Pan-Canadian Mapping Study of the Career Development Sector

1. Pan-Canadian Mapping Study of the Career Development Sector CDSWG Report: 2009

2. Outline • Background and Importance of project • How was it done? • Results • Next Steps: Recommendations • Impact on Career Development

3. Background and Importance • Lack of comprehensive knowledge of the Career Development Sector impeded ability to identify and promote effective practice and raise quality of service. • Need to create a picture of sector as a whole: • Hiring Practices • Human Resources Challenges • Client Needs and Composition • Application of the Canadian Standards and Guidelines

4. How was it done? • 3 Phases • Compilation of major service providers • Completed email survey • 2 Survey completed • Practitioners • Agencies/managers of CDS

5. Results • A well defined scope of practice with a clear employment/career/labour market mandate. • Significant variability in job descriptions and job titles. • 43% of respondents did not use any competency framework. • Concerns include: • Practice may not focus sufficiently on enhancing self management skills. • Eligibility criteria for access to CDS may leave many adults without access to services.

6. Results con’t The field is well educated, but with little specialized formal career development training. Access to professional training the highest rated priority by career development practitioners, and second highest by managers. General interest in increased professionalization of the field. Little consistency in job requirements within the sector.

7. Next Steps: Recommendations • Further research into the effective use of group services and processes as a way to enhance quality and quantity of CDS. • Gap analysis to determine the need for broader availability of CDS for adults in throughout life course. • Analysis to determine policy implications of providing broader access to free CDS. • Determining the optimal mix between generalists and specialists to provide effective and efficient delivery of CDS.

8. Impact on Career Development • The pan-Canadian mapping of the career development sector provided great guidance in developing further exploration into the career development sector, clear directions on issues to be considered, and impetus to the sector to develop a national organization.

9. Contact Information For full report and additional questions: Forum of Labour Market Ministers Heather Collier Carol Forster Director Senior Policy Analyst Ph. 780-427-3975 Ph.780-427-4741 Fax. 780-427-0354 Fax. 780-427-0354 Email. Heather.collier@gov.ab.ca Email. Carol.forster@gov.ab.ca