By Dr. Serene Lin-Stephens
The year of 2024 is another complicated year of our times.
Worldwide, we will witness accelerated advances in human lives- AI for everything, mixed reality headsets, gene-editing treatment, and decarbonizing technologies, just to name a few. At the same time, setbacks in peace and political tension show no signs of abating. It seems that progress is a game of snakes and ladders. Some days we move one step forward, and another day we fall two steps back.
As career practitioners, we keep abreast of the rises and falls of human conditions of our times. We anticipate their social impacts on work and life, all the while pondering what we can do to best support our clients in their expressions of self-actualization. In some corners of the world, career practitioners pursue cutting-edge innovations to satisfy their client’s demands. In other parts of the world, career practitioners rack their brains to solve challenges with clients using limited resources and under very difficult circumstances.
APCDA’s membership covers the two ends of the servicing spectrum. We are acutely aware of the diversity of client needs that our career practitioners strive to meet. To support our career practitioners who work in different settings and regions, we launched a series of projects on:
- Communication portal upgrade: a new infrastructure to facilitate member communication and services.
- Member engagement: a research project that identifies factors affecting levels of member engagement.
- Career development as a contrivance for peace-making: an initiative to support career practitioners in war/conflict zones through the provision of scholarship and membership, access to professional development opportunities and resources, panel discussion opportunities, and the establishment of a network.
- Practitioner research support: a new endeavor to build practitioner capacity for evidence-based practice.
- Present the analyses and findings of the member engagement project,
- Welcome scholarship recipients from non-conflict and conflict zones to panel discussions and networking sessions,
- Encourage and follow up with presenters to submit their work in the prescribed format to our first conference proceeding or the APCDA journal.
By Natalie Kauffman
This report contains several new APCDA engagement activities some of our seven (7) [out of eight (8)] APCDA Committees are providing to you, our members & friends. It also contains one ongoing & a couple of new requests.
Yes, leadership of our News Committee is STILL open! If you like editing, writing, and soliciting News articles focused on Career Development and Industry 5.0 & beyond, please consider emailing me at Membership@AsiaPacificCDA.org and include APCDA News Committee Leadership interest in the SUBJECT of the email.
APCDA’s Awards and Scholarships Committee is now closed for 2024 nominations. Awards Co-Chair & former APCDA President, Prof. Dr. Narender K Chadha, and his selection committee is working on reviewing and eventually selecting recipients for our 2024 APCDA Awards. Scholarships Co-Chair and APCDA Website and Video Editor, Tuan Anh Le, and his selection team are in the midst of notifying the 22 scholars selected to virtually attend this year’s conference.
Our Membership Committee, Co-Chaired by me and Kunimitsu Kuki, is proud to share:
- The Saturday, January Orientation & Saturday, February Meetup have been successful!
- One-on-one NEW member partner conversations with a Membership Committee member through Zoom have begun (more to follow in a future article outlining the process).
- Our 1st Community of Practice Meeting, designed for APCDA members who have been with the association for > 1 year, is scheduled for Wednesday evening/morning, March 6th beginning at 8:30 AM, N America, EST. (Mark your calendars NOW! Registration will soon be available.)
APCDA’s Program Committee, Co-Chaired by Dr. Elisabeth Montgomery (also South China Area Representative) and Dr. Sujata Ives, has planned some exciting webinars, podcasts and YouTube videos for the Spring to keep us learning and sharing as well as keep us excited for the upcoming 2024 Conference! They are especially looking forward to ‘seeing’ everyone for the Februrary 29/March 1 panel discussion “Skills s as a Soft Currency: Perspectives of Policymakers on Global Labor Market Issues”
Our APCDA Journal Editor and Research Committee Co-Chair, Dr. Poh Li Lau, is proud to share that the March issue is in process and will be published soon. However, she and the members of our Research Committee, Co-Chaired by Dr. Lau & and Dr. Hsiu-Lan (Shelley) Tien (also former APCDA President), need your help soliciting ‘A Call for Manuscripts’ for the upcoming September 2024 Journal issue.
Most of our Committees, including Ethics & Standards, Nominations, and Public Relations, are looking forward to virtually meeting with our APCDA members and friends at our 2024 Conference during the time set aside for Committee gatherings. Whether you have a slight interest or are ready to actively participate in one of APCDA’s eight committees, we warmly welcome your conference engagement during the set aside Committee time.
By Yoshinobu Oi
This consolidated report provides an overview of labor markets, demographic impacts, training and development efforts, and the influence of APCDA across diverse regions.
Labor Market Overview:
- The overall unemployment rate exhibits improvement in various regions, including Malaysia, Macau, and South Korea, with the exception of Hong Kong, which reported a slight increase.
- Women’s participation in the workforce is on the rise in Australia and North India.
- Governments in Malaysia, Macau, the Philippines, Pakistan, and South Korea are actively emphasizing the development of knowledge-based industries.
- Demographic shifts leading to school and college closures in South Korea prompt an exploration of potential economic impacts and measures taken to address labor shortages in other regions.
Focus on Training & Development:
- Educational initiatives for training and development were seen across all the regions (Philippines, Macau, Malaysia, Pakistan, Honk Kong, North China amongst others)
- Emphasis on developing foundational & 21st century skills in
Singapore and others. Concern about the implications of new technologies like generative AI, Cyber Security and Green Careers. - Scope for regional collaboration & support was highlighted in the discussions.
Impact of APCDA in Respective Regions:
Japan: Positive impact seen through APCDA Japan member liaison meetings.
North India: Participation in international conferences like CCLD2024 highlights APCDA’s impact.
South Korea: Collaborative efforts with JCDA showcase APCDA’s regional influence.
Philippines, Malaysia, Pakistan, Macau, Hong Kong, Australia: APCDA’s influence indirectly observed through trends in career development initiatives and market dynamics.
APCDA has completed an upgrade. On the top of every page on our new website, you will see 4 colorful buttons on the top right for Join, Member Portal, Donate, and Store. These links, and several links scattered throughout our website pages, lead to our new database system. Data has been transferred from the old database to the new database, but some of your information was lost in the move. We encourage you to visit the Member Portal and add your photo, bio, website, specialties, and work setting. People who, between the middle of September and end of December, subscribed to our newsletter or renewed/changed their Member Profile may find mistakes in their records. Use Info@AsiaPacificCDA.org to report problems you are not able to fix in your profile.
In your new Member Profile, you can find your new Membership Card. Beginning with November webinars, you will also find a Continuing Education certificate in your Member Profile for each webinar you attend. The new process for Recorded Webinars is to move them to the Store as soon as they are edited and ready for viewing. In the Store, recorded webinars are Free to members if they are more than 6 months old. When you “purchase” a recorded webinar, you receive a PDF file that allows you to view the webinar any time you wish. You should save the PDF file in case you want to watch the webinar again or use it for educational purposes with colleagues or students. We were not able to transfer your event history, but you can still ask for certification of past events.
Our Member Community is now built into the Member Portal. Please use the new Discussion area to share questions or announcements with our community. Any committees you serve on should be listed and the Workspace for the committee should be available to you. This allows us to know who is serving on a committee and allows you to find relevant information in your Member Portal. If some of the information has been lost in the transition, please let us know so we can restore it.
We also changed Credit Card processors. Previously, we used AffiniPay and some people had saved their credit cards to Auto Renew or pay for webinars. Our new Credit Card processor is Stripe. Stripe is completely new to all of us. It is not possible to transfer your information from AffiniPay to Stripe for security reasons, so expect to be treated like a stranger in Stripe. Let us know if you have payment issues.
In July and September, 2023, APCDA held 2 webinars on Intersectionality, which explores power relationships and discrimination. These 2 webinars are available in the APCDA Store.
We learned that focusing on one area or another (gender, race and ethnic identity, (dis)ability, socio-economic status, etc.) allows us to examine how specific identities affect people in different ways. This focus also helps us to understand which elements contribute most to discrimination on each level. While doing so, however, we must keep in mind that the intersections of identities are indeed endless and should be considered in terms of each other. An intersectional approach recognizes that these multiple intersections exist in endless combinations, and that they can sometimes lead to privilege and sometimes to discrimination. We must continually question where the power lies in different societies, organizations and groups to understand why some individuals are treated better than others, find it easier to be successful, or are more readily included. Only by doing this can we start to see who is excluded or discriminated against. Intersectionality, therefore, encourages solidarity, highlighting that all struggles for freedom from oppression are interlinked and that they can all benefit by interacting with each other. By working together we can all begin to strengthen the fight against oppression in general.
After these workshops, we received a toolkit with 4 activities for exploring intersectionality. APCDA is eager to understand how useful this workbook may be to our members. We have identified four volunteers, in 4 different countries, who promise to use our new toolkit with a group of people by June, 2024. These activities can be used with a group of students, a group of colleagues, a church group, a corporate group, or any other setting in which you have the opportunity to interact with 8 to 25 other people at one time. As you know if you attended these webinars, the outcome of using these materials will be increased understanding among members of the group and increased respect for the uniqueness of each member in the group.
Are you available to explore this important topic, to build your own skills in using this concept, and to help a group of people you interact with to come closer to each other? This pilot project is happening now – please join us. If you are willing to volunteer, please reply to Info@AsiaPacificCDA.org
By Arun Mittal
The Asia Pacific Career Development Association (APCDA) stands as an exemplary model of a global yet local association, fostering a robust ecosystem for career professionals to learn, network, and share best practices from across the region. With a distinctive GloCal (Global + Local) approach, APCDA seamlessly integrates global perspectives while staying attuned to the unique needs and nuances of the diverse communities it serves.
The GloCal approach embodies the concept of thinking globally and acting locally. For APCDA, this means connecting career professionals across borders, transcending cultural barriers, and sharing knowledge and insights on a global scale. However, it also involves recognizing the significance of local contexts, cultural sensitivities, and regional challenges that shape career development.
Some of the examples of the GloCal Approach
- Annual Conferences: These events feature international keynote speakers, workshops, and presentations on emerging tends in career development. Simultaneously, the conferences also include local experts who provide insights into the unique job markets, career aspirations, and industry demands specific to the host country.
- Webinars and Online Resources: The association provides a wealth of online resources, including webinars, articles, and glossaries that cater to the diverse needs of its members. While some resources address universal career challenges, others are tailored to address region-specific issues (Arabic Glossary of Career Terms), ensuring that career professionals can find relevant information applicable to their local communities.
- Collaborative Research Projects: APCDA encourages research collaboration among its members across the Asia Pacific region. This allows for the synthesis of overarching career development principles while acknowledging the influence of cultural differences on individual career journeys.
This approach has been of immense help to both the associations and career professionals in our region. The benefits to the individual career practitioners include,
- Enhanced Cultural Sensitivity: Career professionals working in the Asia Pacific region encounter a rich tapestry of cultures and traditions. The GloCal approach helps them develop a heightened sense of cultural sensitivity, enabling them to support clients with respect and understanding, regardless of their background.
- Global Best Practices: By tapping into a global network, APCDA members gain exposure to the latest innovations and successful practices from around the world. They can adapt and implement these best practices to suit local contexts, leading to more effective and relevant career counseling and guidance.
- Access to a Diverse Network: The APCDA network opens avenues for career professionals to connect with colleagues, mentors, and experts across borders. This diverse network fosters professional growth and collaboration, leading to new opportunities and enriching career experiences.
- Leveraging Regional Expertise: The association’s local chapters possess in-depth knowledge of their respective regions. By collaborating with these chapters, career associations and professionals from other parts of the world can gain valuable insights into specific regional challenges and trends, which can be invaluable for international career counseling.
The benefits to other associations in the region are as follows,
- Cross-Pollination of Ideas: Associations in the Asia Pacific region can benefit from partnering with APCDA by exchanging ideas, resources, and expertise. This cross-pollination of ideas can lead to fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to mutual challenges faced by career professionals.
- Access to Global Partnerships: By joining hands with APCDA, regional associations can gain access to a global network of career professionals and organizations. This opens doors to potential international collaborations, joint research projects, and opportunities for their members to expand their horizons.
- Professional Development Opportunities: APCDA’s focus on learning and development means that associations in the region can tap into a wide array of training programs, workshops, and webinars that contribute to the growth of their members’ professional skill sets.
Closing Notes
The association’s GloCal approach has proven to be a winning formula in creating a strong ecosystem for career professionals in the region. By embracing global perspectives while respecting local nuances, APCDA has become a powerful platform that empowers its members to thrive in an increasingly interconnected world. Through collaboration and association with APCDA, other career development organizations in the region can also unlock new opportunities, strengthen their impact, and enrich the lives of career professionals they serve.
#CDAA, #CDANZ, #IAEVG, #JCDA, #NCDA, #NPOCA, #PCDA
Thank you to all of these attendees at our APCDA meeting at the NCDA Conference. It was a great conference and we were so happy to be together after so much time apart. Thank you to Tupe from Samoa for the colorful t-shirts we are holding. We are excited to welcome Samoa as our newest member Area.
APCDA Webinar Feedback
By Arun Mittal
APCDA provides regular training programs for its members as a member benefit. These are delivered virtually in the form of webinars. In this article, we share some of our observations based on attendee feedback.
The purpose of this article is to provide an unbiased view of attendees’ enthusiasm for webinars as a source of self-enrichment and development.
General Enthusiasm for the Webinars.
With a median of 39 registrations (minimum of 26, maximum of 126), there was plenty of opportunity for members to benefit from the webinars being held. The live sessions were attended by approximately half of those who register, and this proportion is the same for both free and paid webinars. Given the variety of time zones in which our members live, it is understandable that many prefer to listen to the recorded sessions.
Motivation & Purpose
Attendees were asked about their familiarity with the topics covered before the sessions. On a scale of 4= Expert to 1= Unfamiliar, the average response was 2.3. This average falls just below the midpoint between slightly and very familiar.
Two of the Free webinars (“Using Holland Typology to Quickly Assess Career Personality” and “Dealing with Trauma in Career Conversations”) tied for the highest registration at 126, while the webinar “Design Thinking Principles for Career Development Learnings” received the highest registration for a Paid webinar at 63.
The webinar on “Emerging e-Sports: Gaming, Media and Content Careers,” had a low rating of 1.4 on Prior Knowledge, indicating that members had little familiarity with the topic. There were 26 registrations and over 80% attended the live session. The webinar registration for this session was one of the lowest, but it had the highest attendance of any webinar held this year and was one of the top five paid webinars in terms of fees collected.
Most of our webinar topics were familiar to members. It is reasonable to assume that the majority of members use these webinars to reskill and keep up to date. Furthermore, based on registration and attendance, member enthusiasm for paid and free webinars appears to be similar. The primary difference in attendance appears to be based on the topic.
The summer survey is a very useful and important tool for the Program Committee in identifying members’ interests. It is also critical for members to participate in the survey so that our webinars continue to be relevant to them.
Money-Value Proposition
We asked attendees to rate the webinars on Content, which included relevance, accuracy, and utility The average rating for Content is 4.6. This falls between Very Good and Excellent. The lowest content rating for any webinar was 4.2.
We also asked attendees to rate webinars on Clarity, which included engagement and ease of understanding. The average rating for Clarity is 4.4, and the median is 4.2. This is also between Very Good and Excellent. The lowest content rating for was 4.0.
It is very safe to conclude from the data above that members are very satisfied with webinars as a training source, and the choice of speakers, topics, and their delivery is well appreciated.
Closing Note
As a people-centric organization, APCDA appears to be doing well in terms of helping members to update their skills and providing opportunities for its members to learn and grow. It is also worth noting that there is plenty of room for more members to benefit from such opportunities.
We’d also like to thank the Program Committee and the staff members for all of their hard work and initiative in making these webinars happen.
APCDA's New Research Project
By Dr. Poh Li Lau, Co-Chair of the APCDA Research Committee
I’m glad to announce that we have a new research project. Dr. Serene Lin-Stephens will be leading this project and we are looking for collaborators who are interested. For further information or to express your interest, please contact PElect@AsiaPacificCDA.org by 31 October.
Below are the details of the project:
Expressions of interest
Research project
Growing a career development professional community: A study on membership engagement indicators.
A future goal of APCDA is to devise a set of membership engagement indicators by which to measure our growth. We are seeking collaborators that are interested in the conceptualisation of such indicators.
Who you are
You should be an APCDA member with some research background or training, or be prepared to learn with the collaborators.
What you will do
The level of your involvement can be negotiated. The collaborators will work as a team. You will need to attend meetings as scheduled and should also take on some tasks concerning literature review, data analysis, and result write-up. There may also be some need for data collection, although most data have been collected.
What we will produce
A report, a presentation at the next APCDA conference, and an Empirical Article for the APCD Journal
IAEVG Membership – A Benefit of APCDA Membership
Did you know that you automatically become a member of the International Association of Educational and Vocation Guidance (IAEVG) when you join APCDA? Each year, APCDA pays dues to IAEVG for all of our members.
IAEVG has a 75-year history of providing global leadership in and advocating for guidance by promoting ethical, socially just, and best practices throughout the world so that career, educational and vocational guidance and counselling is available to all citizens from competent and qualified practitioners.
Behind the scenes, IAEVG and many of its members have helped in the development of APCDA. When we want to develop resources for our members, such as our Ethical Guidelines, we turn first to IAEVG for guidance. As the oldest career development association that is truly international, the materials provided by IAEVG are very relevant and helpful in jump-starting our development.
APCDA Member Logos
Members are invited to get a copy of the new Member Logo from the APCDA Website. The legal agreement published on our website makes it possible for us to provide a logo for use by our members. We currently have five kinds of member logos:
- Individual Members
- Organization Members
- Lifetime Members
- Legacy Partner Lifetime
- Professional associations which offer Joint Membership with APCDA (Affiliates)
If you fall into groups 1 or 4, please go to our website at https://AsiaPacificCDA.org and click “Member Portal.” Choose Workspaces, and your member logos (as JPG or PNG files) should be waiting there for you to download. If you fall into the fifth group, you should have received the logo from us by email.