The knowledge-based economy requires more highly skilled workers at a time when our workforce is shrinking and many Canadians are being underutilized.(1) The Canadian government is spear-heading a national campaign to:
The economy of the 21st century will need workers who are lifelong learners, who can respond and adapt to change. Canada's labour market programs must be transformed to meet this challenge. - Speech from the Throne(3)
As Canada's workforce changes, Canadians need new knowledge and skills to keep pace with the evolving employment environment. Yet our citizens cannot be assigned to education, training programs, or to jobs; they must choose them. To make relevant choices they need accurate career and labour market information and they need the skills to use this information effectively. They need career management skills suited to today's workforce and society.
Canada's new career management paradigm recognizes that career development is a lifelong process of knowledge and skills mastery reflecting a continuum of learning and mastery.
The key to success in the modern workplace, as in life, is not just finding the right job, friend or life partner, it's becoming the right worker, friend or life partner. The new paradigm sees Canadians learning a new set of career and life management skills that will enable them to construct personal meaning and plan their lives and careers with confidence and intention. "Constant change and shifting work relationships are the footprints of a knowledge-based workplace."(4)
Canadian workers with career management skills are more likely to choose education, training and employment that meet their needs, and those of Canada's evolving workplace. In turn, individuals who find suitable work are more likely to be productive and remain in their jobs longer. This results in higher productivity and lower recruitment and training costs for employers. People capable of planning and managing their careers are less likely to be underemployed or unemployed for extended periods, to need social assistance, to require health care due to work-related stress, to flounder in arbitrarily chosen education and training programs or to drop out.
Helping more current and future workers improve their career management skills will increase Canada's productivity and international competitiveness, and reduce public and private sector expenditures. If one makes the modest assumption that increasing career management skills will result in a 1 percent decrease in corporate and government expenditures (see following pages), the net national effect is billions of dollars freed up annually to be invested in Canada's future.
The career management paradigm shift is underway. Previous public and private sector investments are paying off. A number of initiatives are in place and form the foundation of the new paradigm. Among these are Human Resources Development Canada's Skills and Learning Engagement Strategy, Sectoral Skills, Skills Information and Essential Skills Initiatives, Industry Canada's Innovation Initiative, and the Conference Board of Canada's Employability Skills 2000+ Initiative.
A cornerstone of the paradigm shift is the Blueprint for Life/Work Designs [1]. The Blueprint is a comprehensive framework of competencies (skills, knowledge and attitudes) Canadians of all ages need to be self-reliant career builders and managers. It's also a "how to" guide of tested approaches any organization can use to create or re-engineer programs to enhance career management skills in their employees, clients and students. Moreover, the Blueprint provides an accountability framework and standards by which the success of individuals and organizations can be measured.
School-to-work transition and workforce development initiatives fail too many Canadians because career management skills do not receive the curricular focus that academic and technical skills receive. Career theorists provide clear and unequivocal evidence to demonstrate the need to imbed career management skills in all education and training programs and services designed to help Canadians succeed in the employment market of the future. Implementing career-relevant programs that integrate the Blueprint career management skills and accountability procedures will:
Career Management Paradigm Shift |
Prosperity for Citizens, Windfall for Governments |
Phillip S. Jarvis |
Vice-President, Partnership Development |
National Life/Work Centre, Ottawa(5) |
The economy of the 21st century will need workers who are lifelong learners, who can respond and adapt to change. Canada's labour market programs must be transformed to meet this challenge. - Speech from the Throne(6)
The new knowledge economy is changing the way people work. Recent projections(7) suggest that new labour market entrants are likely to experience a succession of work roles, with 12 to 25 jobs in up to five industry sectors in their working lives. At times they may have concurrent part-time jobs, at others no paid work. Work periods will be interspersed with periods of learning, either full- or part-time while holding one or more jobs. Krumboltz and Worthington(8) describe a future where " . . . there will be more of a need for worker flexibility as worker requirements change more frequently and new teams are formed to work on specific projects. Workers will increasingly be expected to move from project to project doing whatever work needs to be accomplished, and not merely to fulfill a written job description." That future is here. Project-based work is the norm in more and more public and private sector organizations across Canada.
At the same time, Canada's workforce is changing drastically. Knowledge Matters: Skills and Learning for Canadians, the recent discussion paper from Human Resources Development Canada, describes the challenges:
Canada needs more highly skilled workers, yet our workforce is shrinking. 50 percent of our 2015 workforce is already working. By 2011 immigration will account for all net workforce growth. In all sectors, it is more important than ever that Canadians connect with the best possible learning and work opportunities. Yet too few education and training institutions teach career management skills, and most companies of 50 or fewer workers have no employee training and development or human resources services. As a result, current and future employees typically make career choices unassisted, without the benefit of key career management skills they need to succeed.
The key is helping Canadians choose education and training programs and fields of work that serve both their needs and the needs of the evolving workforce. Our society is based on freedom of choice, which is limited by knowledge of one's options and mastery of good decision-making skills. Our challenge is to help Canadians learn how to choose wisely, as often as necessary, and be committed to on-going learning to become better, more satisfied and more fulfilled at what they choose to do, both at work and in their communities.
Canadians need good career and labour market information. In the words of Richard Froeschle (2002), Career Resource Network Director with the Texas Workforce Commission, " labor market and career information is to students and job seekers what market research data is to business - invaluable."(10) High quality, current and comprehensive information is essential, but it is not enough. Canadians also need skills to use the information effectively to make sound choices. They need skills that give them legitimate self-reliance. They need focus, on what they have to offer and on what is important to them. They need direction, knowing their options, what is suitable for them, and what is needed to get where they want to go. They need adaptability, the skill of making the best of ever-present change. Collectively, these are career management skills, and they cannot be learned solely from printed publications and websites. Human support during the learning process is essential.
The new economy demands a new approach to career development. People need to identify broad industry sector destinations and learn employability and transferable skills to equip them for multiple roles within these sectors. Mastery of career management skills, which include transferable employability and personal management skills, needs be part of mainstream primary, secondary and post-secondary education programs, employee training and development programs and remedial programs for adults in career transitions. Acquisition of these skills increases likelihood of workplace success, but also increases likelihood of success in relationships, family and community. Therefore, an investment in helping more citizens master these skills provides a multi-faceted return on investment, and benefits both for individuals and for society.
The traditional vocational guidance paradigm expected young people to make an informed, long-term career choice before graduating from high school. Yet, when any group of adults is asked if they are now doing what they expected to be doing when they left high school fewer than 10 percent (except educators and nurses) will raise their hands. Are you now doing what you expected to be doing at this age when you were in high school?
The old vocational guidance model was about helping people make informed career decisions, and went as follows:
The new career management model is about helping people become healthy, self-reliant citizens, able to cope with constant change in rapidly changing labour markets and maintain balance between life and work roles. For some, this means reclaiming their lives from the onslaught of "labour-saving" technologies in the workplace.
Cornerstones of the career management paradigm are the "high five" principles:
Those who master the Blueprint career management skills and follow the high five principles are more likely to secure fulfilling work and life roles in the knowledge age economy, and prosper. Regrettably, most educators, corporate executives, legislators and policy makers, community leaders, parents and others are still encumbered by the old vocational guidance mindset.
The catch phrase of the old paradigm, "What do you want to be when ?" loses relevance in labour markets where new workforce entrants can anticipate having 12 to 25 jobs in up to 5 industry sectors.(11) It is now unrealistic, even self-defeating, to expect anyone to choose an occupation for life. Through no fault of their own many educators, spouses and parents do not fully comprehend the new work world. Inadvertently they create additional pressures for those they are trying to help. For example, many parents feel their children are doing something wrong or failing somehow when they cannot secure a "permanent" job soon after finishing school.
In the career building paradigm the question, "What do you want to be when ?" is replaced by questions like:
"Not what, but who are you now, and what do you love to do?"
"What are your specials gifts and skills?"
"What types of organizations need what you can offer better than others?"
"What innovative work arrangements might work for you and potential employers?"
"People don't succeed by migrating to a "hot" industry. They thrive by focusing on who they really are - and connecting that to work that they truly love (and, by doing so, unleashing a productive and creative power that they never imagined). Companies win when they engage the hearts and minds of individuals who are dedicated to answering their life question."(12)
Tests won't answer people's life questions, and certified professionals are not needed to ask them. The career management paradigm puts control in the hands of individual career managers, not tests, computer systems or specialists. Yet to be in control, people need to learn a set of career management skills the same way they learn math, science, communications or technical skills.
The workplace of the knowledge era is a radically different place at the beginning of the 21st century than that of the 20th century. 97 percent of Canadian businesses have fewer than 50 employees. 750,000 have fewer than 5 employees.(13) Self-employment, particularly among aging baby boomers, is growing. Even in larger organizations, the notions of self-employment and working for customers and clients have replaced working for a boss. Doing what you are told and following established procedures is now balanced with encouragement to invent new solutions to getting the job done and better serving customers and clients. Just being responsible for your job has been replaced by pressure to be a good team player and help the team continuously learn and improve. Respect used to be accorded to position. It is now earned by people, at any level in the organization, on the basis of their contribution, commitment to learning and growing and their willingness to help others improve.
The following terms(14) represent concept shifts, not just "vernacular du jour." They are occurring at different rates in different regions and sectors of society, but they are indicative of a global career management paradigm shift.
Old Paradigm | New Paradigm |
General | |
Office | Virtual space |
Success = career ladder | Success = valued skills |
Authority | Influence |
Entitlement | Marketability |
Loyalty to company | Loyalty to work and self |
Salaries and benefits | Contracts and fees |
Job security | Personal freedom and control |
Identity = job, position, occupation | Identity = life circumstances and contribution to work, family, community |
Attention to bosses and managers | Attention to clients and customers |
Employees | Vendors, entrepreneurs, team members |
Private Sector/Employers | |
Social Contract | At-Will Workforce |
Mass Production | Customization |
Industry Knowledge | Consumer Pull |
Cost Reduction | Revenue Growth |
Vertical Integration | Outsourcing |
Incumbent Workers | Contingent Workers |
Retail Stores | "E-tailing" |
Bureaucratic organization | Shared Vision and Mission |
Local Labour Supply | Global Labour Competition |
Jobs as Continuous Duty | Project Orientation |
Job Security | Employment Resilience |
Job Description | Task/Duty Statements |
Public Sector/Education | |
Entitlement | Personal Responsibility |
Employment Service | One Stop Co-Location Centers |
Worker Training | Work First-Welfare Reform |
Job Qualifications | Skills Standards |
Occupational Titles | Skills Clusters |
Diploma or Degree | Skill Certification |
Degree Attainment | Non-linear Perpetual Learning |
Recruitment | Informed Choice |
Academic Calendar | Open entry/Open exit |
Semester Courses | Discrete Learning Events |
Carnegie Unit/Seat Time | Competency Demonstration |
Bricks and Mortar | Distance Learning |
School Teacher | Learning Coach |
Career Guidance | Career Development/ Building/ Management |
Process/Peer Review | Outcomes/External Evaluation |
Mainframe Computers | Internet Connectivity |
Keepers of Knowledge | Democratization of Knowledge |
As technologies and skill requirements change, demand for workers changes. Workers need to be able to follow occupational and industrial trends, observe where job growth or decline is likely to happen and position themselves to adjust to the trends. The fastest growing category of companies is the smallest ones, which have the greatest failure rate. Larger companies are being merged, downsized, split up, re-engineered, or bought out. Job security is no longer a given for anyone at any level in any organization, and it has become an individual matter. Workers need to prepare themselves for periodic job loss and the inevitable loss of income.(15)
The very notion of "job" is shifting dramatically. In most contemporary settings those who say "That's not my job!" won't have a job for long! Workers are increasingly seeking meaning, purpose and fulfillment from their work roles, not just pay cheques. Career is increasingly being viewed as something every human has, for a lifetime.(16) The concept "occupation" is an anachronism in many industry sectors, yet it remains the cornerstone of career information systems and databases, guidance processes and post-secondary education and training offerings. "Work is now defined not by occupational titles or categories, but by skills and values. Effective career builders know how to shape and build their careers project by project. This is a new competency, still largely unrecognized by most adults in the workforce."(17)
Increasingly it's okay, even desirable, to have one's "eggs in more than one basket." More and more people are getting more satisfaction, stimulation, respect, money and freedom by brokering portions of their time and skills to multiple organizations in creative new work "packages." Security derives from the knowledge that if one "job" ends abruptly, others are still in place. As companies do not pay benefits and can initiate and terminate contracts easily, they are willing to pay more. ("We can pay you $500 per day for 10 days every three months, but we can't offer you a full-time job"). If they deliver reliable, high quality service, self-employed people often find more and more employers want more and more of their time. To succeed, self-employed workers in atypical, contract work arrangements need to have specialized skills, be aware of their value to specific employers, and be capable of marketing themselves effectively. This demands a high level of self-knowledge and self-confidence, both of which are career management skills.
The more education and skills a person has, the greater the likelihood of securing work, earning a good income, and remaining employed. High school dropouts have an unemployment rate of more than 18 percent, compared with 7 percent for those with a university degree.(18) Over the next five years, occupations that require less than high school education will account for less than 6 percent of new job opportunities. More than 70 percent of new jobs will require at least some postsecondary education.(19) The main activity of 61 percent of respondents in a recent British Columbia survey in their first year after high school was attending school full time or part time.(20) Thus, 39 percent were rejecting advice from "the system," or from their parents. Nearly half of the students who go to post-secondary programs after high school either change programs or drop out by the end of their first year.
Society expects people to select an occupational goal then pursue the prerequisite education and training. While preparing to enter the workforce they are graded on acquisition of academic and technical skills, not career management skills, despite constant pleas from employers to teach "employability skills." While academic and technical qualifications open doors, life and career management skills largely determine selection, success and advancement.(21) (22) Job seekers who market themselves as skilled in narrow occupational specialties do themselves a disservice. Those who can describe the skills they bring to an organization to help it achieve long-term success, in whatever combination of roles, are in greater demand.(23) The key in the workplace as in life is not just finding the right job, friend or life partner, it's becoming the right worker, friend or life partner.
"Increasingly, career development is about leadership. It's about the personal leadership required to take action, take risks and learn new skills. It's also about the leadership required to help others develop, grow and learn. Creating things that don't yet exist is now part of career development, not just choosing among existing options. Preparedness for an environment that does not yet exist is key to adaptability, and leadership - therefore, it's key to career management."(24)
Over the past quarter century disparities in earnings from employment have widened. The well paid have experienced earnings gains, while market incomes at the low end of the spectrum have stagnated or even declined. Almost two million adult Canadians work for less that $10 an hour - about one in six employed people. These jobs do not pay enough to support a family, yet workers face barriers to advancing their incomes. Workplace barriers occur because employers concentrate more on controlling payroll costs than on productivity growth and development of skills.(25) The prevalent assumption that money is the shortest route to freedom and happiness is flawed, as so many stressed professionals have discovered. In fact "the shortest route to the good life involves building the confidence that you can live happily within your means"(26) while doing work you truly love - whatever it pays.
The new career management paradigm recognizes that career development is a life-long process of skill acquisition and building through a continuum of learning, development and mastery. This process enables people to be in charge of their own careers, having enough focus and direction for stability and enough flexibility and adaptability to allow for change along the way. Career management does not seek to help people make the "right" choice the first time. It equips them to make good choices, time after time, year after year, for the rest of their lives. The aim is to help people become self-reliant, allowing them to provide for themselves and their families, and to contribute positively to our ever-changing workforce. Failure to meet these changing needs for more Canadians will be costly. In fact, it already is.
Many workers go through their entire working lives without focus or direction, and without learning career management skills. They fall into the work they do or make do with whatever is available. For them, the old paradigm has not worked. They are spending 50 percent of their conscious lives in inappropriate work settings. This impacts the other 50 percent of their non-sleep hours. Wherever there is a mismatch between workers' strengths, the nature of the work and current labour force needs there are problems. These workers either stay on the job, unsatisfied and going through the motions, or leave. In both cases, there is a loss of productivity and a waste of human capital, whether measured in training costs or unrealized human potential. Investment by both the public and private sectors yields an unacceptable return. The fallout from gaps between people's skills and workforce needs includes enormous costs in social spending: on education, health care, social services, protection and correctional services, and more. Equally staggering is the loss of revenue to employers and governments.
For businesses and for our economy productivity is the key to competitiveness. Canada relies on the productivity of its workers to keep us competitive in the global marketplace. If we increase our productivity, our entire economy and social structure benefit. If productivity slips we all lose, and pay for loosing.
Variability in employee productivity influences the economics of an organization. Employers who can select more congruent (right person in the right job) employees from a better applicant pool have a distinct advantage over their competitors. After conducting a meta-analysis of 85 years of research on personnel selection, Schmidt and Hunter (in press) conclude that person-job congruence benefits the worker, the company, and the nation.(27) In Po Bronson's words, "We are sitting on a huge potential boom in productivity - if we could just get the square pegs out of the round holes."(28)
Canada's annualized Gross Domestic Product as of the second quarter of 2002 was $1,138.2 billion.(29) A 1 percent increase in productivity would result in an increase of over $11 billion in goods and services in 2002. Better mechanisms for helping people connect with work roles they like and in which they excel would have profound ramifications for Canadian society. A modest 1 percent increase in productivity through better matching of individual Canadians' skills and workforce requirements could generate as much as $10 billion annually in increased gross domestic production. What if, over time, we could achieve a 5 or 10 percent increase in productivity, or more, across the country? Any gain would favourably impact Canada's international balance of payments and would be felt in standard of living improvements in communities from coast-to-coast.
$64.1 billion(30) was invested by all levels of government in Canada in the past year on primary, secondary and post-secondary education. Too many students are floundering or unsure why they are learning what they are learning. Many more cannot decide what programs they should be in. Many change programs, underachieve or drop out. Some extend their education because they are reluctant to move on. Most students do not fully understand the diversity of work roles for which the academic and technical skills they are acquiring are suitable. Not enough students are acquiring and mastering the skills of personal management, work and learning exploration, and career management they will need to complement their academic skills in becoming self-reliant career managers beyond graduation. Effective career management programs would help youth develop these skills and gain greater focus and direction. While we might hope to do better, even a 1 percent increase in efficiencies though having more students learning what they are motivated to learn translates to potential savings of $600 million annually.
Those who are unemployed or in work roles they dislike are subject to increased stress, have increased likelihood of unhealthy lifestyles, and may be more prone to substance and physical abuse. Good jobs foster mental health whereas poor jobs cause distress (Loscocco & Roschelle, 1991).(31) For instance, in a September 2002 Ipsos-Reid survey for the Globe and Mail and CTV(32), one in six Canadians surveyed (17%) said there has been a time in their life when they've been under so much stress that they've wanted to commit suicide. As for what the main causes of stress in Canadians' lives are, their job or work (43%) and their finances (39%), were the most cited in the same survey.
Over $76.9 billion(33) was invested by all levels of government in Canada in the past year on health care. If only 1 percent of the people now availing themselves of health care services require them directly or indirectly as a result of inability to find and maintain suitable work, nearly $800 million annually could be saved. If the actual percentage is higher, say a modest 5 percent, this equates to $4 billion annually. Some or all of this could be invested in improved health care services for all citizens.
In societies committed to improving living standards for all citizens, the term "social inclusion" has received increased attention in recent years. To be included is to be accepted and to be able to participate fully within our families, our communities and our society. Those who are excluded, whether because of poverty, poor health, gender, race, or lack of education or skills, do not have the opportunity for full participation in the economic and social benefits of society.
Anna Diamantopoulou, European Union Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, points out that social inclusion makes good economic sense. Her Commission estimates that social exclusion costs between 12% and 20% of the GDP of the European Union member states. If the Canadian situation is similar, these percentages would translate to Canadian social exclusion costs of $136 to $228 billion annually. The EU regards the fight against social exclusion as a worthwhile investment and has committed 27 billion euros to the Social Fund for the period from 2000-2006.(34)
$113 billion(35) was invested by all levels of government in Canada in the past year on social services, including social assistance and welfare. Inability to locate and maintain suitable and fulfilling learning and work opportunities is a contributing factor for some recipients. Significant savings could accrue if more citizens possessed the skills they need to self-reliantly plan and manage their careers and constructively address change. For example, a modest 1 percent saving on these expenditures would save over $1 billion annually.
Over $15 billion(36) was invested by all levels of government in Canada in the past year on "protection of persons and property," including policing, prisons and correctional services. One might expect that a contributing factor in the case of some law-breakers and detainees is their inability to connect with appropriate life and work roles. A 1 percent improvement in helping more of these youth and adults acquire career management skills, become hopeful about their future and achieve increased self-reliance, could generate savings of $150 million annually.
Over $432 billion(38) was collected by all levels of government in Canada in the past year in income taxes (individual and corporate), property taxes, consumption taxes, health premiums, social insurance contributions, etc. If more Canadians were able to connect with steady work roles they consider appropriate, all levels of government could anticipate increased revenues. A 1 percent improvement here would generate over $4 billion annually in increased government revenues. A 5 percent improvement would yield a $20 billion annual windfall for all levels of government.
The ability of Canadians to make effective connections to meaningful work is the underpinning of improvement in each of these areas. Excellent career information and mastery of career management skills can help them make these connections. If even a small percentage of Canadians increase their mastery of career management skills, the savings can be enormous. Consider the impact on the Canadian economy and society of freeing up that amount of money, no matter how it might be redirected!
How do we attain the improvements suggested above and the savings that come with them? Some of the necessary tools are already in place. What is needed is a concerted effort to use the tools now in place effectively and in concert with each other, to increase understanding of the necessity of this paradigm shift, and to help as many Canadians as possible increase their mastery of career management skills. We need programs and resources that are based on clear career management learning and performance outcomes, and that are accountable to those who fund them. We need a means by which career practitioners, counsellors, educators and human resources specialists can easily select resources based on the outcomes they want to achieve with their clients and the skills they wish to build. We need a common map or framework of career management skills to see the linkages, or overlaps, between programs, and to identify gaps in existing programs and services. We need a common language of career management so there is no ambiguity or confusion among career practitioners, employment counsellors, educators and HR people, or between them and the public. We need a new, national career management culture.
Pioneering work on a national career management skills framework began in the United States in 1988, under the leadership of the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (NOICC) and its network of 58 State Occupational Information Coordinating Committees (SOICCs). The process of adapting what became the U.S. National Career Development Guidelines for Canada began in 1998, lead by the National Life/Work Centre [2] in concert with the Canada Career Information Partnership [3], with support from Human Resources Development Canada. The result is Canada's Blueprint for Life/Work Designs. Thousands of American and Canadian career practitioners, employment counsellors, educators, human resources specialists and researchers have spent fourteen years developing, piloting, evaluating, revising and implementing this North American career management skills framework.
The Blueprint identifies core competencies with associated performance indicators for each competency at four developmental levels across the lifespan. The core competencies are the basis upon which career development programs can be designed. The performance indicators, which are organized by learning stages, can be used to measure learning gains and demonstrate the effectiveness of such programs.
Competencies and performance indicators are arranged under three key headings:
Area A: Personal Management | ||
1. | Build and maintain a positive self-image | |
2. | Interact positively and effectively with others | |
3. | Change and grow throughout ones' life | |
Area B: Learning and Work Exploration | ||
4. | Participate in life-long learning supportive of life/work goals | |
5. | Locate and effectively use life/work information | |
6. | Understand the relationship between work and society/economy | |
Area C: Life/Work Building | ||
7. | Secure or create and maintain work | |
8. | Make life/work enhancing decisions | |
9. | Maintain balanced life and work roles | |
10. | Understand the changing nature of life and work roles | |
11. | Understand, engage in and manage one's own life/work building process |
These competencies include the employability skills employer groups suggest are lacking in too many prospective employees, particularly youth. In fact, because work habits and attitudes strongly influence early adult earnings, educational and training programs should emphasize work behaviours as much as they emphasize job skills(39). Self-reliance grows out of the acquisition of these skills. The Blueprint recognizes that people at different ages and stages learn differently, and that even young children can learn and appreciate the Blueprint competencies. In fact, we know that attitudes toward work are formed early in life, so workforce and vocational guidance policy should take a developmental perspective. Vocational psychologists such as Super, Crites, Gribbons, and Lohnes have each concluded from their longitudinal studies that planful competence in early adolescence relates to more realistic educational and vocational choices, occupational success, and career progress.(40) For this reason, the Blueprint's core competencies are defined for four developmental levels:
Level 1: | Primary/Elementary School | |
Level 2: | Junior High/Middle School | |
Level 3: | High School | |
Level 4: | Adult, including Post-secondary |
There are performance indicators for each competency, at each level, organized by "learning stages." For example, the performance indicators for Competency 5 at Level 3 are:
Competency 5 - Level 3 (High School) |
|||
Locate, interpret, evaluate and use life/work information | |||
Learning stage a: Acquisition | |||
5.3 a1 | Explore the educational and training requirements of various work roles. | ||
5.3 a2 | Discover how key personnel in selected work roles could become ideal information resources and/or role models. | ||
5.3 a3 | Explore how trends and work opportunities in various economic/industry sectors impact the nature and structure of work roles. | ||
5.3 a4 | Explore how employment and workplace trends impact education and training scenarios. | ||
5.3 a5 | Understand how a variety of factors (e.g., supply and demand for workers, demographic changes, environmental conditions, geographic location) impact work opportunities. | ||
5.3 a6 | Understand how labour market information (profiles, statistics, etc.) should be used when making life and work decisions. | ||
5.3 a7 | Explore a variety of work alternatives (e.g., full employment, multi-tracking, contracting, consulting, self-employment, entrepreneurship). | ||
Learning Stage b: Application | |||
5.3 b1 | Use career information resources such as career monographs, occupation classifications systems, labour market information, mass media, computer and Internet-based career information delivery systems to educate oneself to the realities and requirements of various work roles. | ||
5.3 b2 | Consult key personnel in selected work roles as information resources, role models and/or mentors. | ||
Learning Stage c: Personalization | |||
5.3 c1 | Determine, according to one's preferences, the advantages and disadvantages of various work alternatives (e.g., full employment, multi-tracking, contracting, consulting, self-employment, entrepreneurship). | ||
5.3 c2 | Assess life/work information and evaluate its impact on one's life/work decisions. | ||
Learning Stage d: Actualization | |||
5.3 d1 | Improve one's strategies to locate, interpret, evaluate and use life/work information. |
The Blueprint provides the basis for setting the learning outcomes, establishing performance standards, and measuring success in any public or private sector agency in the career development business in Canada. It's a foundation piece of the new career management paradigm, and implementation is well underway.
Many provincial and territorial ministries of education, human resources and employment, community services and others across Canada are adopting the Blueprint as the foundation of their career management programs or imbedding its competencies into their own guidelines. Career resources, programs, curricula and services from public and private sector organizations, large and small, are being coded to the Blueprint competencies and performance indicators. Blueprint Orientation and Leadership Sessions [4] are being offered across Canada to develop local Blueprint Facilitators to teach educators, career and employment counsellors and human resources specialists to make effective use of the Blueprint and its support materials.
Many individuals and organizations across Canada are contributing to the new career management paradigm in different ways. For example, the Conference Board of Canada's Employability Skills 2000, Human Resources Development Canada's Essential Skills [5], and the Workinfonet [6] national partnership of career, learning and labour market information Internet gateway sites are making important contributions to the needed paradigm shift. The Canada Career Consortium [7], Industry Sector Councils [8], Canada Career Information Partnership [3], Career Circuit [9], Canadian Career Development Foundation [10], National Life/Work Centre [2] and others are as well. The National Career Development Standards and Guidelines for Career Practitioners [11] contributes a complementary competency framework for career and employment counsellors and career practitioners. The Real Game Series [12], now in thousands of schools from coast-to coast, provides national curriculum to teach career management skills in educational and community settings across Canada. The Blueprint provides a map of the career management terrain by which these and many other contributions of large and small, public and private sector organizations across Canada can be plotted and tracked.
School-to-work transition and workforce development initiatives fail too many Canadians because career management skills do not receive the curricular focus that academic and technical skills receive. Career theorists provide clear and unequivocal evidence to demonstrate the need to imbed career management skills in all education and training programs and services designed to help Canadians succeed in the employment market of the future. Implementing career-relevant programs that integrate the Blueprint career management skills and accountability procedures will:
The OECD applauds Canada's approach in its current 14-country Career Guidance Policy Review [13]. After visiting Canada from July 2nd to July 10th, 2002 the OECD reviewers noted:
In all of these respects, Canada is widely recognized as being a world leader, a position endorsed and reinforced by the two recent international symposia on career development and public policy (funded by Human Resources Development Canada and managed and coordinated by the Canadian Career Development Foundation)."
Momentum for the career management paradigm shift is growing among government
departments, educational leaders, community agencies, business owners, career
and employment counsellors, and human resource specialists. Their support
will help close the gap between workers' skills and employment opportunities,
with the attendant economic savings made
available to stimulate and sustain this nation's prosperity. With more concerted
effort in developing, implementing and evaluating the proposed career management
skills agenda, together we can help citizens achieve self-reliance and empowerment
in their careers, focus and direction in their current employment, and satisfaction
and control in their lives.
1) Human Resources Development Canada, Knowledge Matters: Skills and Learning for Canadians, 2002, pp. 7-8.
2) Ibid., pp. 13-19, 25-32, 37-43, 49-53.
3) Government of Canada, Speech from the Throne, September 30, 2002
4) Dr. Bruce Cassie, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
5) The Author is grateful to many people, but in particular: Yves Boutot, National Life/Work Centre, Fredericton; Dr. Bruce Cassie, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, North Bay, Ontario; Susan Deruelle, Nova Scotia Community Services, Sydney; Nova Scotia; Rich Froeschle, Texas Career Resource Network, Austin, Texas; Robert Goguen, National Life/Work Centre, Montreal, Québec; Dale Gullekson, Elk Island School Division, Edmonton, Alberta; Helen Hackett, Arcadia Works, Ottawa, Ontario; Vicki King, California Career Resource Network, Sacramento, California; Carol Kososki, South Carolina Occupational Information Coordinating Committee, Columbia, South Carolina; Paul Lukaszek, BC Ministry of Education, Victoria, British Columbia; Marie Lapointe, National Life/Work Centre, Ottawa, Ontario; Dr. Roberta Neault, Life Strategies Ltd, Coquitlam, British Columbia; Juliette Noone-Lester, formerly ED of the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee, Washington, D.C.; Dave Redekopp, Life Role Development Group, Edmonton, Alberta; Gunter Rochow, CAPRA International, Cumberland, Ontario; Mark Savickas, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown, Ohio; Rob Straby, Life Works by Design, Elora, Ontario; Lee Wallace, Car-Ed Consulting, Ottawa, Ontario; Dr. Tony Watts, OECD. Paris, France; Jessi Zielke, BC Career Education Society, Vancouver, British Columbia.
6) Government of Canada, Speech from the Throne, September 30, 2002
7) Alberta Learning (1999). What Works: Career Building Strategies for Special Needs Groups.
8) Krumboltz, J.D., & Worthington, R.L. (1999). The School-to-Work Transition From a Learning Theory Perspective. The Career Development Quarterly, 47, 312-325.
9) Human Resources Development Canada, Knowledge Matters: Skills and Learning for Canadians, 2002, pp. 7-8.
10) Froeschle, R. (2003). Cost of Market Indecision: The Economic Effects of Insufficient Career Information, Texas Workforce Commission, Career Development Resources, Austin, Texas (forthcoming).
11) Alberta Human Resources and Employment, What Works: Career Building Strategies for Special Needs Groups, 1999.
12) Po Bronson, "What Should I do With My Life? The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question." Random House, January 2003.
13) Dr. Sam Shaw, President, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, The Role of Education: Building a World-Class Work Force, Edmonton, September 2002.
14) The author wishes to acknowledge the contributions of R. Froeschle, Texas Workforce Commission; Dr. D. Redekopp, Life Role Development Group; and Dr. R. Straby, Life Works by Design to this list of terms.
15) Carlson, B., After Career Development, What? Office of vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C., 2002.
16) Gysbers, N.C. (1997). Involving Counseling Psychology in the School-to-Work Movement: An Idea Whose Time Has Come. The Counseling Psychologist, 25(3), 413-427.
17) Straby, R, Life Works by Design, Elora, 2002.
18) Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, 2001.
19) Applied Research Branch, Human Resources Development Canada, Job Futures (2000) World of Work: Overviews and Trends.
20) BC Ministry of Education, 2002 High School Graduate Transition Study.
21) Krumboltz, J.D., & Worthington, R.L. (1999). The School-to-Work Transition From a Learning Theory Perspective. The Career Development Quarterly, 47, 312-325.
22) Worthington, R.L., & Juntunen, C.L. (1997). The Vocational Development of Non-College-Bound Youth: Counseling Psychology and the School-to-Work Transition Movement. The Counseling Psychologist, 25(3), 323-363.
23) Worthington, R.L., & Juntunen, C.L. (1997). The Vocational Development of Non-College-Bound Youth: Counseling Psychology and the School-to-Work Transition Movement. The Counseling Psychologist, 25(3), 323-363.
24) Redekopp, D., Ph.D., Life Role Development Group, Edmonton, 2002.
25) Maxwell, Judith, Smart Social Policy - "Making Work Pay," Canadian Policy Research Networks, Ottawa, 2002.
26) Po Bronson, "What Should I do With My Life? The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question." Random House, January 2003.
27) Savickas, M, 14 Facts Career Specialists Could Assert in Debates about Public Policy Regarding Workforce Development and Career Guidance, For International Career Development Policy/Practice Symposium participants, Vancouver, May 2002.
28) Po Bronson, "What Should I do With My Life? The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question." Random House, January 2003.
29) Statistics Canada, CANSIM II, Economic Indicators - Canada, August 2002
30) Statistics Canada, CANSIM II, Consolidated federal, provincial, territorial and local government revenue and expenditure, August 2002
31) Savickas, M, 14 Facts Career Specialists Could Assert in Debates about Public Policy Regarding Workforce Development and Career Guidance, For International Career Development Policy/Practice Symposium participants, Vancouver, May 2002.
32) Canadians and Stress: A Special Report, Ipsos-Reid, September 2002
33) Statistics Canada, CANSIM II, Consolidated federal, provincial, territorial and local government revenue and expenditure, August 2002
34) Anna Diamantopoulou, European Commissioner responsible for Employment and Social Affairs, EC News, Lexis-Nexis database, Commission of the European Communities, 2000.
35) Statistics Canada, CANSIM II, Consolidated federal, provincial, territorial and local government revenue and expenditure, August 2002
36) Statistics Canada, CANSIM II, Consolidated federal, provincial, territorial and local government revenue and expenditure, August 2002
37) Human Resources Development Canada, Performance Report, Page 28, March 31, 2001
38) Statistics Canada, CANSIM II, Consolidated federal, provincial, territorial and local government revenue and expenditure, August 2002
39) Savickas, M, 14 Facts Career Specialists Could Assert in Debates about Public Policy Regarding Workforce Development and Career Guidance, For International Career Development Policy/Practice Symposium participants, Vancouver, May 2002.
Blueprint for Life/Work Designs (http://www.blueprint4life.ca [1])
National Life/Work Centre (http://www.lifework.ca [14])
Canada Career Information Partnership (http://www.ccip-picc.org [15])
Blueprint Orientation and Leadership Sessions (http://new.blueprint4life.ca/leadership.cfm [4])
Human Resources Development Canada's Essential Skills (http://www15.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/english/es.asp [5])
Workinfonet (http://www.workinfonet.ca/ [6])
Canada Career Consortium (http://www.careerccc.org/ [7])
Industry Sector Councils (http://www.councils.org/ [8])
Canada Career Information Partnership (http://www.ccip-picc.org/ [3])
Career Circuit (http://www.thecircuit.org/ [9])
Canadian Career Development Foundation (http://ccdf.ca/ [10])
National Life/Work Centre (http://www.lifework.ca/ [2])
National Career Development Standards and Guidelines for Career Practitioners (http://ccdf.ca/CCDF_Standards.html [11])
The Real Game Series (http://www.realgame.ca/ [12])
Career Guidance Policy Review (http://www.oecd.org/els/education/careerguidance [13])
Links
[1] http://www.blueprint4life.ca
[2] http://www.lifework.ca/
[3] http://www.ccip-picc.org/
[4] http://new.blueprint4life.ca/leadership.cfm
[5] http://www15.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/english/es.asp
[6] http://www.workinfonet.ca/
[7] http://www.careerccc.org/
[8] http://www.councils.org/
[9] http://www.thecircuit.org/
[10] http://ccdf.ca/
[11] http://ccdf.ca/CCDF_Standards.html
[12] http://www.realgame.ca/
[13] http://www.oecd.org/els/education/careerguidance
[14] http://www.lifework.ca
[15] http://www.ccip-picc.org