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Professional Development Reports

Please share any professional development experiences you have found worthwhile. Send reports to s.pulman@auckland.ac.nz

2009 Reports

• Catching the Wave CATE Conference 2009: Workshop & speaker notes Please note that these are the notes that we have so far.  Others will be added as they are received.  Click here.

• ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research) Conference Presentations
  This series of powerpoint presentations has been contributed by: Mark Dashper (Team Solutions, Northland); Nicola Riley (Team Solutions  Auckland); Saskia Osborne, Waikato University; Lesleigh Henderson, Waikato University; Nicki Dowling, Massy University; Adie Graham, Massey University
  
  Download presentations here
  

• AUT Regional Careers Advisors' Update Day
  Recently AUT invited regional careers advisors to their update day and covered the costs involved. National President, Sheryl Hewitson, was one of those who attended. She writes:
  
  "I had the opportunity to attend the Regional Careers Advisors update day at AUT in Auckland and found this to be a very informative and interesting day.
  
  The blend of tours and information gave me a really good insight into many of the courses available at AUT. The new clinic facility is most impressive and a real asset to both the university and the community.
  
  Well done to the team for their organisation. These opportunities are invaluable to careers advisors. They enable us to give accurate and up to date information to our students which we have experienced first hand. This is not something that they can obtain from the Net or from brochures."
  

• Careers Education Assoc. Victoria (CEAV) Conference Dec 2007. Report by Keith Thomson on keynote addresses from Bill Law and Gideon Arulmani.
  
  
  

2007 Reports

• Triad Armed Forces Experience, 11-14 June. Report from Marie Macquet, Chairperson, Canterbury/Westland region.

• "Where have all the workers gone?" Roger Young, CEO of Meadow Mushrooms
  
  This report has been sent in by Marie Macquet, Chairperson, Canterbury/Westland region, following Roger's talk in August.
  
  The essence of the talk was very relevant to some of the problems facing employers today.
  
  Issues such as:
  
  
  • Too many jobs not enough candidates
  • What are employers looking for that is so hard to find
  • Is there a mismatch between young people?s aspirations and older people?s expectations?
  • Are there too many choices out there for young people to decide?
  • What can we do to help you to help, help us?
    
    
  Employers are struggling to find the right employee for almost every job that is available.
  
  Roger, whose beginnings were at Otago University (Marketing and Management), and then initially in Invercargill, has worked across the world in countries such as Australia, Canada and the United States. He offered a wealth of information with regard to this topic and certainly set us thinking about the new world of work and the modern day worker.

• 2007 International Career Expert Workshop: "Dynamic Career Strategies and the Use of Metaphors" with Dr. Norm Amundson from the University of British Columbia

  Synopsis by Dr. Dale Furbish, AUT University. Thanks to Auckland region for this report which was published in ACATE's May newsletter.

  Dr. Norm Amundson from the University of British Columbia delivered the 2007 International Career Expert Workshop at AUT University on 20 February. Norm is one of the most sought after presenters on career topics in the world. His enthusiasm, wit and vast expertise combined to make this workshop a highly informative and entertaining experience.

  The title of the workshop was Dynamic Career Strategies and the Use of Metaphors. Norm began the session by examining some of the contemporary social and economic changes that challenge personal and working lives. He suggested that career practitioners need to help clients respond to these challenges by using imagination, flexibility, risk taking, curiosity, team work and inspired effort. He noted that clients often come for career counselling with a crisis of imagination. In order to overcome this crisis, career practitioners should adopt a more actively engaged counselling approach. Active Engagement is Norm's model for career counselling that emphasises a holistic (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual) approach. Active Engagement suggests that counselling occur in spaces other than the traditional office setting (for example, while walking rather than being seated). He also called for more flexible scheduling (challenging the appropriateness of the 50 minute session) and time for reflective breaks for both counsellor and client during the session. Active Engagement requires increased cultural sensitivity and a broader range of counselling strategies, such as more attention to visual stimulation and body movement.

  Among the specific strategies that Norm demonstrated and participants practiced were storytelling, structured exploration exercises and metaphors.

  "Metaphors are the ways in which we understand and experience events in terms of their connection to other events. Metaphors help us visualise situations. By using relatively simple visual images, we are in a better position to posit actions."

  Norm devoted time to examine the structure of metaphors and how they can be used to enrich the career counselling experience for clients. Workshop participants tried out their own career metaphors with each other and experienced first hand the effectiveness of their use.

  Norm is the author of a number of well-known career counselling books. His most recent is Essential Elements of Career Counselling. His earlier book, Active Engagement, is a practical and valuable resource used by career practitioners in many countries.

  The ACATE editorial team thanks Dr Dale Furbish for his overview of this session, and welcomes all contributions that may be valuable to our members.
  
  
• TRANSIENT STUDENTS - THE RESEARCH. This information, provided by Tess Livingstone (Taranaki) went with a presentation from a guidance counselor outlining the experience of transience from the students view Read On
  
  
• "What Colour is your Parachute - for Teenagers" speaking tour by co-author Carol Christen. Notes from Adie Graham & Lynn Gillespie (March 2007) Read On
  
  
• "Myths and Legends: What role do they play in career counselling?" Claire Stirling-Hawkins: report March 2007 (by Helen van Toor) Read On
  

2006 Reports

• "NLP for Career Practitioners": Workshop report July 2006 (by Jane Pearson) Download
  
• "Chaos Theory": Jim Bright Workshop March 2006 (by Lynn Gillespie) Download