Career Development Professionals (CDPs) recognize and address the profound impact of racism on individuals’ career journeys. CDPs engage in ongoing self-reflection, challenge their biases, and strive to understand the unique experiences of clients affected by racism. They educate themselves on historical and contemporary manifestations of racism, acknowledging the intersectionality of race with other identities. They collaborate with clients to explore and navigate the specific challenges posed by racism in their career development.
To prepare to work with clients experiencing racism, CDPs develop an understanding of the diverse history of social, economic, and political racism in Canada, and reflect on how these historical and current experiences may impact their clients’ expectations regarding work, education, and training. CDPs actively seek information on barriers and challenges faced by clients and identify and use relevant resources to address these concerns. They empower individuals affected by racism to articulate their career goals, aspirations, and concerns.
Competent career development professionals must be able to:
Competent career development professionals must know and understand:
Competent career development professionals must be able to perform this competency in the following range of contexts:
CDPs serve clients with diverse worldviews. Clients’ worldviews may influence their career choices and decisions. CDPs must reflect on these worldview factors to develop culturally sensitive and effective interventions.
CDPs serve clients who may present with complex barriers and challenges, including those stemming from discrimination and systemic inequalities. Clients often navigate contexts where opportunities are limited due to these factors.
CDPs serve clients who may present with past experiences of trauma and exclusion that may affect clients’ trust in career services. CDPs should approach their work with sensitivity to these histories, fostering an environment where clients feel safe and supported.
Industry-specific terms contained in the standard defined here, where applicable.
Ally: a person who actively supports and advocates for marginalized individuals or groups, working to challenge and dismantle systems of oppression and discrimination.
Anti-Oppressive Practice: a framework that aims to challenge and dismantle systems of oppression and discrimination within society that create unequal power dynamics and marginalize certain groups of people such as racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, and classism, etc.
Bigotry: intolerance or prejudice towards individuals or groups based on their beliefs, characteristics, or affiliations.
Racialization: process by which social structures assign racial identities to individuals or groups, often leading to differential treatment based on perceived racial characteristics.
Racialized: individuals or groups who are categorized or treated differently based on their perceived race or ethnicity within societal structures.
Racism: a set of implicit or explicit beliefs, assumptions and actions based on the ideology of inherent superiority of one racial or ethnic group over another leading to oppression and discrimination, often perpetuated systematically through institutional policies and practices.
Worldview: how a person perceives and interprets the world as shaped by cultural lens, individual values, and beliefs.
TRIEC’s Inclusive Workplace Competencies (https://triec.ca/competencies/) – TRIEC’s Inclusive Workplace Competencies can help understand the knowledge, skills, and behaviours that can help organizations create an inclusive workplace. The Inclusive Workplace Competencies is a research-based framework that can be incorporated into training programs and existing competencies models.
ONE NS Dashboard (https://www.onens.ca/goals/goal-8-employment-rate-first-nations-and-african-nova-scotians) – Ivany Commission made 19 recommendations to improve the economic future of Nova Scotia including Goal 8 of levelling employment rates among racialized groups to the provincial average. The dashboard is updated as new information from Statistics Canada is received, reviewed, and compared to the current information for each goal. There are typically 3-5 updates throughout the year.
Q: What is the consequence of a professional being unable to perform this skill according to the standard?
Q: How frequent and under what conditions is this skill performed?
Q: Under routine circumstances, how would you rate the level of difficulty in performing this skill?
Q: What is the average length of time or number of repeated events that are minimally necessary for an individual to become proficient in performing the skill to the standard?
A competent career development professional requires a minimum of one year of experience with at least 40 different clients, representing a broad range of individuals, including clients living with a disability.
Practitioners typically perform this competency without supervision, and alone.
It is unlikely that this competency will automate.
