PRE-CONFERENCE C

Career Counselling: Pathways for Career Development Using PLAR

MODERATOR:

Rennais Gayle-Indire, Project Manager, Alberta Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies;

Presenting organizations from the fields of immigrant settlement, literacy, employment
counselling, academic advising, human resource management and public policy include: Corinne PrinceSt-Amand, Director General, Integration-Foreign Credentials Referral Office Branch, Citizenship and
Immigration Canada; Catherine Scott, Director General, Labour Market Integration, Employment and
Social Development Canada; Erin Polcyn Sailer, Executive Director, Policy and Programs, Manitoba Civil
Service Commission; Eileen Kelly-Freake, Director, Employment Programs and Career Services, AXIS
Association for New Canadians; Joan Connolly, Executive Director, Literacy Ontario Central South; Carol
Timlin, Executive Director, Victoria County Career Services; Karine Hopper, Manager of Education
Programs, National Association of Career Colleges; Cynthia Murphy, Director, Canadian Immigrant
Integration Program; Toyin Fatona, Human Resources Coordinator, Edmonton Mennonite Centre for
Newcomers; Teresa Francis, Director, New Program Development, Prior Learning Centre
PRESENTERS:

RPL as a 'promising practice' for career development practitioners what is happening now and
what could happen in the future
The assessment and recognition of skills and competencies is connected to many questions currently being
asked in summits and symposiums across Canada is there a skills shortage, how do we support underrepresented Canadians in the labour force, how can we reform our education and training systems to make
them more responsive to learners of all kinds?
Career development and PLAR/RPL techniques and practices are central to this discussion.
The field of career development and counselling is very broad, yet there are many areas of commonality.
Most career practitioners put the goals of the client/job-seeker/learner at the heart of their work, while
undertaking many functions such as
advising clients, facilitating recruitment/selection/promotion, providing academic, employment and
personal counselling, articulating transferable skills, assisting with job search, uncovering hidden talents,
suggesting alternative pathways/careers, job developer services, supporting marginalized populations,
facilitating community employer engagement
This pre-conference session will explore RPL connections within current career development practice,
starting with a discussion about the importance of articulating and proving skills and competencies and
positioning acquired client learning alongside job or licensing requirements. Techniques that prepare jobseekers and adult learners to self-promote with confidence for employment and credentialing purposes will
be highlighted through existing programs and new initiatives. Career counsellors and advisors will
contribute to conversations about improving their practice, while those associated with policy development
and implementation will hear about innovative ways of creating and enhancing an effective career
development system that utilizes RPL components.
Come and be part of a conversation focused on programs and processes that use RPL, adult learning
principles and innovative strategies for continuous improvement. Input and ideas from participants will
contribute to the development of a What Was Said summary report.