Meeting at Granville Island in Vancouver. (L-R) Lubica Keighley, BC Career Development Association; Teresa Francis, Connie Corse, and Lindsay Guitard, Nova Scotia Career Development Association; and me in front in blue.
I have discussed the possibility of a national CDP program in Aspectives, so this shouldn't surprise our readers. I'm writing today from Vancouver, where I met with Lindsay Guitard, Teresa Francis, and Connie Corse of the Nova Scotia Career Development Association (NSCA). We discussed national career development certification and the possibility of NSCDA expanding their online credentialling to include the rest of Canada.
My first question is why they came all this way for two meetings, mine and one with Lubica Keighley of the BC Career Development Association. The depth of our conversation answered my question right away. Not only did we discuss the impact of national certification on the profession but the challenges that are part of the bigger picture. The interesting thing is even though we are 5,800 km away from each other, we shared the following:
- Recruitment and retention of qualified CDPs (not necessarily credentialed).
- The high level of training and experience to do the job and the sometimes low pay associated with it.
- The greater need for advocacy to government, funders, and the public at large regarding the economic benefits of career development, especially when it comes to employer sector councils and employers in general.
We also talked about the possible funding for the Career Development Institute led by the Canadian Career Development Foundation and how critically it is needed right now. You might remember in May, ASPECT co-hosted a consultation session with the BC Career Development Association to discuss the feasibility. Hopefully, we will know more about the funding for the Institute this fall. If the funder -- Future Skills Centre -- is reading this, please consider the overwhelming need and that the CCDF is perfectly positioned to move forward, especially with the sector (see graphic at left from the community of practice portal. ASPECT will do everything we can to ensure that the work of the Career Development Institute will be successful.
After my meeting with Lindsay, Teresa, and Connie, Lubica Keighley from the BCCDA joined our meeting, and we talked about how our organizations could further collaborate, possibly in a more formal way.
Rest assured, we are all resolved to help those seeking meaningful work who are at the centre of what we do by ensuring a sustainable infrastructure to support their needs.
Janet Morris-Reade
CEO
Correction from last week's Aspectives: The cultural safety training offered by the Federation of Community Social Services of BC is not part of the $8.4M earlier this month.
