Are you looking for a career nowhere near ordinary? The RCMP will be at Vancouver Island University, Building 356, Room 109, 900 Fifth Street, Nanaimo, BC to present information on careers within their organization. Presentation dates are Monday February 11, Monday February 18, and Monday April 15 at 6:00 pm. For more information call Victoria Recruiting Office at 1-250-995-7775.
Archive for the ‘Career Decision Making’ Category
RCMP Information Sessions
Friday, January 18th, 2013JobFest 2012 in Nanaimo
Wednesday, September 12th, 2012JobFest 2012 will be at the Beban Park Parking Lot, 2300 Bowen Road on October 9th from 12pm to 6pm. JobFest 2012 will visit over 50 communities throughout BC and provides young people, and their families, labour market and career information in an interactive and educational format. Visit JobFest2012.ca for more information.
Brand New B.C. Job Tools!
Monday, November 14th, 2011From a recent WorkBC electronic newsletter:
The WorkBC team is excited to announce three new products available on WorkBC. Check out the Build a Career Smartphone app, Career Explorers video game and Job Trend Tracker forecasting tool. Have fun exploring and share these interactive tools with your colleagues, family and friends!
The Build a Career smartphone app features a quiz for young adults ages 15 to 25 to assess their skills and interests and discover new careers. They can also watch videos of the top ten jobs in B.C. and map their way to a career centre nearby. Available on iPhone, Android and Blackberry and in web and iPad versions.
The Career Explorers 3-D online video game lets youth (ages 8 to 12) explore the many career options available in B.C. and its regions. The “roll and move” board game, badges and mini-games provide an interactive and fun experience for players.
The Job Trend Tracker interactive web application provides reliable labour market information for citizens, employers and government. It’s packed with visual, interactive tools that tell B.C.’s future labour market story. Find demand and supply outlooks from 2010 to 2020 on more than 500 careers in B.C. Map, chart and compare regional and provincial job stats and discover which jobs need workers where. For the best possible experience, we recommend viewing in IE 7+, Safari 3+, Firefox 3+, Opera 9.5+ or Chrome 2.0+.
These tools were created under the federally funded Research & Innovation Support Measures Program.
One Week Job Screening
Thursday, September 29th, 2011
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Howard Thurman
This is the quote Sean ended with at the end of an amazing, inspirational evening of the One Week Job screening in a packed room at the Parksville Community and Conference Centre.
We invited Sean to come to Parksville with his movie because we were inspired by Sean’s courage to go out and try a job a week for 52 weeks, often not knowing where or what his next job might be. It shows there are countless ways to discover what you’re passionate about, as well as suggesting there is nothing better than experience.
At the age of 25, two years after graduating valedictorian with a Business Administration degree from college, he started the One-Week Job project. He travelled anywhere in North America, working 52 jobs in 52 weeks. Some called him crazy, but he wanted to find out what could happen when you set out to find your passion. From firefighter and advertising executive, to dairy farmer – he left no occupational stone unturned. It was a challenging journey, with many roadblocks and obstacles. Change is tough. His epic journey demonstrates the power of possibilities, and provides inspiration to others. Students find comfort recognizing that career uncertainty is normal and baby boomers find courage to change jobs, return to school and finally uncover their passion. The inspirational movie trailer, as well as more information about Sean, the 52 jobs, and the One Week program, are available at the One Week Job website.
We encourage you to take your own steps in discovering your passion, whether it is volunteering, talking to someone that works in a field you are interested in or dropping into the Career Centre to learn more about our services.
Many thanks to Sean, Coastal Community Credit Union for their sponsorship and Coastal Colour for the support in printing the promotional material!
Screening of One-Week Job Movie
Thursday, September 1st, 2011
Mark your calendars! The Career Centre, with sponsorship from Coastal Community Credit Union (CCCU), will host a free screening of the documentary “One Week Job” with attending author and project founder Sean Aiken at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, September 28 at the Parksville Community & Conference Centre. An open question period and book signing opportunity with Aiken will follow.
This exciting evening session is a must see for anyone who is interested in discovering their passion or still doesn’t know what they want to do when they grow up. Youth counselors, employment consultants and families are encouraged to take part in the event.
“We are excited about the opportunity to bring this special event to the community and work with the event sponsor Coastal Community Credit Union,” said Executive Director of the Career Centre, Cyndy Ireland Bresden. “We often see individuals in career transition and this movie may inspire them.”
To add your name to the guest list and reserve your spot at this popular event, call the Career Centre at 250-248-3205 or email marcene@careercentre.org. Limited general seating will be available on a first come, first serve basis after 6:45pm. Those who attend will be entered into a draw for an opportunity to win either Sean Aiken’s “One Week Job” book or a DVD copy of the movie on the evening of the event.
The screening of Aiken’s documentary “One-Week Job” is the highlight of the Career Centre’s Career Week from September 26 to 30. This year’s theme is “Discover Your Passion”. Take advantage of the workshops and activities offered this week to start the journey to discover your passion and the possible careers that await you. It is never too late to take action. More information on Career Week can be found on the workshop calendar posted on The Career Centre website.
Information on Sean and the One Week Project can be found at http://www.oneweekjob.com/about-the-project/
Working in Nonprofits
Tuesday, June 7th, 2011Does working in a Nonprofit interest you? The HR Council for the Nonprofit sector has an informative section on their website that includes a Career Explorer and a list of Nonprofit job sites.
The HR Toolkit provides managers, employees and board members a resource to for working in nonprofit organizations.
Scientific Career Opportunities on the Rise
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010Blog contribution from Christian Saint Cyr, http://twitter.com/BCLMR
The number of science-related careers in British Columbia will increase dramatically over the next decade, according to new labour market report on science-related occupations.
The report, Science Related Occupations, forecasts a 26% increase in science related occupations in the province by 2019. The report also concludes that British Columbians studying natural and applied science will have the best future career prospects in B.C.
The report findings include:
This report has been published in conjunction with a Provincial initiative called ‘The Year of Science’. Running from September 2010 to June 2011, it is intended to provide a unique opportunity for students to discover, “the fun and excitement of science,” as well as prepare for future science-related occupations. Visit the website to learn more about science in B.C. and to find out how to get involved in programs and events in your community. Also check out BC Work Futures site for a sample of Year of Science careers.
Searching for Your Passion?
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010We’ve all heard finding your passion is important, but how do you find it? Where do you start? “Just try it out and see for yourself” was the innovative and proactive approach Sean Aiken used to uncover what he wanted to do for a career and with his life. At the age of 25, two years after graduating valedictorian with a Business Administration degree from Capilano College, he started the One-Week Job project. He travelled anywhere in the world, working 52 jobs in 52 weeks. Some called him crazy, but he wanted to find out what could happen when you set out to find your passion. From firefighting, to advertising executive, to dairy farmer – he left no occupational stone unturned. It was a challenging journey, with many roadblocks and obstacles. Change is tough. His epic journey demonstrates the power of possibilities, and provides inspiration to others – from students, who found comfort recognizing that career uncertainty is normal, to the baby boomers who found courage to change jobs, return to school and finally uncover their passion.
Currently, the inspirational movie trailer, and more information about Sean, the 52 jobs, and the One Week program, is available at: http://www.oneweekjob.com. The film chronicling his year-long adventure is scheduled to release in the Spring 2010. As well, there is now an opportunity to apply to participate in your own one-week program. Three lucky participants will be selected and will be paid $1500 a month to work in eight different jobs.
New Wage and Salary Survey Released by BC Stats
Friday, March 12th, 2010In 2009, the first-ever Wage and Salary Survey was completed by the BC Government. This survey provides up-to-date information on part-time and full-time wages, hours of work, hiring difficulties, and vacancies for 121 of the province’s most common occupations. In our region, Vancouver Island/Coast, the top 100 occupations were targeted. These details can be useful in your career decision making, as the more information you have the easier it is to make a decision. I searched the occupation Graphic Designers and Illustrators in the Vancouver/Coast Region and found out that the average starting wage was $16.59 and the most frequent wage was $21.19. A fairly good wage for our area but only 1.2% of employers experienced hiring difficulty for this occupation – could this mean it is a fairly competitive job market for this occupation? This is an example of the type of information to investigate when researching your potential field.
The Highlight Report of the survey provides a good overview of the results. Some of the occupations that reported high levels of hiring difficulties were Hairstylists and Barbers, Estheticians and College and Other Vocational Instructors.
Forestry Worker Assistance; Tuition Assistance for Retraining
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008In response to the serious downturn in the forest industry in BC, the Provincial Government has rolled out a funding program designed to help forestry workers. In addition to funding support for those choosing early retirement and for job creation, there is also a tuition assistance fund. “Premier Gordon Campbell announced details of three new programs to support forest workers and communities coping with the challenges of a changing industry…We’re working with forest companies, labour and communities to ensure that B.C.’s forest sector receives effective, timely assistance to deal with the impact of market volatility and cyclical change,†Campbell said.†http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/pscripts/pab/newsrel/mofnews.asp?refnum=2008OTP0118-000&searchtext=Â
A qualified worker in the forest industry may receive $5000 towards tuition to retrain. This is great news. But before you run out and sign up for that training you have been dreaming of, you may want to research your options. You could end up sitting next to someone who has received a lot more money to help with training costs. Or you might meet someone who is going to a training course that sounds much more interesting than the one you have chosen.Â
While $5000 dollars sounds like a big chunk of change, it only goes so far when returning to school. It is very helpful in covering tuition costs for some programs but not for all. And, what about books, transportation and living expenses? If you have that all covered, great! But, if finances are tight, read on. Depending on which school and training program you choose, you could pay as much as $10,000 for tuition, books and supplies, even before you tack on living expenses.Â
In addition to the Forest Worker Assistance funds, there are other sources of funding that may help you to return to school. You may be eligible to receive EI while you are going to school or you might be able to use Training Support Program funds to help you with training and living costs. Student loans are also a flexible option that might fit for you. Make sure you find out about this before you sign up for training because, once you start your training, you may no longer have access to these funds.Â
The really good news is that at The Career Centre, our professional employment consultants can help you navigate these waters and create a plan that works for you. You can take the time to research your options and create a good plan. Call, or drop in to make an appointment to see an employment consultant and start your return-to-work action plan today. You can also go on-line to find out more about this funding:Â
http://www.labour.gov.bc.ca/cdt/Â