Jenny Bimrose, Emeritus Professor at IER, and Tannis Goddard, PhD graduate at IER, have co-authored a new paper as part of an initiative by Future Skills Council, Canada, aimed at promoting the value of career development to post-pandemic recovery.

Career development practitioners (CDPs) in Canada and indeed around the world, are being required to make sense of a turbulent labour market, typically without adequate support, while at the same time providing appropriate services to their clients. Professionalisation of services has become urgent. Furthermore, Covid-19-related restrictions have made the integration of technology into the delivery of career development services no longer an option: the adoption of suitable technologies, however, implies fundamental change to practice.

The paper explores challenges and some possible responses for career development practice in Canada, based on a thorough literature review of relevant international academic and grey literature, author participation in Responsive Career Pathways roundtables, and discussions with two key employees of Canada’s main career development professional associations/bodies.