The Latest from Career Cruising Career Cruising Thu, 20 December 2012 09:53:00 Thu, 20 December 2012 09:53:00 Matt McQuillen https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/12/cc-20-rollout-underway!/ Thank you all for your patience. Over the past week we have continued to test, poke and prod our new CC 2.0 release. So far, everything looks great! So…we are beginning the phased rollout. As of this morning, 200 sites now have access to cc 2.0. As we monitor performance, we will continue to add sites at a pace that ensures stability. A couple of items of note: All our clients will continue to have the option to access CC 1.0 until the end of June, 2013. Clients with access to CC 2.0 will be able to access both the CC 1.0 and CC 2.0 versions. Demo access to CC 2.0 is now available for all educators and career advisors. Contact your Client Account Manager for details. For those of you who are using CC 2.0, we welcome your feedback. If you have any comments, please send us an email at feedback@careercruising.com . On behalf of the entire Career Cruising team, wishing you all the best during the holiday season and the New Year! https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/12/cc-20-rollout-underway!/ Thu, 20 December 2012 09:53:00 Sean Aiken https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/11/1-man,-1-year,-52-jobs-taking-the-leap,-discovering-your-passion!/ My toes creep over the edge of the metal bridge to which I’m attached only by a thick elastic bungee chord. “How did I get into this situation?” I think to myself. “Oh yeah, passion,” I nervously determine, trying to build up my courage to step off the perfectly safe bridge. “To find a career I love. Gotta try new things. Gotta take the leap.” The bridge spans a river canyon. I glimpse towards the mountains on either side covered in old growth forest and rugged basalt column cliffs. For a moment, I forget my current reality lost in appreciation of the beauty that surrounds me. The countdown of the cheering crowd, who wants nothing more than to see me jump, jolts me back to the task at hand. I peer past my toes. The river, 160ft below, eagerly awaits my descent. Two years earlier, I’d struggled with a different leap. Having recently graduated with a Business Administration degree from Capilano University, I found myself tormented by the ultimate question: “What should I do with my life?”I scoured various job boards and flipped through newspaper classifieds – all the different industries and ambiguous job titles sounded cool enough, but I had no clue what the jobs would actually be like. I thought back to the advice my dad gave me in my senior year at university. “Sean, it doesn’t matter what you do; just make sure it’s something you’re passionate about. I’ve been alive for nearly sixty years and have yet to find something I’m passionate about besides your mother.” Sage advice we often hear, but what we don’t often hear is how we can find our passion. My idea was to start what I’d call The One-Week Job Project (www.oneweekjob.com). My goal: to work 52 jobs in 52 weeks to find my passion. The first day of my first job, I found myself about to jump off a 160-foot bridge as a Bungee Jump Operator at Whistler Bungee in Whistler, British Columbia. During my 52 weeks, I trekked more than 46,000 miles, slept on 55 couches, raised over $20,000 for charity, and tried every job I could: Baker, Teacher, Real Estate Agent, Advertising Executive, Hollywood Producer, NHL Mascot, Radio DJ, and more. Wherever I could find work, I’d go there, find a couch to crash on and immerse myself in whatever profession was at hand. And then I’d move on. The media covered the story extensively. The New York Times, The Rachael Ray Show, Good Morning America, CNN, 20/20, Time, CBC, MTV and countless other outlets around the world. Yahoo.com sent over 30,000 visitors to the website OneWeekJob.com in under an hour (crashing the server in the process).  I admit, my idea was a little wacky, especially when compared with the traditional route: Go to school, get a job, buy stuff, start a family, buy more stuff, retire. But far more wacky is the number of people who get out of bed in the morning and absolutely dread going to work because they hate their jobs. I was trying to avoid that fate. I wanted to find something that I’d love. Something that I’d gladly spend forty hours of my life doing each week and that would allow me to pay the bills. Whether this was possible or simply the unrealistic hope of an inexperienced, idealistic twenty-something, I wasn’t sure. But I worried this same hope could easily become regret if I didn’t find out for myself. And so, I did just that. I soon realized that I wasn’t the only one kept up at night struggling to decide what I wanted to do with my life. Thousands of people began following my journey, looking for inspiration in their own lives. College students were relieved to find others uncertain of their careers. Baby boomers wrote how they'd found the courage to change their jobs, or go back to school and discover their passions once again. We often hear people complaining about their jobs - how much they hate waking up each morning and going to work or how they can’t wait for the weekend to come. Albeit in today’s economy, most are happy to simply have a job. But, whether in dire or prosperous economic times, how do we find a career we love? I’ve learned that oftentimes a leap is required. Not many jobs require we jump off a 160-foot bridge attached with an elastic chord, but in order to truly find a career that we are passionate about, some concessions are required - we must be willing to step outside of our comfort zone, take risks, and try new things. We must be willing to take a leap. Launching the One-Week Job project was my leap into the working world, the “real world” so to speak. Each week I put myself in unfamiliar situations, continually operated out of my comfort zone and was presented with new challenges and increased uncertainty. As a result, I’ve been able to learn what I need in a career to be happy. I’ve seen myself grow and develop in ways I would never previously have thought possible. In the past where I may have avoided situations that required I step outside my comfort zone, now I suddenly find myself seeking them out. Now I simply view them as another opportunity to overcome my fears and learn something new. I think that many succumb to a fear of failure and the inevitable uncertainty that accompanies risk. When there is a family to feed and a mortgage to pay, I imagine many feel they can’t afford such a risk. As a result, we elect for the safe routine where we are not asked to challenge ourselves and know exactly what is expected of us. It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there with an uncertain future ahead and I am sure we all know the associated feeling very well; whether it resulted from a career decision, a relationship, moving out of the house, taking that trip around the world or any other situation which requires us to step outside of our comfort zone. It is a leap many are not willing to take and so end up choosing to settle into comfortable, secure positions that we may or may not be happy with. Yet, I think it is important to remember it is in these situations of uncertainty that we learn the most about ourselves and are provided with the opportunity to uncover our true potential. And if it doesn’t work out as planned, life will often times give us a second chance. I’ve met thousands of people since I began The One-Week Job Project; I’ve never met anyone who regrets pursuing his or her passion. They may not have ended up exactly where they thought they would, but it led them to uncover different opportunities they would have never otherwise explored. Most held a humble confidence with their life – creators of their destiny, captain of their ship, comforted with the reassurance that they will never be haunted by the question, “What if?”   Back on the bridge, I gaze behind me at the energetic crowd, smile and give thumbs up, then turn back to the raging river below. I take a deep breath and check my harness one last time. “I’ve put this off much too long,” I think to myself. “Ready or not, it’s time to take the leap.” ----- ABOUT SEAN AIKEN Sean graduated from Capilano University with a degree in Business Administration. At the top of his class, with a 4.0 cumulative GPA, he was voted the class valedictorian. He started the One-Week Job project in February 2007, at age twenty-five, and finished his 52 weeks in March 2008. His book, The One-Week Job Project: 1 Man, 1 Year, 52 Jobs, was published by Random House USA and Penguin Books Canada. Sean frequently speaks about what he learned from his experience and is currently developing a program to empower others to discover their passion by taking on a series of “one week jobs”. He currently lives in Vancouver, Canada. Contact him at: www.oneweekjob.com https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/11/1-man,-1-year,-52-jobs-taking-the-leap,-discovering-your-passion!/ Wed, 07 November 2012 10:56:00 Roshni Patel https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/11/career-cruising-20-les-détails/ En décembre, Career Cruising dévoilera un nouveau look. Bien que le contenu inspirant et engageant  se poursuivra plusieurs nouvelles fonctionnalités se sont ajoutées afin d’améliorer de façon transparente votre expérience! Voici ce que notre chef de la direction, Matt McQuillen avait à dire au sujet du lancement de CC 2.0 et comment exactement nos clients seront affectés. 1)  Qu’est-ce qui va changer dans Career Cruising? Au début, l’emphase du programme a été l’exploration – si on parle de la recherche d’une carrière, d’un programme de formation ou de la réalisation d’une évaluation, tout le processus était centré sur l’exploration et la découverte. Au fil du temps, notre emphase a changé vers la préparation des Portfolios ou des plans d’apprentissage individuels.  Essentiellement, nous avons un élément de Career Cruising, le Portfolio, qui est devenu le centre du programme, mais la navigation du programme restait centrée sur l’exploration. Une grande partie de la refonte est de mettre le portfolio, maintenant nommé  « Mon plan » au milieu de l’action pour l’utilisateur.  Ceci veut dire qu’une fois connectée, la première chose que l’utilisateur va voir en haut de la page à gauche est une menu de navigation pour leur portfolio.  Ils vont voir aussi un tableau de bord qui montre le statut de leur plan – ce qu’ils ont fait et les taches qui restent à faire. Nous voyons deux effets secondaires avec ce changement d’emphase.  Premièrement, il est plus facile pour nous de guider les utilisateurs autour le program en les dirigeant vers les taches à compléter dans le programme.  Deuxièmement, nous pouvons personnaliser l’expérience, par exemple en les permettant de télécharger une photo qui apparait sur le menu de navigation en haut de la page. Un autre grand changement sera la convivialité du site – l’expérience de l’utilisateur. Il faut dire que notre interface doit être mise à jour. Afin d’assurer que le travail a été bien fait, nous avons travaillé avec Jet Cooper , une agence en expérience de l’utilisateur avec laquelle nous avons déjà travaillé pour préparer une conception humaniste que nos utilisateurs vont aimer.  Notre but a été de rendre le site très belle à regarder, incroyablement conviviale et très facile et un plaisir à utiliser. Nous croyons qu’avec l’aide de Jet Cooper, nous avons réussi. 2) Y-a-t’il de nouvelles fonctionnalités ?   Quelques unes. Les résultats des évaluations seront enregistrés automatiquement – une amélioration pour tout le monde qui a jamais oublié de le faire. La rédaction du portfolio est beaucoup plus rapide – sans la nécessité de rafraichir la page comme auparavant.  Ces types de conventions existent dans le site entier et rend le site plus intuitif pour les utilisateurs. De plus, nous avons introduit un nouveau processus pour la préparation d’un CV que nous pensons que nos utilisateurs vont apprécier. Surtout, avec cette refonte, nous visons à assurer que la fonctionnalité du site est transférée à la nouvelle conception.  Il faut noter qu’il y a des centaines des pages qui devaient être restructurées et transformées.  C’était un projet tellement difficile et je suis fière que notre équipe de développement ait réussi. 3) Quand est-ce que le site va changer?  (Il ne doit pas être une date fixe). Samedi le 8 décembre, le site sera place en mode de maintien, et à un moment donné nous allons faire le changement et la nouvelle refonte sera là. 4)  Est-ce que je dois réapprendre le programme? Oui, votre monde sera renversé. Je plaisante. La vérité est que nous avons mis le portfolio au milieu de l’action, mais la navigation du site n’a pas changé.  Il sera surprenant la première fois que nos utilisateurs entrent dans le site, mais ils n’auront aucun problème à trouver ce qu’ils cherchent.  Et, après environ 5 minutes d’utilisation du nouveau site, nous pensons qu’ils seront heureux avec ceux qu’ils voient. 5)  Qu’est ce qui restera le même sur Career Cruising La fonctionnalité du programme, sauf les changements déjà mentionnés, sera plus ou moins la même.  De plus, la navigation en générale est pareil, et surtout le contenu formidable. 6) Pourquoi est-ce que Career Cruising a senti que ces changements étaient nécessaires? Pendant les dernières quelques années, nous avons concentré sur la livraison de la fonctionnalité aux utilisateurs.  Ce faisant, l’interface est devenu un peu surcharge.  En même temps, la façon qu’on se sert de l’Internet et les attentes des utilisateurs ont évolué. Franchement, l’interface ne représentait ni la sophistication de nos utilisateurs ni les capacités de nos produits.  Maintes et maintes fois, nous avons entendu que les gens ne se rendent pas compte de tout ce que le programme pourrait faire. Nous voulions changer cela. Plutôt que de faire quelques changements, nous avons cru que la meilleure façon de satisfaire aux besoins de nos utilisateurs était de faire une rénovation complète qui établit une fondation pour les ajouts futurs au programme. 7) Que faire les gens qui ont des questions? Contacter leur gestionnaire des comptes clients avec toutes leurs questions. 8) Pourrez-vous partager des points intéressants du processus de développement?  Des collaborateurs excitants? Pour tout notre équipe de développement, y compris les concepteurs de Jet Cooper,  ce projet a été un travail incroyable, nous avons changé notre méthodologie de programmation, donc notre équipe devait apprendre à penser d’une façon différente pour la programmation et la gestion du site. Un autre aspect cool et que deux personnes qui ont créé le premier site web de Career Cruising en 1998, Te Thebeau et Cory Thomas, se joignaient à notre organisation cette année et ils jouaient un rôle instrumental à guider notre équipe à travers les changements. 9) Pourquoi vous avez hâte à annoncer cette refonte? Bien sur nous sommes très excités avec la nouvelle refonte.  C’est comme un nouveau jouet que vous avez hâte à partager avec vos amis. Mais c’est plus que cela comme il y a plus que ce que vous voyez sur l’écran.  L’intérieur et l’architecture du produit doit être révises.  Des nouvelles conventions en termes de pratiques et processus pour développement et conception ont été mis en place. Pourquoi nous l’avons fait?  Nous voulons établir un modèle de conception qui nous permet d’ajouter des nouvelles fonctionnalités plus rapidement à l’avenir. C’est cela qui sera l’achèvement endurant de la refonte. 10. Comment est-ce que la refonte affectera le travail sauvegardé des utilisateurs? Rien ne sera perdu et il n'y aura aucun changement au travail sauvegardé utilisateur. 11. Est-ce qu’on va perdre des fonctionnalités avec la refonte? Vous n’allez pas perdre des fonctionnalités.  Toutefois, certaines fonctionnalités disponibles dans le programme actuel ne seront pas prêtes au moment de la relance.  Les fonctionnalités sur lesquelles nous continuons à travailler qui seront disponible bientôt sont : Les versions imprimables des profils de carrière et d’écoles. 12. La nouvelle refonte, affecte-t-elle les exigences du système? •    Chrome est actuellement complètement compatible. •    Nous ne soutenons plus Internet Explore 6 et 7. IE 8 est compatible. •    Les versions anciennes de FireFox doivent être mises à jour 13. Quand allez-vous mettre à jour les documents utiles? Nous sommes en train de les mettre à jour et ils seront disponibles avec la relance 14.  Pourquoi introduire une nouvelle conception au milieu de l’année scolaire? Le lancement d’une nouvelle conception sera toujours un défi.  Nous croyons qu’une date au milieu de l’année nous permet d’être en contact avec nos clients afin d’assurer qu’ils sont conscients du changement au lieu de faire le lancement pendant l’été  et surprendre des utilisateurs au début de l’année scolaire. De plus, pour que nous puissions continuer sur notre chemin d’amélioration de Career Cruising, il est essential de compléter ce lancement pour que nous puissions commencer de nouveaux projets sur cette interface. 15. La refonte, affecte-t-elle l’Outil administratif du conseiller ou l’Outil régional? Non, pas pour le moment. Nous nous rendons compte que ces outils ont besoin d’une rénovation aussi, mais nous voulons donner une meilleure conception aux élèves aussitôt que possible. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/11/career-cruising-20-les-détails/ Thu, 29 November 2012 11:42:00 Roshni Patel https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/11/cc-20-experience-the-new-look!/ This December, Career Cruising will unveil a fresh new look. While the inspiring content and engaging features will continue, a number of new features have been added to seamlessly enhance users’ experience. Here’s what our CEO, Matt McQuillen had to say about the exciting launch of CC 2.0 and how exactly it will affect all of our clients.   1) What is going to change on Career Cruising? When we first created Career Cruising, the program centered around exploration.  Whether that was searching for a career, looking for a school or program, or taking an interest assessment, the entire process revolved around exploration and discovery. Over time more and more of the focus switched to users building portfolios or individualized learning plans. So basically what we saw was one element of Career Cruising, namely the portfolio, now becoming the focus of the program as a whole. But the navigation of the program, and the pathways for moving through the program, still revolved around the exploration and discovery model. So a big part of what the redesign is all about is putting the portfolio, which we now call “My Plan” front and center for the end-user. This means when a user logs in, the first thing they will see in the top left corner is a navigation option leading to their portfolio. They will also see a dashboard showing them the status of their plan, what they have completed, and what they still need to do. There are two very useful by-products of this shift in focus. First, it makes it much easier for us to help guide users through the program by directing them to different tasks to complete within Career Cruising. Second, we can personalize the experience in more meaningful ways, for example, by letting them upload a picture of themselves which is then carried throughout the application in the main navigation bar. Another big change, will be the overall look and feel of the website – the user experience. Suffice it to say that our existing interface needed to be updated. To make sure we got it right, we worked with Jet Cooper , a user experience agency  we had worked with before and who we trusted to deliver a beautiful and humanistic design that our users would love. The goal was to make the site beautiful to look at, incredibly user-friendly, easy to navigate and a pleasure to use. We believe, with Jet Cooper’s help, we have succeeded.   2) Are there any exciting new features?  A few. Auto-saving of assessments results will now occur which will be a big plus for anyone who in the past might have accidentally forgot to do so. Editing the content of your portfolio is now done in-line in very slick ways rather than requiring a page refresh which is how the site used to function. These kinds of conventions are carried right through the site and go a long way to making the site much more intuitive for end users. As well, we have introduced an updated process for creating your resume that we think our users will like. But overall, with this re-launch, the focus has been on making sure all of the existing functionality is brought over into the new design. Keep in mind there were hundreds of pages that had to be restructured, re-coded and redesigned in order to make this all happen. It was an incredibly challenging project and to be honest, I’m extremely proud that our development team managed to pull it off on the timeline they committed to.   3) When is it going to change?   On Saturday, December 8 th , the application will be placed into maintenance mode. Then, on Monday, December 10 th , the switch will be flipped and the new redesign will GO LIVE!   4) Will I have to re-learn the program? Yes, be prepared to feel like your world has been turned upside down. Kidding. In truth, although we have brought the portfolio front and center, the overall navigation of the website remains unchanged. Although our users might be a little shocked when they first login because everything looks different, they will have no problem finding what they need. And after about 5 minutes of using the new site, we think they’ll be pretty happy with what they see.   5) What will stay the same on Career Cruising? The features of the program apart from what was mentioned earlier, will be pretty much the same as the previous design. As well, navigation as a whole is quite similar and of course, the same wonderful content.   6) Why did Career Cruising feel these changes were necessary? For the past number of years, we have been focused on delivering new features and functionality to users. While doing so, the application interface began to become a bit overloaded. At the same time, the way people used the internet and user expectations continued to evolve. Candidly, the user interface no longer accurately represented the sophistication of our users or the current capabilities of our products. Time and time again, we heard that people don't realize everything the program could do. We wanted to change that. Rather than making a few changes here and there, we believed the best way to meet our users' needs was through a complete renovation that set the foundation for future additions to the program.   7) What should people do if they have further questions? Contact your client account manager if you have any questions whatsoever.   8) Can you share any interesting points about the development process?  Any exciting collaborators? For everyone on the development team, including the Jet Cooper designers and front-end coders, this project was an unbelievable amount of work! Not only did we have to implement a whole new design, but we also switched our programming methodology over to MVC. Model–View–Controller (MVC) is an architecture that separates the representation of information from the user's interaction with it. It meant our team had to learn to think in a whole new way in terms of how the back-end was programmed and managed. The other extremely cool thing about this project: Two of the people who created the very first Career Cruising website back in 1998, Te Thebeau and Cory Thomas, joined our organization this year and played an instrumental role in guiding our team through all of the changes. Some really funky karma going on there!   9) Why are you excited about this? Of course, we are extremely excited about the new design. It’s like a new toy that you just can’t wait to share with your friends. But it’s more than that because the redesign isn’t just about what you see on the screen. The guts and core architecture of the product have also been overhauled. New conventions in terms of coding practices, new processes for development and design have been put into place. Why did we do this? We wanted to position ourselves for the future with a pattern for design and development that will allow us to rapidly add new features and functionality. That will be the lasting achievement of this redesign.   10) How will the new design affect users’ saved work? Nothing will be lost and there will be no change to user’s saved work. Everything will carry forward to the new design. Nice and clean!   11) Will any existing features be lost with the redesign? No features will be lost. However, some features available in the current program will not be ready at the time of the re-launch. The features that we will still be working on for release in the near future: US Career & Technical School Selector US Graduate School Selector US Compare Career & Technical Schools US Compare Graduate Schools Printer-Friendly reports for the school and occupation profiles US Federal Financial Aid information section Industry Profiles   12) Does the new design effect users’ system requirements? Chrome is now fully supported. We have dropped support for Internet Explorer 6 and 7. IE 8 is supported. Older versions of FireFox will need to be updated.   13) When will the support materials be updated? All of the printed support materials will be ready for the launch! We are working hard to re-record all of the tutorials for the new redesign, so you can expect them to be ready by the second half of December and early January.   14) Why is the new design being introduced in the middle of the school year? The release of a new design is always a challenge. We felt a mid-year release allowed us to be in close communication with our clients to make sure they were aware of the changeover rather than releasing over the summer and having users arrive back at school with a surprise. As well, in order for us to continue on our path of improving Career Cruising it is essential to complete this release so that new development can be built on the re-designed interface and new architecture that we have put in place.   15) Will the redesign affect the Career Advisor Management System or the Regional Reporting System? Not at this time. We realize that these tools need a renovation too, but we wanted to get a better design in students’ hands as quickly as possible. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/11/cc-20-experience-the-new-look!/ Mon, 26 November 2012 15:56:00 Ray Davis https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/10/a-whole-community-approach-to-the-art-of-career-management/ I recently got a call from a college roommate asking for assistance with his college graduate son who was jobless and living back home with his parents.  No job, no resume, no career-related work experience, and clueless on his future.  Our guidance and career development profession is rapidly approaching a crossroads of critical concern. Especially as we attempt to retool jobless adults and encourage students and their parents to prepare for the task of being employed, self-sufficient, and passionately engaged in a challenging global workforce.  While we in guidance and career development love to use the mantra that “we make a difference,” the task on “making a difference” needs timely reexamination in the 21 st century. First, how do we work with parents and family members who lack knowledge of career development, which results their child(ren) being saddled with student loan debt, lacking high demand skills, and completely unaware of the realities of the workforce?  Parents harboring career development myths can mistakenly persuade children to avoid community college options and military career pathways. They can push their children to focus no further than entrance into the “right university” with the “right major” as THE magic ticket to lifelong success.  We must explore ways to open the minds of parents (who graduated from college decades ago) to appreciate a skilled career guidance approach. We must show them the critical advantages wrought by internships and techniques to encourage their child to develop a passion for lifelong learning and academic and career planning instead of short term thinking. Second, we have to be attuned to legislative issues and funding initiatives that affect our ability to program career guidance in our schools. Within the next year or so, the reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Act, the Workforce Development Act, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act will determine the future of guidance.  Can we empirically prove that counselors and career specialists longitudinally track outcomes of guidance and career development?  Can we correlate our work with our schools’ improvement plans, workforce development, and school report cards?  Do we ally ourselves with teachers, administrators, school boards, and community leaders to understand guidance?  Does accountability frighten us as guidance leaders or do we see it as a chance to parade our successes before our stakeholders?  This year’s programming at ACTE will look extensively into exactly this all-important concept: guidance accountability. Finally, how do we view community involvement?  We must link our curricula to our country’s workforce needs and economic development. Business and industry input is critical for course standard development.  Every career pathway and CTE course needs input from community leaders on standards, course design, project-related learning, and work-based learning.  Guidance professionals must extend the hand of collaboration to the business sector to help us develop job shadowing, internships, mentoring, and educators in industry opportunities.  The landmark 2005 Education and Economic Development Act would never have opened a cornucopia of guidance opportunities in South Carolina without the active craftsmanship of business and industry leaders. Measuring guidance effectiveness takes time.  Success does not come overnight, nor without all stakeholders at the table working together to teach the next generation “the art of career management.”  Let’s ensure that the next eighteen months or so sees our profession building bridges that enhance realistic guidance awareness and preparing our students and nation for the challenges of international workforce competition. ---- ABOUT RAY DAVIS, Ph.D, LPC, NCC, CFDI Ray has been the Education Associate for Career Guidance in the Office of Career and Technology Education in the South Carolina Department of Education since 2000.  He is the current Vice-President of ACTE’s Guidance and Career Development Division.  Ray worked from 1985-2000 at the University Career Center at the University of South Carolina-Columbia as assistant director.  He has been the professor of record for over 450 GCDF-certified completers in his state.  He directed the writing of the standards-based South Carolina Career Guidance Model.  Ray served on the National Career Development Guidelines Rewriting Committee with the US Department of Education, where he served a IPA in the Office of Vocational and Adult Education in 2008.  He also served on the States’ Career Cluster Initiative contributing to the establishment of the national Business, Management, and Administration career cluster.  You can learn more about Ray and his involvement at the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) at their website . https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/10/a-whole-community-approach-to-the-art-of-career-management/ Fri, 05 October 2012 08:50:00 H B Gelatt https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/09/3-keys-to-success-in-the-21st-century/ When I was invited to write this blog sharing what I have learned from my 50 years as a counseling psychologist, I didn’t know where to begin. So I decided to begin in 1989 at about the halfway mark of my career. Having experienced so many changes in the global environment, counseling and career development theory and practice, I was inspired to steer away from the norms and adopt my own decision making “philosophy” of positive uncertainty, which I will explain below. Since then, change has become more rapid, more unpredictable and inevitable. Below I have gathered my top three pieces of advice for you to be successful in this modern, ever-changing environment as a counselor, a career development practitioner, a parent or as yourself. 1. Let Your Goals Guide You, Not Govern You In 1974 David Campbell wrote a popular book titled If You Don’t Know Where You’re Going, You’ll Probably End Up Somewhere Else. Later, I offered a Gelatt corollary: if you always know where you’re going you may never end up somewhere else. From experiences that you most likely encountered over your career path, somewhere else may be where you wanted to go all along but didn’t know it. My advice: Let your goals guide you, not govern you. Knowing what you want and where you want to go is good but don’t be close-minded. Remember to be focused yet flexible allowing yourself the room to end up…somewhere else. 2. Learn to Plan AND Plan to Learn. More recently Nike’s motto “Just Do it” became popular in sports and carried over into personal decision making. However, it isn’t very good advice for successful long-term career development because you need a plan before every action. My advice: Learn to plan AND plan to learn.Remember to plan your path before leaping into action but also remember that what you learn along your path may change your plan. Today information is becoming more readily available, don’t ignore it. If you pay attention to the learning opportunities around you, your plans will be more informed and effective in achieving your goals. 3. Become as Capable of Change as the Environment When I began my career I preached and practiced a rational, linear, “by the book” career decision making process. So did everyone else. There was no room for intuition or uncertainty. Today there is no room for the inability to accept change. My number one advice for you today is: Become as capable of change as the environment. You have to be open-minded,receptive to new ideas, and adopt the idea of positive uncertainty. The future is uncertain; it is not predetermined or predictable but it is persuadable. If the future were certain it wouldn’t be persuadable. Therefore, be positive about the uncertainty because it is enabling, allowing you to think about creating your future and to change your mind.  The next 50 years will surely bring more changes, especially with the expected advances in modern technology. For those who will be there, I recommend that you see yourself as your greatest technology. There is no technological device that can equal the power, flexibility, creativity and user-friendliness of the human mind. We all possess right behind our eyes our greatest resource for creating our future. All we have to do is believe it and use and think with these three thoughts in mind at all times: 1. Let Your Goals Guide You, Not Govern You 2. Learn to Plan AND Plan to Learn. 3. Become as Capable of Change as the Environment ------ ABOUT H B GELATT For over 40 years H B Gelatt has been regarded as an expert in decision making. Most notably he is the creator of Positive Uncertainty, a philosophy of decision making in uncertain times. He has co-authored a popular decision making book, called Creative Decision Making Using Positive Uncertainty. Throughout his career, H B has taken on numerous roles including Senior Research Scientist for the American Institutes for Research, Special Consultant and Trainer for the National and California Occupational Information Coordinating Commitees, the College Board and the Kellogg Foundation Adult Learning Project, amongst others. H B has received many honours for his work including the Lifetime Achievement in Career Development Award from the California Career Development Association.  Education wise, he has obtained a doctoral and master’s degrees in counseling psychology from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from San Jose State University. To learn more about H B and his work or to see some of his writing, visit his blog or his website . You can also send him an email . https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/09/3-keys-to-success-in-the-21st-century/ Tue, 11 September 2012 15:27:00 Phil Jarvis https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/07/ncda-2012-career-summit-dinner-atlanta,-ga/ It is our conviction that the status quo in career development, or even working harder doing what we have been doing, will result in many citizens, businesses, indeed whole communities, falling victim to the looming labour crisis we're calling the Perfect Storm in job markets. We believe it will take a harmonized, whole-community approach to career and workforce development to weather the storm. Leaders in the career space must support each other's missions like never before. Therefore, Career Cruising is hosting a series of "Career Summit" dinners across North America to provide a venue for career leaders to explore options for collective action to move career and workforce development higher on the public agenda. A summary of issues discussed at each "Summit Dinner" will be posted on this blog after the event.   Atlanta Career Summit In conjunction with the NCDA 2012 Global Career Development Conference Hyatt Regency, Atlanta, GA Thursday, June 21, 2012   Participants: Cheri Butler, Neil and Helen Carey, Mark Danaher, Rebecca Dedmond, Rich Feller, Sharon Ferris, Mark Franklin, Kevin Glavin, Jane Goodman, Ray Henson, Phil Jarvis, David Kaplan, Linda Kobylarz, Kyle Phillips, Alberto Puertas, Pat Schwallie-Giddis, Bob Tyra, Janet Wall. Background: During dinner Career Cruising’s Phil Jarvis presented The Perfect Storm. The main points of his presentation were: Four megatrends (The “Great Recession”, changing demographics, up-skilling across the full spectrum of career clusters, inadequate workforce preparation) are creating a Perfect Storm in job markets across the country. Opportunity is actually greater for career seekers than ever, though many are ill-equipped find it, as is danger. Despite high unemployment and underemployment, particularly among youth, employers say they can’t find the qualified talent they need in this era of accelerating technological innovation and global competition. Career seekers can’t find employers willing to take a chance on them. With an aging population and increasing dependency ratios, society needs its citizens, especially young people, establishing themselves in viable careers and becoming fully engaged citizens as soon as possible. Too many postsecondary graduates, not to mention those less qualified, are deep in student loan debt with no idea what careers might suit them, let alone what employers might want them and how to locate them. The status quo is unacceptable. The Perfect Storm brings with it enormous human and economic costs, some of which were discussed in the presentation. It was suggested that a whole-community approach to career and workforce development is required to weather the storm and prosper. Whole-community means educators - not just career development facilitators - parents, employers, and community organizations pulling together in a harmonized way to help as many citizens as possible find their way to satisfying and fulfilling career pathways, and to help local companies find the talent they need.  Summaries of research on the impact of career development learning on students and clients (Scott Gillies, Ray Davis, University of Derby) provide compelling evidence that career development facilitators and quality career programs and resources make a significant difference. Despite this, the career development sector is underfunded and undervalued. After the presentation participants were encouraged to suggest ways that organizations in the career sector might further collaborate to support each other’s missions. What follows is a partial summary of issues discussed. There is a need to go beyond just preparing students for college. We must prepare them for successful entry into careers and adult life as fully engaged citizens. Career development should begin in the elementary grades – not choosing needle-in-the-haystack occupational destinations but preparing for success in adult life, based on each student’s personal and unique definition of success. The NCDA-Harris survey could be publicized as a way of letting the general population know the consequences of inadequate career development and insufficient education and training. Additional support to career development organizations and career practitioners would help individuals, communities and the economy. The economic argument needs to be made personal in order to motivate people to prioritize career development. Parents need to be engaged. They have the greatest influence on their children, and they can help them and each other, but most don’t know how. They need knowledge and tools. The benefits of career development, and the consequences of inadequate career preparation need to be marketed to educators, parents, business and civic leaders. NCDA should have representation at the United Nations. The challenges, issues and economic consequences of inadequate career development are global issues. Countries could collaborate in developing solutions that would benefit all. The need for career development is even greater in developing countries. Including employers in the career and workforce development solution is the “game-changer.” Employers need to stop accusing educators of failing to prepare students with 21st century employability and “soft” skills, and step up. It is in their best interest to contribute to preparing their future workforce, and to make a more serious commitment to enhancing the skills of their current employees. Self-interest is the motivator. Marketing specialists could help develop campaigns to highlight career development in the context of the self-interest of educators (more engaged students), students (more hope for the future and motivation), parents (success sooner for their children and prosperity for their communities), employers (more engaged, committed and productive workforce), legislators (increased prosperity, tax revenues, decreased public deficits and debt) There needs to be a sense of urgency. Few see the connection between career development and economic development and prosperity. The point needs to be made that increased funding for career development will result in reduced drop-out rates Gillies, Derby), reduced incarceration and recidivism rates, increased productivity and competitiveness for companies, reduced costs for entitlement programs like social assistance and welfare, reduced health costs, increased tax revenues, and so on. “Too big to fail.” Despite massive federal deficits, the Federal Government found the money to bail out General Motors and Wall Street (big banks). They were considered too big to be allowed to fail. Career success for citizens is even bigger and more important, to every family in America and the future prosperity of the nation, to fail. This point must be made to legislators, business and civic leaders. The manufacturing sector could be a target. They have their national “Dream it, do it” initiative. Leaders from the corporate world need to be brought to the table. Career practitioners are the countries “eyes and ears on the ground” in every community in the nation. We have our fingers on the pulse of the career development needs of the entire population. Our voice needs to be heard by legislators, policy-makers and industry leaders. Chambers of Commerce at all levels need to understand how their members and communities would benefit from better career preparation so they will encourage their members to support educators and in helping connect students with increasingly informed career plans and portfolios with potential future employers. As a society we excel at discovering athletic talent early. We need to get much better at discovering talent in all other sectors earlier, and introducing young people with dreams to organizations seeking talent. Simple introductions between middle school, high school and postsecondary students and potential employers can lead to plant visits, job shadowing, mentorships, summer jobs, work experience placements – and lives changed for the better. These increasingly informed relationships can lead to future employment, and provide immediate hope and motivation to students to become more engaged in the education. Resources exist to facilitate the process of introducing qualified students and motivated employers. When implemented on a regional or statewide basis, for example, Career Cruising’s ePortfolio and ccInspire can link (mediated by the school) employers seeking talent in specific occupations with all students in the region or state with those occupations among their stated career goals. Rotary and other Service Clubs could help mobilize a whole-community approach to career and workforce development, as could organizations like Scouts and Guides, Big Brother/Sisters, Junior Achievement, 100 Black Men, and many more.  Solid values, character, and service are keys to career and life success that are consistent with the missions of these organizations. Sustainability is a key. Promising and proven programs and initiatives have come and gone over the years. They must be institutionalized to endure for any length of time. The NOICC-SOICC network is a striking example of a strategic network that connected all federal and state departments and agencies impacting career and workforce development, and brought leaders in the sector together. It had a remarkable run from 1976 to 1999 when it was de-funded. It resulted in the institutionalization of most major Career Information Delivery Systems, the National Career Development Guidelines, the Career Development Facilitation training and certification, and much more.  Any game plan for attracting additional support for career development must be both strategic and tactical. There are organizations with booths here at the NCDA conference that could be partners at both levels. NCDA’s 100th anniversary in Boston, where Frank Parsons first shone significant light on vocational choice, could be a good occasion for NCDA to host a one-day summit of more than career development “insiders.” There might possibly be a big name moderator (i.e., Tavis Smiley, Oprah Winfrey, Jill Biden, Colin Powell, Morgan Freeman). It could include senior representatives of organizations (list from Bob Tyra) like: The White House, the House and Senate, and the Federal Departments of Education, Labor, Defense Job Corps, Americorps Professional Associations (i.e., National Governors Association, Association of Career and Technical Educators, American Counseling Association, American School Counseling Association) American College Testing, College Board Centre for American Progress US Chamber of Commerce Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Edutopia (George Lucas Foundation) National Governors Association National Manufacturers Association CEOs from each of the 16 Clusters National STEM Network Ready by 21, Work Readiness networks Junior Achievement Over the coming year designated NCDA members would need to communicate with these organizations in preparation. An information kit would need to be prepared soon. The expectation would be that summit participants would come prepared not just to listen and speak, but to present concrete actions their organization can contribute to a coordinated national initiative to help many more Americans establish themselves in fulfilling careers, and companies find the talent they need to drive the economic prosperity we so badly need and want. We have heard the words over and over for decades. The people in positions of authority in academia, government and business are comfortable and secure, and not feeling the pain of working class Americans and young people. Whether or not they have the will and resolve to do what needs to be done is an open question. A career summit at NCDA 2013 in Boston could be one of the most important events in NCDA’s history and open the curtain in a dramatic way to NCDA’s second century.  Or it could be too late and too much trouble. Time will tell. Download: •    Perfect Storm Makes Career Development More Important https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/07/ncda-2012-career-summit-dinner-atlanta,-ga/ Tue, 10 July 2012 10:20:00 Phil Jarvis https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/06/nova-scotia-cda-career-summit-dinner/ It is our conviction that the status quo in career development, or even working harder doing what we have been doing, will result in many citizens, businesses, indeed whole communities, falling victim to the looming labour crisis we're calling the Perfect Storm in job markets. We believe it will take a harmonized, whole-community approach to career and workforce development to weather the storm. Leaders in the career space must support each other's missions like never before. Therefore, Career Cruising is hosting a series of "Career Summit" dinners across North America to provide a venue for career leaders to explore options for collective action to move career and workforce development higher on the public agenda. A summary of issues discussed at each "Summit Dinner" will be posted on this blog after the event.   Nova Scotia CDA Career Summit Dinner Holiday Inn Halifax Habourview, Dartmouth, NS Thursday, May 31, 2012   Participants: Charlie Aubie, Laurie Edwards, Clarence DeSchiffart, Margo Hudson, Jan Underhill, Patrick Brush, Kimberley White, Cathy Campbell, Sandra McKenzie, John Cochrane, Peter Smith, Colleen Nix, Judy Lawrence, Glenn McMullen, Rick Miner, Barb Campbell, Teresa Francis, Karen Schaffer, Phil Jarvis What follows is a brief summary of issues discussed. The status quo is unacceptable. At a time when employers are having increasing difficulty finding the talent they need to be productive and competitive, too many students have no idea where they will land when/if they graduate, and too many adults are unemployed or underemployed. Economic prosperity is the only way out of the debt with which communities, provinces, even countries are struggling. Prosperity is only possible if we get the right talent in the best possible places. We can’t afford to have students graduate with no idea where to land in the work world. We need them to graduate into good entry-level jobs in which they are happy and productive. We can’t afford to have talent on the sidelines, or in the wrong jobs, and we can’t afford to have companies suffocating due to lack of talent. We need to get employers "who get it" to the table. Career practitioners are in the centre of a circle with students and adult career seekers, with orbiting satellites of stakeholders including parents, employers, public policy makers, and community organizations. Harmonized engagement of all stakeholders is the key to sustainable whole-community solutions. Parents care deeply about their children’s success but need the knowledge and tools to help constructively. They need to learn about the Perfect Storm and they need access to good resources. Career Cruising’s new Parent Portal should help. Students don’t understand the urgency of preparing themselves for success beyond education by discovery their passion and purpose and beginning to explore career and life scenarios in which they can lead purposeful, authentic lives. They, too, need to hear about The Perfect Storm. Many employers would welcome the opportunity to explore whole-community career and workforce development approaches. We need to create opportunities to bring employers that are good models and supporting career development for their employees into the dialogue. Adults ask students in primary school what they want to be when they grow up. They should be asking, "What are you passionate about?" "What are your unique interests, skills and talents?" "How can you make the world a better place?" The myth that a university degree is the only route to success and happiness remains pervasive, despite the fact that we have a growing number of Progress Impeded New Entrants (PINEs), young people who have completed university yet cannot land satisfactorily in the workforce. Many register in community college or trades training to get a credential that will open doors to employment. Many graduates carry a heavy student loan debt load with uncertain employment prospects, thus face many uncertain years of debt repayment. Introducing youth and adults to potential future employers while they are still in school gives them a viable answer to the question, "Why should I learn this?" and enables employers to create a pipeline of potential future talent. Sports teams have always used scouting and recruiting networks effectively. As the Perfect Storm grows, and companies become increasingly anxious about where their future talent is going to come from, they will have to consider creating their own local scouting networks and "stocking the pond" locally. Career Cruising’s ccInspire makes this possible in communities ready to make a whole-community commitment to career and workforce development. The education system needs to prepare students for early success in family, community and career. At its core it should be about discovering one’s passion and purpose. It must include helping all students develop informed dreams of the life they want to lead as an adult, and equipping them with the essential 21 st century skills they need to step directly out of school into successful lives. The curriculum is now driven by core academic prerequisites for university entrance, despite the fact that most students won’t, and shouldn’t, go to university immediately after high school. Moreover, many of those who do graduate from university, often with massive debt before they earn a dollar, have no idea what to do next. We realize Career Cruising is just one organization in a cast of many doing their best to help Canadians enjoy success in their careers and lives, and businesses find the talent they need to thrive. Let us know how we can support your efforts to make a difference, and please help us achieve our goal of a deeper level of implementation of our ccEngage resources. 30-50,000 Canadians from primary students to those planning their retirement access our programs each day. Due to the lack of priority accorded to career development, in many cases their interactions are too superficial to effect the real change in their lives we seek. Please challenge your staff to get full value from the ccEngage tools they are using. We are more than ready to provide free online webinars, training and support to anyone using or contemplating using our products. Thank you for participating in the Career Summit dinner hosted by Career Cruising. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you see opportunities for collaboration. You can reach anyone on the Career Cruising team by calling (toll-free) 1-800-965-8541 or emailing: info@careercruising.com . Visit our new website at: careercruising.com https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/06/nova-scotia-cda-career-summit-dinner/ Thu, 21 June 2012 13:11:00 Jeff Harris https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/06/ffa-partners-with-career-cruising-to-support-members’-career-success/ . Career Cruising, founded in 1997 and used by nearly 20,000 schools throughout Canada and the United States, provides age-appropriate career development, assessments, planners and other resources.  In its ongoing mission to engage and inspire individuals of all ages to achieve their full potential in school, career and life, Career Cruising is pleased to announce its recent agreement with FFA, the Future Farmers of America Organization, to include Career Cruising resources within FFA’s Agricultural Career Network (AgCN). The National FFA Organization provides leadership training to 540,379 student members in grades seven through 12 who belong to one of 7,489 local FFA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. This partnership with Career Cruising will provide valuable tools and assistance to these students as they develop their career plans. “We are grateful for the trust FFA has shown in selecting Career Cruising to help their student members plan their careers ,” explained Jeff Harris, President of Career Cruising.  “It’s an absolute pleasure for us to be working with an organization that is so committed to supporting students’ career development while building invaluable connections between students and industry. “ Career Cruising will provide FFA members with easy, online access to career information through its ccSpringboard platform. These career exploration tools are designed to assess the members’ strengths and interests, and then lead them to recommended classwork and hands-on learning opportunities, while guiding the students along a path tailored to their unique abilities and interests. Career Cruising’s ccInspire platform creates a vibrant way to connect students, businesses and the community as a whole.  FFA will use ccInspire to support a network of agricultural industry mentors and employers who can offer FFA students advice, work-based learning opportunities and eventually, perhaps, even employment. By providing these robust tools, including both ccSpringboard and ccInspire, FFA members will have an exceptional opportunity to explore, plan and discover the most appropriate career paths based on their personal strengths and interests. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/06/ffa-partners-with-career-cruising-to-support-members’-career-success/ Tue, 12 June 2012 22:52:00 Roshni Patel https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/05/career-cruising-receives-da’s-reader’s-choice-award/ “The Winners are announced! Readers spoke out in the largest numbers yet for District Administration’s 2011 Readers’ Choice Top 100 Products awards. The DA editorial staff spent days sifting through hundreds of submissions and learning about new and innovative education products nominated by readers…Each nomination required a testimonial from a school administrator to allow us to understand how the product specifically impacted a school or district. Some products received more than 70 unique nominations.” -Courtney Williams District Administration, Nov/Dec 2011. This year, we are proud to announce that Career Cruising’s popular Course Planner module, recently renamed ccPathfinder, was named one of the Top 100 Products on District Administration’s Reader’s Choice Award List!  ccPathfinder is a powerful tool that allows students to create multi-year course plans, which are in line with their career aspirations and graduation requirements. Many of our current users appreciate ccPathfinder for its ease of use, and ability to be completely integrated with their current student information system. One of the unique features of ccPathfinder is that students can see courses organized by career clusters, and can then track how their course selections match up with their careers of interest. It gives students ownership of and engagement in their education since they can see how it directly impacts their future possibilities. Thank you to all of our clients who took the time to submit their testimonials and nominate us for this award! This is our Oscar and we will treasure it always!! Look for us to redouble our efforts to fulfill our ongoing mission to engage and inspire individuals of all ages to achieve their full potential in school, career and life. Thank you again and cheers to all of you who continue to believe in us, and our ability to partner with you to engage, inspire, and achieve.  “Course Planner dovetails beautifully with our data management software and is extraordinarily user-friendly for school staff, parents and students. From an administrator’s viewpoint, I have appreciated the ease of use for registration, and many features, including elective matching, that have made my job more efficient.” Bonnie Johnston, assistant principal of curriculum and instruction, Buncombe County (N.C.) Schools   District Administration's full article available here . https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/05/career-cruising-receives-da’s-reader’s-choice-award/ Fri, 25 May 2012 14:45:00 Sarah Nelson https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/05/guest-blog-four-parenting-tips-for-guiding-youth-in-career-planning/ As a parent, you may not realize what an impact you can have on your child, either positively or negatively, when it comes to making decisions about career plans. Help your child to be successful in navigating the world of work with these following tips: Be Open-Minded – Your child may have career ideas that don’t match your vision.  To help them reach their true potential, try to be open to everything they are exploring.  It might be tempting to squelch an idea that you think is farfetched. Instead, try to remind them of their strengths and interests, and how that career does or does not align to them. Try also to open their minds to careers they’ve never imagined, and find resources that reflect the current local labour market. Be Encouraging – Making big decisions, like choosing a career, can be very frustrating for youth who are new to the process.  Be your child’s cheerleader as they experience success along the way, such as finding good career information, working through complicated data, coming to appropriate conclusions for themselves, and taking initiative or making steps in a positive direction.  They need your support, and being their champion without doing the work for them is critical for their long term success. Be S.M.A.R.T. – Use the S.M.A.R.T. acronym as your guide: Help your child be specific about what he or she wants, yet general enough to be flexible within a career area.  If their career exploration is generic, help them specify as appropriate (for example, ask: “If you want a science career, do you see yourself working more in healthcare with people or doing research in a lab?”). Help them measure their success to date.  If they are performing poorly in math, for example, but it’s a required skill for their  career of choice, help them obtain tutoring support. In order to attain their goal, ensure they don’t drop course requirements that may prolong or prevent reaching success, even if they don’t think they need that course now. Help them with realistic career options by being informed along side of them. Ensure that they are pursuing a goal that is appropriate for today, that makes sense financially, pragmatically, and that fits them as the person you know (personality, values, skills, etc.).  If, as parents, you are prepared to support your child in some financial way for a specific time period, be sure to communicate it.  Help them identify a plan that matches your timeline, and if they want to extend their goal, help them figure out how to reach it on their own. Be Their Expert – or find one – You probably know your child better than most when it comes to their personality, values, interests, skills, and preferences.  You can be a great sounding board for them, but it’s also easy to respond with your own personal bias.  Being aware of your bias, keeping it in check, and recognizing that you might not be the expert when it comes to careers, will help you be their best guide.  Work with your child’s school guidance counsellor and consider getting career assessments done with a professional career development practitioner.  Encourage your child to connect with your network to conduct informational meetings with people in potential suitable careers, and help them get a variety of workplace experiences through volunteerism, part time and summer work opportunities as soon as they can. Parents generally say that they want their children to grow up having happy and productive lives.  According to Confucius, if you "choose a job you love, you will never have to work a day in your life."  By keeping these tips in mind, you can help your child find the career they love and find success in the world of work.   About Sarah Nelson | Her educational background includes education, linguistics and career development. Professionally a Career Development Practitioner with a CHRP, Sarah has a vast array of work experience including being a School Trustee, a Learning Consultant, and a college instructor.  Contact Sarah | LinkedIn , or Twitter . https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/05/guest-blog-four-parenting-tips-for-guiding-youth-in-career-planning/ Tue, 15 May 2012 20:46:00 Sarah Brown https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/04/ccspark!-now-in-full-production!/ Since last fall, I’ve been happily collaborating with Career Cruising’s in-house content enthusiasts and supported by a team of North American Career Development Curriculum experts to develop the fun, age appropriate, educationally valuable product that is ccSpark! The big news from me this month is that ccSpark! is now in full production! ccSpark! is Career Cruising’s new elementary career development product, which helps young students learn about social skills, life planning, careers and their personal strengths and interests. ccSpark!’s interactive learning environment has been thoughtfully designed to engage and inspire students to learn more about this important curriculum area. To help us bring bring ccSpark! to life, Career Cruising is working with a fabulous team of creative and technical experts, each with a deep background in developing rich educational and interactive school age experiences. So in addition to our `in production` news, I`m excited to introduce this extended team you to today. ccSpark!’s core game and interactive design is being lead by No Crusts Interactive under the guidance of Carla Fisher. In addition to her career as a children's game designer, she is completing her doctorate at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she studies technology and its relationship with human cognition and development, particularly as it applies to children and games. Carla has produced interactive games for clients including Sesame Workshop, PBS KIDS, and Highlights for Children. Carla’s creative contribution to ccSpark! is additionally supported by No Crusts Interactive's Creative Director Anne Richards who has developed many high-profile preschool series, including Bear in the Big Blue House and The Book of Pooh for Disney Channel and It's a Big Big World for PBS KIDS. Anne has also worked extensively as a creative consultant for companies including Discovery Kids, MGM and the BBC. ccSpark!’s technical development lead is Toronto based Incubator Games, headed by RadekKoncewicz, CEO and Creative Lead. The company’s founders have led technical development and production for numerous game projects, and have a portfolio that includes three E-Learning products launched for the Science Alberta Foundation: Kelvin's Space Ranch, The CO2 Connection, and VR Pipeline. In addition to E-Learning products, Incubator Games have extensive experience working with children’s games such as Pixar’s Cars (mobile), Critter Crunch (mobile), HOMM: Clash of Heroes (Nintendo DS), Pirates of the Carribean : At Worlds End (mobile), Jimmy TwoShoes (mobile and Flash-based web), and Shake and Spell 3D (iOS). At Career Cruising we`re excited about launching ccSpark! in September this year and helping our clients support career development goals for 21 st Century Learners, at the elementary grade level. Stay tuned for more about ccSpark!’s fun learning features, next month! https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/04/ccspark!-now-in-full-production!/ Mon, 30 April 2012 10:05:00 Matt McQuillen https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/04/career-cruising-partners-with-method-test-prep/ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (For questions or additional information contact Sheila Joy at 703.862.7217 or sheilaj@careercruising.com ) # # # (Toronto, Ontario – April 20, 2012) – Career Cruising, founded in 1997 and used by nearly 20,000 schools throughout Canada and the United States, provides age-appropriate career development, assessments, planners and other resources. In its ongoing mission to engage and inspire individuals of all ages to achieve their full potential in school, career and life, Career Cruising is pleased to announce its recent partnership with Method Test Prep , a leader in standardized test preparation. “Partnering with Method Test Prep is a perfect complement to our ccEngage system and overall initiatives for student success,” explained Matt McQuillen, CEO of Career Cruising.  “There are several ACT and SAT test preparation programs out there, but it was clear to us that Method Test Prep does the best job of engaging students. And we know that when students are engaged and inspired, they succeed.” Career Cruising’s ccEngage system is a powerful and complete, cloud-based solution. Based on the real world, ccEngage inspires students to discover themselves, their potential and their futures. It all starts by uncovering an individual’s strengths and interests, and then developing a personalized plan. Part of that plan is to provide tools to guide post-secondary exploration and manage the complex college application process.  With deadline, scholarship and financial aid resources tied together, students are able to focus on finding the right path versus navigating a stressful process.  Method Test Prep is a perfect addition to help Career Cruising realize its goal to fully prepare students for success as they prepare for college. Method Test Prep and ccEngage are both web-based and easy to use and implement in a home or classroom environment. The Method Test Prep format, which is broken into checklists, makes it easy for students to accomplish goals in manageable 15-minute tasks. Method Test Prep’s video instructions engage students by providing visual information, to which students relate. The audio lessons, presented in formats also very familiar to students, along with the Method Test Prep vocabulary builder, further empower and motivate students to learn. Method Test Prep’s easy integration into classroom curriculum through the ability to create classes, customize quizzes, and access lesson plans, also engage and support students to succeed. For over 12 years, Method Test Prep has helped students get higher test scores in a number of effective ways. By improving relevant skills, students are able to face any challenge that may come to them during test time. In addition, the test preparation software makes students more familiar with the test format. With comprehensive practice on typical test questions, students can achieve higher scores come test time. Method Test Prep has been proven time and time again, with improved SAT scores an average of 120 points, while ACT scores increase an average of three points. Method Test Prep is extremely robust, yet very user friendly. Students get individualized results when working through the program. They are able to re-take test sections and review specific skills. Additionally, areas of strengths and weaknesses are clearly identified based on previous practice test scores.  Using this information to direct their study, students can increase their scores in very concrete ways. Teachers have access to the same reporting and have the ability to address areas of need for specific students.  Teachers can also broadcast lessons to an entire group of students, or allow the students to go through the lessons individually. “We are excited to partner with Career Cruising as they have a mission that is very similar to our own,” said Tom Ehlers, President of Method Test Prep, “All students should have access to high-quality, simple-to-use tools to prepare them for success in college. With this partnership, more students will be able to use Method Test Prep courses to prepare efficiently and effectively for the SAT and ACT. By learning math and English skills through the test prep software, students are not only able to increase their test scores, but they can improve  both classroom and life performance.” For more information about Method Test Prep, visit our website  or call 800.965.8541. ### https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/04/career-cruising-partners-with-method-test-prep/ Mon, 23 April 2012 20:54:00 Matt McQuillen https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/04/students-imagine-their-futures-with-cctherealgame/ Bill Barry (right) and Phil Jarvis with New Zealand middle school students helping to demo The Real Game to careers experts from 40 countries. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (For questions or additional information contact Sheila Joy at 703.862.7217 or sheilaj@careercruising.com ) # # # Toronto, Ontario – (April 13, 2012) – Career Cruising, founded in 1997 and used by nearly 20,000 schools throughout Canada and the United States, provides age-appropriate career development, assessments, planners and other resources. In its ongoing mission to engage and inspire individuals of all ages to achieve their full potential in school, career and life, Career Cruising is pleased to announce their recent acquisition of The Real Game . Currently used by tens of thousands of students and adults around the world, The Real Game has one main goal: To help participants imagine their future. The strategy in achieving this goal starts with inspiring students to explore what they wish for in their adult lives. Next, The Real Game uses national, state, and local data in a fun and interactive format to show participants how school connects to their future careers, encouraging them to be more purposeful in the present. As part of the Career Cruising product family, The Real Game will be renamed ccTheRealGame and offered as a central component of Career Cruising’s ccEngage suite. “ccTheRealGame is the perfect complement to Career Cruising’s ccEngage ”, says Phil Jarvis, Career Cruising’s new Director of Global Partnerships. “Developed to give students an easy and effective way to improve skills and knowledge needed for success, ccEngage can be used as a single, complete solution or combined with individual components to meet a school or organization’s unique and immediate needs. The addition of ccTheRealGame to the ccEngage suite of solutions helps us further our mission to provide real-world experiences as individuals explore the pathways to their future success.” Mr. Jarvis, formerly Vice President at the National LifeWork Center, was involved in the development of The Real Game. Together with the original author, Bill Barry, Jarvis gathered career development and curriculum experts to create specifications. The program was piloted across the U.S. and Canada concurrently, with grant support from Canadian and U.S. governments. Mr. Barry, a teacher, writer and actor, launched The Real Game when his then-12 year old daughter said she couldn’t see any connection between her school subjects and her dreams. Barry took this to heart and, through the development of The Real Game, found a way to bring the real world into the classroom and give young people a test drive at being adults while they’re still in school. Guided by a teacher or instructor, ccTheRealGame can be used in a classroom setting, after school, or during extracurricular events and activities. The participants take on the role of an adult character, and immediately become engaged when they imagine where they will be in ten to fifteen years. They create their own virtual community. They choose their future homes, cars and other major purchases while determining how they will balance life, work, time and money. Participants then land a job and learn what a typical day would be like. This is where reality sets in. They must now think about paying taxes, how they will spend their time out of work, how they will allocate their paychecks to cover living expenses and determine if the car and house they chose early in the game are realistic, based on their personal net income. ccTheRealGame leaves the participants with the knowledge requirements, skills, and educational paths that will help them achieve their real-life dreams. “It’s becoming an economic imperative that we work together to ensure students not only graduate from school, but that they know what steps to take next”, concludes Jarvis. “ccTheRealGame is more powerful than anything I’ve ever seen to help build a student’s future. They become much more engaged and inspired and soon realize that every time they don’t get up and go to class, or fail to complete an assignment, it can affect the rest of their lives.” Career Cruising enables a “whole community” approach to career and workforce development. Helping students make informed career decisions results in improved utilization of education and training resources, higher student engagement, greater worker satisfaction, positive patterns of employment stability, and increased income and benefits. Collectively, these outcomes result in a healthier community, overall. For more information about ccTheRealGame or ccEngage, please call 800-965-8541 or visit www.careercruising.com . # # # https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/04/students-imagine-their-futures-with-cctherealgame/ Fri, 13 April 2012 14:41:00 Phil Jarvis https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/04/australian-national-career-development-strategy/ When I was invited to present The Real Game to 250 careers leaders from across Australia in the Parliament in Canberra in 1999, it was clear to me that Australians looked to North America for leadership in career development. For example, they choose to adapt The Real Game , which was created through a partnership between Canada and the United States. They modeled their Australian Blueprint for Career Development on Canada’s Blueprint, which was modeled on the U.S. National Career Development Guidelines. They modeled their National Career Week on Canada Career Week. A little over a decade later, leadership in career development has swung, in my opinion to Australia. They are doing what career leaders here only dream of. Working with the State and Territory Governments, The Australian Government is now committed to the creation and implementation of a National Career Development Strategy with the following goals: To ensure equity of access to appropriate and quality career education and guidance at key transition points To support all young people to gain the skills to manage their own career development over their lifespan To support individuals to take responsibility for and manage their own learning and career directions across their lifespan To ensure that practices are in place that support the growth of career development skills from a very early age For more information on career development in Australia please visit the Australian Government, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations' website . Career Cruising maintains its Real Game and Blueprint for LifeWork Designs links with Australia, and hopes to extend this partnership to the benefit of both continents. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/04/australian-national-career-development-strategy/ Mon, 09 April 2012 10:44:00 Kara Jones https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/04/informing-dreams-in-alabama/ News Flash! I wanted to share a feature by WKRG News discussing  how Career Cruising is helping eighth graders at Calloway Smith Middle School in Mobile County, Alabama explore their futures, and the importance of doing so at an early age. Counselor Niki Dailey, who is in charge of the Career Cruising program at Calloway Smith, explained that when her students first started using the program, they all wanted to be professional dancers, or play in the NFL or NBA.  Eighth grader Lawrence Rankin immediately chose “Professional athlete” as his career.  Using Career Cruising, Dailey encouraged Rankin and others to consider a Plan “B”. By exploring their strengths, likes and dislikes, students were able to discover other possible careers they might consider. “Students are learning about careers they never knew existed and what education is involved in order to get a job” she adds. Most of us can relate to a time in school when we had no idea why we were taking a class (like advanced algebra), and how it would help in our future professions. Or dreaming of the future but relying on guesswork, a combination of random courses, and a whole lot of hoping to actually get there. This article is the perfect example of the importance of implementing a program such as Career Cruising to help engage and inspire students in the early stages of their educational careers to place them on a realistic path to success, based completely on their strengths and interests.  Students can discover themselves, choose potential careers, and map out the exact courses required to get there. Currently, all students in Mobile County are assigned portfolios starting in 6th grade that they continue to build upon until graduation. Portfolio completion standards have been set for each grade and are closely monitored throughout the year to ensure students are taking positive action to realize their futures. Beginning in September 2012, students will have access to local company profiles through R U Ready Southwest Alabama , an implementation of ccInspire funded through the Mobile Area Education Foundation. Through initiatives like these, we know that our future leaders are not just dreamers, but are backed by an array of information that engages them in their academic careers, and gives them the power to achieve their full potential in school, career and life. More importantly, as the Career and Technical Education Director for Mobile County Public Schools, Larry Mouton ( lmouton@mcpss.com ), says,  “we are confident that students drop out of school because they do not see a reason to stay, hopefully Career Cruising is a part of the formula for giving students a path and direction.” https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/04/informing-dreams-in-alabama/ Tue, 03 April 2012 09:13:00 Meredith Beyer-Alldridge https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/03/parent-portal-provides-a-window-into-childrens-goals-and-dreams/ Parents and guardians are perhaps the most important role models children have. Not only do they inspire them through their own behaviors to be the best they can possibly be, they also play a critical role in guiding their children's career development and education planning. Understanding their child's goals and interests empowers parents to support their child in achieving their dreams. This month we are delighted to launch the Career Cruising Parent Portal, which provides a window into these dreams. Each child has a unique vision of his or her future, and parents can help realize that vision by setting positive, high, and realistic goals for their children; encouraging them to look at a variety of career options; exploring their individual talents and interests; supporting them in their decisions; and promoting learning in school and at home. Using a centralized dashboard, the Parent Portal allows parents to keep in touch with their children's future goals and plans. Parents can now register for a Career Cruising Parent Portal account where they can: View their child's goals, interests, achievements, and experiences Track their child's plans and progress Provide feedback to their child and his or her teachers and advisors Receive messages from their child's school Explore Career Cruising to learn more about career and education options Support their child’s dreams. We look forward to working with our schools to encourage the use of this valuable new resource with parents and guardians, furthering our goal to create a ‘whole community’ approach to career and workforce development. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/03/parent-portal-provides-a-window-into-childrens-goals-and-dreams/ Thu, 22 March 2012 14:24:00 Phil Jarvis https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/03/bccda-career-summit/ It is our conviction that the status quo in career development, or even working harder doing what we have been doing, will result in many citizens, businesses, indeed whole communities, falling victim to the looming labour crisis we’re calling the Perfect Storm in job markets. We believe it will take a harmonized, whole-community approach to career and workforce development to weather the storm. Leaders in the career space must support each other’s missions like never before. Therefore, Career Cruising is hosting a series of "Career Summit" dinners across North America to provide a venue for career leaders to explore options for collective action to move career and workforce development higher on the public agenda. A summary of issues discussed at each "Summit Dinner" will be posted on this blog after the event.   BC CDA Career Summit Dinner Pan Pacific Hotel, Vancouver Monday, March 5, 2012   Participants: Sean Aiken, Norm Amundson, Tony Botelho, John Coward, Tannis Goddard, Lindsay Goodridge, Brenda Graziano, Sally Halliday, Sue Hanley, Jeff Harris, Phil Jarvis, Ken Keis, Suzanne Klinga, John Krumboltz, Norm Leech, Denise Lloyd, Carole MacFarlane, Roberta Neault, Sarah Nelson, Deirdre Pickerell, Gregg Taylor. What follows is a brief summary of issues discussed. It doesn't do justice to many of the ideas shared. From your recollection of the discussion please add substance to what you contributed and heard before we share this broadly on the Career Summit Blog. The status quo is unacceptable. At a time when employers are having increasing difficulty finding the talent they need to be productive and competitive, too many students have no idea where they will land when/if they graduate, and too many adults are unemployed or underemployed. Economic prosperity is the only way out of the debt communities, provinces, even countries are in. Prosperity is only possible if we get the right talent in the best possible places. We can’t afford to have students graduate with no idea where to land in the work world. We need them to graduate into good entry level jobs in which they are happy and productive. We can’t afford to have talent on the sidelines, or in the wrong jobs, and we can’t afford to have companies suffocating due to lack of talent. We need to get employers “who get it” to the table. Cisco and some large mining companies offer good examples. Career practitioners are in the centre of a circle with students and adult career seekers, with orbiting satellites of stakeholders including parents, employers, public policy makers, and community organizations. Harmonized engagement of all stakeholders is the key to sustainable whole-community solutions. Parents care deeply about their children’s success but need the knowledge and tools to help constructively. They need to learn about the Perfect Storm and they need access to good resources. Current career information resources like Career Cruising are now essential, but they tend to portray career paths as logical and linear, and focus on existing careers. More attention needs to be given to the fact that many careers that will be open to today’s students when they graduate do not yet exist, and typical career journeys now involve more meandering and manoeuvering than linear pathways. Students don’t understand the urgency of preparing themselves for success beyond education by discovery their passion and purpose and beginning to explore career and life scenarios in which they can lead purposeful, authentic lives. They, too, need to hear about The Perfect Storm. Many employers are represented directly or indirectly by the organizations represented at this summit. Many of them would welcome the opportunity to get together to explore whole-community career and workforce development approaches. We need to create opportunities to bring willing employers that are already good models and supporting career development for their current and potential employees into the dialogue. Having older students mentor younger students then become mentors for older students once they have landed successfully in the workplace is an “organic” way of growing community involvement in career development. Successful federal government workforce development initiatives in the past (CLFDB, LMDAs) have been discarded. The German model of active employer, union, and community involvement in vocational and technical education and trades training could be replicated in Canada. Adults ask students in primary school what they want to be when they grow up. They should be asking, “What are you passionate about?” “What are your unique interests, skills and talents?” “How can you make the world a better place?” The myth that a university degree is the only route to success and happiness remains pervasive, despite the fact that we have a growing number of Progress Impeded New Entrants (PINEs), young people who have completed university yet cannot land satisfactorily in the workforce. Many register in community college or trades training to get a credential that will open doors to employment. Many graduates carry a heavy student loan debt load with uncertain employment prospects, thus face many uncertain years of debt repayment. It was good to see educators, employers, policy makers and career practitioners come together at last Fall’s 21st Century Learning Conference in Banff. It is hoped that the next 21st Century Learning Conference will be in British Columbia in 2012 and will engage a broad cross-section of B.C. stakeholders. Community, innovation and hope are the three essential ingredients in helping all citizens connect with their authentic selves then connect with employment opportunities. The U.S. has the Reserve Officer Training Program just as Canada has the Regular Officer Training program. Both provide subsidized university studies in return for an obligation to serve a period of time in the military after graduation. The Canadian Forces now offer subsidized community college studies leading to an obligation to serve in one of a dozen or so military trades for a period of time. Companies concerned about not being able to find qualified talent might consider subsidizing education and training programs for promising potential future employees on the same basis. If all students have thoughtfully prepare ePortfolios it become possible to identify those students who are dreaming of doing what a particular company is seeking. Introducing youth and adults to potential future employers while they are still in school gives them a viable answer to the question, “Why should I learn this?” and enables employers to create a pipeline of potential future talent. It was even suggested that once connections have been made with employers it may be in some students’ best interest, particularly First Nations students, to skip additional years of education which, it was suggested, tend to be largely wasted time. Perhaps the employers could make arrangements to provide relevant elements of missed curriculum on the job site. Sports teams have always used scouting and recruiting networks effectively. As the Perfect Storm grows, and companies become increasingly anxious about where their future talent is going to come from, they will have to consider creating their own local scouting networks and “stocking the pond” locally. ccInspire makes this possible in communities ready to make a whole-community commitment to career and workforce development. The education system needs to prepare students for early success in family, community and career. At its core it should be about discovering one’s passion and purpose. It must include helping all students develop informed dreams of the life they want to lead as an adult, and equipping them with the essential 21st century skills they need to step directly out of school into successful lives. The curriculum is now driven by core academic prerequisites for university entrance, despite the fact that most students won’t, and shouldn’t, go to university immediately after high school. Moreover, many of those who do graduate from university, often with massive debt before they earn a dollar, have no idea what to do next. The most massive change in most career practitioners’ and job developers’ memories is now occurring in the employment sector in British Columbia. At the same time, there is massive unrest in the education sector. This may be an excellent opportunity to radically improve the way we match talent to opportunity for citizens of all ages and for businesses. We realize Career Cruising is just one organization in a cast of many doing their best to help Canadians enjoy success in their careers and lives, and businesses find the talent they need to thrive. Let us know how we can support your efforts to make a difference, and please help us achieve our goal of a deeper level of implementation of our ccEngage resources. Over 100,000 Canadians from primary students to those planning their retirement access our programs each and every day. Due to the lack of priority accorded to career development, in many cases their interactions are too superficial to effect the real change in their lives we seek. Challenge your staff to get full value from the ccEngage tools they are using. We are more than ready to provide free online orientations, training and support to anyone using or contemplating using our products. We will follow-up on these themes with most of you in coming months. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you see opportunities for collaboration. You can reach anyone on the Career Cruising team by calling (toll-free) 1-800-965-8541 or emailing: info@careercruising.com . Visit our great new website at: careercruising.com . Download: BC CDA Career Summit Dinner Notes https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/03/bccda-career-summit/ Wed, 14 March 2012 16:51:00 Anthony Abbott https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/03/schoollogic-partnership-means-easy,-seamless-integration/ I’m pleased to announce our new partnership with SchoolLogic, another step toward our goal to make ccPathfinder - formerly Course Planner - integrate as seamlessly as possible with student information systems. From our experience, when it comes to coordinating the information a student needs to select courses, meet requirements, evaluate careers and make decisions about post-secondary options, the amount of data is enormous. Working hand in hand with companies like SchoolLogic is a critical piece of the puzzle. By combining credit history and courses in progress, we are able to bring a student’s course plan to life. That's why we are super excited about this partnership with SchoolLogic. They are a division of SRB Education Solutions, and have been providing web and windows based solutions for even the most demanding school districts for more than thirty years. With this partnership, Career Cruising schools can still continue to customize and manage ccPathfinder with detailed reports, management of student information, communications to students, and also create custom course lists for students. And the automated integration will mean that ccPathfinder will be easier to use than ever before. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/03/schoollogic-partnership-means-easy,-seamless-integration/ Mon, 05 March 2012 11:59:00 Meredith Beyer-Alldridge https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/02/application-redesign-coming-soon!/ You have seen the fantastic new website we recently launched that talks about career development, our products, and our company. The feedback we've received has been overwhelmingly positive. While people appreciate the new external site, a number of you have asked when we will be looking at the application itself. Have no fear—we are on it! We are currently undertaking a full redesign and rebuild of the end-user interface that we are planning to release this fall. Updates for the administrative and reporting tools will follow. When Career Cruising, now ccSpringboard , was originally released as a CD-ROM in 1997, the program consisted of a simple, but extremely compelling set of features, which included innovative multimedia interviews with real working people. Since then the application has grown in ways we never imagined. Driven by customer feedback, Career Cruising has expanded in all areas, particularly with our industry-leading portfolio. We've also added new products, like ccPathfinder , ccAchieve , and ccInspire , which extend the functionality of the program even further. While we have been focused on delivering new features and functionality to users, the application interface has become overloaded. At the same time, the way people use the internet and user expectations continue to evolve. Candidly, the user interface doesn't accurately represent the sophistication of our users and the current capabilities of our products. Time and time again, we hear that people don't realize everything the program can do. We want to change that. Rather than making a few changes here and there, we believe the best way to meet our users' needs is through a complete renovation that lays the foundation for future additions to ccEngage. Our goals are to maintain the user-friendliness of program, embed more self-directed workflows to ensure that all users find the tools and resources that are relevant for them, to personalize and modernize the experience for users, and create a more engaging environment for students and adults alike. To realize these objectives and bring a fresh new face for our products, we will be consulting with Jet Cooper , a leading user experience design agency. Jet Cooper helped us build the new external website and we are thrilled to be working with them to improve the user experience for all of our clients. We will keep you updated as the project progress. More to come… https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/02/application-redesign-coming-soon!/ Wed, 29 February 2012 14:52:00 Kyle Phillips https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/02/career-cruising-releases-complete-career-development-solution/ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (For questions or additional information contact Sheila Joy at 703.862.7217 or sheilaj@careercruising.com ) # # # (Toronto, Ontario – February 14, 2012) – Career Cruising, founded in 1997 and used by nearly 20,000 schools throughout Canada and the United States, provides age-appropriate career development, assessments, planners and other resources. In its ongoing mission to engage and inspire individuals to achieve their full potential in school, career and life, Career Cruising is pleased to introduce ccEngage . Developed to give students and schools an easy and effective way to develop skills and knowledge needed for success, ccEngage can be used as a single, complete solution or combined with individual components to meet a school or organization’s unique and immediate needs. It all starts with ccSpringboard , the foundation of the ccEngage system. Designed with students in mind, it contains exceptional assessment tools, engaging and detailed career profiles, and comprehensive post-secondary information. Career Cruising is also introducing ccSpark! , a foundational product available for elementary school students. “Studies show that the sooner students are engaged and inspired about their futures, the more successful they are,” said Career Cruising’s CEO, Matt McQuillen. “But we also know that it’s never too late for people to achieve their full potential in school, their careers, and life in general. That’s why, in addition to K-12 schools, we also work with community organizations and employers to create what we call a ‘whole community’ approach to workforce development. These partnerships also allow us to provide relevant, accurate, and real-life data to guide individuals down the path that best suits their personal strengths and interests.” Once ccSpringboard is in place, other components can be added to enhance the experience of career exploration and discovery, including: ccTheRealGame : This experiential career and financial literacy learning program brings the real world into the classroom, where students learn by role-playing careers and working together to build better communities. Students are able to see first-hand how career choices impact their future. Financial literacy is brought to life as they manage budgets and make difficult real-life decisions. ccPathfinder : This component integrates with ccSpringboard and a school’s Student Information System (SIS) to provide the ability for students to plan, select and modify a four-year high school plan that both aligns with their life goals and meets an individual school’s graduation requirements. In addition to the obvious student benefits, a labor-intensive and cumbersome course selection process is automated, freeing advisor time to work directly with students. ccAchieve : This robust set of tools and work flow processes guide high school students, counselors and teachers through the college exploration and application process. It includes deadlines, scholarship, financial aid, academic and other relevant data in one comprehensive package. ccInspire completes the ccEngage suite by creating a vibrant way to connect students, businesses and the community as a whole. It is offered as an optional component for communities where many of the schools are already utilizing Career Cruising products. Additional tools are also available, including test preparation and electronic transcript management, along with the option for bilingual products. For more information, please call 800-965-8541 or visit www.careercruising.com . # # # https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/02/career-cruising-releases-complete-career-development-solution/ Tue, 14 February 2012 12:49:00 Matt McQuillen https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/02/new-website,-new-products,-new-chapter/ Last week Jeff and I conducted a series of webinars to talk about the new website, introduce to you some new products we have added to the Career Cruising family and discuss an exciting new chapter in the evolution of Career Cruising. For those of you who missed the session and would like to hear what we discussed, here’s a link to the recorded session: Website Launch Webinar The Power Point slides can be downloaded here: Power Point Slides During the session, we collected questions from participants and below we have provided answers. Questions and Answers Will you share a copy of the presentation PPT? Yes, we’re happy to share a copy of the PPT we used for the presentation. The PPT, along with a video recording of the presentation, will be available as part of a blog post early next week. (see above!) Will the website login on www.careercruising.com be changed to www.ccspringboard.com ? No. The login for ccSpringboard and other Career Cruising products will continue to be available on www.careercruising.com . As for the changes, please address the log in protocol for students. Will it be the same as before the changes? The only thing that has changed with the Career Cruising login is its location on our Homepage. Students can continue to login with their school’s username and password or their personal portfolio username and password as they have done in the past. Our district just completed a 3 year contract and plans to go forward with Career Cruising. With the new changes, does this increase the cost of CC? No. Your district can continue to license the Career Cruising products you have been using at the same price. If you were to implement a ccEngage bundle or add additional products, then the price would increase. How do we access the blog? You can access our blog by using the “Blog” link that appears just under the login section on our homepage ( www.careercruising.com ). You will also find links to our three latest blog postings at the bottom of our homepage. Are these new products all available to current customers? Or are these new things that have separate license agreements? Each of our products requires a separate license. The purpose of the ccEngage bundles is to provide affordable options for schools and centers that would like to use several of our products. I work with adults, can you speak to that in your responses tomorrow? Our core career exploration platform, ccSpringboard, is used extensively in adult employment agencies across North America. While ccSpringboard has proven to be an effective resource for adult career guidance, one of the items on our “to do” list is to create a tailored version of ccSpringboard specifically for adult clients. A timeline for the release of this product has not yet been set. What is the pricing going to be for the ccEngage bundle? The pricing for ccEngage depends on the type of institution you are at. We have different bundles of products for elementary schools, high schools, workforce development, etc. To view the ccEngage bundle that is relevant for you, go to www.careercruising.com and select your institution type from the dropdown menu under the Product heading on the right-hand side of the page. During the ccEngage webinars we will walk everyone through the pricing for the ccEngage bundles. Your website seems really targeted and designed for elementary aged students. Our organization deals primarily with youth and adults. Since your mission states "to engage and inspire individuals of all ages" then why do you have a picture of elementary aged children on your home page? I find that this would not help to engage youth who would feel that Career Cruising is for children and not for young adults. We provide career development resources for people of all ages – elementary school through adult. We selected the current image because it effectively conveys the idea of engagement, but we recognize that it only fits a portion of our clients. It is our intention to cycle through images on our homepage to ensure all our user groups will be represented in the photos we use. Has the guided tour for Career Cruising changed? No. There have been no changes to our tools after you log in, so you can continue to use all of the current support materials (guided tour, classroom activities, user’s guides, etc.). Can we have copies of the references for the information presented? During our presentation we shared information from four different reports. The names of the reports, with links to the reports themselves, are listed below: Fostering Career and College Readiness /pdfs/CareerDevelopmentImpacts.pdf Pathways to Prosperity www.gse.harvard.edu/news_events/features/2011/Pathways_to_Prosperity_Feb2011.pdf Global Migration Patterns and Job Creation http://gmj.gallup.com/content/101680/global-migration-patterns-job-creation.aspx The Perfect Storm (view our blog) I had a question from a counselor recently asking me if there's a way to print a list of a particular group of students complete with passwords. It was mentioned that they believed this was possible in the past. If it was, I was never made aware of this. I'd appreciate any answer you can give me. It is possible to print a list of students with their portfolio usernames and passwords. This is done through the Career Advisor Management System (CAMS). After you log in to CAMS, you can view a list of your students or all of the student in the school by clicking on the “View Student List” links. After clicking on the “View Student List” link, you can also click the “Search for Students” button to use filters to create a sub-group of students. All of the student list pages include students’ usernames and passwords and are printable. Thanks so much to all of you who took the time to learn more about what we have been working on! It was great to have the opportunity to talk with you all. Matt McQuillen CEO, Career Cruising https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/02/new-website,-new-products,-new-chapter/ Tue, 14 February 2012 14:00:00 Phil Jarvis https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/02/career-summit-at-cannexus12/ It is our conviction that the status quo in career development, or even working harder doing what we have been doing, will result in many citizens, businesses, indeed whole communities, falling victim to the looming labour crisis we’re calling the Perfect Storm in job markets. We believe it will take a harmonized, whole-community approach to career and workforce development to weather the storm. Leaders in the career space must support each other’s missions like never before. Therefore, Career Cruising is hosting a series of "Career Summit" dinners across North America to provide a venue for career leaders to explore options for collective action to move career and workforce development higher on the public agenda. A summary of issues discussed at each "Summit Dinner" will be posted on this blog after the event.   Career Cruising Career Summit at Cannexus12 Ottawa - Monday, January 23, 2012   Participants: Norm Amundson, Lynne Bezanson, Tracy Biernacki-Dusza, Emil Boychuk, Kerri Brock, Clarence Deshiffart, Rich Feller, Mark Franklin, Tannis Goddard, Judy Green, Jeff Harris, Bryan Hiebert, Sareena Hopkins, Phil Jarvis, Lorraine Katanik, Gail Langlais, Chantal Locatelli, Carole MacFarlane, Kris Magnussen, Laurent Matte, Matt McQuillen, Kelly Moore, Roberta Neault, Geneviève Patry, Gray Poehnell, Marie-Josée Pouliotte, Lynn Sadlowski, Anne Sasman, Janet Uchasz-Hart, Linda Willis. Summary of Issues Discussed Career guidance needs to be imbedded in curriculum. A change of culture is needed in school boards. All teachers need training to learn how to infuse career in the subjects they teach. Career courses should not be just dropped on "newbies" or "the last one in the door". Effective career guidance causes a "ripple effect" – when students are engaged, seeing a positive future, this can change their behavior right now. For evidence see: www.derby.ac.uk/files/career_cruisingnew.pdf . We can’t continue to stay isolated in separate silos. The challenges are shared and too big to be tackled in fragmented fashion. We must pool our strengths and harmonize our efforts. Importance of listening to student voice – teaching them to drive their own learning. We shouldn’t be afraid to ask the students important questions, to guide and facilitate their voice. Accountability is important for students and administrators. Even students need to be able to track their progress. Too many policies, funding cycles, and interventions are short term, "band-aid" solutions without sustainability of staff or funding. Only long-term models and funding can make a real and lasting difference. To date our arguments have been moral (good for individuals and society). Governments have funded them in the past, but no more. They are under increasing pressure to ensure proof of impact/change (accountability). Career development cannot be "bolted" on, but must be part of the building from the inside out. Some systems have given up on career development in schools. The European example of taking career development out of the schools and into the community was cited. If we want academic subject teachers to infuse career development concepts and conversations into their curriculum we must teach them why and how. More of the same won’t get us where we need to go. We need to get crazy – get creative – think outside of the box. "Colour outside the lines." Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. The idea of infusing career into the curriculum is a good one. We just haven’t been doing it well. Don’t discard the idea. We need to come up with better ways to make it happen. Students are engaged when given the opportunity to explore "me." No other work they do in school is about them. If we want education to be personal and relevant, to ignite curiosity and create a thirst for learning, students must see the learning as for, and about, them. Only career, which helps them develop informed dreams for their future, is about them. Implementation, cross-curricular or not, needs to be mandated in order to have teeth. Then training is required for all teachers and administrators. Metaphors like the Perfect Storm are powerful. Recent research at Stanford University indicates that metaphors influence how people think about and solve real-world problems. With the same information, but different metaphors in mind, informed people arrive at different conclusions and advocate different solutions. We need a national campaign focused on paying attention to career health. The approach should be preventative rather than remedial. We would all benefit from an annual career checkup , like our annual health and dental checkups. We must get our message to average citizens who are the voters and have the potential to influence the governments, school boards, etc. We need to focus on what is working and build on that rather than reinventing. Must identify the things that are important. They may not have resulted in all the changes we wanted in the past. We need to revisit good ideas that haven’t gone away and do them better. Mutual respect is needed between community partners. We all have common goals about which we are passionate. Chances of success increase with collaboration and the voices become louder and more compelling. There is a need for a cultural change. Rather than doom and gloom scenarios about work, people need to see positive role models, real people enjoying their jobs, happy, thus healthy. Career crisis versus career checkup . Most people don’t seek help until they are in crisis. We need to choose our language carefully. For example, when the real estate industry shifted from selling houses to selling homes they connected emotionally with buyers and sellers. The term career development hasn’t sunk in beyond our own circles, and employers don’t like it. To them, it’s preparing employees to move on. Work, learning and leisure. Career is not all about work. Rather, it’s about life balance and navigating and transitioning through a very transient life ahead. Traditional war strategies (i.e., war on drugs, poverty) have failed. "Gorilla tactics" may be more effective. If we can all agree on three goals and the strategies to get there, and everyone (irrespective of their silo) works toward these common goals, we may succeed. Are there two or three "pillars" we can knock over that will change everything? Download: Cannexus12 Career Summit Notes https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/02/career-summit-at-cannexus12/ Tue, 14 February 2012 15:00:00 Jeff Harris https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/02/a-word-about-our-new-names/ If you’ve spent a few minutes on our new website, you have no doubt noticed a lot of changes, including new product names. I’d like to help you quickly make sense of it all. The reason for the changes is really quite simple. For years Career Cruising was a single product company and it made sense for Career Cruising (the company), to provide Career Cruising (the product). In our ongoing mission to engage and inspire individuals of all ages to achieve their full potential in school, career and life, we now deliver a full suite of career development resources. To keep them straight, avoid confusion, and prepare for future growth and enhancements, we have given them all new names. Here is a summary of the products you already know: Career Cruising is now ccSpringboard; Course Planner is ccPathfinder; Application Planner is ccAchieve; and Network is ccInspire. Collectively, these components comprise ccEngage, our complete solution of bundled products and services configured to fit your needs. There are also two new components we are adding to the suite of ccEngage: ccTheRealGame and ccSpark! ccTheRealGame is a role playing game that brings the real world into the classroom by allowing students to imagine life as an adult, make adult decisions and experience the consequences. The Real Game Series’ reputation for engaging students more than any other classroom-based career program has led to its use in more than 50,000 classrooms around the world each year. ccSpark! is a K-5 digital learning game that introduces students to careers and helps them develop life-planning and social skills. Students will love the activities and characters that await them in the fictional town of Sparkdale. Educators will appreciate the fully integrated activities and alignment with career education curricula. ccSpark! will be released in time for the 2012-2013 school year. Please note that while the names have changed, the products themselves and the user experience have not. This ensures continued, seamless use of the complete career development tools, assessments, planners and other resources you have come to know. Please contact your account manager if you have any questions at all. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/02/a-word-about-our-new-names/ Thu, 02 February 2012 15:10:00 Matt McQuillen https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/02/why-you-should-bring-career-development-activity-into-your-classroom/ Researchers at the International Centre for Guidance Studies (UK) have examined the evidence surrounding career development. In this study 1 , they set out their findings and conclude that there is clear evidence that career development activities in schools can have a positive impact on the lives of young people. Specifically, they argue that career development can impact young peoples’ decisions to stay in school and increase their likelihood of graduating. They go on to say that career development can support young people in making transitions to college and the world of work and ultimately increase their chance of career and life success. For those of us who work with schools and young people none of this will come as a surprise. We can all recall memories of young people whose lives have been transformed by a visit to a school counselor or a career suggestion made while using a system like Career Cruising. However, this study enables those of us involved in the promotion of career development to point to a range of academic studies that demonstrate these impacts more systematically. The study’s authors also conclude that career development is most meaningful when it is integrated with academic curricula, begins early, leverages the benefits of technology and involves a variety of stakeholders. The inclusion of not only school counselors, but teachers, parents and employers creates a more compelling and effective environment for career development. Many of us have observed a decrease in the number of career development opportunities that are available in our schools. We feel that this is regrettable and that the findings of this report demonstrate the value career development offers to young people and to communities. In our view, there is a need for a national campaign to reinvigorate school-based career development and to ensure that young people have access to career development that truly prepares them for college and the world of work. Career Cruising believes this study provides policy makers and school leaders with the evidence they need to make decisions about the availability of career development. We hope that you find it as valuable as we have. Download study 1. Tristam Hooley, John Marriott and James P. Sampson, Jr. “Fostering college and career readiness: How career development activities in schools impact on graduation rates and students' life success.” International Centre for Guidance Studies (iCeGS), University of Derby, UK. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/02/why-you-should-bring-career-development-activity-into-your-classroom/ Thu, 02 February 2012 14:58:00 Phil Jarvis https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/02/the-perfect-storm-4-workforce-megatrends-you-need-to-know-about/ Like Hurricane Sandy that recently devastated the east coast, massive weather systems occasionally converge in extraordinary ways to create a "perfect storm".   Four labor force megatrends are now converging to create a perfect storm that will impact employment prospects for years to come. These megatrends are: The Great Recession : The global economy and communities across the country are weathering the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression nearly a century ago. All levels of government are in record debt and trying to find a balance between budget reductions, program and service cutbacks, and economic stimulus. Recovery is slow and faltering, companies are reluctant to invest in new people and productive capacity, individuals, families and communities are vulnerable. Shifting Demographics : The first baby boomers turned 65 in 2012. Many have already retired and an annual tsunami of boomers will retire over the next 20 years. This mass exodus of knowledge, talent and experience across the full spectrum of industry sectors will create new opportunities for young people and new challenges for employers seeking to fill the talent voids created by the boomers’ departure. Birth rates have declined over the past 4 decades among whites who are having fewer children later. Fortunately, birth rates in African and Hispanic American communities have not declined proportionately. Unlike some other OECD countries, America will have a steady supply of young talent for the foreseeable future. However, these groups do not enjoy the same educational and employment success rates as whites. This must change if American businesses are to have the skilled talent they need. Upskilling of Jobs : Accelerating technological advances have rendered many jobs obsolete, enabled robots to replace people in others, raised skill requirements in all sectors, and produce new jobs every month. More formal education, technical training, and "soft skills" are now demanded of workers in all jobs, especially in new and emerging fields fuelled by technological innovation. Employers need people who can problem-solve and innovate, communicate and collaborate effectively with others of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds, have a thirst for learning, and are responsible and dependable, and are committed to their employer’s success. It is estimated that close to 80% of all jobs in two decades will require postsecondary education or training for entry level positions, often with a focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Despite high unemployment and underemployment, particularly among youth, employers in all industry sectors are reporting challenges finding the talent they need to fill “mission-critical” positions. We are entering an era in which increasing numbers of people without jobs will co-exist with an even larger and growing number of jobs without people. This should create a “buyers market” for job seekers. Unfortunately, most of the jobs without people don’t want the people without jobs. Employers need 21st century skills most unemployed people don’t possess. Many job-seekers will have to “upskill” to qualify for the jobs looking for people. The economic consequences of unemployment and underemployment are staggering. Lost productivity and reduced competitiveness impact employers. Lost tax revenues, social assistance, corrections, stress-induced health costs alone run into $billions annually for all levels of government. The human consequences are higher. With the coming perfect storm, helping as many citizens as possible connect with fulfilling, family-sustaining 21st century careers has become an economic imperative. The most effective way for governments to reduce deficits and debt, and for companies to increase productivity and grow, is by getting the right people in the right jobs, fully engaged in creating economic prosperity for their companies and communities. On the upside, this may be the best period in history to be imagining and preparing for a career, or a career transition. In our increasingly “flat world,” more career options are available than ever. Moreover, one can now work for any organization in the world, and vice versa. Young people and adults who know themselves and understand their assets, are aware of emerging career opportunities, have a sense of direction and purpose, and have the education, skills and attitudes the 21st century workforce demands will have employers competing for their talents lifelong. Unprepared Workforce: In raw numbers, the biggest workforce challenge is upgrading the skills of current workers and adult job seekers. Few employers invest adequately in employee career management, training, and development. Few workers proactively invest in upgrading their skills. Unless their employer provides for skills upgrading, few workers can afford to quit work to upgrade their skills. The majority of today’s youth exit the educational system into unemployment, underemployment, or mal-employment, often mired in student loan debt and confusion about their immediate career prospects. Too many students, even those with university degrees, begin their careers in minimum wage jobs unrelated to their studies, with little prospect of paying off their student loans let alone buying a car and home and beginning a fulfilling adult life. Given the coming exodus of high-end talent boomers will take with them into retirement, and the increasingly inadequate supply of young talent, ensuring youth exit the educational pipeline into early career success has become an economic and social imperative. Today’s students need higher skill levels than any cohort before them. Yet, key 21st century “essential” skills employers now insist upon are not in core curriculum in most secondary and postsecondary programs. Many students fail to see personal relevance in traditional academic curricula, thus they are not fully engaged in their learning and are underachieving. All job sectors experiencing growth require at least some level of postsecondary education, yet of 100 students in the 9th grade today, fewer than 25 will graduate on schedule with a post-secondary degree, diploma or certificate. The portends are clear. Many current and future workers are at risk of becoming casualties of the looming perfect storm. A new paradigm of career navigation and workforce preparation is required. Basic building blocks of this new paradigm, exemplary career and workforce development resources exist but are largely underutilized. Consensus on "promising practices" suggests a core of 5 "foundational resources" should be in place at all levels of education. They include: Experiential career learning programs in kindergarten, primary, middle, secondary, and post-secondary schools; Comprehensive cloud-based career exploration and planning systems; Electronic portfolio systems that are developed and managed by students, with support from teachers and parents, through all education levels, with portfolio completion standards set for all grade levels by school districts, and/or departments of education; Online course planning systems linked to student information systems that enable students, teachers and parents to collaborate in selecting individual learning pathway plans for all students based on their career goals and plans; and Online networking systems that safely and strategically connect students and adult job seekers to employers seeking immediate and future talent. These connections can result in immediate hires, as well as mentoring, coaching, work experience, job shadowing, co-op placements, volunteerism and community service, and part-time job opportunities that allow both employers and students to "test the fit" over time before committing to each other. Career Cruising’s ccEngage suite includes all 5 of these career and workforce development resources. To learn more click on ccEngage in the menu at the top of the screen. Entire communities need to mobilize in support of these foundational career and workforce development resources, including: all teachers, counselors and administrators in all primary, middle, secondary, and post-secondary schools, including public and private universities, colleges, vocational, technical and trade schools parents and family members employer and industry organizations community agencies, like United Way and Junior Achievement, that support workforce and human capital development Without “whole-community” buy-in, use of even the best resources is fragmented and their benefits less than optimal. Career Cruising is committed to partnering with educational, business, and community leaders to implement a whole-community approach to career and workforce development to assure prosperity for individuals, families, businesses, and communities despite the perfect storm. Phil Jarvis Director of Global Partnerships A Perfect Storm PowerPoint can be downloaded here: Perfect Storm PDF The Perfect Storm – ccEngage Rationale can be downloaded here: Perfect Storm Rationale https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2012/02/the-perfect-storm-4-workforce-megatrends-you-need-to-know-about/ Tue, 08 January 2013 14:32:00 Roshni Patel https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/11/going-behind-the-scenes-on-career-day!/ Most people visit the Ontario Science Centre to interact with the exhibits.  But this year, over 1,800 grade eight students went behind the scenes to interact with the people who curate, maintain and manage the facility.   “Quite honestly, we lucked out that the Ontario Science Centre was a willing and able partner in this project,” says Matt Johnston.  He is one of five elementary guidance counsellors with the Toronto District School Board who were looking for a dynamic venue to host their Career Day event. The grade eight students were from East Region 12 and 13 of the Toronto District School Board.  Career Day began with five Ontario Science Centre employees speaking about their very different jobs. Speakers included a biochemist, a cabinet-maker, a zookeeper, and an administrator.  Students were surprised to learn about career opportunities for people without a science background. “Students learned that the Ontario Science Centre employs more than just scientists,” says Johnston.  “We want students to view organizations with a different lens because within those organizations there are many layers with different opportunities.” Students were also sent on a scavenger hunt to identify different things that speakers had talked about or find specific information about careers.  The Ontario Science Centre kept some of their staff available to interact with students and answer questions.   Ontario Science Centre staff spoke about the necessary skills for different types of jobs, and the importance of keeping options open. Some staff introduced students to the idea of  “transitional jobs” which are different from “forever jobs” because they are experiences for the next career step. Students used Career Cruising before the conference to explore their own interests. After the conference, students will continue using Career Cruising to research a career of their choice and present it to the class. The goal is to have students thinking about career options in a positive way before high school registration in June. The feedback from parents and educators who attended the conference has been very positive. Even more importantly, the students appeared engaged at the conference and left with a broader sense of how many career opportunities exist in a large organization. When asked how other school districts might mimic this career conference, Johnston thinks for a moment and then says that almost any school trip could be used to explore career opportunities. “The Ontario Science Centre is a large organization with multiple careers represented,” says Johnston. “But there’s no reason why you couldn’t walk through a zoo—or anywhere—and brainstorm different types of occupations that make the organizations run, then go back and research them.” https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/11/going-behind-the-scenes-on-career-day!/ Fri, 01 November 2013 11:54:00 John Kershaw https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/09/creating-a-21st-century-learning-and-skills-agenda/ In today’s innovation driven and competitive world, highly skilled people are the new economic and social drivers. In this context, there are two core questions facing leaders in Canada and the United States:  How to nurture creative and innovative talent; and how to address the current skills gap. Along with C21 Canada, Career Cruising is poised to play an important role on both fronts. In the knowledge and digital age value added knowledge creation drives innovation. Thus, the demand for creative and innovative people is escalating and is emerging as one of the key elements of the global skills gap.  C21 Canada is a national coalition of education and business leaders advocating for changes in Canada’s public education systems to address this reality. Our Shifting Mindsvision document calls for an enhanced focus on 21 st century competencies and use of modern technologies to position Canada with creative new leaders and a highly innovative workforce. The Partnership for 21 st Skills is active on this same front in the United States ( http://www.p21.org/ ). Better understanding the complexities of the skills gap is a prerequisite to collaborative action. Despite its growing public profile, few fully understand the nature and scope of the issue. In addition to fostering the aforementioned 21 st century competencies, other elements of the skills gap are noted below. In his book People Without Jobs Jobs Without People Rick Miner explains how Canada's aging demographic means fewer people available for the workforce, creating a gap in available talent for employers. Exacerbating this issue is the relatively low literacy levels of some workers, limiting their ability to upgrade their skills to stay current with changing work requirements. A gap also exists in the field of trades, partially resulting from many parents and educators discouraging youth from pursuing this career path. Mike Rowe, a popular actor in the United States, is speaking extensively on this topic and has founded an organization to address the issue.  Fewer entries into trades coupled with baby boomers retiring are creating a gap between supply and workforce requirements. Similarly, too few youth are pursuing the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Most of society’s technology innovations originate in these fields and increasing the number of STEM students is a prerequisite to any country’s future competitive position. On October 8, 2013 the OECD will release the findings of its inaugural international survey on adult competencies . The survey will provide an unprecedented glimpse into whether the participating countries are equipping their citizens with the competencies and skills they need for success in the 21st Century.  What does this all mean?  It means that what we teach, how we teach and how we assess learning, must change. It also means we must do a better job of educating people of all ages about career opportunities and how to adapt in a world where innovation is creating a complex and constantly shifting environment.  C21 Canada is building awareness of the need for more relevant and engaging models of learning and Career Cruising is offering a suite of programs and services designed to better align people’s interests with existing and emerging careers.  If we are successful on both fronts, instead of suffering through an ongoing skills gap we will instead create a learning and skills agenda for the 21 st Century.   ABOUT JOHN KERSHAW John is the President and CEO of C21 Canada, and the former Deputy Minister of Education for New Brunswick. He has served on OECD’s Centre for Education Research and Innovation and was recently appointed to AANDC’s National Selection Committee on Aboriginal education funding. To learn more about C21 and John, please visit their website. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/09/creating-a-21st-century-learning-and-skills-agenda/ Wed, 02 October 2013 17:45:00 Max Sadlowski https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/09/ccpathfinder-jumpstarts-alabama’s-plan-2020/ “ I didn’t find anyone else who had inventory and course selection,” says Julie Bryant, CTE Coordinator and District Lead for ccPathfinder. “Career Cruising put all the dots together for students and it was all online...It takes a huge load off the counselors.”     During the 2012-2013 School year, I had the pleasure of working with some fantastic  educators in Alabama at Baldwin County Schools to implement ccPathfinder, Career Cruising’s 4-year course planning tool. Baldwin is now setup years ahead of the rest and have truly jumpstarted the Plan 2020 for their school district.   In this whitepaper, developed with the help of Baldwin County Schools, you can see many of the reasons why Baldwin County is eliminating the paper and pencil method for course planning and going digital. In it’s first year of implementation, outcomes include:   •    high school course registration 60% more efficient •    counselors reporting more time for meaningful student engagement •    students logging onto career guidance tools up to six times more often •    parent engagement increasing •    state mandated reporting generated with ease   Read the full whitepaper here to see what Baldwin staff members had to say and why they have chosen to use Career Cruising for their career guidance and course planning needs. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/09/ccpathfinder-jumpstarts-alabama’s-plan-2020/ Thu, 12 September 2013 14:31:00 Jeff Harris https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/06/a-discussion-with-experts-addressing-the-challenges-of-career-educators-in-north-america/ This month, we were very excited to host an exclusive online event for our Career Cruising community as a way to show our appreciation for their continuous support! We hosted a live conversation with some of the most respected names in the world of career development.  They discussed the challenges facing career educators, practical coping strategies, and implementation plans with concrete examples. The panellists included: Mark Franklin (Facilitator): President and Practice Leader, CareerCycles career management social enterprise, and Career Buzz radio show host Bill Symonds (Panelist): Director of the Pathways to Prosperity Project by Harvard Graduate School of Education Pam Gabbard (Panelist): Past President of American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Norm Gysbers (Panelist): Past President of the National Career Development Association (NCDA) and Editor Emeritus, Journal of Career Development Rich Feller (Panelist): President, National Career Development Association (NCDA) In addition to addressing specific questions from attendees, we had asked panellists to discuss the following topics: The role of career guidance and career education in schools and post-secondary, and practical ideas to connect the dots between education and career Successful implementation models of career programs in education Common challenges faced by career educators and practitioners and practical strategies to overcome those challenges   For a full recording of the event, please click here . For the complete PowerPoint deck used during the presentation (containing references to resources mentioned during the presentation) please click here . https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/06/a-discussion-with-experts-addressing-the-challenges-of-career-educators-in-north-america/ Mon, 03 June 2013 09:12:00 Roshni Patel https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/05/redesign-to-career-cruising-much-more-than-a-mere-facelift/ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (For questions or additional information Roshni Patel at 1 (800) 965-8541 or roshnip@careercruising.com)   # # #   (Toronto, Ontario – April, 2013) – Career Cruising 2.0 is receiving rave reviews from one of the most trusted and respected publications in North America.   Library Journal praises Career Cruising for its “ copious up-to-date information”, as well as its relevance to students. “Once again I’m struck by the scope and quality of Career Cruising: it truly offers a way for students to determine their objectives based on their preferences and abilities, and attain their goals, step by step.” —Cheryl LaGuardia, Harvard University, March 15, 2013 The review walks readers through the new layout of Career Cruising 2.0, which is centered on the student’s self-built portfolio (My Plan).   Readers are then led through the main sections of the program, which include Assessments, Careers, Education, Financial Aid, and Employment.   These sections feed back directly into My Plan.   Library Journal thought this restructuring was a terrific innovation: “The new focus on the Plan, or portfolio, is a real plus that is rooted in real-world needs and practices... The redesign to version 2.0 is much more than a mere facelift for the interface: it rightly emphasizes students building a portfolio and devising a career plan based on it.” —Cheryl LaGuardia, March 15, 2013 Library Journal goes on to credit Career Cruising for having “sophisticated” scholarship and financial aid selectors, “realistic” college-planning time lines, and “spot-on discussions” of admission difficulty and campus life. Two years ago, Library Journal gave Career Cruising a perfect ten-out-of-ten after reviewing its ccSpringboard program (Library Journal 8/10).    Receiving another complimentary review from such a credible library resource is yet another exciting step in our ongoing mission to engage and inspire individuals of all ages to achieve their full potential in school, career and life. Read the full review here. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/05/redesign-to-career-cruising-much-more-than-a-mere-facelift/ Thu, 09 May 2013 12:04:00 Mark Jaillet https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/04/teacher-opinion-the-impact-of-financial-literacy/ Jaime Lolkema is a Family/Consumer Science teacher at Arlington Middle School in Poughkeepsie, New York.  She has been teaching Family and Consumer Science for 15 years and has used ccTheRealGame * for 12 years.  According to Jaime, "ccTheRealGame is the most effective tool [she has] used in the classroom.  Students' comments and reactions far outweigh anything else [she has] used." In this brief video, Jaime explains the importance of teaching financial literacy and shares some anecdotes from her classes. She says "I hear things from kids in my classroom like I am definitely going to college because I need a good education if I want to get a good job, or now I see why my parents can't buy me everything that I want..." Watch the full video here to see how Jaime uses ccTheRealGame in her classroom to meet ELA objectives and the impact it's had on her students. We know there are thousands of teachers like Jaime who love using The Real Game with their students.  If you are one, or know one, please consider forwarding a 3-4 minute video testimonial.  We would love to feature your story on our website! It's great to hear further evidence that we're on track with our mission to "Engage and Inspire" students. *ccTheRealGame is used in more than 10 countries, over 50,000 classrooms and by more than 1 million students across the world every single year! See how it works ! https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/04/teacher-opinion-the-impact-of-financial-literacy/ Tue, 02 April 2013 12:27:00 Phil Jarvis https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/04/creating-pathways-to-prosperity/ Harvard recently hosted a Creating Pathways to Prosperity conference for education, government, business, and third sector leaders from across the U.S.  The goal was to address the growing concern for young people’s career prospects. Among the invited participants were over 400 leaders, including governors, secretaries of education and workforce development, CEOs of major corporations, youth leaders, and champions of the most promising initiatives to help youth transition from school to success. Career Cruising played a prominent role in this historic conference.  I was invited to speak on a Guidance Panel, along with several distinguished U.S. guidance leaders. Career Cruising also introduced conference organizers to Thoughtstream , an online community engagement tool. Career Cruising and Thoughtstream presented six questions to conference invitees a month ahead of the actual meeting dates.  Well over a thousand ideas were painstakingly distilled into a clear pattern of collective priorities for the conference. What follows is a very abbreviated, yet informative summary of the results. The implications for guidance and career development practitioners are profound. For a comprehensive summary and detailed reports, click here . Question 1: What are the most important steps we can take together to launch a national Pathways movement aimed at preparing far more young Americans to lead successful lives as adults? The ideas receiving the most stars centered around making career pathways and guidance a more central focus in schools through a combination of strong partnerships with businesses, improved guidance counseling, and a more flexible and evolving approach towards career pathways in general.   Question 2: What are some examples of ways existing institutions need to change in order to create more effective Pathways systems? The top theme among the prioritized “changes to be made” included the creation of structures and systems that would help business and community partners better align with the education system to create a greater number of flexible and individualized pathways for students to explore while learning. Some of the ideas receiving the most stars were: We must transform the current K-20 system to a comprehensive Pre-K to 20 system that prepares students for success in career and life We need to implement comprehensive school guidance and counseling programs to improve career development, advisement and guidance counselor support for students in schools at all 
levels and make career and life guidance a central part of education We need to create and promote world class career and technical education with expand dual credit, apprenticeship, and advanced placement opportunities, and articulated courses between high school, colleges, and universities We need to redefine the goals and skills sets (including “21st century” and “soft” skills) needed for students to be successful in life     Question 3: What are some new institutions we might need to create to build robust Pathways systems? Among the top ideas of institutions that could be put in place to build robust Pathway systems were meeting centers, hubs and structured networks that would bring partners together on a regular basis and help them align their incentives and continue a dialogue. Some ideas receiving the most stars were: Higher education needs to engage with K-12 to recognize and promote different pathways We must align K-12 and higher education into one closely linked, consistent, accessible system with portable cross-credit programs, articulation agreements, and clear bridges from K-12 to post secondary College credits should be provided for CTE classes to reduce the cost of post secondary education and we need newer, more flexible credential systems We need a modern apprenticeship system   Question 4: What are the key impediments to creating effective Pathways systems? The perceived top challenges in creating effective Pathway systems were clear: current rigid structures and resistance to change.  Many of the recommended changes (see Q2) involve adding more flexibility to the curriculum, credential systems and community perspectives.  Overcoming these challenges will involve creating a shared understanding among all stakeholders and partners that will inevitably take time and continued discussions. Among the ideas receiving the most stars were: We need to revisit and revise post secondary accountability We need to educate teachers, administrators, counselors and the community at large about options beyond 
traditional college or university degrees and reduce the stigma, and increase the prestige, associated with non academic pathways We need to develop training and curriculum around labor market information We must educate parents on emerging employment needs and supporting their children’s career
 planning We need to integrate workforce and academic classes, and create and promote high-quality work-based and project-based individualized learning opportunities like volunteering, community service, mentoring, summer jobs, co-op education programs, internships, and apprenticeships Academic and technical learning is not a dichotomy   Question 5: What is the “low hanging fruit” — i.e., the most promising opportunities we could leverage soon to create better Pathways systems? Among the top were ideas on ways schools could work with partners to integrate work experience directly into the curriculum.  Some of these ideas included encouraging businesses to sponsor learning, apprenticeships and teacher-industry externships that would expose new pathways to students, teachers and community members. There was strong consensus that: We need to integrate workforce and academic classes, and create and promote high-quality work-based and project-based individualized learning opportunities like volunteering, community service, mentoring, summer jobs, co-op education programs, internships, and apprenticeships   Question 6: Is there anything else you would like to add at this time? Among the ideas receiving the most stars were: We need to take advantage of the current economic situation to muster support for and build a national organization to further the Pathways movement This is the most important thing we can do in education. It is essential for economic and workforce growth and development, and change needs to happen NOW We should collect and promote accurate data/evidence that defines the issues and the value proposition   Next Steps A Creating Pathways to Prosperity Conference report is being prepared and the Creating Pathways to Prosperity Thoughtstream website has been shared with conference participants and is available to the public. The Pathways Project team is now developing a draft Call to Action that will be fleshed out and refined through a further Thoughtstream community engagement process. Career Cruising will be involved throughout. Stakeholders from diverse sectors across the United States will identify gaps and vote on the action steps needed. Further, they will be challenged to commit to specific actions they will take and investments they will make as their contribution to mobilizing the Creating Pathways to Prosperity movement. Stay tuned. The Call to Action materials will appear soon on the Creating Pathways to Prosperity Thoughtstream website. We are proud that two Canadian organizations, Thoughtstream and Career Cruising, are playing pivotal roles in this historic movement to transform they way we prepare and equip youth to transition from school to success. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/04/creating-pathways-to-prosperity/ Tue, 02 April 2013 12:17:00 James R. Stone III https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/03/3-ways-to-make-high-school-matter/ In 1983, the publication of A Nation at Risk inaugurated a 30-year wave of reform in the United States that has led to a system of education that is increasingly narrow in focus and has reduced high school to a mere stopping point on the way to the next level of education – college. In response to the popular perception that the United States is losing out to other nations whose children score better on academic tests, we have convinced ourselves that good jobs require a college degree. In the “college for all” movement, high school has become the new middle school. How did this happen? Over the years, on the assumption that more (academics) must be better, states began to increase the academic requirements for graduation. One year of required high school math became three, and in many states, four. More science was demanded of students. Despite the addition of the equivalent of one full year of core academics to high school requirements since the early 1990s, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test scores in math, science, and literacy have remained essentially flat. In the meantime, although the high school graduation rate has been slowly improving, between one in four and one in five students starting ninth grade do not finish high school. Buried within these data is an alarming trend regarding boys. In a July 2012 New York Times opinion piece , David Brooks noted that fewer boys than girls finish high school, go to college, complete college, enter graduate school, or finish graduate school. Boys have the most discipline problems in schools and are awarded 75% of all the Ds and Fs. If there were any doubt, we have a very real boy problem in U.S. education. So where is this getting us? Requiring more academic courses is not improving academic skills and may be pushing boys out of the education pipeline, but we may be getting more students to finish college. Since 2001, according to the Center for College Affordability and Productivity , we have seen a 31% increase in the number of associate’s degrees awarded, a 24% increase in baccalaureate degrees, a 45% increase in master’s degrees, and a 43% increase in doctoral degrees. The problem is, 47% of those graduates now have jobs that do not require a BA or BS—more than a third of these graduates have jobs that require only a high school diploma. The amount of postsecondary education one has does not affect the hourly rate at Walmart or Starbucks. Although more education is intrinsically a good thing, the “college for all” movement has ignored both the costs of acquiring a college education and the realities of the labor market. Reports increasingly show the mismatch between what a college degree offers and what the labor market demands. Labor market signals strongly suggest the existence of a skills mismatch, and in some cases, a skills gap. Industry decries a lack of technicians, welders, and machinists to meet rising manufacturing demands. There are not enough medical assistants, pharmacy technicians, and health information workers to meet the extraordinary growth of the health care field. Many other jobs are going unfilled that require not a four-year degree but an industry-recognized credential (IRC) . IRCs may require anything from 10 weeks of intensive training for a welding certificate to two years of postsecondary study for an associate’s degree in nursing, for example. Given the realities of the labor market and the challenge of keeping young people engaged in education and getting them prepared for the job market, how can we make high schools matter to more youth? 1. Schools can engage young people by providing education that is both rigorous and more relevant. Recent research from the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE) shows that including CTE as part of the high school experience keeps kids in school and is linked to higher rates of high school graduation. As cited in this Education Week blog , we found a stronger connection between high school CTE course-taking and graduation for boys when they take three or more CTE classes in a focused program area. Finding meaning in learning is important for all youth, but it may be even more important for boys.** 2. Another way to make high school matter is to provide opportunities to acquire IRCs while in high school as part of a robust CTE program. States like Florida, Kentucky, and many others are expanding these opportunities. If done well, students can start a career pathway built upon stackable credentials beginning in high school that articulate seamlessly with postsecondary credit- and credential-earning opportunities. 3. Finally, if we want high school to matter, youth need to begin the career development process well before high school. Emerging research from the NRCCTE is pointing toward the importance of engaging students in thinking about their future selves no later than 8th grade. Many states now require individualized graduation plans that are predicated on career inventories or other strategies to start the conversation with students and parents in planning their future career pathway.*** According to the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Pathways to Prosperity report, more than half of all ninth graders will never complete a two- or four-year college degree. This means that their high school diploma has to provide them with the necessary preparation to continue their education and training when needed as they begin their journey to a successful and productive adulthood. There is more to making high school matter for all young people, especially robust career development and distributed guidance strategies that begin no later than seventh grade, but that’s the subject of another blog. ---------------------------------- ABOUT DR.JAMES R. STONE III Dr. James R. Stone III, Ed.D., is the Director of the NRCCTE at the University of Louisville . Dr. Stone’s research has focused on strategies that improve the capacity of CTE programs to improve the engagement, achievement, and transition of secondary and postsecondary CTE participants, including longitudinal studies on the effects of work-based learning and the effect of whole-school, CTE-based school reforms on educational outcomes of youth in high-poverty communities. Dr. Stone led an interdisciplinary team in conducting a randomized controlled trial of an innovative pedagogic and professional development strategy to integrate mathematics into high school CTE curricula (Math-in-CTE). A former editor for the Journal of Vocational Education Research, he has published numerous articles, books, and book chapters on CTE. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Louisville as a Distinguished University Professor in the College of Education and Human Development, Dr. Stone held faculty appointments at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Minnesota, where he directed the previous NRCCTE (2002-2007). Dr. Stone regularly posts his reflections on news from the field in his popular Jim’s Corner blog . Want to receive updates on his latest entries? Join his mailing list! -------------------------------------   **Ask us how we provide CTE tracking for students and administrators in our course planner, ccPathfinder .   ***Using a platform like Career Cruising’s ccInspire which allows students and employers to build meaningful connections through work-based learning opportunities can be another way to make high school matter. Through ccInspire, students can connect with mentors and discover opportunities in their industry of choice to better understand the impact of their education on their future career. However, the industry also has an important role to play to increase the relevance of education. Through ccInspire, employers can effectively prepare their upcoming workforce by connecting with students early to allow them to explore opportunities and show them the education required to pursue those careers. For more information on how you can integrate CTE as a part of course planning, contact Career Cruising. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/03/3-ways-to-make-high-school-matter/ Tue, 19 March 2013 13:10:00 Rick Miner https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/02/3-solutions-for-canadas-job-mismatch/ Three years ago, when I published People Without Jobs Jobs Without People I had no idea of the interest the report would generate.  To date I have made over seventy presentations, typically as a keynote speaker, to a wide variety of audiences (educators, labour planners, career counselors, businesses, government officials, etc.).  As a result, it has become increasingly obvious that we have to do a lot better at matching people with jobs.  Frustration among of our youth is setting in and that is not a good thing. Consider the following: Youth unemployment is about 14% and levels of dissatisfaction are rising. The number of university graduates enrolling in colleges after their graduation is on the rise resulting in even higher and higher student debt.  One college reports that that 25% of their full-time enrollment is comprised of university graduates. Canadian businesses spend less on educating their employees than their US and European counterparts. Our universities and colleges do not cooperate with each other to the extent they should with credit transfer issues being a major problem. Our labour market information (LMI) system needs a major overhaul.  We spend so much time looking in the rear view mirror (the past) and missing all the opportunities in front of us (the future). We are the only G-8 country without a ministry of education or a national education strategy. So what are the options?  What should we do?  Unfortunately, space does not allow a full discussion of all the issues but let me pick a couple of the bigger ones. First, we need to reform our post-secondary education (PSE) system.  Here we have a supply based model where 17 and 18 year olds, with limited LMI knowledge, defining the make up of our labour force.  It is no wonder we have a mismatch between graduates and career opportunities.  At the same time, we have the colleges and universities actively recruiting students, the more the better, since they need the tuition revenue to balance their budget.  The availability of jobs and careers does not get into the equation. Second, we need a Pan-Canadian labour force discussion and a subsequent strategy.  Let’s not get hung up on the issues around Constitutional jurisdictions.  This is too important an issue not to be able to find a way to work together. Third, we need to become far more sophisticated in talking about and understanding how jobs and careers will evolve.  Yes, it is hard to do but when you only look at the past you miss a lot of wonderful opportunities. If more educators, parents and employers took advantage of Career Cruising's ccEngage resources to help students thoughtfully explore viable 21st century career options, more would likely exit the educational pipeline prepared for the jobs of the future. Obviously, I have only scratched the surface on this extremely important topic.  But if you want to learn more you can go to my web site ( www.minerandminer.ca ) where you can access (use the research link) the original People Without Jobs report and the new report:  Jobs of the Future:  Options and Opportunities. ---------------------- ABOUT RICK MINER Dr. Rick Miner brings a distinguished record of more than 40 years’ experience within post-secondary education to his position at Miner and Miner. Recent involvements include: Presidency – Seneca College; Member – federal panel evaluating Canada’s labour market information system; Commissioner – review of the post-secondary institution system in New Brunswick; Contributor – ground breaking studies of Ontario and Canada’s labour market needs through 2031; assessment of university and college access programs. In 2012 he published a report entitled Jobs of the Future: Options and Opportunities. Dr. Miner holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Gettysburg College, a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Utah and a Doctorate in Management from the University of Minnesota. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/02/3-solutions-for-canadas-job-mismatch/ Sun, 03 February 2013 12:16:00 Ken Coates https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/01/building-a-career,-building-a-life/ Early in my term as Dean, Faculty of Arts at the University of Waterloo, Canada's leading institution and one renowned for its connections to the world of work, I was asked to speak to two groups in rapid succession: high school students considering the University of Waterloo and the graduating class from the Faculty of Arts.  I remember both presentations vividly.  It was 2007. The North American economy was firing on all cylinders. The forthcoming wave of retirements was going to clear out the middle class for the thousands of eager graduates coming out of Canadian and American universities. This was the age of the knowledge economy.  Graduates in all fields were sure to be in high demand.  My message was simple: get a university degree, work hard, plan carefully and a world of opportunity (and a high income) awaited.  What a difference a few years has made!  The world of work has turned sour.  The financial crisis of 2008-2009 stripped hope and optimism from the economy.  The stock market crash convinced thousands of would-be retirees to rethink their plans to leave the work force.  Companies reconsidered their investment plans, as they were concerned about the remarkable rise of China and about the slow decline of the North American economy.  Canada seemed to be doing much better -- producing natural resources at a time of high commodity prices is a recipe for at least short-term success -- but even here the forecasts were disappointing.  The 2012 American presidential election turned into a referendum on the preservation of the American middle class and the long-touted "American Dream."  Governor Mitt Romney referred repeatedly to the high rates of unemployment and student debt among university graduates, a situation that is mirrored in Canada but rarely discussed.  Uncertainty reigned. There is a new message for young people, rooted in simple realities: a sharp and seemingly permanent decline in middle management employment, the over-production of university graduates in general, the underproduction of university and college graduates with specialist, science-based credentials, and serious questions about the work ethic, motivation and determination of the young adults of today.  The so-called "Entitlement Generation" has few supporters among the adult population, including sadly many parents who raised their children to assume that they were very good at everything and that the world would unfold in their interests.  To a large number of employers, most university graduates lack the qualities that are essential for success in the highly competitive global marketplace.  We are entering a world of unpaid internships, substantial unemployment, mass underemployment, low salaries, short-term jobs, and youth dissatisfaction with their life chances.  The message -- and I fear that this one is going to last -- is simple.  A university degree is no guarantee of a good job, an exciting career and a high income.  University provides an opportunity to prepare for the world of work, but it is up to the individual to determine if that opportunity will be seized.  The job market will remain tight and it will be hard for an individual to rise above the wave of new graduates leaving the universities and colleges every year.  So, the future for a young person working their way through post-secondary education rests on very careful and deliberate steps.  Students should select their academic programs carefully.  Students with specialist or science and technology-based degrees have the best prospects. Entering university with solid Math, Physics and Chemistry credentials is essential to keep doors to these high demand programs and careers open.  Science aversion is increasingly a serious impediment to a career.   Business schools are very crowded, and there are prospects of over-production of graduates.  Once in school, young people should also dedicate themselves to their studies.  Excellence and achievement, and not  exclusively in academics is the sine qua non of a highly successful career.  Students have to pay attention to their volunteer activities, part-time and summer jobs, and extra-curricular activities.  Employers are interested in future employees of broad accomplishments and interests, not book-learning drones who never had a life outside of their course work.  There are challenging times ahead, and we have not prepared the young people of today for the economy and workforce of the future.  Not only have the adults saddled future generations with a crushing debt load, they have led North America into an economic morass filled with uncertainty and change.  In this environment, young people need to seize the future, look for opportunities for personal development, give serious thought to entrepreneurship and self-employment, and take responsibility for their career and earning outcomes.  Universities and colleges can be part of the puzzle, or they can be holding pens where young people and families put off discussing the inevitable transition to the world of work.  We are in, I truly believe, a time that rewards the bold, the hard-working and the creative and that punishes the passive, the entitled and the unmotivated.  Making one's way in the world has never been easy, and it is tough enough at present.  It seems quite clear, to me at least, that the future promises greater difficulties and puts even more of a premium on self-direction and a rediscovery of the work ethic that once made North America the envy of the world.  ***** About Ken Coates Raised in Whitehorse, Yukon, Ken attended the University of British Columbia and the University of Manitoba, receiving his PhD in Canadian history from UBC in 1984  He subsequently taught at Brandon University and the University of Victoria before starting an administrative career that took him to the University of Northern British Columbia, the University of Waikato (New Zealand), the University of New Brunswick at Saint John, the University of Saskatchewan, and the University of Waterloo.  He is now the Canadian Research Chair in Regional Innovation in the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan.  Ken's research covers a variety of topics, including Native-newcomer relations, Northern history, Arctic sovereignty, science and technology and contemporary Japan.  He is the President of the Japan Studies Association of Canada.  He has written and spoken extensively about post-secondary education, drawing on his years of administrative experience and his work at very diverse institutions.  In 2011, he published Campus Confidential:  100 Startling Things You Need to Know About Canadian Universities (with W.R. Morrison); a revised edition of this book will be published in 2013, as will a "users' guide" to Canadian universities. You can visit Ken's website to learn more, or send him an email at kennethcoates@gmail.com. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2013/01/building-a-career,-building-a-life/ Tue, 08 January 2013 15:02:00 Dr. Kris Magnussen https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/12/making-sense-of-21st-century-learning/ Late last Spring, I was invited to participate in a local TEDx event hosted by the West Vancouver school district. I had recently given a talk about the kinds of technology needed for supporting learning in changing school climates, and they wondered if I might give a similar talk for their TEDx event. Because the event was still several months away, I readily agreed to participate. The gist of my earlier talk was based on a commonly held belief that digital technology plays a central role in 21st Century learning. I think of technology in more generic terms, as a means to solve a problem, and I proceeded to show 4 main “problems” that needed solving in our K-12 school system – and thus that were in need of “technologies”. We need to better integrate learning opportunities and methods. We need to educate in multilingual, multicultural and multi-historical contexts. We need to better document the real impact of our interventions. And, we need to provide a framework of meaning for learning. The ways of solving those problems may involve digital technologies, but they are equally likely to take other forms as well, and we can’t lose sight of the need to continue to refine our technological capacity in each of those areas. Throughout the latter parts of the spring and into the summer, the organizers were encouraging us to be preparing, practicing and rehearsing for our talk. For some reason, I could not bring myself to do so, and kept putting it off to a time when I would be less “busy”. The real issue was that my heart was just not into that talk – even though I strongly believe in the need to solve those four general problems. The more I struggled with the presentation, the clearer it became that the thing I most wanted to talk about was the problem of making meaning in one’s learning. In all of the writing about 21st century learning, and all of the calls to personalize learning, I had not heard anyone talking about the sort of framework that would be needed for this learning to make sense to the individual. We want to create more opportunities for self-directed learning, we want to have more creativity, more collaboration, less content and ultimately more engagement in the learning process. And we want all of those things, it is argued, to make learning better. But, it seems to me that we are busy personalizing learning without helping people construct personalized pathways. And so, the talk that I ended up giving spoke to this fourth problem: How do we provide a framework of meaning? In other words, how do we make learning relevant, other than by simply relying on better processes? Better processes will indeed yield better engagement, but it will still ring hollow if there is not a higher purpose for those processes. To me, coherent career practice is not just something that should from time to time enter the K-12 curriculum discussions. It is not something that we leave to overworked and often under-trained school guidance counsellors. It is the frame that holds the personalized learning picture, that gives it meaning and purpose, and that impels the individual down that personalized learning path. Without such a frame, personalized learning can easily degrade into nothing more than meandering. Meandering can be a useful strategy, but at some point, one has to make sense of all of that meandering. It can be an effective way to explore if one is at least heading in a general direction, but it can also be frustrating and feel pointless. It would be a shame to replace one disengaging educational system with another more energizing but equally disengaging one. We can and should do better. If you are curious about how that talk ended up, you can find it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qTS4Q6B49E&feature=youtu.be https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/12/making-sense-of-21st-century-learning/ Thu, 18 December 2014 00:00:00 Denis Luchyshyn https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/10/a-step-by-step-guide-on-how-to-rock-informational-interviews/ Sending out hundreds of online applications and then waiting to get that coveted phone call inviting you for an interview is NOT AN EFFECTIVE job seeking strategy. In this digital age it’s becoming of growing importance that youth develop their professional networks. Our FREE E-BOOK (GUIDE) on informational interviews takes the reader through the best practices for researching companies, reaching out to the right contacts, and scheduling, preparing, and conducting informational interviews. The easily digestible information is a great resource for youth, educators and career practitioners inside and outside the classroom. Understanding the frustration and difficulty so many youth face when searching for employment, this guide is written from the perspective of two recent graduates that went through the struggles and successes themselves. It features the combined advice collected from over 125 individuals including youth, career educators and employers. Download the FREE E-BOOK (GUIDE) on informational interviews. About Road to Employment Road to Employment, a Victoria based multi-media company, takes an innovative and grassroots approach to solving North America's youth unemployment and underemployment crisis. Determined to find a solution Denis and Clinton set out across the country in a fuel efficient two door Chevrolet in search of answers. The team has traveled over 8,000km, collaborated with more than 125 stakeholders, and surfed dozens of couches (engaging with local communities along the way) to document the stories, experiences, and advice of youth, educators, and employers. Through these conversations they have identified actionable strategies to solving the core issues job seekers and employers face. Acting as a catalyst for change in North America, Road to Employment brings together multiple stakeholders to promote public engagement and conversation of this important issue. See our website for tips, short films, and industry expert advice to advance your career. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/10/a-step-by-step-guide-on-how-to-rock-informational-interviews/ Thu, 09 October 2014 14:59:00 Denis Luchyshyn https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/10/informational-interviews-the-cheat-sheet-for-acing-your-career/ Last Spring, I was invited to a graduation party. The busy living room was filled with recent graduates. You could feel the energy and enthusiasm around the room as my friends celebrated their welcome to the “real world”. Circling the room I struck up a conversation about what they wanted to do now that they were finished their degrees. Few had specific plans. But most said that they wanted or needed to find a job and laughed when I asked if they knew what kind of work they wanted to do. This came as no surprise. Having graduated just one year prior, I could relate to the realities of not knowing where to go next. The old expression holds true. People only know what they know. It’s hard to figure out what jobs are right for you when you don’t even know what kind of opportunities are out there! Looking back, regardless of your current situation. Whether you’re: in school and exploring, graduated and looking for work, employed and in need of a change or just curious, you’re probably wondering… “Where do I start?” Having traveled across the country and meeting over 100 career experts ONE incredibly powerful idea stands out in my mind...informational interviews. INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS To quote Google: “An informational interview is a meeting between you and a professional. The purpose is to help define your career options or research a company where you want to work. It is NOT a job interview. Do not expect anyone to make you an offer.” Simply put, informational interviews are an opportunity to: Explore a company’s corporate culture Understand specific work realities in your profession of interest Unravel the unspoken details about industries from an insider Expand your professional network And so much more! Informational interviews are like the answer key at the end of the textbook or the cheat sheet on your final exam. Instead of having to reinvent the wheel to your dream career you ask an expert to explain or show you how to do it. It is the single, most simple, powerful and effective method to begin actively shaping your future. ARE INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS REALLY THAT EFFECTIVE? The short answer is - YES, YES, YES! They are low risk, low pressure, non-intrusive opportunities to connect with professionals of interest. You aren’t asking for a JOB. In return, what you’re offering each interviewee to feel like a highly regarded expert. Their advice is going to make a meaningful impact on your life. This hits home because on a fundamental level, most people enjoy sharing their knowledge and reveling in this feeling of supporting an engaged, curious and passionate youth. Sounds easy right? In the last three months we’ve set up over 100 informational interviews and created an engaged network of professionals who have become the backbone of our research on youth employment. Having done this countless times we want to share with you our MOST EFFECTIVE strategies to set up and rock these interviews! FREE eBOOK: Our free ebook guide takes the reader through the best practices for researching companies, reaching out to the right contacts, and scheduling, preparing, and conducting informational interviews. The easily digestible information is a great resource for youth, educators and career practitioners inside and outside the classroom. Visit the Road to Employment Kickstarter campaign to download it now.   ABOUT CLINTON AND DENIS Clinton Nellist and Denis Luchyshyn are two recent graduates from the University of Victoria whose project “ Road to Employment ” is a film focused “how-to” manual on youth employment.  They’ve embarked on a cross-country journey through Canada to bring you the best way to land the job of your dreams. Featured on GlobalTV’s Morning News Montreal with Richard Dagenais, and CJAD 800AM’s Tommy Schnurmacher Show with James Mennie these two are cruising to a town near you. See our website for tips, short films, and industry expert advice to advance your career. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/10/informational-interviews-the-cheat-sheet-for-acing-your-career/ Thu, 02 October 2014 18:03:00 Roshni Patel https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/09/preparing-for-take-your-kids-to-work-day/ 2014 marks the 20th anniversary of  Take Our Kids To Work day in Canada, the signature national program of  The Learning Partnership . On Wednesday, November 5 th , grade 9 students (or equivalent) will visit workplaces across Canada (hosted by parents, friends, relatives and volunteers) to help them connect school, the world of work, and their own futures. Although the days might be called something different in Canada and America, and they may fall on two separate dates, the concepts are the same. Here are some suggestions to make this year's Take Our Kids to Work day even more beneficial for more kids. Libraries/Workforce: If you are a library or a workforce organization, host a workshop or a series of workshops that bring parents and their children together using Career Cruising. Have them do the Matchmaker interest assessment together to see what careers are of interest to the child, then have them explore their top careers of interest in more detail. Finally, have them brainstorm a list of family, friends or others in their network who can host them on the day to explore one of those careers. K-12: Prepare for Take Our Kids to Work day with The Learning Partnership’s free interactive digital learning experiences for students, parents, employers, teachers and administrators. These educational resources offer activities, videos and tips to get the most out of the Take Our Kids to Work experience. Using your Career Cruising Career Advisor Management System (CAMS) , message all your grade 9 students, teachers and parents encouraging their participation in Take Our Kids to Work Day. Encourage academic teachers to spend some time in the days leading up to November 5th discussing careers that relate to their subject of teaching. They can project Career Cruising on the white board, click on Careers, select School Subjects, click on their subject (i.e., Math), then discuss as many of the careers that appear as possible, asking students, How do you think Math applies to this career? Have students review and update their Individual Pathway Plans (My Plan) in their Career Cruising ePortfolios. Encourage them re-do Matchmaker if they haven't recently, and look into all Careers that appeal to them. Then explore one of those careers on Take Your Kids to Work Day. Encourage students, teachers and parents to brainstorm who they know in a career of special interest to each student who might host the student for Take Our Kids to Work Day. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/09/preparing-for-take-your-kids-to-work-day/ Thu, 18 September 2014 17:13:00 Roshni Patel https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/09/the-pursuit-of-passion(s)/ We take inspiration seriously at Career Cruising – both being inspired and inspiring others. One of the ways in which we inspire others is by sharing our own stories through our Staff Spotlights; our personal journeys of how we’ve gotten to where we are today, the tough choices we were forced to make and the lessons we learned along the way. In this Staff Spotlight, we’re bringing to you the story of Amir Dayan, Director of Key Accounts. Amir recently made his childhood dream of being a musician a reality by releasing his first song on iTunes. Through his interview below, he shares with us what it feels like to live with ADD, why he gave up a higher salary and how he never stopped pursuing his passion(s). As you’ll soon realize, you don’t need to narrow down your options to just one. ON CHOOSING A CAREER AND LIVING WITH ADHD As a kid I enjoyed the thought that I can be anything I want and therefore I wasn’t eyeing a specific career. I wanted to be a chef, an actor, a musician, a singer – anything within the creative arts. I also wanted to be a pilot, an engineer, an innovator and a CEO of a successful company. I also liked humanities, like psychology and philosophy. To say the least, it was very confusing for me - and also disappointing - to pick one specific, single profession. On top of that, when I was growing up in the late 70’s/early 80’s nobody talked about careers with me. Career development just wasn’t a thing back then as it is nowadays. Another thing I had to factor into my career decision was the fact that I have ADHD (I only realized that in my late 20’s). When I was a kid, society just referred to it as being ‘hyperactive’. Nonetheless, I was aware that my attention can run around but I never saw it as a syndrome, disease or a limitation; on the contrary - I saw it as another amazing skill that I have – the ability to simultaneously work on different things; think in parallel mode and to constantly look for mental stimulation. Having ADHD is probably the best gift I could ever have received as it allows me to think in ways that help me analyze processes from many different directions. To summarize: I think the common denominator in all of my aspirations and dreams was to be happy and to feel accomplished. But I just couldn’t see that happening from a single choice of profession. ON THE PURSUIT OF MUSIC From a very early age, I loved music. I loved singing, even just commercial music we heard on the radio. When I was 6 my father bought me my first guitar and I really got into it when I turned 12. I watched a music video of one of my favorite guitar players Gary Moore (back then I had no clue who he was) and I fell in love with his solos. That gave me a sense of purpose. It’s part of why soloing is such a strong skill with my guitar playing today. As I got older, and as I continued moving between jobs, one thing stayed constant – my love for music. I never stopped taking lessons or showing interest in music, even when my career was far from it. When I moved to California, I kept playing with other musicians; I took a few classes in Jazz and Blues and always found a way to practice – sometimes for hours until I got it right. Technology made it easier for me to get exposed to new genres and nowadays with YouTube, Vimeo, and other social sites it has become easier to collaborate and expand musical horizons. In producing my latest single, technology has become the delivery vehicle which I needed to kick start the musical collaboration that I have always dreamt of. ON MAKING TOUGH CHOICES THROUGHOUT THE CAREER JOURNEY In my early 30’s I started to doubt the direction I was moving in professionally. I wasn’t happy with what I was doing. Although I was living in San Francisco and making a lot of money, I was still extremely discontent. I decided to move to Toronto on the hunt for something new to do. And since I possess what are considered in the industry as ‘transferrable skills’, I was looking all over the place for something exciting and new. I was quite amazed to find Career Cruising as I never knew how far the career exploration arena had progressed. I was very intrigued. I decided to pursue a position at Career Cruising even though I had offers for twice the salary as an engineer in other companies (not to say that Career Cruising doesn’t pay well…just trying to make a point). It was actually the first time in my life where I had realized that I cared less about compensation and more about new challenges, growth prospects and a sense of purpose. The great thing is that I also realized that I don’t have to just limit my options to working as a Director of Key Accounts for Career Cruising. I don’t think it is in my personality to choose a single occupation and do that full time. I enjoy doing many things all together and I don’t believe that my professional career alone would satisfy me just like being a professional musician or producer alone would satisfy me. So, I decided to pursue both. During the day I help people achieve success using Career Cruising. But by night, I am Dreaming of You. Don’t worry, I’m not actually dreaming of you, that’s the name of my album on iTunes.  The cool thing is that I make a lot of my music using modern technology satisfying the engineer in me.  It’s a nice fusion of all of my worlds. ON INSPIRING OTHERS Sometimes you don’t need to choose a specific career. Rather, create that career path for yourself that brings together many of your worlds. Be bold, innovate your own path (or paths) and remember that a dream is merely an unfulfilled reality. Dream away and don’t give up on the pursuit! Amir's song can be found on iTunes here. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/09/the-pursuit-of-passion(s)/ Thu, 18 September 2014 16:55:00 Roshni Patel https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/07/why-parents-should-encourage-children-to-gain-work-experience-early!/ The world is so different today from when we grew up.  The path that we took was for the most part linear: get a good education and you will find a good job. However, the market is very competitive today. What is going to give our children the upper edge that they need to come out on top of this competitive market? Tune into this conversation with expert author Sandra Finkelstein where she discusses 4 key things all parents should know when it comes to the success of our children: Understand how the world is very different today than it was when we were young Realize the true value and importance of employment/volunteer opportunities for your child Learn tips on how you can help your child begin the process of looking for volunteer positions, internships or paid work Know the difference between your role as a parent and guide during your child’s career development process and their own   Tune in! Tune into the conversation!   Follow along! Download the PowerPoint to follow along: 4 Things Parents Should Know To Help Children Navigate the Job Market.   FREE HANDOUT! Download our FREE HANDOUT that provides parents step by step instructions on how to help children build resumes, build their personal brands, understand corporate culture and industries, learn what they like and dislike, build connections, leverage the power of networking and perfecting the art of interviews.     ----------------------------------------------- ABOUT SANDRA Sandra Finkelstein is an author, youth advocate and empowerment consultant. Her book,  We're Not Gonna Take It  is a resource book geared to the millennial youth to give them, their parents and youth workers the tools and resources to assist in their decision-making process and provide the foundation for their success in this market. She is currently working with companies on intergenerational relationships (motivation and engagement strategies that bridge the gap between different age groups to create a cohesive and engaged work environment). https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/07/why-parents-should-encourage-children-to-gain-work-experience-early!/ Thu, 17 July 2014 17:47:00 Phil Jarvis https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/07/it-takes-a-village!/ The Gallup World Poll began in 2005. Gallup, Inc. polls every major demographic and socioeconomic group in over 150 countries each year and is committed to doing so for 100 years. As reported by Gallup CEO Jim Clifton in “The Coming Jobs War [1] ,” Gallup’s biggest discovery so far is that, more than anything else, the whole world wants a good job! Clifton suggests thatcommunities (countries, regions, cities, towns) that ensure their citizens have good jobs, and their employers have engaged employees, will keep their most strategic asset, talent, and prosper. Those that don’t will lose their talent to communities that do, and decline.   In a world of accelerating change and uncertainty, aligning talent and opportunity demands the harmonized efforts of all community stakeholders. Communities everywhere are weathering the worst economic downturn in a century. All levels of government are in record debt, trying to find a balance between budget reductions, program and service cutbacks, and economic stimulus. The oldest baby boomers turned 65 in 2012. Many have already retired and an annual tsunami of boomers will retire over the next 20 years. This mass exodus of knowledge, talent and experience across the spectrum of industry sectors will create talent vacuums and new opportunities for young people and new challenges for employers seeking to fill the talent void created by the boomers’ departure. Accelerating technological advances regularly render jobs obsolete, enable robots to replace humans in others, raise skill requirements in all sectors, and produce new jobs continuously [2] . More formal education, technical training, and "soft skills" are now demanded of all workers, especially in new and emerging fields fuelled by technological innovation. Employers need people who can problem-solve and innovate, communicate and collaborate effectively with others of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds, have a thirst for learning, are responsible and reliable, and are fully engaged and committed to their employer’s success. A 2013 Gallup survey [3] results suggest that only 30% of North American employees are fully engaged in their work. Despite high unemployment and underemployment, particularly among youth, employers in all sectors report challenges finding the talent they need to fill “mission-critical” positions. We are in an era in which increasing numbers of “people without jobs [4] ” co-exist with a larger and growing number of “jobs without people.” This should create a “buyers market” for job seekers. Unfortunately, due to skills deficits, the jobs without people don’t want many of the people without jobs. The economic consequences of unemployment, underemployment, and employee disengagement are staggering. Lost productivity and reduced competitiveness impact employers. Lost tax revenues, social assistance, corrections, and stress-induced health costs alone run into $billions annually for all levels of government. Helping their citizens connect with fulfilling, family-sustaining 21st century careers has become an economic imperative for communities. The most effective way for governments to reduce deficits and debt, and for companies to increase productivity and grow, is by getting the right people in the right jobs, fully engaged in creating economic prosperity for their companies, their families and their communities. On the upside, this may be the best period in history to be imagining and preparing for a career, or a career transition. In our increasingly “flat world,” more career options are available than ever. One can now work for any organization in the world, and vice versa. Young people and adults who know themselves and understand their strengths, are aware of emerging career opportunities, are entrepreneurial and have a sense of direction and purpose, and have or are prepared to acquire the education, skills and attitudes the 21st century workforce demands will have employers competing for their talents lifelong. Nearly half of today’s youth exit the educational system into unemployment, underemployment, or mal-employment, often mired in student loan debt and unsure how to identify good career prospects [5] . Many students, even those with university degrees, begin their careers in minimum wage jobs unrelated to their studies, with little prospect of paying off their student loans let alone buying a car and home, and beginning a fulfilling adult life. Given the coming exodus of high-end talent boomers will take with them into retirement, and the increasingly inadequate supply of young talent, ensuring youth exit the educational pipeline into early career success has become an economic and social imperative for all communities. Today’s students need higher skill levels than any cohort before them. Yet, key 21st century “essential” skills employers now insist upon are not in core curriculum in most secondary and postsecondary programs. Many students fail to see personal relevance in traditional academic curricula. They, like the majority of working adults (Gallup), are not fully engaged, thus they are underachieving. Students need more hands-on, “real world” work- and project-based learning opportunities at all levels. All job sectors experiencing growth require at least some level of postsecondary education, yet of 100 students in the 9th grade today, fewer than 30 will graduate without interruption with a post-secondary degree, diploma or certificate [6] . In the past year Career Cruising has sponsored Thoughtexchange [7] idea generation processes among national leaders in career development and career and technical education at Harvard University’s Creating Pathways to Prosperity Conference , NCDA’s 100 th Anniversary Conference in Boston, and ACTE’s CareerTech Vision 2013 Conference in Las Vegas. The issues rated highest priority were: Educators and employers must collaborate to provide work-based and project-based learning opportunities for secondary and post-secondary students while they are still in school. Career and labor market information and guidance provision must be enhanced dramatically so students make informed decisions of pathways based not only on their interests, talents, and aspirations, but also on on evolving workforce needs. All learning pathways to careers in demand in the workforce deserve priority and respect. The “college for all” mentality does a disservice to many students, and fails to provide sufficient new workforce entrants with the skills and experience employers now need to compete globally and grow. The contributions of educators, parents, employers, and community agencies are all vital and must be harmonized. Helping citizens find good jobs, and employers find good employees must now be every community’s highest priority. A new “whole-community” paradigm of career exploration, planning, and workforce preparation is required. Consensus on "promising practices" suggests a core of 5 "foundation resources" need to be in place at all levels of education. They include: Engaging experiential career learning programs in kindergarten, primary, middle, secondary, and post-secondary schools; Web-based career exploration and planning systems used in the context of comprehensive K-16 career guidance programs, accessible 24/7 by all students, teachers, and parents; Electronic portfolio systems with individual leaning/pathways plans (ILPs/IPPs) that are developed, continually updated and managed by students, with support from teachers and parents, through all education levels and beyond, with portfolio completion standards set for all grade levels by school districts, and/or departments of education; Online course planning systems linked to student information systems (SISs) that enable students, teachers and parents to collaborate in selecting individual learning pathway plans for all students based on informed career goals and pathway plans, and aligned with local employment opportunities; and Online networking systems that safely and strategically connect students and adult job seekers with increasingly informed dreams with employers with talent challenges. These connections can result in immediate hires, as well as mentoring, coaching, work experience, job shadowing, co-op placements, internships, apprenticeships, volunteering and community service, and part-time job opportunities that allow both employers and students to "test the fit" over time before committing to each other. In this way, local employers can create “pipelines” of future employees, and support educators in helping equip students with the skills and “real world” experience they need to transition from school to successful career paths. Career Cruising’s ccEngage suite of seamlessly integrated cloud-based resources can be used harmoniously by all students, teachers, parents, employers, government and community organizations in any community. Powerful customization and report generation tools are available at the school/agency, community, and regional level. In order to retain their talent and prosper, entire communities need to mobilize in support of these foundational career and workforce development resources, including: all teachers, counselors and administrators in all primary, middle, secondary, and post-secondary schools, including public and private universities, colleges, vocational, technical and trade schools parents and family members employers, industry organizations, Chambers of Commerce, Service Clubs community agencies, like the YM/YWCA, United Way, Junior Achievement, Big Brothers/Sisters, etc., that support workforce and human capital development Without “whole-community” buy-in, use of even the best resources is fragmented and their benefits less than optimal. Career Cruising is committed to partnering with educational, business, and community leaders to implement a whole-community approach to career and workforce development to increase prosperity for individuals, families, businesses, and communities. Here’s a short video demonstrating whole-community collaboration in Rock County, Wisconsin . This is one of 15 regional or statewide whole-community implementations to date across the United States. New Brunswick is the first Canadian province to launch its whole-community InspireNB . [1] Clifton, Jim, The Coming Jobs War, 2010 [2] Miner, Rick, Ph.D., Jobs of the Future: Options and Opportunities, 2012 [3] State of the American Workforce, Gallup, Inc., 2013 [4] Miner, Rick, Ph.D., People Without Jobs, Jobs Without People; Canada’s Labour Market Future, 2010 [5] King, 2009, Who Doesn’t Go To Post-Secondary Education?, Miner, 2010, People Without Jobs, Jobs Without People, Education Indicators 2011, Statistics Canada & Council of Ministers of Education Canada [6] Education Indicators 2012, Statistics Canada & Council of Ministers of Education Canada [7] Thoughtstream is a community engagement product of Fulcrum Management Solutions Ltd of Rossland, British Columbia. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/07/it-takes-a-village!/ Tue, 01 July 2014 15:27:00 Roshni Patel https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/06/for-our-youngest-career-cruisers-ccspark!-app-now-available-on-itunes/ Here at Career Cruising, we’re excited about our new ccSpark! application for iPad . ccSpark! is a learning game designed especially for elementary school.  It introduces our youngest Career Cruisers to age-appropriate life skills and career guidance information at national curriculum standards. With this new iTunes download, students can easily access ccSpark! from any iPad in the classroom or from home. “An iPad application is key for our youngest ccSpark! users who are still working up to a computer desktop environment, ” says Matt McQuillen, Career Cruising CEO. “Our new iTunes application means students can login to their own secure ccSpark! portfolios from any iPad at school or with parents at home.” ccSpark! is an engaging computer game where students learn by playing in a cartoon community. Students have their own digital portfolios for saving game progress and personal reflections. These portfolios are the first steps in building student career plans that continue after graduation. ccSpark! is the elementary school component of our complete suite of integrated career guidance services from Kindergarten to College. All Career Cruising products meet school and district goals put forward by the National Career Development Guidelines and the American School Counselor Association . The career guidance information in ccSpark! also matches current college and career readiness initiatives. The ccSpark! App is for the Kindergarten to Grade 2 module of ccSpark! only. It can be downloaded from iTunes to any iPad using the Apple ID associated with the device. Students then login with the same ccSpark! username and password provided by their school to continue with all their saved work. Students without the App can still access their saved work at www.careercruising.com     In the classroom or at home? In the library or at the career center? At the your desktop or on a tablet? Let us know your favorite place to Career Cruise! https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/06/for-our-youngest-career-cruisers-ccspark!-app-now-available-on-itunes/ Tue, 03 June 2014 11:19:00 Roshni Patel https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/05/getting-career-cruisers-inspired-right-now-if-i-were-22-linkedin/ Congratulations to LinkedIn for getting Career Cruisers everywhere inspired by the “If I were 22” series!  If you haven’t found it already, we just had to alert you to this engaging project.  Let us know which ones inspired you most! The “If I Were 22” series invites leaders from every industry to share lessons from their youth.  The result is a treasure trove of over eighty contributions that read like entertaining graduation speeches for the class 2014--or any young professional.  Many contributors explore the balance of dreaming versus organizing as a young adult. Stylist Rachel Zoe explains how the rules for climbing the ladder of success in fashion can apply anywhere.  On the other hand, Arianna Huffington of her eponymous Huffington Post advises against climbing the traditional ladder of success for a less stressful life. Confused?  Don’t worry: Deepak Chopra takes a spiritual look at how not to fear your uncertainty. There are also many delightful surprises: Financial Advisor Suze Orman explains why money should not define you—whah?!  And guess what Virgin Group Founder Richard Branson and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s advice has in common?  The importance of travel! If you’re already have a LinkedIn account, the entire series is accessible to you right here. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/05/getting-career-cruisers-inspired-right-now-if-i-were-22-linkedin/ Mon, 26 May 2014 11:59:00 Mark Franklin https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/05/connecting-the-dots-from-engineer-to-career-professional/ “How did you go from being an engineer to a career professional?” That is a question I am asked from curious clients, colleagues and friends of CareerCycles , the career management social enterprise I now lead. The question itself emerges from a collective curiosity about significant career and life changes that seem unusual, mysterious or discordant to the casual observer.  However, when we dig deep into the stories behind those changes, the dots do connect and bridging patterns emerge. At the risk of oversimplifying the career change process, my story begins in America’s largest handgun factory. Let me take you to the clanging and kinetic shop floor. At 29, I was working as a management consultant with a prestigious consulting firm. My job was to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operations, as I had done time and time again in other industrial settings - factories manufacturing fast food apple pies, industrial sprinklers, boxes of chocolate, cases of beer, among others. The ultimate goal in this particular instance was to make more guns, faster. As a trained industrial engineer with seven years of work experience at the time, I thought that I was in the right place in my career.  After five years with a technology company I’d arrived at one of the top management consulting firms through a key contact I’d made during my summer work experience between third and fourth year of engineering school. Though I wouldn’t have been able to articulate it at the time, my career move to management consulting was driven as much from a push from behind as a pull from ahead. The push was a feeling of burnout from the work I’d been doing in the technology firm – so much energy focusing on the firm’s one key product made me feel uneasy and worried I’d become too narrowly focused so early in my career. The pull from ahead was a fuzzy desire for prestige that I’d associated with the world of management consulting. But this job at the gun factory wasn’t the same as the previous consulting projects - something just wasn’t right.  Amid the roaring metal stamping machines, the glint of gun metal as pistol and revolver parts dropped into steel containers, and my breathing in the smell of machine oil wafting from the factory floor, an inner voice finally yelled, “What am I doing here”?  I’d been working in hundreds of different factories throughout Canada, the US and Europe by that point in my career but I’d never quite felt this discordant internal conflict, a battle going on inside my own head and heart. What I really wanted was to help people, and my own value system was telling me that at this gun factory, I was indirectly hurting people. Instead of contributing to humanity’s overall wellbeing, wasn’t I contributing exactly to its opposite? Like the narrator says about the villain at the end of a good-guys-bad-guys show, “if only he’d used his powers for good, instead of evil." Wasn’t I deploying my strengths, my time and energy – my career – for the wrong purpose? I was stuck and I didn’t know what to do about it. Armed only with a clear desire to help people, and a contrasting ‘don’t-want’ of harming people, or at least contributing to the harm of others, I went about an intentional exploration of possibilities that soon led me to a masters degree in counselling psychology, which led to other serendipitous moments and more connecting of dots. Now that I am a career professional I can more easily look back and say that I was experiencing an acute conflict in values, or a grossly unbalanced tradeoff in desires. I valued helping people yet here I was hurting people by making more guns faster. On one hand, I desired a prestigious job with a reputable and respected employer, yet on the other hand, I desired making a positive difference in the world. How did I connect the dots from management consultant to career counsellor? What I thought I was doing was having a prestigious career in management consulting. What I was really doing was setting up the conditions for me to pick up the trail of clues that I would eventually act on, to lead me away from the problematic career trajectory and onto the path I eventually took:  returning to university for that masters degree which led to positions in two universities as a career counsellor which led to my own practice, which led to my developing a narrative method of practice which led the CareerCycles practice I now lead, and the creation of the Career Buzz radio show I host, all of which allows me to fulfill my deeper desire of helping people make satisfying career and life choices.  Using the natural strengths that I’ve cultivated in my engineering career – such as utilizing a systems approach, and drawing on both analytical and big-picture thinking – I have developed a systematic framework for career professionals to work with clients so that, through connecting the dots in their stories, they become proactive and empowered in their career and life choices. This is the CareerCycles narrative method of practice that hundreds of career professionals across Canada, the US and Europe now use with their clients, in turn helping thousands of clients connect the dots in their career stories. My dots finally connected. Yours will too.  Reflective Activity. Look back in your own story and pinpoint a moment when you had a career experience that made you uneasy, when you felt something was wrong. Go back there and recall as much as you can: where were you? Who else was there? What were you doing? How did it look, sound, smell?  How did you feel? Now, in retrospect, ask yourself: What was the real problem? What exactly didn’t you want that was happening? Boring tasks? Unsupportive boss? Meaningless work? Unfriendly colleagues? What did you want instead? How important is that desire today? There’s nothing else to do now, other than holding that desire in mind, for example, ‘working with like-minded people,’ watching for relevant clues, and taking action when you’re inspired to do so!   ------------ Mark Franklin,M.Ed.,P.Eng.,CMF, is practice leader of CareerCycles , a career management social enterprise with 3500+ clients across Canada. Mark created the CareerCycles narrative framework and method of practice, and has trained 200+ professionals in the method, many in the educational sector. Mark developed the new Who You Are MATTERS! career and life clarification game, and produces and hosts Career Buzz radio show , and has interviewed over 300 guests. Active in the career community, Mark’s perspectives have appeared in The Globe and Mail and Toronto Star, as a guest blogger at ContactPoint and CCPA’s Counselling Connect, and as a writer, most recently in a chapter of Career Development Practice in Canada. Prior to founding CareerCycles, Mark helped thousands of post-secondary students connect the dots between their education and career, as a career counsellor in two of Canada’s largest universities, drawing on his earlier career and experiences in  engineering and management consulting. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/05/connecting-the-dots-from-engineer-to-career-professional/ Thu, 22 May 2014 13:50:00 Sandra Finkelstein https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/05/4-things-parents-should-know-to-help-children-navigate-today’s-job-market-–-part-4/ Part IV: What your role is and what your child’s role is. I have taken you on a journey from understanding the larger picture of how the marketplace has changed to showing you how employment opportunities are so valuable for your child’s future success and how to get started. The time has come to bring it all together and begin the act of reaching out to those prospective employers to find summer employment whether it is a paid job, interning or volunteering. Before you dive into action, it is important to understand the difference between your role and your child’s role. Your role as the parent is now to step aside and allow your child to take full responsibility for their choices, actions and outcome. The job is for her so she must be the one to do this part. You can encourage, support and open doors for her as a helpful guide, but let her own her actions. This is where you can still help in your role as a guide: a) Connections: Help your child identify an industry or company in your local area that interests her. Do you or your spouse know someone in this industry or company? Do you know others who may have a connection? Your only role here is to set up the introduction and let her do the rest.  It is then up to your child to connect with this person through phone or email and begin the process of sending her resume, following up, setting up a time to sit down, share her stories and competencies, and go for the job/intern and/or volunteer position. Your child will garnish more respect from a prospective employer by doing this part. Your child is demonstrating tenacity and perseverance and maybe even innovation and creativity.  The days of calling someone up and ‘asking’ them to hire your child have pretty much come to an end. Even if your connection does hire your child, your child will have to prove herself. In fact, you may be creating a situation where your child is not taken seriously because she ‘got’ the job with no merit. For my first job my friend’s father did open the door for me for a one-month contract in another part of the company. However, I knew that I needed to prove myself and apply for this job based on my work and value.  I was able to take that one-month contract and turn it into four years.  b) Informational Interview: If no one you know has connections for an industry or company, have your child call the company of her desire and ask for a senior person in the area of her interest to ask for a 15-minute informational interview. This may take a few attempts. To get to the right person your child will need to speak to the operator or executive administrator to get the correct name and contact info for that person.  The executive assistant can end up being very helpful and assist you by getting you in the door. As I said, advise your child to be patient, this may take a few attempts.  Like creating your stories, you will want to sit with your child and help her come up with a clear and concise reason for her call.  For example: “ Hello, my name is …. I am calling because I am currently a student and I am interested in XX area of work.  I see that your organization is quite successful in this area and I would like the opportunity to sit down with the VP (find the most senior level and in the specific area of a company/organization) to ask some questions about your industry and company to find out more about it. I also want to understand what requirements I will need to enter this industry and ultimately get a job.” This is NOT a job interview. It is only for the purposes of seeking information about how to progress in the career of interest. HOWEVER, you never know where this can lead: a summer job, intern position or volunteer opportunity.  Employers appreciate those that are curious, risk-takers and stand out from the crowd. From the informational conversation, your child may find that the person on the other end really likes her personality and tenacity and may offer to help. Your child can begin to develop a mentor/mentee relationship and this person can end up guiding them throughout their career. The key to success is going in prepared. Help your child create a list of intelligent questions. Let her know to be professional both in dress and speech and to respect this person’s time.  The most important piece of advice I can give is to advise your child to listen more, talk less!  Tell her to ask the person if she can take notes. Help her be prepared to answer questions such as, “What interests you about this area of work or the company?” Help her research the company and know their mission, vision and goals (most companies have a lot of information available on their website). It is important in your role as a guide to help your child be prepared for an interview like this. You can even run through a few practice sessions with her to get her nerves out. At the end your child will want to thank this person.  I suggest sending a hand-written thank you note as emails get deleted, lost or go into spam – not to mention it will make the person feel special and appreciate the gesture more than an email.  This will also help your child leave her mark on this valuable new connection.  Before your child leaves or hangs up,  have her ask if she can stay in touch.  This will leave the door open. Your child can also say that she was very impressed with the information and would like the opportunity to work there in the summer. This person may not know the availabilities however they can certainly guide your child to the right person/department.  Now your child has a senior name to work with. Try this several times to build a strong network and to really understand different industries and career paths. At this stage, your child should not be focusing on the dollar value of the job or the fancy titles. For the first years, your child should focus on understanding what she likes and what she dislikes. Where does she have a strong passion? When does she find herself being excited by tasks and when does she lack interest in them? Understanding herself and her interests better at an earlier age will help her narrow down her options and be confident in her decision to follow a certain career path. She will feel less “lost” and overwhelmed at the end of her schooling than her peers since she will have all of the mentors and experience under her belt. This concludes this four-part series. I have given you tips and tools to assist you in guiding and helping your child find summer employment. I always recommend, take what resonates and leave the rest. Remember to encourage your child to make her own decisions, to choose her own path. If one child wants to go the 4-year college route, another may choose to go the apprenticeship route – that’s fine! Every individual is different; their paths should be as well. Encourage your child to follow her intuition and what makes sense for her. Remind her to be tenacious.  Good luck! Part 1 | Understanding the world is different today. Part 2 | The importance and value of employment opportunities. Part 3 | Tips on how to help your child begin the process of looking for volunteer positions, internships or paid work.   ---------- ABOUT SANDRA FINKELSTEIN Sandra Finkelstein is an author, youth advocate and empowerment consultant. Her book, We're Not Gonna Take It is a resource book geared to the millennial youth to give them, their parents and youth workers the tools and resources to assist in their decision-making process and provide the foundation for their success in this market. She is currently working with companies on intergenerational relationships (motivation and engagement strategies that bridge the gap between different age groups to create a cohesive and engaged work environment). https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/05/4-things-parents-should-know-to-help-children-navigate-today’s-job-market-–-part-4/ Thu, 08 May 2014 15:24:00 Sandra Finkelstein https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/05/4-things-parents-should-know-to-help-children-navigate-today’s-job-market-–-part-3/ Part III:  Tips on how to help your child begin the process of looking for volunteer positions, internships or paid work. We are at the point in this series where it comes down to action.   In this section it is time to help your child create her brand: who she is.  There are two ways that she will present who she is to a prospective employer: her resume and the stories she will share. With higher youth unemployment and many youth underemployed, the competition is greater today than ever before. This means that your child’s resume needs to stand out from the crowd. A resume is an extension of who she is. It is not just a piece of paper that highlights her past experiences. Rather, it shares the impact that she has made in previous positions. It shares experiences that have shaped who she is, where she made a difference and where she was part of a success – big or small. It also shares education and the life skills that she will bring forward into this new position. When helping your child with her resume I want you to keep one question in mind… …SO WHAT? Asking this question as you help her gather information allows you to decipher – is this important or not?  What value did she create? So what? Here are two steps you can follow when helping your child create a resume:     1. List all experiences First thing is for your child to write down ALL of her experiences.  We tend to dismiss things we do not see as valuable or so important. Maybe she created a chore chart, or took on extra chores to raise money for a trip. Maybe she built a nice babysitting business, babysitting for three or four different families. Perhaps she was instrumental in a fundraising effort. These part-time and volunteer positions have value. Your child is learning life skills and core competencies every day, it is important to showcase them. Here are some ideas to draw from for this section: School –Is she on a team: debate team, sports team, student counsel, committee, etc.? How did she contribute to the team? Part-time work- Does she work one day a week as a stock person, in a restaurant or clothing store? Does she babysit? Volunteer – Is she giving back in some way to a person, group or organization? How many years has she been involved? What roles did she play? Did she travel abroad and be part of something bigger or perhaps part of We Day?  Did she canvass or help raise money for a cause? Summer Camp - How many years has she worked at a summer camp? What roles did she take on- leadership, teamwork, mentoring?  How did her role add value to the camp, to the participants? Political involvement – Has she joined a party or been involved in campaigning? Did she canvass door to door? Clubs/Extra-curricular – What role did she play in these clubs and groups? Sorority/Frat – Today many sororities and frats mandate giving back to the community. What projects or fundraising activities was she a part of? What were the results/outcome and what role did she play in achieving the results? These are just a few examples. Once you have listed all of the involvements it is time to start putting together a one-page (two maximum) resume. To see examples you can refer to my resource book, We’re Not Gonna Take It ( www.2bempowered.com ) in which I address building your resume and cover letter. You can also build a resume and see examples within Career Cruising. Speak to your child’s school for access to the program. The second area to focus on is to help her identify stories that highlight and express her core competencies and life skills. 2. Create the stories From all of her experiences you can help her focus on two or three experiences that highlight her competencies: team work/collaboration leadership ability to make decisions and be accountable and responsible for actions success stories determination/tenacity     These competencies can be briefly highlighted in the resume, but more importantly, they will come in handy during conversations with employers (such as interviews). Ultimately these stories will showcase your child’s ability to create value for the employer. Employers will remember stories more than facts.  The idea in this section is connecting the dots backwards and recognizing how everything your child has done in her life, all of her choices have brought her to where she is today. Employers are interested in those that are innovative, risk-takers and think outside the box. They don’t want to just hear a list of previous jobs she has had. They want to hear how her dots connect and how she has become the person she is today. Most importantly, they want to see how she will bring her life lessons to their company and make a positive impact, make a difference, be part of a success story for them.   Part 1 | Understanding the world is different today. Part 2 | The importance and value of employment opportunities. Part 4 | Your role and your child's role.   ---------- ABOUT SANDRA FINKELSTEIN Sandra Finkelstein is an author, youth advocate and empowerment consultant. Her book, We're Not Gonna Take It is a resource book geared to the millennial youth to give them, their parents and youth workers the tools and resources to assist in their decision-making process and provide the foundation for their success in this market. She is currently working with companies on intergenerational relationships (motivation and engagement strategies that bridge the gap between different age groups to create a cohesive and engaged work environment). https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/05/4-things-parents-should-know-to-help-children-navigate-today’s-job-market-–-part-3/ Thu, 01 May 2014 16:20:00 Rick Miner https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/04/the-great-canadian-skills-mismatch/ I wrote a blog for Career Cruising users last year entitled 3 Solutions for Canada's Job Mismatch based on the 2010 and 2012 reports in my People Without Jobs, Jobs Without People series. Since the publication of these reports, dramatic shifts have occurred that warranted a re-analysis of the earlier findings and a third report in the series, “The Great Canadian Skills Mismatch.” The changes of most significance are: Labour force participation rates for those 55 and older have increased. New immigration programs, targeting younger immigrants with employable skills, have been established. Labour force demand projections have decreased. Canadian educational attainment levels are higher than previously projected. Retirement benefit provisions are moving eligibility from 65 to 67 years. Using this and updated Statistics Canada information, the data show that shortages still exist and are far from trivial. Rather than needing an additional 2.7 million workers by 2031, the shortage is now forecasted to be just under 2 million. Similarly, projected skills shortages drop from 4.2 million to 2.3 million due to increased educational attainment levels, but a major problem will still exist. To address these shortages we need more workers and we need them to have the right skill sets. Earlier, it was assumed that simply having an educational attainment level beyond high school would be sufficient to meet employers' skill requirements. This assumption was far too simplistic. A simple increase in educational attainment will not automatically resolve the skills mismatch problems. Although the debate over the existence of skills mismatches rages on, many are considering only the supply-demand mismatches. We actually have multiple skills mismatches, including: Supply-demand mismatches Geographical mismatches Under-employment (over-skilled) mismatches Under-skilled/over-employment mismatches These multiple mismatches require a variety of solutions. First and foremost, we need to increase the overall size of our labour force by increasing labour force participation rates among under-represented groups, like aboriginal Canadians, women and person with disabilities. With aggressive targets, and success, the numerical labour force shortage could be eliminated. We still need to avoid the skills mismatches by having more of the right people with the right skills in the right place at the right time. To get the right skill matches, we need to make a number of significant changes. These include: Drastically improving our labour market information (LMI) systems. Developing a national education and training strategy. Establishing “mandatory” career counselling opportunities for students, their parents, teachers and administrators. Investing in basic literacy and employability skills training. Implementing a variety of changes to our post-secondary system to make it more accessible, flexible, responsive, relevant and affordable. Employers also need to become more active participants by offering more workplace learning opportunities for students like co-op and internship opportunities, providing targeted financial support for post-secondary institutions offering programs of anticipated job growth, improving hiring practices by concentrating more on competencies than credentials, expanding on-the-job training programs, and being more forthcoming about actual and anticipated job growth. Governments, aside from also being large employers, also have critical roles to play by disproportionally investing in post-secondary institutions that are providing the educational/ training needed for the economy to expand, “forcing” institutions to re-align the balance between their research and teaching mandates, working with educational institutions to help eliminate the perceived educational hierarchy, and investing in significantly better LMI systems. Demographic changes, along with increased skill requirements, are at the root of our labour force challenges. We need to increase the size of our labour force and ensure we avoid skills mismatches by aligning our educational attainments to the labour force needs. Success will ultimately require concerted and cooperative efforts between businesses, governments and educational institutions to address and resolve these problems. Career Cruising’s “whole-community approach” (link) is one good step in the right direction.   View Rick’s related blog post: 3 Solutions to Canada’s Job Mismatch . Read Miner and Miner's full research report: The Great Canadian Skills Mismatch, People Without Jobs and Jobs Without People And More https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/04/the-great-canadian-skills-mismatch/ Tue, 29 April 2014 21:31:00 Sandra Finkelstein https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/04/4-things-parents-should-know-to-help-children-navigate-todays-job-market-part-2/ PART II:  The importance and value of employment opportunities (the “Y”) Once we understand as parents how the marketplace and employment opportunities are different today ( Refer to Part 1: Understanding The World Is Different Today ) from when we grew up, then we can begin to better assist our children in the process of looking for summer employment. Through the research of my book I came to understand how certain things that I thought were commonplace in my growth are now missing today for our children. I believe that there are four major areas that are crucial to our children’s success and can be taught to them through employment opportunities: Making mistakes and learning from failure Investigating and experiencing different industries and corporate cultures Developing life skills and core competencies Creating your network Mistakes/Failure: I was in a business meeting on millennial engagement and motivation and was asked how businesses are different today from 25 years ago. One of the major differences between then and now is how we view failure and mistakes.  Today we put so much pressure on our children to be perfect and do things right.  THIS IS A BIG MISTAKE. In order to learn and grow we need to make mistakes, fail. But when we fail, we need to learn to pick ourselves up and make tweaks or changes accordingly and try again. This process opens us up to creativity, innovation and taking risks for future progress/gain.  Successful people will tell you that their path had many mistakes, failures and learning opportunities. This is what brought them to their current success. As parents we need to stop enabling our children and ‘saving’ them. The best gift you can give your child is to allow them to fail now when the stakes are much smaller.   What is more important is supporting them in their learning and growth.  Ask them what they learned from this and ways they potentially could have done things differently. What better environment can there be to make mistakes and learn than that of a workplace? By exposing our children to employment experiences, we allow them the chance to make mistakes and improve on them early on so that they are ahead of the game by the time they graduate. Investigate industries and corporate culture:   The marketplace is dynamic and always changing. Industries and jobs are being affected due to globalization and automation.  One-third of the jobs we know today will go by the wayside by the year 2030.  New ones will open up. Now is the time to encourage your children (especially if they do not know what they want to do or what really interests them) to explore an industry and ‘try it out’ to see if this is the industry they see for their future career path.  Your children can also investigate different corporate cultures: more structured vs. less structured, open concept vs. more closed, forward thinking vs. more conservative. By doing so it will give them a chance to see which environment they flourish in and which one they shrink from.  Summer employment whether interning, volunteering or being paid for part or full-time work allows your child to explore their options.  This experience can be life altering and from this they may determine that the path they are on is right for them or they may choose to change their course to something more suited to them. Develop life skills and core competencies: Unless your child is in a co-operative or apprenticeship type program his studies are more theoretical and knowledge-based.   There is so much value in hands-on learning in terms of both the technical and life skills learning.  Employers today are less intrigued by degree titles and more interested in your core competencies and life skills: Are you a team player? What type of leader are you? Can you articulate yourself? Can you make decisions and be accountable for them? How do you contribute to the overall success of the company? Do you get along with people? How well do you take instruction and suggestions?  I cannot express enough how important developing your life skills and core competencies are to your children’s success. And more important is teaching them how to articulate this to a future employer; what value they can bring to the company. Interviews are a great way to understand what skills we bring to the table and more importantly, practice the skill of communicating our value-add to others. Encourage your children to master the interview process, high marks and a good resume are only half the battle – selling yourself is the other half! (Tip: Use Career Cruising’s My Skills assessment with your children to see what skills they’ve perfected and where they need to improve based on their career interests.) Networking: As parents we know the value of networking whether it be for sports, school or work.  Your children may find in his or her position a network of people who could support, guide and maybe even mentor him  or her not just for that work term but for years to come.  These relationships are invaluable and can open up so many doors especially when they graduate. Make sure you relay the importance of having a strong network to your children and encourage them to be proactive in creating lasting relationships. By understanding what your children face in today’s market and supporting them through it can give them the competitive advantage they need to do well. You can become your child’s greatest advocate and assist them in their career/work journey by demonstrating the importance of real world opportunities to them. Tip: Work with your children’s schools to arrange opportunities for local employers to go into classrooms and show students what the real world looks and feel like. Similarly, encourage local employers in your network to provide internship and work opportunities to students in your community. A partnership between schools, employers and parents can go a long way in preparing our youth to succeed in this competitive market! Not to mention – it gives our employers access to the best up and coming talent.   Part 1 | Understanding the world is different today. Part 3 | Tips on how to help your child begin the process of looking for volunteer positions, internships or paid work. Part 4 | Your role and your child's role.   ---------- ABOUT SANDRA FINKELSTEIN Sandra Finkelstein is an author, youth advocate and empowerment consultant. Her book, We're Not Gonna Take It is a resource book geared to the millennial youth to give them, their parents and youth workers the tools and resources to assist in their decision-making process and provide the foundation for their success in this market. She is currently working with companies on intergenerational relationships (motivation and engagement strategies that bridge the gap between different age groups to create a cohesive and engaged work environment). https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/04/4-things-parents-should-know-to-help-children-navigate-todays-job-market-part-2/ Fri, 25 April 2014 10:02:00 Roshni Patel https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/04/money-matters-everything-you-need-to-know-about-funding-sources-for-educators!/ It’s no secret that education budgets in USA are tight. As you start to think about resource allocations for next year, you’re probably wishing that your budget was just a bit bigger. Luckily for you – it can be!  In this webinar, expert Deborah Ward uncovers the secrets of free funding sources available for educators and shares creative ideas on the following issues and more: What types of funds are really out there? Even thinking about funding is too overwhelming for us, how can you make it more stress-free? My school doesn’t have a grants person or the know-how, now what do we do? What specific steps are involved to apply? At the end of the session, attendees were given the opportunity to be involved in a live Q&A session where they asked questions directly to Deborah! It’s overwhelming to think about where to even begin with funding – but we simplify the process for you through this webinar. Don’t miss out on free money!   View the full recording here. Download the PDF PowerPoint Presentation .   Helpful Resources: eSchoolNews Grants.Gov Grants Alert   About Deborah Ward Deborah Ward, M.A., CFRE, is the Associate Director of Development-Grants for Gundersen Medical Foundation in La Crosse, WI. Gundersen Health System, one of the nation’s largest multi-specialty group medical practices, provides quality health services to patients in western Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota and northeastern Iowa. She also is a nationally recognized proposal writing consultant whose services include:  project development, prospect research; RFP analysis; writing and editing of proposals; and evaluation of grants programs. Deb was a monthly Grants and Funding columnist for eSchool News for more than 10 years. She is the author of the third and fourth editions of “ Writing Grant Proposals that Win ” and “Effective Grants Management” published by Jones and Bartlett Learning. Two of her articles are included in “The Nonprofit Consulting Playbook: Winning Strategies from 25 Leaders in the Field” published by Charity Channel Press. She has presented webinars, and workshops and at conferences around the United States and in Guam. In addition to grantsmanship, Deb has experience with individual donor and corporate solicitations, direct mail appeals, special events and annual funds. She has her graduate degree in philanthropy and development from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and her Certified Fund Raising Executive designation from the Association for Fund Raising Professionals. She is a member of the Grant Professionals Association and the Upper Mississippi Valley Chapter of the Association for Fund Raising Professionals. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/04/money-matters-everything-you-need-to-know-about-funding-sources-for-educators!/ Wed, 23 April 2014 17:38:00 Sandra Finkelstein https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/04/4-things-parents-should-know-to-help-children-navigate-todays-job-market/ This is a four-part series written to help parents better understand today's job market and help children navigate through it. PART I: Understanding the world is different today The world is so different today from when we grew up.  The path that we took was for the most part linear: get a good education and you will find a good job. Most people started with a company and grew with it through advancement and promotions (if desired).   It is not uncommon to speak to someone in our generation and learn that they have worked with the same company for 10, 15 or even 30+ years.  In researching my book, We’re Not Gonna Take It, I found in my Boomer versus Millennial comparison that many Boomers hold the belief that Millennial youth are lazy, entitled, don’t want to work hard, want work/life balance and want to make a difference and have their voice heard. Can you tell me a younger generation that didn’t want to challenge systems and bring change? This sentiment is as much a truth for the Boomer youth as it is for today’s Millennial youth, your children.  The greatest difference for this youth is that post-recession 2008-09 everything changed permanently.  The economy has not ‘righted’ itself and the opportunities as I saw in the mid-1990s as a young adult do not exist in the same way for the Millennial youth.  Jobs and industries that we were once very familiar with are disappearing. New ones are emerging that we do not even begin to comprehend. We are constantly encouraging our children to focus on a four-year program at an accredited post-secondary institution. But the cost of post-secondary education has skyrocketed. It can cost up to $100,000 for four years depending on whether you live at home or not and which program you attend. Many of the Millennial youth graduating are finding themselves underemployed and saddled with student debt taking sometimes 10 to fifteen years to pay off.   Some children are returning to school to get a Master’s degree or even PhD.  This is not the answer.  What we are creating is an overeducated youth population. In North America, many employers hire today for precarious employment: short-term, part-time and contract positions. Some will hire for their immediate need and often at a level beyond entry level. The idea of loyalty both ways has diminished. The market is competitive today. What is going to give our children the competitive advantage that they need to come out on top are not high marks in school. Rather, they need hands-on learning and the ability to develop life skills and soft skills that can be transfered into various different working environments. Employers today are less interested in the degree title and more interested in your competencies and more importantly - the ability to create value in their organization. The technical skills can always be taught.  Don’t get me wrong, education continues to play a huge role in mapping out your children’s plathways to success. However, the youth today are so stressed with getting high marks to get into post-secondary education that so many valuable experiences and tools that exist in their growth are being put aside, like Career Cruising. As teens many of you worked part-time or volunteered and this helped you develop into the person you are today.  The decision to have your child work, volunteer or intern should be encouraged irrespective of whether or not you are covering their expenses. The idea should be encouraged not as a way to earn some extra cash, but as a way to gain valuable experience that will equip them with a much needed competitive advantage. There’s something to be said about an individual that has exciting stories, a variety of experience, knowledge about the industry and good grades, as opposed to one who just has the grades. There is so much value in working during holidays, paid or interning. The world has changed from when we were kids.  The sentiment “it’s a competitive market out there,” means that your children need to be creative and think outside the box when looking for work experiences.  To help them come out on top, we must first inform them of all of the options that are available to them. Then we have to expose them to real world opportunities and experiences that will help them decide what pathway they want to follow and will ultimately help them come out on top of the crowd. Stay tuned for the next part of the series which will provide tips on how to get started.   Part 2 | Importance and value of employment opportunities. Part 3 | Tips on how to help your child begin the process of looking for volunteer positions, internships or paid work. Part 4 | Your role and your child's role.   ---------- ABOUT SANDRA FINKELSTEIN Sandra Finkelstein is an author, youth advocate and empowerment consultant. Her book, We're Not Gonna Take It is a resource book geared to the millennial youth to give them, their parents and youth workers the tools and resources to assist in their decision-making process and provide the foundation for their success in this market. She is currently working with companies on intergenerational relationships (motivation and engagement strategies that bridge the gap between different age groups to create a cohesive and engaged work environment). https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/04/4-things-parents-should-know-to-help-children-navigate-todays-job-market/ Wed, 16 April 2014 15:28:00 Sandra Finkelstein https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/03/its-a-competitive-market,-create-your-brand,-differentiate-yourself!/ It’s reading week - time to chill, catch up with friends who don’t go to your school, and maybe even study! It’s snowy outside yet spring is fast approaching. With that in mind comes the reminder that April is around the corner and that means final exams. THEN WHAT? Summer break. For some this is a welcome time. Some are off to camp while others may be travelling. For many though, there is this overwhelming feeling of needing to find a job in the tough market. I will not argue that it is a tough market. The key is learning to navigate in it. If you are feeling this way you are not alone. I had dinner at a friend’s home and her three sons who were in for reading week joined us. I spoke with the youngest son and asked him what he wants to do this summer. He said that he doesn’t know. He said, “It’s a very competitive market. I am thinking about interning but I don’t know.” I looked at him and said “you are undervaluing yourself! You have so much amazing knowledge and experience already that you need to harness it and go and share it with a company expressing the value you can create for them!” He did not seem convinced. It amazes me how much our youth undervalue their competencies.  For a younger person, he is quite articulate yet he lacks the confidence and know-how on how to share his competencies, knowledge and experience. How to create his personal brand demonstrating why he is a great intern candidate. That conversation inspired me to share with you tips and tools on finding your perfect opportunity this summer - whether it is interning, volunteering or better yet a paid summer job! The time is now and you need to be proactive.   First step:  WHY? Understanding WHY a summer position is so valuable to your future : You are young and now is the time to make mistakes, take risks and try different industries and corporate cultures to see what you like and dislike. Sometimes what you think may be a good choice for you may not actually be the case once you get there. It is one thing to study the theoretical knowledge and it is another to apply it and experience hands-on what it takes to succeed in a specific industry or corporate culture. We are a society that does not allow for mistakes and failure. However, every successful person I know will tell you it is their mistakes and failures that brought them to where they are now.  Whether you are volunteering, interning or doing paid work, you are beginning to create a network of people who want to support, guide and perhaps mentor you. These relationships are invaluable and can open up so many doors (especially when you graduate). You will have one leg up on those graduating with these connections in your back pocket. *Tip: Review the Career Path sections and the personal interviews in Career Cruising to understand where your careers of interest can lead you and what individuals currently working in those roles think of the daily responsibilities involved. This will help you narrow down the types of roles you would like to pursue this summer.   Step two: HOW? How to begin the process of looking for volunteer work, interning or paid work. a) Build your resume: First thing is to write down ALL of your experiences. You may think the part-time job or volunteer work you currently do has little value. However there are life skills and competencies you are creating every day that are very valuable to employers. Here are some ideas of where to draw from: School – are you on a team, club or group (debate team, sports team, prom committee, student counsel, etc.)? What role do you play in these clubs and groups? Part-time work- do you work one day a week as a stock person, in a restaurant or clothing store? Do you babysit? Summer Camp Leader - how many years were you a group leader at camp? What leadership and team roles did you take on? How did you create value for programs/camp as a whole? Volunteer – are you giving back in some way to a person, group or organization? How many years have you been involved? What roles did you play? Did you travel abroad and be part of something bigger or perhaps were you part of We Day? Political involvement – Have you joined a party and become involved in their campaigning? Do you canvass door to door? Sorority/Frat – Today many sororities and frats make it mandatory to contribute to society. What projects or fundraising activities have you been part of? What were the results and what role did you play achieving them? These are just a few examples. Once you have listed all of your involvements it is time to put together a one-page resume describing YOUR BRAND that you can share with prospective employers. *Tip: Look up how to build resumes and cover letters in my resource book, We’re Not Gonna Take It. Also complete your My Plan in Career Cruising by documenting all of your activities and experiences.  Turn that data into a resume by using the Resume Builder and export it to Word to create your final draft. Sample resumes are provided within the program to give you a better idea of what yours can look like.  Explore job opportunities using the integrated employment search (if available) to see what jobs you might be able to apply for in your region. b) Create your stories:   From all of your experiences I want you to focus on two or three experiences that highlight your competencies: team work/collaboration leadership ability to make decisions and be accountable for your actions determination/tenacity success stories The goal is to be able to say “when I was a part of the prom committee, I took on this initiative and it equipped me with this skill.” Ultimately these stories will showcase your ability to create value and how you made a difference. Employers will remember stories more than facts.  *Tip: Use the Skills & Abilities section of My Plan to document your thoughts so that if you’re asked about these competencies in an interview, you’ll know just what to say. The idea in this section is connecting the dots backwards and recognizing how everything you have done in your life and all your choices have brought you to where you are today. Employers are interested in those who are innovative, risk-takers and think outside the box.   Third Step: WHAT? What do you need to do to find a job, internship or volunteer position? Note: Emailing your resume will find deaf ears. a) Ask for connections: First thing I would do is ask every person you know (parents, coaches, those you work for, teachers, guidance office, etc.) if they have a contact in a company in the industries that interest you. Having an introduction from someone who already has a connection gives you immediate credibility. Then the rest is up to you to connect with this person through phone or email and begin the process of sending your resume, following up, setting up a time to sit down, share your stories and competencies, and go for the position. *Tip: Use the networking resources in Career Cruising’s Employment Guide to help you identify your connections and leverage social media for help as well. b) Informational Interview: If no one you know has connections within the industry or company, I suggest calling up the company yourself and asking for a VP or senior person in the area of your interest and ask for a 15-minute informational interview. This may take a few attempts. You will need to speak to the operator or executive administrator to get the name and contact info for the right person. This is where tenacity and perseverance will pay off – don’t give up! *Tip: Within Career Cruising’s Help section, take a look at Classroom Activitiy #9 – Career Interview Project as a starting point for which questions to ask! Believe in yourself and your abilities: go for it! Don’t undervalue yourself. Create your brand and differentiate yourself from the market.   -------------- ABOUT SANDRA FINKELSTEIN Sandra Finkelstein is an author, youth advocate and empowerment consultant. Her book, We're Not Gonna Take It is a resource book geared to the millennial youth to give them, their parents and youth workers the tools and resources to assist in their decision-making process and provide the foundation for their success in this market. She is currently working with companies on intergenerational relationships (motivation and engagement strategies that bridge the gap between different age groups to create a cohesive and engaged work environment). https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/03/its-a-competitive-market,-create-your-brand,-differentiate-yourself!/ Thu, 13 March 2014 14:44:00 Kevin Fleming https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/02/success-in-the-new-economy/ Countless articles in the media site a correlation between higher degrees and higher income.  This perceived higher earnings for having a 4-year degree has fueled a “college for all” philosophy; causing educators and parents to encourage going to the university – any university – to major in anything – in pursuit of future job security, social mobility, and financial prosperity.  But with rising education costs and the oversaturation of some academic majors in the workforce, many of us know that that the university-bound pathway isn’t for everyone…at least not immediately after high school.  We know that only a quarter of those that initially enroll will complete a bachelor’s degree; and for many their career exploration process begins after graduation.  It is here that many discover that their degree may not have prepared them for the world of work. They may be highly educated, but not every degree is direct preparation for employment (like my philosophy degree). This misalignment between degrees and job skills causes half of university graduates to be under-employed in what are called gray-collar jobs; taking positions that do not require the education they have received, at a cost that is more than they can afford. All while the income for the top individuals in a wide variety of skilled jobs that require an industry credential or 2-year degree is far higher than the average income for many occupations that claim to require a 4-year degree; and each of these technicians are in very high skilled areas that are in great demand.  Well-intentioned attempts to send more and more students straight to the university will not change the types of jobs that dominate our economy, nor will a “college-for-all” mentality mask these labor market realities. This message needs to be significantly broadened to include career exploration and “a post-high school credential for all.” Since new and emerging occupations in every industry now require a combination of academic knowledge and technical ability, we need to ensure that we’re guiding students towards careers and not just to the university.  The Career Cruising products are excellent examples of tools that help to identify personally appropriate career pathways and educational alternatives for people of all ages.  Alas, not everyone uses Career Cruising.  So how else can we ensure each student’s success - regardless which path they take – and how do we communicate this message to our fellow educators, counselors, and parents?  In collaboration with Citrus College in Southern California, a motion graphics video was developed to explain the importance of self-exploration, career exploration, and why educational institutions and parents should be promoting alternatives to career-success other than solely baccalaureate achievement. This popular video, “Success in the New Economy: How prospective college students can gain a competitive advantage,” discusses the real workforce demands and the best role for career & technical education in preparing students for high-wage, in-demand jobs.  You may view this video at http://vimeo.com/67277269 .  I encourage you to share this video and continue to educate others around you about the realities of today’s labor market.  Thanks to companies like Career Cruising, and as a result of your personal passion for all students to succeed, the career & technical education revolution is spreading far and wide in schools across America.  Keep up the great work; we owe it to our students, and to ourselves.        ----------- ABOUT KEVIN FLEMING Passionate to help all students fulfill their potential, Kevin is Dean of Instruction for Career & Technical Education at Norco College (CA), serves as the Principle Investigator for the National Center for Supply Chain Technology Education, and is managing partner for Telos Educational Services.   To learn more about Kevin and to view the video “Success in the New Economy,” please visit his website at www.TelosES.com https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/02/success-in-the-new-economy/ Tue, 25 February 2014 19:15:00 Vera M. Reed https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/02/technology-in-the-classroom/ With technology steadily becoming a part of our everyday existence whether we like it or not, we must embrace and utilize it in order to make the most of the convenience and efficiency it can offer us in our daily lives. Since tech’s reach and capabilities online continue to increase, it’s only fair to assume that its use in education systems throughout the world has grown from experiment to necessity in a short amount of time. As technology in educational institutes continue to grow, we can expect new advancements that will change the learning process and overall experience. Social media sites are being used for educational purposes and branching out to communicate with classmates and educators. A variety of systems pop-up to demonstrate tutorials online for clarity in numerous subjects. Online Degrees are on the rise: 10 to 1 versus that of a traditional college. From Community Colleges to Universities to Online Education Programs and everything in-between, this graphic (to view the full infographic, click on the image above) showcases some of the technologies that have been provided for each institution, what the benefits have been thus far and what's to come. Get an idea as to where you fit best, and learn on! This graphic was contributed by Vera M. Reed, a former educator and current writer and researcher. Vera has taken a specific interest in online education and its effects on the overhaul of the American education system. The infographic contains information and statistics provided by  AdultLearn . https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/02/technology-in-the-classroom/ Tue, 18 February 2014 14:38:00 Roshni Patel https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/02/a-discussion-with-the-experts-an-innovative-approach-to-k-5-career-development/ Many people think it is strange to talk about work or careers at the elementary level. What do you think about this? Is it really too young of an age to introduce this concept? How early should students start building their career plans? How often should they be revised? What are some of the biggest challenges educators experience when implementing a career development program for elementary students and how do we overcome them?   We were very excited to have recently hosted a webinar answering some of these questions and more. The webinar was in the form of a live conversation between Career Cruising's Bryna Gelman - Manager of Customer Experience - and expert Pam Gabbard (Past President of ASCA and School Counsellor for more than 20 years).   At the end of the session, attendees had the opportunity to ask their own questions to Pam and Bryna to gain a better understanding of career guidance from K-5. Since this webinar generated quite a bit of interest, we decided to make the complete recording of the event along with the PowerPoint presentation used in the session available to everyone! You won't want to miss this one!   To access the full recording, please click here. To view the complete PowerPoint deck used in the presentation containing the questions and answers during the discussion, please click here. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/02/a-discussion-with-the-experts-an-innovative-approach-to-k-5-career-development/ Thu, 06 February 2014 17:40:00 Rich Feller https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/01/staying-positive-and-creating-hope-for-clients/ Career Cruising is proud to sponsor Rich Feller’s keynote “ Staying Positive and Creating Hope for Clients” at 8:30 am Monday, January 20 th , 2014 at Cannexus14 Career Development Conference in Ottawa. Change becomes stressful when we lose a sense of constancy in life. Dick Bolles offered me this wisdom as NCDA planned for and celebrated its centennial and conference “Celebrating 100 Years of Career Development: Creating Hope, Social Justice and Legacy” in Boston in July. While exploring NCDA’s legacy with Mark Savickas, Mark Pope and Paul Hartung, I learned to appreciate the remarkable constancy of career development issues during changing times. In 1913 the transformation of the occupational structure (agrarian to industrial), homelessness, immigration, youth unemployment, women’s limited choices, and education reform issues launched the need for the National Vocational Guidance Association (now NCDA). Its inclusive vision to provide learning, work and well-being resources remain constant today. Honoring the dignity of the most vulnerable by helping them through vocational guidance, advocacy and access strategies was a promise made and well kept. In the US and Canada remarkably similar needs and a call to advocacy remain constant. Most every worker faces job restructuring due to technology’s impact. Automation (artificial intelligence and predictive analytics) and outsourcing (and resourcing) has re-shaped notions of job security, credentials, and job longevity. Adaptation, lifelong learning and career management are new words for long held success attributes. Elevated demands on fewer middle skill jobs, and increasingly bifurcated mobility and wealth opportunity structures are a form of quite radical change. But limited access to quality learning, networks, and privileged information are constant correlates to falling behind. As during NCDA’s birth, unemployment created considerable social and personal upheaval. Today 200 million people are unemployed according to the International Labor Organization. Among them are 50 million young people under the age of 25. The “wage scare” created by youth unemployment has created a generational scare that ripples throughout families, consumer behavior, and lifetimes. Andy Sum (Northwestern University) reports that every single age group under 54 years of age was less likely to be working in 2010 than in 2000. Yet the importance of work and meaning to one’s identity and ability to contribute to community remains constant. In countries created by immigrants, immigration remains critical to a career counsellors’ and specialists’ work. In March 2013 Gallup reports that over 150 million adults would like to move to the United States or Canada permanently. Ten million or more of these adults would come from China, Nigeria, and India. Since 1913 the education system has repeatedly been asked to reform, yet the educational pipeline and employer expectations “mismatch” remains. The website www.stemcareer.com is filled with pleas to promote STEM careers for women. Constant tension between the “college for all” movement, career and technical education’s rebirth, and Harvard’s “Pathways to Prosperity” reaffirms the constant call for more career guidance. (March 2013 Pathway Summit calls for multiple career pathways, an expanded role for employers, a new social contract with youth, and a re-invention of career guidance). The College Board report “The Promise of High Quality CTE” and the Phi Delta Kappen report “Toward a Common Model of CTE” both speak to the need for work based learning which, without sound career guidance, will not produce more able and ready employees. Often economic cycles took care of high levels of unemployment and low skilled employees. Today, structural issues and technology have created a world wage structure and a growing divide between “knowledge nomads”(Feller and Whichard, 2005) and what Carl Van Horn calls the “working scared”. Demographic changes with an aging workforce create demand for certain skills as other skills disappear at a faster rate. Retirement and pensions are being re-invented, and encore careers are being reimagined (see Life Reimagined: The New Story of Aging at www.lifereimagined.com ). Fortunately, as NCDA begins its second century and CERIC prepares for a new year and another great Cannexus conference, change and opportunity are welcomed. Honored to serve as an NCDA President, I’m confident of career development’s future knowing that we are grounded in a rich legacy, a commitment to social justice and hopeful about the opportunities before all career professionals. We gain as organizations and personally when we reflect on the constancy and change affecting our roles. Such wisdom allows us to celebrate career development’s past as it enters its second century with a spirit of life reimagined. On behalf of my NCDA colleagues, I offer my heartfelt gratitude the encouragement and support we have received from our Canadian career development colleagues and friends during NCDA’s 100 th anniversary year of celebration. May all career professionals pass our good fortune forward to serve others during times of constancy and change. Rich Feller   Career Cruising’s Thought Leadership In 2013 Career Cruising sponsored Thoughtstream idea generation processes among national leadesr in career development and career and technical education at Harvard University’s Creating Pathways to Prosperity Conference in March, NCDA’s 100 th Anniversary Conference in July, and ACTE’s CareerTech Vision 2013 Conference in Las Vegas in December. Career Cruising also sponsored A Discussion with the Experts: Addressing the Challenges of Career Educators in North America , featuring Rich Feller, Bill Symonds, Norm Bysbers, and Pam Gabbard.   ABOUT RICH FELLER Rich Feller is an internationally recognized keynote speaker, trainer and consultant. He has over 30 years of experience in teaching at the elementary, junior high, high school and university levels; he is currently a Professor and University Distinguished Teaching Scholar at Colorado State University where he teaches graduate courses in career development, counselling, and performance and change. He has presented projects in Canada, China, Japan, Sudan, Thailand, Australia and in 49 states in the US. Rich is the author (with the help of many) of over 100 publications including The Counselor's Guide to Career Assessment Instruments , Knowledge Nomads and the Nervously Employed: Workplace Change and Courageous Career Choices , and Career Transitions in Turbulent Time s. He is co-author of the Harrington O’Shea Career Decision Making System, and cdminternet , stemcareers.com , a video series called Tour of Your Tomorrow and Making the Most of Your Abilities . He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his work both in the US and internationally and was President of the National Career Development Association in 2012-13. His area of research includes: career transitions, strengths-based programs, STEM-centre career development, workforce development and coaching. A senior consultant to the AARP’s (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons) Life-Reimagined program and Chief Scientist to youscience.com he is working on a second book related to “knowledge nomads”. https://public.careercruising.com/en/blog/bl/2014/01/staying-positive-and-creating-hope-for-clients/ Wed, 08 January 2014 23:04:00