Career Development Profession

Career Development Profession on Prince Edward Island – Organization hiring practices

Career Development Services, Island-wide
Community Connections, Summerside
Community Inclusions Inc., Tignish, Alberton, and O’Leary
Grand River Ranch, Grand River, west of Summerside
Harbourview Training Center, Souris

Career Development is the lifelong process of managing learning, work, and transitions in order to move toward your preferred future. There are several noteworthy elements in this definition. Read more about it here

Career Development Professionals work with people of all ages to help them to manage their learning, work, leisure, and transitions. The goal of career services is to help people to pursue learning and to find work which is personally meaningful and to learn how to manage transitions in today’s ever-evolving labour market. Read more about it here

On PEI, they are employed in settings such as:

Employment Assistance Services
Community Sector Network –non-profit organizations/agencies
Labour Market Information Specialties – The Employment Journey and government
Department of Education and Lifelong Learning

Service Canada
Industry Sector Councils / Associations
Private Employers – Human Resources departments
Post-Secondary Education & Training Institutions – Career Services

In 2018, Career Development Association of PEI did their research on the people who work in this profession on PEI. A survey indicated the following:

The top five job titles identified were: Career Practitioner (17%), College Educator (12%), Employment Counsellor (12%), Secondary School Teacher (11%), and Career Counsellor (10%)
57% of respondents have worked in the career development field for 10+ years.
The median wage is between $45,000-$65,000 and encompasses those who work across all sectors (private, not-for-profit, and public).
54% identified as being between the ages of 31-50
38% identified as being between the ages of 51-61+
74% identified as female and 26% as male.

For more about the Career Development Professional Labour Force study, click here

CERIC developed a set of Guiding Principles outlining the many benefits of career development profession: Read more

Career Development Profession & COVID-19

On PEI, when COVID-19 hit, all organizations and secondary and post-secondary work settings were closed. Many staff were able to work from home and not be laid off.

However, those organizations that do not have government core funding had to scramble to find a way to avoid laying off their staff. Technical skills and networking with clients/students electronically became most important, although there is no training or funding in place to allow for a professional career development streamline of services. Online learning became attainable for some in the areas of mental health especially.

CDA of PEI was in the middle of offering online training for national certification and this training was able to continue during the pandemic shutdown. In May, staff were slowly getting back to work settings with restrictions in place.

In April 2020, Canadian Career Development Foundation (CCDF) was asked to advise the federal government on the following two questions:

What is the impact of the COVID-19 situation on your sector?
What type of labour market measures could be helpful to help the economic recovery of your sector?

As a result of this work here is the report:

The career development sector is positioned now, in the midst of COVID-19 restrictions, to support a quicker recovery. This time of diminished employment is ideally focused on helping Canadians to build the self-awareness, labour market awareness and the skills/strategies they will need to be ready for recovery.

This may mean preparing for a transition to a new and growing sector or building updated work search/creation strategies. Once recovery begins, the career development sector will be more needed than ever, helping people to make successful and sustainable transitions to the labour market. Read more

To work in this field there are many possible pathways: Read more

	Click to watch videos of the many programs Holland College offers across PEI, such as Human Resources Management.
	Click for related articles on Career Development.