4 minute read
Celebrating community
By Paula Wischoff Yerama, CCDP, Executive Director, Career Development Association of Alberta (CDAA)
The CDAA celebrates 25 years of service to career development practitioners and the career development community in 2022. It feels like just yesterday we were celebrating 20 years at ACDC (Alberta Career Development Conference) 2017 with a gala celebration! In mid-2021, there was a great deal of hope and optimism that we would be celebrating, in person, in 2022. As the year went on and as the calendar turned from 2021 to 2022, it became clear that an in-person event would not be possible.
Today, however, we are planning for an exciting virtual celebration and activities throughout the year to acknowledge and celebrate 25 years of community. Twenty-fifth anniversary activities are being planned for the eighth annual Alberta Career Development Conference, which will be held virtually on May 3 and 4, 2022. Additional anniversary activities and celebrations will be planned throughout the year. Please mark your calendars and save the date for ACDC 2022: Tuesday, May 3 and Wednesday, May 4, 2022. Calls for keynote presenters, concurrent session presenters, and exhibitors will soon be available as well as early registration. Visit https//www.careerdevelopment. ab.ca/ for conference details and registration information.
For 25 years, the CDAA has been “a recognized leader that advances the career development profession through strategic outreach and partnership activities and provides services and supports to aspiring and practicing career development professionals”. From being the first province to develop and launch voluntary certification for career development practitioners by way of the Certified Career Development Professional (CCDP) designation, to being a founding member of what is now known as the Canadian Council for Career Development (3CD), to being involved in the Supporting Canadians to Navigate Learning and Work project, the CDAA has been a prominent organization in the career development community.
The CDAA has been proud to support the Canadian Career Development Foundation (CCDF) with the Supporting Canadians to Navigate Learning and Work project. In October 2021, a funding proposal to ESDC’s Sectoral Initiatives Program (SIP) focusing on the critical transition from certification program development to certification program implementation was submitted. On December 17, 2021, the CCDF provided an update that the proposal to implement national certification had not been approved. Despite this news they are actively exploring other possibilities that have been suggested.
On a brighter note, the bilingual and public Code of Ethics for Career Development Professionals, with special thanks to the team at AXTRA
for overseeing the translation of this incredible document, was published at the end of October 2021!
Career development professionals have a responsibility to themselves, to their clients, and to the field of career development. The purpose of this Code of Ethics is to provide professional boundaries and practical directives for professional behaviour and practice for those who offer services in career development. The seven sections and 60 articles in the Code of Ethics are intended to be combined with each other to address the multiple diverse and contextualized situations that CDPs face in their daily delivery of career development services.
The new Code of Ethics is intended as a platform for the Canadian Competencies for Career Development Professionals. It is designed to reflect the breadth and depth of the field as an essential component of the national competencies.
In addition to the articles within this Code of Ethics, career development professionals must engage actively in the process of ethical decision-making. To assist professionals in this activity, a series of ethical decision-making models are provided within the text.
The Code of Ethics was developed and updated from the Canadian Standards and Guidelines for Career Development Professionals Code of Ethics (2004) in combination with the Pan-Canadian Competency Framework for Career Development Professionals (2021). Special appreciation is extended to the Canadian Career Development Foundation, and the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association for their exemplary collaboration to create this document.
You can find, access, download and share the new Code of Ethics at
https://ccdp-pcdc.ca (EN) and https://pcdc-ccdp.ca (FR).
The CDAA will continue to share updates and information related to the project and the work that remains to be done. We are very excited for what this all means for our profession!
Several times a year we reach out to our community for their input on various topics. Most recently the following questions were posed:
• What organizations, events, or resources related to diversity, equity, and inclusion have you found to be particularly helpful in supporting your clients, colleagues, and communities?
• What sources of labour market information have been most beneficial to you in supporting your clients?
Where have your clients been finding success in the labour market?
• As the career development profession continues to move toward a national certification program for career development professionals, what questions around national certification are coming up for you?
• As the career development profession prepares to launch the Career
Development Professional National
Competency Framework, what are you most looking forward to and how do you hope to be able to incorporate the new framework into your own career development?
• What personal or professional development goals have you set for yourself for 2022?
If you have anything you would like to share in response to our community collaboration questions. please feel free to email Paula Wischoff Yerama at ed@careerdevelopment.ab.ca with “community collaboration” in the subject line. n
cdaa
Career Development Association of Alberta
In it’s 25th year, the Career Development Association of Alberta is proud to present: The Alberta Career Development Conference 2022
ACDC
2022
World-Class Keynote Speakers | Industry Recognized Exhibitors Concurrent Sessions | Expert Panel Presentations | Consultation Sessions
Presented Virtually: Tuesday and Wednesday, May 3 and 4, 2022
