This project aimed to answer the following research question: If clients are given a comprehensive needs assessment to determine their employability need(s), what is the differential effect of “practitioner-launched” and “practitioner launched and supported” use of career resources on clients who are weakly attached to the labour market versus those who are more strongly attached.

The project used a participant-research approach in which real practitioners implemented research protocols and gathered data from typical clients with diverse employability needs across a variety of populations.

This literature was produced for CCDF’s First Nations, Inuit and Métis Essential Skills Inventory Project.  The purpose of the literature review was to describe the current level of need for Essential Skill development among First Nations, Inuit and Métis, to explore the state of practice of Essential Skills initiatives with these populations in Canada and to examine innovative practices in an effort to determine potential “markers of excellence” in ES programming.

This research report focuses on a growing group of un- and underemployed youth, Poorly Integrated New Entrants (PINEs).  PINEs are young people who often have qualifications (diplomas or degrees); but who frequently go back and forth between temporary jobs, unemployment and/or inactivity, even during periods of strong economic growth (OECD, 2010).  The report examines what the literature says about them and their barriers to labour market attachment from a global and Canadian perspective.  It investigates what works in terms of policies and programs to mitigate their growth, includes a preliminary inventory of national and international programs and policies that target those who are or who are at-risk of becoming PINEs and, finally, provides an analysis of the inventory leading to the development of policy and program recommendations to stem the growth of PINEs in Canada.

In Canada, we have had virtually no data on the career development sector – its hiring practices, training/professional development trends, human resource challenges, composition and needs of clients it serves or the extent to which jurisdictions are applying competency profiles such as the Canadian Standards and Guidelines for Career Development Practitioners (S&Gs). The Forum of Labour Market Ministers undertook to fill this void, engaging CCDF to map the career development sector across Canada. Highlights and recommendations for action are included in the executive summary.

The CRWG is a unique coalition of Francophone and Anglophone researchers from six Canadian universities (University of Victoria, University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, University of Calgary, Université Laval and Université de Sherbrooke) committed to proving of the impact of career development programs and services. Members of the CRWG are independent researchers who collaborate on common projects and engage in distinct and related research projects separate from the CRWG. Members of the CRWG also form collaborative partnerships with international researchers.

The framework has been used extensively to evaluate career development interventions, but it also is appropriate in other types of counselling settings, mental health settings, physical health settings, other human services settings, and educational settings.