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Every day, career development professionals see first-hand how career development transforms the lives of individuals – and, subsequently, is a boon to employers and the economy. Despite this, it is largely a Hidden Sector in Canada, with few adults accessing career services and low employer uptake of career development programs for employees. Career development is not a consistent policy priority across levels of government, and career education varies widely across the country.
It’s time for that to change.
Over the past 18 months, a group of sector leaders has been working toward a National Advocacy Campaign with the aim to increase the visibility, profile and impact of career development in Canada. This collaborative effort has culminated in an exciting new resource for career development organizations: the Beyond Decent Work Playbook: A National Advocacy Campaign for Career Development in Canada.
This free, practical tool offers:
- Key messages for policymakers, businesses, educators and the general public that career development organizations can integrate into their awareness and advocacy work
- A step-by-step guide to creating an advocacy communications plan
- Helpful practices for engaging in advocacy work
Here, members of the National Advocacy Campaign Working Group and Steering Committee share their insights on how career professionals and organizations can leverage the Playbook to collectively advance change.
This article is part of a CareerWise series on Advocacy and Career Development celebrating Canada Career Month.
Still can’t get enough advocacy? Don’t miss the free Nov. 13 event, “Advocacy in Action: Amplifying Career Development in a Changing World,” hosted by CERIC, CCDF and the U.S.-based NCDA. This virtual panel conversation will highlight current advocacy efforts and the importance of career development in today’s rapidly changing world.
The Beyond Decent Work Playbook comes at a critical time, equipping post-secondary career educators and talent professionals with a framework to amplify the role of career development in Canada’s economic and social prosperity. It also helps shine a spotlight on the critical nature of our work as a means of:
- Investing in students’ and graduates’ knowledge, skills and experiences to meet talent needs
- Supporting institutional enrolment objectives, alumni engagement and advancement
- Fostering a future-ready workforce
- Addressing demographic shifts and leadership gaps across industries and the labour market
For post-secondary career educators, the Playbook provides tools to demonstrate the return on investment of career services, work-integrated learning, and experiential education to senior leadership and funders, underscoring their impact on student career success and institutional goals.
Employers can also leverage the Playbook to advocate for educational partnerships and investments in a robust, inclusive talent pipeline that drives innovation and business growth.
Ultimately, the Playbook not only supports CACEE’s mission but also empowers our joining of a broader call from across the career development sector for policies, funding and strategies that foster a sustainable, inclusive and prosperous future for Canada’s workforce and society.
Advancing advocacy in career counselling and development is a pillar of CERIC’s work. We were thrilled to collaborate with career development leaders across the country to develop a tool that helps unlock the economic and social impact of career development: the Beyond Decent Work Playbook.
Here are a few ideas to use this resource in your work:
- Share the Playbook with your team. Plan a meeting to reflect on the role – current or aspirational – that advocacy plays in your organization and identify one step you could take together.
- At the next career development event you attend, take one action to advance your advocacy work. For instance, attend a conference session on policy advocacy or initiate a conversation about the Playbook at a networking meetup.
- Identify the key message from the Playbook that most resonates with your goals. Spark an online conversation by writing a LinkedIn post or blog about what the message means to your organization.
The career development sector in Canada, including career services for people who experience disability, is fragmented. Even more worrisome, it is under-recognized. The valuable resources and supports it offers to Canadians as they plan for, obtain and advance in their careers can be overlooked, leaving people without the services that they need to thrive in the labour market.
This Playbook gives us a common framework and language to use as we elevate our shared work for greater recognition and, therefore, greater impact, for Canadian workers.
In my work within the education sector, the Beyond Decent Work Playbook provides a valuable resource for incorporating career development into the educational system. By integrating career planning and skills development into school curricula, we can give students the tools they need to navigate their career paths more confidently. This approach prepares students for meaningful, fulfilling work and contributes to broader objectives, such as reducing inequality and supporting lifelong learning.
A key strategy from the Playbook involves collaborating with educators to enhance career management skills, which is essential for improving student outcomes and contributing to societal well-being.
By leveraging the Playbook’s tools and strategies, we can ensure that career development is not just an afterthought, but a core component of our education system, preparing future generations to thrive in an ever-evolving job market.
Every day, career development professionals (CDPs) improve people’s working lives and contribute in important ways to the socio-economic health of our country. This is heroic work, yet the average person still doesn’t know that our profession exists or that they could access career services.
There are so many ways that this Playbook can be used to change that. Here is one that EVERYONE can do.
Use the messages from the Playbook that most resonate for you to create a few lines about your work and its value. Then, when someone asks, “What do you do for a living?” speak with pride, excitement and joy about the incredibly important work you do and its enormous value. Make everyone you meet jealous that you get to do this amazing work and eager to access career services so that they, too, can benefit from the gift of career development!
The Beyond Decent Work Playbook is an important guide about how to integrate career development into the life and culture of an administrative or executive team, a school classroom, a high-performing team, an office space, a lunchroom table or a water cooler gathering. The tool provides the kickstart to get past “How do I start this?” paralysis, with rationales, ideas, insights and practical strategies to inject career development into everyday life and work.
The Playbook’s greatest value may be within K-12 classrooms, offering an engaging career development lens for learners and teachers seeking increased purpose and relevancy in their work and practice.
ASPECT BC is delighted to supercharge its advocacy efforts using the Beyond Decent Work Playbook. This Playbook provides a consistent message framework that our organization can use to activate change and speak for the sector in B.C. We can use it to amplify the importance of career development services in B.C., crafting targeted campaigns that speak directly to policymakers, employers and the public.
Imagine the impact: more people accessing life-changing career services, employers retaining top talent and government investments driving long-term economic resilience.
