Pathway to becoming a Career Development Professional on PEI
November 18, 2021
November 18, 2021
Nancy MacLean, Employment and Training Coordinator at the Native Council of PEI (NCPEI). Submitted photo
by Jaimie Augustine
The Native Council of PEI (NCPEI) represents off-reservation Indigenous peoples of Prince Edward Island. Their role is to be the advocacy voice for the community to the provincial and federal governments and to educate the general public of PEI on Indigenous issues.
At the NCPEI, services, programs and initiatives for Indigenous residents are in place to help positively impact the community.
Career Development Professional Nancy MacLean is an Employment and Training Coordinator at the NCPEI, and helps with the following:
Nancy started her career path at Holland College by graduating from the Business Administration program. She worked first with the Air Cadets in Tignish then with the Air Cadets and then the Sea Cadets in Summerside and through this, found her passion working with youth.
She decided to go back to Holland College to take the Child and Youth Worker program. Upon collecting her diploma, she went to work for the NCPEI where she is currently running two programs helping Indigenous peoples improve their skills and find employment.
The YESS program also encourages collaborations and innovation to increase capacity across the youth service provider network (e.g., employers, service delivery organizations and educational institutions), to better support youth, and to help employers hire and retain youth, in particular those who face barriers.
Nancy plans to earn national certification as a Career Development Professional in the future. Meanwhile, she is working hard to ensure the success of our youth and community members.
The best personality traits for a career in Career Development
'Number one is to have the passion to want to help people. When you deal specifically with youth, they come to the YESS Program with a variety of backgrounds. They need to know that somebody will support them without judging them and help them move forward.'
“You need passion and creativity and be willing to challenge others to think outside the box they may have put themselves into. They need to think about careers outside of what they can see in their environment. You have to be able to show youth empathy and caring, to be there to help and support them to move forward."
“I think the biggest thing is to show that you believe in them, even if they may not believe in themselves. You see things that they may not know about themselves. You strengthen and reinforce their self-esteem so they see a positive future.”
For more information about the Native Council of PEI (NCPEI), click here
For more information about the Career Development Association of PEI, click here
For more information about the Career Development Profession on PEI, click here
The Native Council of PEI (NCPEI) represents off-reservation Indigenous peoples of Prince Edward Island. Their role is to be the advocacy voice for the community to the provincial and federal governments and to educate the general public of PEI on Indigenous issues.
At the NCPEI, services, programs and initiatives for Indigenous residents are in place to help positively impact the community.
Career Development Professional Nancy MacLean is an Employment and Training Coordinator at the NCPEI, and helps with the following:
- Life Skills
- Youth support
- Cultural/Spiritual knowledge
- Career development
Nancy started her career path at Holland College by graduating from the Business Administration program. She worked first with the Air Cadets in Tignish then with the Air Cadets and then the Sea Cadets in Summerside and through this, found her passion working with youth.
She decided to go back to Holland College to take the Child and Youth Worker program. Upon collecting her diploma, she went to work for the NCPEI where she is currently running two programs helping Indigenous peoples improve their skills and find employment.
- The Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) program provides work experience and educational/training funding and support to people of Indigenous ancestry from across the province of PEI.
- The Youth Employment Skills and Strategy (YESS) program provides funding to organizations to deliver a range of activities that help youth overcome barriers to employment and develop a broad range of skills and knowledge in order to participate in the current and future labour markets.
The YESS program also encourages collaborations and innovation to increase capacity across the youth service provider network (e.g., employers, service delivery organizations and educational institutions), to better support youth, and to help employers hire and retain youth, in particular those who face barriers.
Nancy plans to earn national certification as a Career Development Professional in the future. Meanwhile, she is working hard to ensure the success of our youth and community members.
The best personality traits for a career in Career Development
'Number one is to have the passion to want to help people. When you deal specifically with youth, they come to the YESS Program with a variety of backgrounds. They need to know that somebody will support them without judging them and help them move forward.'
“You need passion and creativity and be willing to challenge others to think outside the box they may have put themselves into. They need to think about careers outside of what they can see in their environment. You have to be able to show youth empathy and caring, to be there to help and support them to move forward."
“I think the biggest thing is to show that you believe in them, even if they may not believe in themselves. You see things that they may not know about themselves. You strengthen and reinforce their self-esteem so they see a positive future.”
For more information about the Native Council of PEI (NCPEI), click here
For more information about the Career Development Association of PEI, click here
For more information about the Career Development Profession on PEI, click here