• Français
Future Skills Center logo
Français
Polygon Created with Sketch. Home | Research
Research

Advancing Career Services: Supporting Post-Secondary Career Professionals in a Changing Job Market

As labour markets continue to rapidly evolve, shaped by technological disruption, shifting employer expectations, and intensifying competition for meaningful employment, career development professionals (CDPs) are expected to provide more specialized, timely, and individualized guidance than ever before.

To understand how CDPs are navigating this evolving landscape, we conducted interviews with 40 practitioners working in colleges, universities, and polytechnics across Canada. The findings revealed consistent challenges: unclear or fragmented institutional structures; escalating student mental-health concerns impacting career decision-making; and a lack of shared standards and support for delivering inclusive, high-quality services. Based on these insights, we identify several key opportunities for post-secondary and career services leaders to address these challenges.

Download Report Button
Teacher helping students in class

Key insights

Many career development professionals (CDPs) are facing rising student anxiety and declining perceptions of graduates’ work readiness, often without adequate professional development. This can contribute to feelings of overwork and emotional burnout.

Despite this, post-secondary institutions do not always provide clarity on scope of practice for CDPs, particularly related to student wellbeing. This leads to role tension, hidden work, and misaligned workload models.

AI is transforming career pathways, but limited AI literacy, training, and institutional coordination leave students underprepared and CDPs stretched, reducing the scalability, confidence, and effectiveness of AI-informed career guidance.

More from FSC

Group of diverse businesspeople having a meeting in a modern office at work.
State of Skills

Meeting the Demand for Talent

  • October 2026
Building a resilient national talent pool requires a shift from traditional credential-based hiring and training approaches towards skills-first practices and demand-driven training. These efforts must be paired with increased employer investments in training, and the active removal of systemic barriers for equity-deserving groups.
1 Related Reports
Two women wearing safety glasses standing in a metal workshop, working on metal drilling machine.
Research

Women in Trades: Progress, Barriers and Opportunities

  • October 2026
  • Diversity Institute
The research addressed three core questions: What is the current state of women’s participation in skilled trades in Canada? What systemic barriers prevent women from entering, completing and advancing in the trades? And what strategies, domestically and internationally, have shown the most promise in addressing these barriers?
2 Related Reports
Research

Workforce Training in Canadian SMEs: Barriers and Promising Models

  • September 2026
  • Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Diversity Institute
This project responds to the need for a clearer understanding of the factors shaping SME upskilling and the conditions under which training investments are more effective.
2 Related Reports
View all Research

Have questions about our work? Do you need access to a report in English or French? Please contact communications@fsc-ccf.ca.