Career Development Practitioner is a three-semester (one-year) graduate certificate program that prepares graduates to enter the career development sector. The program may also appeal to practitioners working in the field who want to gain additional formal training and job coaching experience. The career development sector includes non-profit/community-based, government, post-secondary and private/corporate organizations.
The key objective of the field is to assist clients to be self-sufficient in career exploration, skill acquisition, job search and maintenance. Career Development Practitioners coach and counsel others on:
Practitioners may work with specialized and diverse groups such as:
This program has been designed to meet the changing needs of the sector and will help meet demand for trained Career Development Practitioners in the GTA and beyond.
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Practicum in Semester 3
YOUR FIELD STUDY OPTIONS
Students will complete almost 300 hours of field education in the third semester and will be matched with placement opportunities in settings in the GTA and further afield.
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.
PROGRAM STANDARDS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES
The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:
Apply evidence-based career development practices in advising diverse client groups.
Utilize self-reflective and critical thinking skills to enhance counselling, teaching and learning strategies with groups and individuals.
Develop a commitment to ongoing professional development to actively respond to changing labour market and professional requirements.
Integrate appropriate career information resources and tools with career and employment strategies to enable clients to meet their employment goals.
Perform needs assessments and develop subsequent interventions using techniques and skills that enable diverse ranges of clients to meet employment goals.
Design consulting, advising and teaching strategies that incorporate trends and issues of the changing labour market to assist clients in job search and career transitions.
Integrate emergent technologies into the full spectrum of Career Development processes and applications to maximize service delivery to clients navigating changing labour market requirements.
Adhere to relevant legislation and social policy to plan programs, interventions and referrals for client groups.
Use current work search tools and strategies to facilitate successful client job search.
Career Options
Graduates may hold a variety of job titles within the field of Career Development including:
*Price shown is for indicative purposes, please check with institution
Expected September 2025
St. James Campus
200 King Street East,
TORONTO,
Ontario (ON),
M5A 3W8, Canada
A two- or three-year diploma or a bachelor's degree from a college or university
Applicants with transcripts from an institution where the language of instruction is not English may meet English language proficiency requirements with one of the following proofs of language proficiency.
George Brown College is a diverse and welcoming community located in the heart of downtown Toronto, Canada’s largest city.