conversation one can get away with loose, exploratory thinking, but in writing it down one has to weigh up the arguments and the evidence, and decide what it all means and where one stands. It is hard work, but important; and if published, it adds to the body of

knowledge on which others can draw. I commend it to you as a professional practice.” – Tony Watts

Continues from page 6… Hope for the Future

Priority 2—Two separate intergovernmental bodies serve as forums to discuss policy issues and to

strengthen cooperation and strategic thinking: The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC),

and the Forum of Labour Market Ministers (FLMM). Career development will be secured as an

explicit priority on the national agenda.

A case will be made to add career education as a core mandate of CMEC.

A case will be made to FLMM to adopt career development as a permanent agenda item, stressing

it is an economic strategy with social benefits.


Position paper/briefing note will be prepared and an action plan for use and distribution

will be established.


Get career development back on the national agenda.

Priority 3— Engage with demand side by connecting with municipal governments and Chambers of

Commerce.


A list of municipal governments and Chambers of Commerce to be approached will be

established, as well as specific points of contact for each; a handful will have been

selected for an initial pilot.


Engage with demand side by connecting with municipal governments and Chambers of

Commerce. This priority is closely linked with Priority #2 as employers will be key

stakeholders in our work to get career development back on the national agenda.


Tel: 613-729-6164 Fax: 613-729-3515 [email protected] www.ccdf.ca 7

September

2015 APCDA Conference – Asia Pacific Career

Development Association

September 15-17, 2015, Tokyo, Japan

http://www.asiapacificcda.org/2015-conference

IAEVG International Conference

September 18–21, Tsukuba, Japan

http://www.iaevgconf2015.jp/

Your Workplace Conference

September 23 & 24, 2015 Toronto, ON

http://www.yourworkplace.ca/conference/

October

Futures Conference

October 6th – 8th, 2015, Collingwood, ON

http://www.firstwork.org/futures

November

CAREERPRO 2015

November 2-6, 2015, Virtual Conference

http://careerproconference.ca

Let’s Get to Work Symposium

November 6, 2015, Winnipeg, MB

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/lets-get-to-work-

2015-tickets-17567591138

Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities and Conferences

http://careerproconference.ca

volume 6, issue 1, july 2015 canadian career development...

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