Career Development Practitioner Program (Postgraduate) (C406)

Program Description

Leadership Claims

Career Development Practitioner is the only Career Development graduate certificate program in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

Program Overview

Do you want to help others with professional and life decisions? The one-year Career Development Practitioner (Postgraduate) program will prepare you to provide guidance related to career exploration, skill acquisition, and job search and maintenance to a variety of clients.

Full Description

The one-year Career Development Practitioner (C406) graduate certificate program prepares you to work in the career development sector, which includes nonprofit/community-based, government, post-secondary and private/corporate organizations. This program may also appeal to you if you are a practitioner already working in the field who wants to gain additional formal training and job-coaching experience. This profession’s key objective is to assist clients to be self-sufficient in career exploration, skill acquisition, and job search and maintenance. Career development practitioners coach and counsel others on the following:

  • job search
  • career planning
  • career choice and change
  • academic and training advising
  • identifying and meeting staffing needs

Career development practitioners may work with specialized and diverse groups, including youth, women, people with disabilities, immigrants and refugees.

This program has been designed to meet the changing needs of the sector and will help meet the demand for trained career development practitioners in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and beyond. The curriculum is designed to meet the Canadian Standards and Guidelines for Career Development Practitioners.

What can you expect from the Career Development Practitioner program?

This program combines in-class experiential training in counselling and coaching, theory and practice. Courses may also be conducted online or in a blended format.

The use of technology will enable you to participate in exciting ways that will build on previous knowledge and skills.

The final semester is dedicated to a supervised field education opportunity to ensure that upon graduation, you will have practical experience recognized by employers.

To provide you with a rich learning experience, we offer a variety of teaching methods, such as seminars, lectures, online learning, small group work, guest speakers, and field visits.

What Career Development Practitioner key skills and knowledge will you gain?

  • emerging trends and techniques in job search and career exploration
  • individual and group facilitation/counselling
  • job development and employer engagement
  • ethics and professional practice
  • career development theory
  • diversity, accessibility, equity and inclusion
  • use of technology and social media
  • career and employment information resources
  • employment legislation and programs

Who are our Career Development Practitioner students?

Our students have completed a college diploma or a university degree.

Due to the varied nature of the work and workplaces of career development practitioners, it is expected that graduates may come from a wide variety of programs of study, including:

  • psychology
  • sociology
  • education
  • social and community services
  • business
  • marketing
  • human resources

We recommend this field of study if you are interested in people and their development, are excited about the opportunity to assist others in professional and life decisions, and want to help them be self-sufficient in job search and retention. 

Career development practitioners play an important role in the lives of others as they contribute to the emotional and financial well-being of their clients and their families, their communities, and the economy.

Your Field Education Options

Students will complete almost 300 hours of field education in semester 3 and will be supported in developing relationships with our community partners to obtain a placement opportunity in settings in the GTA. 

Placements will be chosen by students based on their learning goals, environments sought, clientele, location, and other factors and will be approved by the program co-ordinator.

George Brown College has extensive connections with employers in all parts of the sector including community-based organizations, college and university career centres, internal corporate career services, and career-management firms.

Career & Postgraduate Study Opportunities

Career Options

Career Development Practitioner (C406) graduates may hold a variety of job titles within the field of Career Development including:

  • employment consultant/counsellor
  • career consultant/counsellor/coach
  • employment information specialist
  • job developer/employment placement specialist/employment marketing consultant
  • workshop facilitator
  • academic advisor
  • career education specialist
  • career coach/career management professional
  • outreach specialist/worker
  • recruitment advisor
  • employee assistance counsellor

These positions may be held in the community-based, post-secondary, and the private sector as well as labour organizations, vocational rehabilitation programs, and government departments.

Graduates of the program will have completed the two mandatory courses (Ethics and Career Development Theory) for certification by CDPCBO as a Certified Career Development Practitioner (CCDP). In addition, their field education/practicum hours will be counted toward the work experience requirement. Graduates will need to gain additional work experience before being able to apply for certification.

George Brown College is well-connected to the career development sector, and the program has an active Program Advisory Committee. Career development practitioners are working across the GTA and beyond in both leadership and front-line positions, providing opportunities for networking and career development.

The alumni committee of the Career Development Practitioner program is actively involved in providing professional development and mentoring opportunities.

Alumni Impact

We are immensely proud of the contributions of our alumni in Toronto and around the globe.

From Michelin-starred restaurants to major construction, entertainment, community and financial organizations, our graduates are truly making an impact across a range of industries.

Latest Alumni Stories

"I have started working as an Employment Consultant with ACCES Employment in Toronto. Specifically, I am working with the Entrepreneurship Connections Pre-arrival program. I will always remember and be grateful for my wonderful experience with George Brown College, not only as a student in the Career Development Practitioner program, but also as a peer tutor/peer leader with the Tutoring and Learning Centre. I am very thankful for having been part of the educational program and student services at GBC. Thank you for the team at GBC who were part of this career journey!"

Natalie Treboute
Ontario College Graduate Certificate

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