PROJECT INSIGHTS REPORT

Training our Career Development Professionals

Pathways to Jobs

Executive Summary

The pandemic forced Canada’s career development sector to move many services online. The sudden shift left many career development professionals unprepared. This project sought to understand the challenges faced by practitioners as a result of the increasing role of technology in this industry and to shed light on the skills and supports these professionals and their clients need in future.

The B.C.-based Association of Service Providers for Employability and Training is testing the skills most needed by career development practitioners to improve their capacity and effectiveness in delivering career services virtually, especially to vulnerable populations.

The research shows that there are benefits to delivering career services virtually, including more capacity to serve clients efficiently.

However, skills training for career development professionals is required to support remote delivery of services and relationship building in a virtual world where not all clients have the same receptiveness, ability and tools to benefit from receiving help in this way.

The findings may provide insight into how other industries which switched abruptly to an online service delivery model may need to do to address training for employees struggling to keep up in a virtual world.

contributorS

Rachelle Taheri
Research and evaluation associate at FSC

Samir Khan
Senior research and evaluation associate at FSC

date published

May 2023

Partners

Association of Service Providers for Employability and Training (ASPECT), ETHOS Career Management Ltd.

Location

British Columbia

investment

$145,000

Final evaluation report:
Competency of Career Development Practitioners for Virtual Services

The Issue

The dramatic expansion of online service delivery in the career development industry requires interventions to ensure career development practitioners can adapt so that workers can navigate the shifting labour market. This begins with asking employees in the industry about their experience in the transition to a virtual world, understanding what kind of training would benefit them most, and what barriers exist that may prevent them from gaining the skills they need.

The research showed that:

• 49 per cent of career professionals surveyed had not completed any specific career-development training to address virtual delivery, suggesting the need to close a significant gap

• Career development professionals said cost and heavy workload were barriers preventing them from seeking upskilling, suggesting the need for fast, affordable training

• Virtual service delivery expands access for job seekers to resources and professionals from around the province, country or globe, allowing the industry to cope with uneven demand across jurisdictions.

What We’re Investigating

This project seeks to understand the competencies related to virtual learning and facilitation for career development practitioners that should become standard knowledge and practice in an industry so crucial in labour markets that are always in flux.

• What skills are most needed by career development practitioners in British Columbia to improve their capacity and effectiveness in delivering career service virtually, especially to vulnerable populations?

• What skills related to virtual learning and facilitation should become standard knowledge and practice in the industry?

• What barriers exist for career development practitioners seeking skills upgrading?

• How best can supports be provided to these employees so that they can better provide services online?

• What can be learned by the project that can be applied across the industry?

What We’re Learning

The research revealed that there are a number of benefits to virtually delivered career services, including increased capacity to serve clients, especially those who could not easily attend in-person sessions. This could include persons living with a disability, those with care constraints or those living in rural and remote areas. The move to online delivery also enabled career development practitioners to provide clients with efficient access to other resources and to  career professionals from around the province, country, or globe, regardless of where they live.

At the same time, career development practitioners report challenges to support clients virtually. They find it more difficult to engage with reluctant clients and to build constructive, positive relationships with them. This can present barriers to addressing client health issues including anxiety and other mental health concerns.

Career development professionals report that the clients most disadvantaged by virtually delivery are underrepresented groupsfor whom digital literacy, access to Internet or health-related issues are of particular relevance. Clients who could potentially benefit most from virtual service delivery such as those living in remote areas were often most disadvantaged by barriers to technology including lack of access to the Internet or a computer.

The safety, security and privacy of clients accessing virtual career services cannot be guaranteed. For example, women fleeing violence may find accessing services online problematic.

The research revealed that efforts are needed to upskill career development practitioners in four key areas — competence, including virtual communications and relationship-building, digital literacy; mental health and wellness; and building capacity in service delivery.

The project also unscored challenges in retraining for the virtual environment faced by career development practitioners. When designing training, consideration must be given to addressing the considerable financial and time constraints faced by these employees, ensuring alignment with the Pan-Canadian Competency Framework for Career Development Professionals, ensuring ease of use, and modules that connect to a microcredential or other learning assessment or recognition.

Virtual delivery is inadequate in addressing barriers faced by vulnerable populations and should not replace in-person supports.

So that the career development industry can support workers in navigating a shifting labour market, the skills eco-system needs to provide standardized upskilling for career practitioners that is accessible and affordable.