Career Development and Training

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Please see response attached (also presented below), as well as two relevant articles for your consideration. I hope this helps and take care.

1. Post your ideas for the top three career development activities that you think your organization and other organizations should provide for their employees.

The top three career development activities are:

i) Career counselling;
ii) Human resource development (see Intellectual Capital attachment)
iii) Leadership training and employment skills training (wherever there is a gap between present level of skills and the needed skills and competencies).

(Source: http://workinfonet.bc.ca/bccip/RoundTable/CareerDevRoundtableFeb5-03.pdf)

2. Why are these important? Consider your answers as well.

Effective career information and activities are indeed a key to making lifelong learning a reality and necessity for all employees. These activities can help to make the best use of human resources in our organization by allowing better matches between people's skills and interests and available opportunities for work activities and learning. As well, they are important elements in active labour market policies and active welfare to work policies. (OECD, About Career Information and Guidance)

(Source: http://workinfonet.bc.ca/bccip/RoundTable/CareerDevRoundtableFeb5-03.pdf)

Leadership and management training is important for managerial effectiveness. Why? Because enhanced communication among employees and their managers is imperative to the success of a business. Enhanced communication among employees and their managers is imperative. In fact, building a trusting working relationship between manager and employee through open and honest communication creates a positive work environment. Further, the manager's support for the individual's current success and future potential improves employee moral and often increases productivity. Managers must learn to establish one-on-one developmental planning discussions between mangers and employees to develop a trusting relationship that fosters a healthy work environment. Also, in today's workplace, effective management of change, including communicating this to the employees, is imperative and therefore an important skill for managers to possess (see attachment "HR Managing change" - of what this involves and why it is important).

These are important and purposeful to help to align the interests, expectations and activities of the career development and the organization's employment needs with respect to their common human resource development goals - formation of individuals with the appropriate education, training and skills needed in the workplace in order to meet the labor requirements of a rapidly changing and expanding economy. A person with insufficient knowledge of available education and career opportunities and the knowledge, skills and abilities demanded by employers is destined to be adrift in the labor market of the 21st century. These career activities will prevent this phenomenon from occurring in our organization by providing career counselling, human resource development activities and leadership and specific employment skills training when required.

(Source: http://www.cooperindustries.com/employment/currentEmployees.cfm).

3. Based on this discussion did you change your ranking? Why or why not?

No - mainly, because these three activities allow for employee-centered career development objectives. Through available career counselling options and through human resource development and training, the employees motivation and morale will increase which will lead to more successful employment outcomes; and more effective utilization of human resources and capital. Broadly, these activities contribute directly to a growing and more productive economy, and corresponding individual and societal well being. Thus, our organization will increase in efficiency and productivity. (Source: http://workinfonet.bc.ca/bccip/RoundTable/CareerDevRoundtableFeb5-03.pdf)

Why? This is mainly because career happiness is connected to human development and is influenced by developmental processes (Harris 1999-2000). Career happiness may result "when career activities, challenges, and environments support, gently challenge, and resonate with fundamental developmental tasks," but as an individual grows and changes, activities that once resulted in career happiness may not continue to be meaningful (ibid., p. 28). A study (Henderson 2000) of eight people who experienced career happiness revealed that the participants had the following personality traits: a positive sense of self, self-determination, energy, strength of character, positive and productive relationships with others, and a positive relationship to the world. Work environments contributed to their ...