#TheWeekInCareers - Episode 83
Chris Webb
Higher Education Careers Professional / RCDP / Freelance Careers Writer / Podcaster / Co-Host of The #WeAreCareers Show
Welcome to #TheWeekinCareers ! If you are a first-time reader (and congratulations if so, you are now part of a 4200+ strong community!), this newsletter is my attempt at summarising some of the key #Careers -related news from across the #Careersphere each week, along with some of the talking points I feel are worthy of further debate amongst the #Careers community! So, without further ado, on to the news!
It's a slightly slimmed down edition of the newsletter this week, as I've been out and about more than usual, travelling between Huddersfield and Derby to attend the UK Career Development Awards on Tuesday evening and then getting the opportunity to celebrate the brilliant achievements of our mentors and mentees that have taken part in the Student 2 Graduate Mentoring Scheme at The University of Huddersfield via our annual celebration event, which took place on Wednesday evening:
With all this excitement, I've not been able to dedicate myself to the 'ManiFest(o)' I was planning (e.g. a breakdown of all of the main UK political parties' election promises and what this could mean for the career development profession), so will be pushing this back to next Friday's edition, alongside a review of the latest issue of the always excellent Career Matters publication from the Career Development Institute . For now, sit back, grab your beverage of choice and enjoy my reflections from a fantastic night at the UK Career Development Awards, celebrating the #Careers community...
All this PLUS another jam-packed #BestOfTheRest to digest with your weekend coffee (or beverage of choice) - dig in, at your leisure...
I hope you enjoy this week's newsletter and thank you as always for continuing to subscribe, read, comment on and support #TheWeekInCareers! ??
A Night at the UK Career Development Awards...??
As I manoeuvred my way from Huddersfield to Derby via the helping hands (or tracks) of Northern and Cross Country rail on Tuesday afternoon, I reflected that it had been 4 years since my last visit to the UK Career Development Awards - that night at The Queens Hotel in Leeds turned out to be one of the last forays into public for many folks prior to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and so to say I was somewhat excited about breaking my UKCDA fast this year may well be the understatement of 2024.
For those less familiar with the UKCDA, they are the annual awards celebrating the great and the good of the career development profession in the UK, coordinated and delivered by the Career Development Institute and recognising careers professionals and related stakeholders in a total of 8 categories (including Public Sector Career Development Professional of the Year, Careers Leader of the Year and Use of Technology in Career Development), as well as awarding the prestigious CDI Fellowships and Rodney Cox Lifetime Achievement Award to those individuals who have made significant long-term contributions to the sector through their work:
Now in the past, I've typically attended the awards simply to bask in the warm glow of celebrating the career development profession and catch up with some of my favourite folks from across the #Careersphere, but this year was different - as you may have seen on LinkedIn and Twitter/X, for the 2024 awards MeetSabiha . and I were enlisted by the CDI for a #WeAreCareers social media takeover, and spent the evening capturing the goings on from before, during and after the awards, including reflections from many of the award winners and attendees who joined us on the night! If you've not yet caught up on the highlights, then kick back and enjoy the ride as #WeAreCareers presents 'A Night at the UK Career Development Awards'!
How it started...??
While I was threading my way down from West Yorkshire to Derbyshire on Tuesday afternoon, MeetSabiha . was firmly in place behind-the-scenes as the awards ceremony was being set up, capturing not only the venue but also pre-event chats with the CDI team and many of the attendees - we decided to publish all of this content on the CDI Twitter/X account to ensure we kept a consistent thread of updates churning out but are keen to enhance this approach for future UKCDA nights, so please do let us know if you feel there is a better platform or mechanism for sharing updates with any folks who aren't able to attend the awards on the night! (Ed: The CDI were also experimenting with a live stream for the awards announcements themselves this year, which is worth keeping an eye on for future years...)
Vox pops are the tops...??
One thing that MeetSabiha . and I were really keen to capture at this year's UKCDAs was a range of vox pops from different attendees across the evening, including event sponsors, nominees, winners and supporters, and Sabiha did a cracking job of this, roping in members of the CDI Board like John Ambrose , Uuganaa Ramsay and Gina Visram , award nominees like Danny Mirza FRSA, MSc, MA, MBA and Associate Professor Deirdre Hughes OBE (shout-out to the CareerChat UK team!) and nominators and passionate careers advocates like the fab Ladi Mohammed-Chapman?? ! You can check out all of Sabiha's vox pops from throughout the evening via the @theCDI account on Twitter/X! ??
The Main Event...??
After enjoying a meal and a good old mingle with some great careers folks I hadn't seen in-person for ages (and in many cases, was meeting in real life for the first time!), it was time for the business end of the event and the awards themselves - for the Twitter/X feed, MeetSabiha . and I captured both the introduction to each award (explaining a little about why the winner had been selected) and some initial post-win reflections from the deserving recipient, which you'll be able to find via the links below! In case you missed it, here were your UKCDA winners for 2024...??
?? Public sector Career Development Professional of the year:
NOMINEES:
?? Private/third sector Career Development Professional of the year:
NOMINEES:
?? Careers Leader of the year:
NOMINEES:
?? Career programme – pre-16 education:
NOMINEES:
?? Careers programme – post-16 education:
NOMINEES:
?? Innovative employer engagement activity:
NOMINEES:
?? Use of technology in career development:
NOMINEES:
?? Research by a career development professional:
NOMINEES:
?? CDI Fellowships:
RECIPIENT #1 - Carolyn Parry - A hugely deserved accolade for former CDI President Carolyn, who does tireless work in raising the profile of the career development profession and has inspired countless CDPs via her innovative approaches to coaching and career guidance (oh, and she just happens to also be a published author and podcaster!); you can watch Carolyn's Fellowship announcement HERE and hear her reflections on receiving the Fellowship HERE .
RECIPIENT #2 - Janet Colledge - Another individual massively deserving of this recognition, Janet has consistently fought to increase the profile of CEIAG in schools and has helped numerous careers professionals (including myself) get in front of key stakeholders in education, as well as regularly challenging bodies like Ofsted regarding how they assess careers delivery in schools (and that's without even mentioning Janet's hugely popular Careers Defender blog ...). You can watch Janet's Fellowship announcement HERE and hear her reflections on receiving the Fellowship HERE .
?? Rodney Cox Lifetime Achievement Award - This year's Rodney Cox award went to an individual who has been an ever-present figure in the career development profession for a number of years, most notably as the Chief Executive of the Career Development Institute from 2013 to 2021, helping the professional body grow considerably and playing a significant role in lobbying respective governments during that period. A huge shout-out to Jan Ellis for receiving this year's award and for the work she continues to do in advocating for better CEIAG for everyone in the UK - you can watch the award announcement HERE , delivered by current CDI President Pete Robertson .
A massive congratulations to all of the winners and shortlisted nominees (there was some incredible Careers Writers Association representation on the night!) - hugely deserved recognition and as Kat Millmore-Davies beautifully put it in her keynote address to open the evening, don't forget to shout about it! ??
Our best bits...??
I think I speak for both MeetSabiha . and I when I say that hands down the best part of the evening was getting the opportunity to catch up with so many contacts from across the #Careersphere that we had either never met in person or simply hadn't seen physically for some time (including each other!) - there are far too many individuals to name in this newsletter but let's give it a go!
Danny Mirza FRSA, MSc, MA, MBA Sue S. Chris Glennie Suzanne Collier RCDP Joanne Carrington Joanne Saward Debbie Laaff RCDP, MCDI, MRT Alexandra Price Claire Lawlor Uuganaa Ramsay Susan Buckley Georgia Clarke Dave Cordle - The Career Mountaineer Claire Johnson Gina Visram Mandy Green RCDP ? David Morgan Associate Professor Deirdre Hughes OBE (and anyone else I've missed in my haste!)
A special shout out also to Careers Avengers Victoria Geary (she/her) , Dr Oliver Jenkin PGCE RCDP MNCPS (Acc.) FNICEC , Bella Doswell CCDP, RCDP , Katherine Jennick RCDP , John Ambrose , Janet Colledge and Ladi Mohammed-Chapman?? - it was brilliant to chat with you all, as always, and I'm looking forward to a time when we can get the whole gang together IRL, including Chris Targett RCDP , Jessica Pieri RCDP , Lis McGuire RCDP and Caroline Green (RCDP, MCDI, Assoc. CIPD) !
An ulterior motive...??
Okay, you've got us - the #WeAreCareers social media takeover on Tuesday evening wasn't entirely altruistic on our part; it was also the latest stage in promoting the relaunch of the #WeAreCareers podcast, which I'm delighted to say will be returning on Wednesday 3rd July with a special launch episode (feat. CDI Chief Executive David Morgan ) focusing on the imminent General Election in the UK and what this could mean for the career development profession moving forward:
That's right, we love a bit of shameless self-promotion! We already have some fantastic guests lined up for #WeAreCareers over the next few months but are always on the lookout for any individuals or organisations within, adjacent to or outside of the career development sector who are keen to discuss careers-related topics they are passionate about, so if you (or someone you know) might be interested in appearing on the podcast now or in the future, please drop us a line on LinkedIn or via [email protected] ! More details of the relaunch to come, including how you can watch/listen to the pod via YouTube and Spotify! ??
Were you at the UK Career Development Awards on Tuesday evening? If so, what did you think of the evening and what would you like to see more/less of at next year's event? Please do share your thoughts and any best bits, photos and reflections from the night in the comments thread at the bottom of the newsletter, if you feel so inclined! ??
The Best of the Rest: My Hot Picks from the wider?#Careersphere???
??♀? Careers walks: a leisurely approach to advice and guidance - First up this week, we have a lovely article in CareerWise from CERIC from the always readable Alan Bullock RCDP , in which Alan reflects on the practice of 'Careers Walks', where a career conversation/appointment takes place while the practitioner and client embark on a walk. This is a practice I've seen referenced often when it comes to coaching (and is something I've offered to coaching clients myself previously), so it's great to see a career development professional highlighting the potential benefits of this approach (e.g. changing surroundings can help facilitate discussion, walking side by side means less forced eye contact, which can help put a client more at ease etc.) and practical tips for managing the aspects of a careers appointment that could be more challenging on a walk (such as note taking). Give it a read and see if Careers Walks are something you might want to add to your careers practice / tool kit!
?? The evidence mounts for hybrid working - Up next, an excellent piece in Nature which explores some of the recent research investigating the potential benefits of hybrid working. The article references a new randomized controlled trial of the benefits of of hybrid working (in this example, the model of hybrid working used involves working 3 days in the office and 2 days remotely), undertaken by economists Nicholas Bloom at Stanford University in California and Ruobing Han at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen in China, and James Liang, chairperson and co-founder of the online travel company Trip.com in Shanghai, China, which randomly assigned 1600 Trip.com workers to one of two groups for a six-month period (either hybrid or working full-time five days a week in the office) - the research found that the hybrid workers generally experienced greater job satisfaction and reduced resignation rates, and were as productive as those who worked entirely in-person (based on performance reviews), although there are of course a number of caveats to consider regarding whether these type of results might hold in different industries, countries or cultures. Nonetheless, a valuable read!
?? Looking for General Election hot takes? No need to wait for me... - If you're still weighing up which political party in the UK is most worthy of your vote in the upcoming General Election, you may want to take a peek at this recently released briefing paper from the Career Development Institute , which breaks down the manifestos from all of the major parties and summarises what this could mean for the career development profession, depending on who secures the keys to Number 10 Downing Street on 4th July. I'll also be taking a crack at doing exactly this sort of analysis in next week's edition of the newsletter (with a little help from a friend...) and the briefing paper from the CDI has been a really useful tool to support with this research, so is well worth a read!
?? A cracking NEWsletter for your collection! - Next up, it's a shout-out for the most recent addition to my weekly reads, Rob Sattler ????♂? 's The Pipeline newsletter , which is aimed at professionals working in industry who hire young people, making it also a must-read for any career development professionals interested in this area of work. There are two issues of the newsletter to dig into for now; in the latest edition, entitled 'The Unknown' , Rob reflects on the challenges young people face when it comes to not knowing what opportunities are out there for them, and why this matters to businesses who are looking to grow their talent pipelines. Check it out!
?? Don't stand still on AI... - We finish this week's newsletter with a reminder that the pace of development in the AI space is still a key issue for career development professionals to stay on top of as we move into the summer months, with recent announcements regarding ChatGPT4o , Luma , Apple and Claude 3.5 all significant regarding the direction of travel for this technology and the potential implications for our work. There are some excellent pieces out there at the moment regarding this subject, including this article in Time about how companies are using AI to help their workers learn and this blog from the Institute of Student Employers website which looks at the role AI is playing in disrupting recruitment processes, but if you're interested in digging into this in more detail, you may want to sign up for our next AI in Action webinar on Tuesday 9th July (14:00-15:30 BST), where newly minted UKCDA award winner Associate Professor Deirdre Hughes OBE and I will be talking with the fantastic Alex Zarifeh about the 'Futures Readiness' programme he has created to help young people better manage career transitions in a rapidly changing world...
I'm always keen to hear what people think of this weekly newsletter format (e.g. Is it helpful? Does it add value to what is already out there on LinkedIn? What might make it better/more digestible?) so please do drop me a DM if you have any thoughts!
See you in the #Careersphere next week for?Episode 84! ??
Developing digital experiences to help people, irrelevant of background, realise and reach their potential and enjoy a fulfilling career.
5 个月Thanks for the shout out Chris Webb! Was great to meet you in person, too. Hopefully it won’t be the last time!
Founder and MD of award winning What's Your Strength? ? cards | Registered Career Development Professional (RCDP) | Co-Architect of #SoMuchMoreThanTalkingAboutJobs
5 个月Much like you, Chris Webb my favourite part of the evening was spending quality time with CDPs sharing stories and many laughs along the way. I'm already looking forward to next year!
Turning School Careers Advisors into Superstars
5 个月I feel like I’ve ‘made it’ now that I’ve been published in your newsletter Chris Webb! ?? Thanks for the shout-out. ???? As a non-CDP working in a highly successful career education company, I’ve often felt like a bit of a fraud (noting however that I’m always upfront with people that I’m not a CDP, nor give advice). But I do have a lot of experience and knowledge of so many industries from my 25+ year sales career, which is now where I’ve realised I can find my voice in Careers. ??? I’m so glad you liked it Chris and thanks again for your support.
Award-Winning Retirement & Career Coach | Expert in Mid-Life Transitions | Nature-Based Coaching in Ancient Woodland | Author: "Find Work at 50+" & "Rethinking Retirement" | Evidence-Based Assessments
5 个月Great newsletter, as always, and congrats to all finalists - it is such an acheivement to be shortlisted. Congrats to all award winners too. I was truly delighted to win the Research by a Career professional Award - at 66, I've no plans to stop!
So good to meet with so many, especially the Avengers. Happy to do a winter meet - I’m not sure I can last another year until we see each other again!