BCCDA Blog

Cultivate your calling – Gregg Taylor’s look at the job market for youth

Donna Brendon — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:10:06 +0000

In a special feature in the May 15th Province, Gregg Taylor, BCCDA’s Past President, talks about the opportunities and resources available to young workers. Gregg advises: “Don’t try to figure it out on your own; do your research, ask for help, look at training options, and find an opportunity for you in BC’s growing economy.” For Gregg’s article and the complete supplement click here: http://doc.mediaplanet.com/all_projects/10364.pdf

Career Services Community in Canada

Donna Brendon — Tue, 08 May 2012 22:52:16 +0000

BC practitioners are more tech savvy and, on average, older than our fellow practitioners across Canada …just some of the findings from last year’s CERIC survey – download the Highlights Report. Sharon Ferriss, CERIC’s Director of Marketing, Web and New Media, presented the results, with a BC focus, through an interactive noon hour webinar. The average pay scale across Canada is in the $40-$55K range with BC practitioners earning more than their provincial counterparts. We’ll post the webinar audio and slides in the members only section of our site.

BCCDA Board – New Executive

Donna Brendon — Tue, 08 May 2012 22:42:10 +0000

Having reached the end of their terms as Vice-President and President respectively, Karen McDiarmid and Gregg Taylor resigned their positions at the board meeting on April 30th. The Board voted in a new executive: Michael Yue as President, Sylvia Metz, Vice-President, and Gordon MacDonald, Treasurer. Michelle Tindall will continue as Secretary. Gregg and Karen have worked tirelessly for the Association. Both will retain their positions on the Board.

CCDP Certification Update

Donna Brendon — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:06:37 +0000

We received over 150 CCDP applications in February. What’s involved in processing an application? The application is reviewed by the registrar and two independent reviewers. Currently, the majority of the files are with reviewers – either first or second review. Successful CCDP applicants are first notified by email, then receive their certificate in the mail a few weeks later.

A Volunteer’s Experience at CDC 2012

Donna Brendon — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 21:09:15 +0000

Talking to Barb Kruger, a student in the online Career Management Professional Program (CMPP) offered through Life Strategies Ltd., is like hearing a walking advertisement for the BCCDA Conference following her two-day volunteer experience there in Vancouver, Mar. 5 & 6.

As a huge fan of keynote speaker Dr. John Krumboltz, and a big subscriber to his Happenstance Theory, Kruger says volunteering at the conference was her way of actualizing the experience and making room for happenstance in her own future.

“I’d need a second conference to maximize all the opportunities” says the former educator who worked previously as a Career Counsellor with Alberta Career Development and Employment in the 1990s. She also worked at Maxwell International School in Shawnigan Lake, B.C. where she coordinated both local and international work experience placements for Grade 11/12 graduation. She later coordinated Partners for Prosperity with connections to about 120 other Partner organizations and projects and working extensively with Haiti and Ghana. Kruger tries to remain true to the lessons she used to deliver related to service-based learning.

As part of the online CMPP, she was used to seeing names –President of BCCDA Gregg Taylor, Deirdre Pickerell and Roberta Neault but meeting them in the flesh (not just in Cyberspace) brought the conference and her learning alive. “Although she describes herself as a newbie to BCCDA, having this experience midway through the program fueled her motivation for her own career development into the future.

Kruger lives in Duncan, BC, and would not have been able to afford to attend the conference if she hadn’t volunteered. “I was treated with respect and immediately felt like part of the team.” “And, as a mature worker, that type of respectful treatment is critical,” she said.

Jayne Barron – BCCDA Career Practitioner of the Year

Donna Brendon — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:25:36 +0000

Believing in the principal of collaboration, Jayne Barron, an independent Career and HR Consultant, wanted to find a better way to match job seekers with employers. She wanted results to be more efficient, more effective for job seekers and seamless for employers across the Lower Mainland where she had worked as a job developer for about 10 years.

“Although I’d worked in Job Development and Placement for nearly 10 years, it was always frustrating when an employer would contact me with a potential job, and then I’d get back to the office, review my clients’ experience and discover that I didn’t actually have someone with the types of skills the employer was seeking.”

It was a stumbling block that led to problem-solving and Barron created the Job Developers’ Resource Network in 2009. It now consists of regular meetings between 15-20 representatives from a cross-section of service providers and a LinkedIn group of 1360 members (including the U.S. and the U.K.) and a lively discussion forum.

The new website, currently under development is expected to go live within the
next month. When the group gathers in person, they start with a Lunch & Learn, and then listen to employer guest speakers to learn about hiring processes. Then, they have confidential case conferencing to discuss challenges and best practices. Now the meetings are an open, collaborative and supportive environment rather than the closed off and competitive setting that existed when the group was first formed.

Her idea has proved so popular that she’s now looking for new Chapter Leads across the Lower Mainland so that job seekers and employers right across the region can benefit from a similar collaborative sharing of information.

The next meeting will be hosted in Newton on March 21^st and those interested in attending are invited to call her for more info at 604-302-4708 or jayne.barron@shaw.ca

With Certifications in both Human Resources (CHRP) and Career Development (CCDP), Barron is perfectly positioned to have headed up this leading-edge approach and a deserving recipient of BCCDA’s 2012 Career Practitioner of the Year.

WHEW! We’re almost ready.

Donna Brendon — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 19:10:55 +0000

Our annual two-day Career Development Conference kicks off Monday (7:30 – 8:30 am) at the stunning Oceanside Rooms in Vancouver’s Pan Pacific Hotel. Three words: Network. Network. Network.
Although on a smaller scale from previous years, this year’s CDC is going to be every bit as much fun and career-invigorating as always. Let’s just see, shall we, what a more intimate vibe brings?
Yes, you can register at the door if you decide over the weekend to attend.

A few highlights
Two keynotes: John Krumboltz and Denise Bissonnette
• Ability to attend Keynotes only ($75 each) including a full buffet-style breakfast
• More than 35 sessions
• A wine & cheese reception (Monday, 4:45 -7 pm)
• Awards of excellence Ceremony (Tuesday, after Denise Bissonnette)
• 18 Exhibitors
• BCCDA AGM
Don’t be sorry you missed it!

What CERIC Learned

Donna Brendon — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 02:11:03 +0000

Revelations about your Career Service Peers
It’s redundant to keep saying that the Career Services landscape is changing. We all know that!
But, if you want to know more about what that landscape has looked like leading up to this point, join Sharon Ferriss, Director, Marketing Web and New Media with the Canadian Education and Research Institute of Counselling (CERIC) and find out.
In 2011, CERIC embarked on a research project that set out to gain a more complete picture of who works in the industry along with their level of experience, educational backgrounds and own feelings about professional mobility.
An online survey set out to identify the interests and challenges as well as needs related to professional development and accessing information. More than 1,150 responses were received.
You’ll be privy to a demographic overview of who your peers are, what types of education they have, their salary ranges and perceptions about their own career development options. You’ll also discover how other career practitioners are coping with new technology such as social media.
Ferriss’s CDC 2012 workshop takes place March 6th at 1:30 pm, Room 5.
Sharon Ferriss, Director, Marketing, Web and New Media with CERIC has 15 years of experience as a marketing professional including the Purchasing Management Association of Canada (PMAC) and the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA). Ferriss holds a Bachelor of Journalism, an MBA in marketing and non-profit management, and is an Accredited Business Communicator (ABC).

Recognizing and Managing Substance Abuse in the Workplace

Donna Brendon — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 02:03:43 +0000

We all know that substance use and mis-use is a rampant problem in today’s society. If you encountered a colleague at work who appeared to be under the influence of an illicit substance, even if you were able to recognize the signs and symptoms, would you know how to appropriately and effectively deal with the situation?

In their March 5 workshop at this year’s CDC conference, Building Better Workplaces: The Human Side of Leadership in Team Development, Karen Maeers and Janet Tomayer will share strategies to deal with these types of scenarios in their workshop.
A Statistics Canada report, Alcohol and Illicit Drug Dependence, found that 2.6% of Canadians reported symptoms consistent with alcohol dependence. Of those who reported drinking, heavily, at least monthly, 26.9% admitted they had been drunk or hung-over at work.
Maeers and Tomayer will share the following with participants:

Learn the four pillars of a Drug Free Workplace;
Build awareness and recognize the signs and symptoms of substance abuse;
Identify performance problems caused by substance abuse;
Understand enabling and intervention and prepare for action;
Learn how to discuss problems with employees.

Each participant will receive reference materials. Review our Conference Program for other great workshops.

Hiring the Right Style

Donna Brendon — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:35:13 +0000

It’s one thing to have the skills to do a job, but just as importantly, will the applicant you interview for your next opening have the type of work style that fits with the tasks required for the position and with the rest of your current team? As a manager, being able to assess work-style is imperative. Often it’s the key to reducing staff turnover and work-related stress levels.

Hiring with Style: Confidently Know How To Choose Successful Team Members is what Ken Keis, MBA, will address in his March 6^th workshop at this year’s Career Development Conference.

First measuring the job style needs and then assessing possible employees to establish job-style compatibility will help determine who might just be the best fit for your team. And for current employees, establishing the same type of system can provide a roadmap to match each employee’s preferred work style and work environment to help him or her more intentionally select the best roles and responsibilities to play to their strengths. This information is foundational to fully working on purpose.

Keis is a keynote speaker who delivers workshops throughout North America and is considered one of the foremost authorities on how assessment strategies and process can both increase and multiply hiring success rates.