Employment service providers are the experts in their communities who can see all perspectives of the workforce: job seekers, employers, changing employment conditions, and local economic development efforts. As professional practitioners, they stay up on these latest trends and innovations in employment readiness training while keeping an eye on provincial, federal, and global changes. This body of knowledge and experience is essential and is why we conduct research. It takes a snapshot of the conditions at the moment in time and provides critical information to policy and program makers.
The final report of our Future Skills Centre project, funded by the Government of Canada, is ready for release. The study Competency of Career Development Practitioners for Virtual Services is the cumulation of research from 2021 where we asked the questions:
- What competencies related to virtual learning and facilitation need to become standard knowledge and practice in the industry?
- What skills in offering virtual service do CDPs in BC currently have? and what do they lack?
- How can pilot programs, based on the answers to questions 1 & 2, develop and offer competency training in BC?
We found that although there is a gap in competency for CDPs to deliver virtual services, this gap is widespread across all age groups. We also found that there is an opportunity to develop this training not only for BC but also across Canada.
To see what is possible, take a look at the video prepared by our project partner, ETHOS Career Management Group. With part one of this project complete, we are pursuing further funding to make the learning concept outlined in the video a reality.
Thank you to all of your who participated in this research. We couldn't have done it without you.
Other ASPECT research:
Janet Morris-Reade, CEO
ASPECT BC
