Emerging Trends – the Successful Careerpreneur’s Strategy

As career professionals, we all need to keep vigilant and focused on our future and that of our employees, colleagues, and clients. Security, privacy, ethics, transformation, knowledge, and health are at the top of every progressive organization’s wish list. Moreover, if we want to deliver, our employees must become unsurpassed careerpreneurs.

Career Professionals of Canada researched a wide variety of Canadian career trends for the development of their most recent certification program, the Certified Employment Strategist (CES). What we found is that the permanent job, for the most part, is a thing of the past. Due to a shift towards contract, temporary, and part-time work, “company cocoons” do not exist for most people anymore. As a result, to succeed in the workplace, Canadians in the labour market must assume responsibility for their own careers.

What this means is that we must create our own future. To do this, we need to be entrepreneurs of sorts. Becoming a careerpreneur means:

1. Becoming an independent agent working towards our own career success.
2. Scripting our own path versus waiting for someone to write it out for us.
3. Keeping an eye out for emerging and growing opportunities.
4. Proactively taking advantage of our own career development initiatives.

Here is a deeper look at the emerging trends that are on organizations’ wish lists and should be on our radar:

Trend 1 – Security

Although the Canadian crime rate has been in decline in recent years, the media is reporting increased violent crimes including firearm, extortion, and terrorism-related offences. This movement has created deep discomfort for many of us. We recognize the need to feel safe and secure in public and in the workplace. This, of course, is a primary issue for employers. We can anticipate growth in jobs that provide security. In fact, we already know that the government will be facilitating more openings for police officers, firefighters, aircraft inspectors, and paramedics. More companies will be hiring security guards to protect the premises. And, of course, broad roles in the areas of corporate security will become greatly valued.

Trend 2 – Privacy

With the onset of the worldwide web, Canadians have encountered an alarming increase in Internet identity theft. Protecting the privacy of company, client, and employee information has become paramount. Companies need all aspects of their businesses to be secure. Additionally, the government continues to institute legislation requiring organizations to take on a proactive role in their own privacy. This will be a powerful driver in the evolution of corporate policies, systems, and procedures related to information security and confidentiality. Stringent auditing, data recording, and accounting principles will be more important than ever. So, we can expect that, there will be a need for more privacy specialists, audit and accounting control professionals, theft prevention experts, systems analysts, and programmers with expertise ensuring corporate privacy.

Trend 3 – Ethics

These days, there seems to be a regular onslaught of news related to unethical, immoral, and dishonest business practices by Canadian political leaders.  Businesses are also taking note. To address this, organizations are taking a resolute stand on ethics and ethical workplace practices. This trend will continue and grow in a big way. Employers are concerned about the honesty and ethics of the people they hire. As a result, companies are even hiring private investigators. On the job search front, candidate interviewing and testing will be more exhaustive. Recruiters will be performing more stringent background checks to uncover false information disclosed in resumes. Applicants are already being Googled and reference checked even before they come in for the interview.

Trend 4 – Transformation

Economic growth continues to give companies the opportunity to invest capital in mergers, acquisitions, and globalization. Corporate change has become the standard, and companies who are to succeed must now embrace continuous transformation. We see business opportunities expanding in China, India, and now, Africa. Work will continue to be off-shored and outsourced, but with this comes a need to develop strong relationships with people globally. We will see a shift back to the phone and face-to-face dialogue as an effective means of communication during immense, ongoing change. Leaders who are able to create stability during transformation will be valued tremendously.

Trend 5 – Knowledge

Baby boomers continue to change the landscape of the Canadian labour market. A talent drain has started to occur in the workforce. Simultaneously, we are finding a “skills mismatch” between new entrants to the workforce and positions that need to be filled. As the government grapples with a proposed Job Grant Program, employers are finding that information and knowledge are quickly becoming most important assets of the “new economy.” As a result, organizations are starting to value experience more than ever. Companies will be more open to hiring and retaining older workers who bring years of expertise to the table. To support the need for knowledge, greater government funding for teaching and research is fuelling growth within the education sector. Additionally, cultural diversity will play a bigger role in Canada. Because of the talent drain, employers will need to hire experienced professionals. This is good news for Canadian immigrants, who will finally start to find higher-level opportunities opening up as employers embrace their knowledge, experience, languages, and global savvy.

Trend 6 – Health

On the topic of Canada’s aging population, retiring baby boomers will continue to put a huge demand on the nation’s resources, especially in the area of healthcare. The healthcare sector will continue to be strong and grow. The aging workforce will require that companies dedicate resources to health and safety. Entrepreneurs and businesses will have many opportunities to support older people by building a stronger “health infrastructure” across Canada. Businesses in the areas of elder care, home healthcare, dental care, and pharmaceutical manufacturing and sales will flourish. The need for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and therapists of all kinds will grow.

Our clients can leverage these six trends by developing a careerpreneurial attitude. By focusing our career direction in the areas of security, privacy, ethics, transformation, knowledge, and/or health, they will virtually open up unlimited opportunities for professional success.

As practitioners, we can also become better careerpreneurs. Ongoing education is one way that  can develop proficiency in one or more of these areas. The Certified Employment Strategist (CES) credential will authenticate and validate your expertise. By marketing your know-how, you can further position yourself as an expert in your area of choice. Rather than sticking with traditional strategies, you can enable your clients to take themselves to another level by marketing their expertise through current strategic resume, interviewing, branding, and job search strategies.

The landscape of the Canadian economy is ever changing. As a careerpreneur, you are a “change leader.”  Your expertise will be the foundation of your career and that of every client that is fortunate enough to cross your path. What does the future hold for Canadian employees and job seekers? What trends do you see shaping the future of Canada?  Here’s to your future and career success for all your clients!

Sharon Graham is CANADA’S CAREER STRATEGIST and author of the top-selling BEST CANADIAN RESUMES SERIES. Founder and executive director of CAREER PROFESSIONALS OF CANADA, Sharon is committed to setting the standard for excellence in the industry. A leading authority on resume, interview, employment and career transition, Sharon provides career practitioners with tools and resources to enable them to provide exemplary services to Canadians.