Career Development and Employability Dimensions

  • by glarehab
  • May 26, 2015
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Career Development and Employability Dimensions

Career development can be defined as the total constellation of economic, sociological, psychological, educational, physical and chance factors that combine to shape one’s career.

In other words, career development process is  “the place” where an individual creates a work identity and displays career behaviour; the process that allows people to come to understand themselves as they relate to the world of work and their own roles in it (Gysbers, Heppner, & Johnston, 2003).

As a Vocational Assessor I need to understand where the person is in terms of his/her on “employability stage” in order to assess individual vocational profile, apply relevant theories on their specific career situation and assist individuals to transition from, for example, current unemployment to specific form of employment.

There are different definitions of employability stages. I personally like the definition suggested by Norman E. Amundson from the University of British Columbia

According to this author, there are 5 possible Employability Dimensions (stages) that clients can find themselves in:

1. Inner/ Self-Exploration / Decision Making (Who Am I?)

In this stage the client does not have a clear vocational purpose and needs to examine his/her Life/Work role salience.

In this stage, clients should decide how important the work identity has on their lives and how it corresponds to the other roles that they hold, as they must gain a better understanding of self with an emphasis on personal as well as professional values (what type of work suits him/her).

They should examine how their personality fits in within various fields and occupational/ professional roles with a goal of fostering progress and focus of bringing together the person and the occupation.

As a result of this self-exploration, individuals should obtain a clearer perspective on their desires and abilities and possibly the type of work environments they want to avoid.

For this stage, it is very important to have a very thorough knowledge of self and the world of work. Without that knowledge and clear career focus, it is difficult to sustain new skills and to accommodate the demands of the potential employers.

2. Outer Exploration/ Skills Enhancement (What’s Out There?)

This type of upgrading happens once the individual is aware of who they are and what they want (the possible fit person-environment) and can now focus on gaining the skills needed for the type of work they want to do based on their vocational profile and labour market demands.

In this stage, the individual has the option of formal or informal training in order to gain or improve the current employment situation through academic upgrading, or expansion of vocational and interpersonal skills for success and eventually gainful employment.

Fundamentally, this employability stage is about getting the required qualifications to enter the world of work.

3. Outer Exploration/Job Search Enhancement

Once the individual has a solid idea of who he/she is and has a clear career focus together with the skills/education/training needed to pursue their goal, it is time to start developing job search skills and strategies essential to having a successful job search.

This stage/ dimension includes all activities directly associated with the actual integration and re-integration of unemployed individuals into the labour market.

As the particular skill set needed to conduct an effective job search and exploration change over time, individuals should be prepared to update these skills to meet the demands of the job market.

4. Job/Work Maintenance

As success in the workplace largely depends on the individuals vocational and interpersonal skills, the key in this stage is obtaining the attitudes and skills that ensure employment continuity.

These skills are broadly defined as the skills used by a person to properly interact with others. In the business domain, the term generally refers to an employee’s ability to get along with others while getting the job done (Interpersonal skills)

5. *NEW Career Growth/Work Advancement

This new phase/ stage placed after job maintenance was created with the recognition of the need to focus on the issue of career movement and change.

This movement and/or career growth could be within a particular job or occupational field or it might be broader and encompass the desire to change fields entirely as a result of various life circumstances.

The focus in this stage would be on transferability of skills and attitudes and the desire to approach change in a manner consistent with “positive uncertainty” or lack of resistance towards change.

As vocational assessor/consultant, once I discover individuals’ employability dimension in the context of their biopsychosocial history and other life circumstances, I can apply the most suitable career development theory on their case, chose specific career intervention, including vocational assessment instrument(s), and determine the most effective path of moving the person from unemployment to more meaningful employment and/or meaningful employment related activities.

Next time, I will be talking about different career development theories that inform individuals’ career decisions and explain presence and/or lack of fit between individuals’ personality and other factors and chosen working environments.

Iva Keighley, LLB, MSW

Reg. Social Worker/Vocational Consultant

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Helmet and Bike Safety

  • by glarehab
  • May 26, 2015
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Helmet and Bike Safety

With the sun shining and the summer months approaching, it is time to pull out your bike from the garage and enjoy a bike ride. But before you do this, you need to learn about bike safety and how to prevent accidents from happening.

According to CAA Statistics, about 7500 Canadian cyclists are seriously injured every year. Interestingly, cyclists are more likely to be killed or injured at an intersection where there are traffic signals.

34% of the cyclists killed in Canada were struck by a vehicle in the dark.

64% of cyclist deaths from traffic crashes occurred on city roads.

Most bike injuries and crashes occur during afternoon rush hour.

How can we prevent injuries from happening on our bikes?

First, let’s look at proper equipment.

Helmets: The law in Ontario says that you must wear a helmet while riding a bicycle if you are under the age of 18.

But did you know that in British Columbia, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and PEI, all cyclists of any age are legally required to wear a helmet?

Wearing a bike helmet helps reduce the risk of a head injury. Most cyclists on the road are killed each year due to head trauma and other suffer permanent brain injury.

Research shows that safety approved bike helmets helps to reduce the risk of brain injury by over 85%!

How do we wear a helmet correctly?

You need to make sure that the helmet fits snug. The edge of the helmet should be positioned 2 fingers above the eyebrows in order to protect the forehead. The straps should be in a v shape just below the ear and a finger should fit snugly between the chin and strap.

Reflectors: Having reflectors on your helmet and clothing will allow you to be more visible to vehicle during the night time.

Bell: A bell helps to inform other cyclists or vehicle that you are near them.

Secondly, use proper precautions when riding on city streets.

As a cyclist, you must follow the rules of the road when riding on city streets. That includes following all traffic lights, stop signs and one-way road signs.

To allow other vehicles and cyclists know where you are going, use hand signals to identify your intentions of travel. Review the appropriate hand signals for turns, stopping and lane changes before riding your bike.

Always ride on the right side of the road and in single file.

Please try to follow the above rules in order to have a safe and fun summer season of bike riding!

To learn more about bike safety please contact us. We would be happy to provide you with more information.

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May 2015

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May 2015

Hello to all our readers!

In this edition of the newsletter, we have chosen to highlight a recent motion, Georgios Apostolidis and Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company (FSCO A12-0040701), which discusses how Pain Disorder can meet the catastrophic threshold on the Mental and Behavioural criterion in the OCF-19.

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