News

The Nova Scotia Career Development Association (NSCDA) has chosen the winners of the 10 seats it has funded in Dalhousie’s certificate for career practitioners.

In order to be eligible for the funding, applicants had to identify how they would use their new training to support career development in their communities and address the underrepresentation of African Nova Scotian, Indigenous, and new-to-Canada communities in the field of career services.

“It was a difficult task to choose only ten of the applicants and we’re grateful to all who took the time to apply,” said Kathy McKee, Executive Director of the NSCDA. “Underrepresentation is a very real issue that the NSCDA is working hard to address within the career development community and we’re confident that our partnership with Dalhousie University Faculty of Open Learning & Career Development is a major step in this objective. We’re looking forward to a continued relationship with Dalhousie and in exploring more ways to support career developers working in all areas of the industry.”

After a thorough review, the NSCDA and the Faculty congratulate these 10 bursary recipients:

• Maria Viniegra Cruz
• Tyree Haley
• Ashley Hill
• Sabreet Ghumman
• Stephanie Thomas Johnson
• Maria Cromwell
• Templeton Sawyer
• Kysha Bowden
• Soni Kearns
• Tanika Seabrook

In partnership with the NSCDA, the Faculty of Open Learning & Career Development re-designed a Certificate of Professional and Leadership Studies for Career Practitioners to keep pace with the new and complex demands facing career development practitioners.

The certificate includes six courses that are fully online and span 12 weeks each. The courses are designed for anyone employed in career services from job coaches to HR professionals. Learners will come away with a better understanding of how to support people through career transitions, job loss and grief, and learners will explore the concepts of diversity and inclusion by reflecting on their own unique lived experiences.

 “Our new program for career practitioners was designed to align with the new competency framework for career development professionals,” said Dr. Erin Careless, the Faculty’s Adult Learning & Teaching Program Director. “It supports learners who are both new to the field, and those who are established in their practice. Engaging and interactive curriculum allows learners to practice the skills they earn, while reflecting on ways to support a diverse client base.”

For more information on our winners who we’ll be profiling over the coming weeks, follow the Faculty of Open Learning & Career Development on Facebook or LinkedIn.

If you are in the field of career development/career service or looking to expand your knowledge in this area, contact our Student Services team at openlearning@dal.ca to learn more about how you can become a student of this certificate program.