Competency Category:

Competency Series:

12.1 – Explore Learning and Employment Possibilities

Purpose & Context

Career Development Professionals (CDPs) guide the exploration of learning and/or employment possibilities. CDPs identify activities and sources of information to help clients clarify career objectives.

Effective Performance

Competent career development professionals must be able to:

P1. Recommend resources and information to explore career interests, for example:
- Occupational profiles, e.g. duties, expected salary, work settings, education and training required
- Labour market information, e.g. local economic forecasts
- Education and learning options, for example:
  - Traditional academic settings
  - Open educational resources, e.g. text, media, and other digital assets
  - Community programs, e.g. language courses for new residents
  - Non-traditional learning options, e.g. evening STEM programs for women
  - Apprenticeships, skilled trade programs
- Self-employment guidance, e.g. websites on how to start a business, employment centre programming
P2. Recommend active participation in activities, for example:
- Talk to friends, family, teachers, members of the community about career choices
- Conduct information interviews with faculty members, alumni, and students currently enrolled in learning
  programs of interest
- Conduct information interviews with employers and employees, family, community contacts in fields of interest
- Learn about occupation of choice, e.g. volunteer in field of choice, speak with owner of business, talk to
  incumbents about career path, seek part-time working opportunities
- Attend networking opportunities, e.g. career fairs, mentoring program events, events held by professional
  associations
P3. Develop an action plan with timelines
P4. Support the client during the exploration activities
P5. Discuss progress regularly, for example:
- Help process information
- Reflect on career needs
- Assist in redefining career goals to align with aspirations

Knowledge & Understanding

Competent career development professionals must know and understand:

K1. Labour market information
K2. Economic, political, and global issues that affect education and employment
K3. Occupational information sources, support services, training and educational options
K4. Legislation and regulations related to employment, e.g. Human Rights Legislation, Canada Labour Code, Privacy Act,
Workers Compensation Act and Employment Standards, Health and Safety regulations

Contextual Variables

Competent career development professionals must be able to perform this competency in the following range of contexts:

Diverse client populations will have complex needs.

Opportunities for learning and employment may be limited based on location.

Glossary & Key References

Terms

Industry-specific terms contained in the standard defined here, where applicable.

STEM: Science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Information Sources and Resources for Consideration

None

Context Rating Scales

Criticality

Q: What is the consequence of a professional being unable to perform this skill according to the standard?

Moderate risk: CRITICAL

Frequency

Q: How frequent and under what conditions is this skill performed?

Routinely, regular course of procedure

Level of Difficulty

Q: Under routine circumstances, how would you rate the level of difficulty in performing this skill?

Moderate difficulty or complexity

Time Required to Gain Proficiency

Q: What is the average length of time or number of repeated events that are minimally necessary for an individual to become proficient in performing the skill to the standard?

A competent career development professional requires a minimum of one year of experience with at least 40 different clients, representing a broad range of individuals.

Autonomy

Practitioners typically perform this competency without supervision, and alone.

Automation

It is unlikely that this competency will automate.

Requisite Work Aids, Tools, Equipment or Materials

None

Our Purpose

Thank you for being a part of the Career Development Professional Centre. To ensure that all members have the best possible experience, we have a few ground rules that we ask everyone to adhere to. This code of conduct applies equally to every person in the community and is intended to foster an online space that is inclusive, safe, and welcoming to all.

Centre Rules

Be welcoming

We strive to be a place that welcomes and supports people of all backgrounds and identities. We aim to be a place that promotes excellence and innovation in career and workforce development. Please extend respect to all members; we all come from different backgrounds and levels of knowledge and there is no such thing as a stupid question.

Be respectful

We won’t all agree all the time, but when we disagree don’t let those disagreements turn into personal attacks. A place where people feel uncomfortable or threatened will not be a productive one. When having discussions in the online community, commenting on a library article, or participating in other Centre activities, strive for productive conversations around the content being presented, not the person behind the content. Any comments determined to be “hate speech” towards any individual or group will be deleted, and the user account may be locked until an investigation regarding the comment has been concluded. The user may be given a written warning or removed from the CPDC platform depending on the findings of the investigation.

Hate Speech could include and is not limited to:

Violent threats or language directed against another person

Discriminatory jokes, language, or materials

Defamatory or abusive language or materials

Profane or illegal materials

Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior

A good rule of thumb is to never say anything that you wouldn’t be comfortable with the world seeing or that you wouldn’t want anyone knowing came from you. We ask that you keep in mind the focus of this place, which is building excellence and innovation in career and workforce development for all individuals.

Be considerate of the purpose of the Centre

The Centre focuses on building excellence and discussing innovation in the career and workforce development field. The goal of the social learning community is to communicate goals, challenges, constructive feedback, and questions in relation to career and workforce development. The Centre should be a place for continued learning and development as well as a place to discuss the future of our field (solicitation without written consent by the Project or Advisory team, is strictly prohibited). Any post or comment that is determined to be soliciting any individual or group will be deleted, and the user account may be locked until an investigation regarding the post has been concluded. The user may be given a written warning or removed from the CPDC platform depending on the findings of the investigation.

Post your discussions or documents in the most appropriate group or topic

Especially within the social learning community, make reasonable efforts to ensure that posts and materials are allocated to the appropriate group or topic. This will prevent cluttering the feed and make it easier for everyone to find the information that they are seeking. Individuals who do this repeatedly will be contacted by one of the group admins and asked to follow these guidelines.