The University Certificate in Career Development is a versatile addition to professional credentials. The certificate is a 30-credit, traditionally one-year program offered at the senior undergraduate level of university study. It is intended primarily for practitioners who have some related work experience in a human services field by building on competencies already developed to enhance the practitioner's effectiveness.

The certificate is beneficial to human services professionals such as social workers, counsellors, health professionals, and corrections officers, as it provides them with insights into how career development affects all facets of a client's life. Athabasca University has also developed program learning outcomes that describe the career options that may be available to you upon graduating.

Graduates will learn about:

· career development concepts, principles, and theories
· the career development implications of social, cultural,
  economic, and work trends
· using career resources and communication skills creatively to
  provide ethical and effective assistance in a variety of   settings
· critically evaluating their practice
· engaging in practitioner research.

Why Career Development?

Most Canadians begin thinking about a career in their mid-teens, and they continue to make career decisions throughout their lives. For many people, career decisions can be difficult, confusing, and even overwhelming: decisions about which occupation to enter, what type of training or education to pursue, whether to change jobs, how to manage self-employment, and how to plan for retirement.

Assistance from a skilled and knowledgeable career guide can be invaluable. Athabasca University's Certificate in Career Development is designed to provide candidates with the professional expertise to offer such assistance.

Many reports predict expansion of the career development field over the next decade. According to the Canadian Labour Force Development Board,

"An increasing number of workers need periodic assistance over their working lives in order to make informed decisions about their place in the labour market, and to acquire the employability skills needed to become or remain successful. As a result, there is unprecedented demand by Canadians for career development services." (Career Development: An emerging national strategy, 1996. Ottawa: Canadian Labour Force Development Board.)

Opportunities for career development practitioners are increasing in the private sector, educational institutions, social and employment service agencies, and business and industry.

Athabasca University advisors have developed a Program Plan. Students complete the program regulations in effect at the time of their enrolment.