CDP Professional Development Courses

Career Development for Persons with Disabilities is a 15 hour general interest course for career developers who are new to providing services to persons with disabilities. The course will address the definition of a disability according to the Canadian Human Rights Act, funders, employers, and service providers. It will address how to ask clients about disabilities and how to assess the level of impairment as it affects potential work using in-house and external resources available.

The course will consider appropriate job placement strategies such as job development, job coaching and customized employment and will identify accommodations and workplace adaptations appropriate for clients with different types of disabilities.

Coaching

Individual coaching is available to students who have completed the Career Development for Persons with Disabilities course. It consists of five hours of coaching by the instructor of the course and will assist career developers (CD) in a return-to-work plan for a specific client with whom their agency is working. It will allow the CD to meet with the client and implement counselling strategies developed in the coaching session. The coach will meet with the CD after the client meeting to identify accommodation and placement strategies specific to the client. The CD will meet with an employer to present the plan. The coach will meet with the CD to review the response of both the client and the employer to the job development strategy. The coaching may be spread over one month for the CD to implement the client strategies.

CDGI 565 Career Development for Clients with Disabilities                                                                        

CDGI 566 Coaching                                                                                                                                           

This workshop will provide CDPs with concrete strategies to support clients with mental health challenges. It will also provide strategic tools for CDPs to use for their own mental health while working with clients.

Participants in this workshop will leave with solid foundational information about mental health. If participants have already taken the Mental Health First Aid Kit training, this training will build on some of those fundamentals specifically within the Career Development context.

Course Topics Covered

• neurobiology and mental health
• strategies to support mental health
• working with suicide ideation
• making appropriate referrals
• handling mental health conversations

This training is offered over two-days and can be delivered either in-person or virtually. It is also offered in-house or can be customized for your setting. We may also offer this as a three-week asynchronous training in the fall of 2023.

CFCC 1200 Mental Health Strategies for CDPs                                                                                           

While the rest of the Career Development Advanced Program is under program review, this elective is available to all students - no prerequisites required. 

This course is designed to introduce the key aspects of Aboriginal employment in Canada and the historical and contemporary factors that influence choices for today’s aboriginal job seeker.

Topics included in this course will be the impacts of interracial oppression, lateral violence and cultural genocide on the career path of the aboriginal job seeker today. Topics will also include specialized resources and strengths within aboriginal communities to support employment for Aboriginal clients. This course will also introduce strategies to address some of these issues in the employment-counselling environment with a particular focus on increasing job retention and course completion rates for clients.

This course provides participants highly effective and proven strategies in teaching the necessary skills to job seekers. Learning and practicing the application of the Azrin Method, participants will gain confidence and competence in presenting information and transferring knowledge to ensure clients’ full understanding and mastery. Topics covered will also include the role of leadership in effectively handling challenging group situations, how to apply the Azrin Method to specialized populations and in 1-1 sessions, creating the environment for optimum learning and the importance of feedback when learning new skills.

Instructor Bios

Judi Huta, CCDP, CCW, RTC (Reality Therapy Certified) 

Judi Huta believes that with self-knowledge and trust, we have faith in our abilities, skills and talents. She believes that with faith we have the courage to change our thoughts, take new actions and create better results for ourselves, our communities and the workplace. Judi is a passionate career development practitioner, educator, facilitator, leader, and mentor who has helped hundreds of people reach personal and professional goals through focusing on strengths and possibilities. Her extensive experience includes working with children, youth and families, immigrants, job seekers, Aboriginal people, people with diverse-abilities, employers, business associations and post-secondary students.

Renée Russell, MA, CCDP 

During the span of her career Renee has held several roles within the Employment sector. With years of training the trainers in Leadership facilitation, demonstrating dedication and genuine commitment, she has coordinated provincial/federal programs which created opportunities of employment for people from all walks of life in local communities. She took part in international programs to develop Career Practitioner's Guides and Resources Toolkit manuals for the Caribbean's and in Africa.