Career Development Practitioners (CDPs) work with people of all ages to help them to manage their learning, work, leisure and transitions.  The goal of career services is to help people to pursue learning and to find work which is personally meaningful and to learn how to manage transitions in today’s ever-evolving labour market.

CDPs provide direct services in the areas of:

• Career education
• Career counselling
• Employment counselling
• Human resource development
• Career coaching
• Training in employment skills
• Training in work-related areas
• Vocational rehabilitation

CDPs will also often work in related areas, such as Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition, employer services and life skills.

Career services may be found in many different places: school guidance centres, colleges/university career centres, community-based agencies, government service centres, outplacement organizations, workplaces, health centres and/or through private career service firms and independent practitioners. In some provinces/territories, career development services are offered free of charge to the public across the lifespan; in other parts of Canada, free services are criterion-based (e.g. only accessible to someone who is unemployed).