How Does Your Career Contribute to a Sustainable Future?How Did I Get into Career Development?
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Featuring: Raza Abbas- Multi Award-Winning Cross Cultural Career Specialist
This meaningful exposure laid the foundation for my cross-cultural career development work. Upon graduating, I returned to Pakistan in 2006 with curiosity and passion to learn about career development from global career: luminaries, scholars and practitioners as we had an acute need of career development interventions in our Asian context. As a novice career practitioner and social entrepreneur, I started my career journey with a beginner’s mindset. I pro-actively identified premier global career development forums and was fortunate to get selected to present on meaningful inclusive career development interventions in South Asia at annual Career Development conferences & symposia i.e. IAEVG, UNESCO- Chair on Lifelong Guidance and Counseling, APCDA, ARACD, NCDA, ICCDPP, CANNEXUS, OECD across 6 continents. In the process of continuous learning and client service, I contributed to and initiated many innovative career development interventions at schools, colleges, universities, vocational institutes, foundations, NGO’s, Business Incubation Centers and Government Ministries of Youth & Education and inspired countless lives in my country and globally. With humility and gratitude, I was blessed to be recognized by eminent global professional career development associations:
Nominated for Pride of Performance - Pakistan’s Highest Civil Award - 2014, 2020 Areas of Work
Me and my clients: in delivering services, what are my approaches/interventions and results? I am privileged to work with diverse clients locally and internationally. We have had intriguing coaching sessions on a wide range of topics i.e. employability, workplace readiness, career readiness, career mobility, career conversations with supervisors & employees, career management, leadership development, employee engagement, workplace wellness, pitch deck for aspiring entrepreneurs, identifying gig opportunities, career exploration and self-development. While working with clients, I draw upon and apply a wide range of models: Grow, OSCAR, Action Centered Leadership, and Peer Coaching. Throughout my coaching experiences, I ensure clients are empowered and enabled to broaden their perspectives, continue to believe in themselves, and make a difference in the societies in which they live. What my clients gain: Alignment of purpose, establishing trust, active listening skills, reframing people and challenges, importance of goals and future scenario development and understanding motivation. My personal vision for career development I believe we are at the crossroads of reigniting career development as a game-changer in these fragile times. Never before in the human era has career development been as critical as it is presently. We are on the bridge of human transformation. I practice and advocate in the notion that career development is a civic right for people from around the globe. Career development interventions must start early in schools to ensure they have a sustainable impact, and they must be integrated into the school curriculum. In universities and vocational institutes, career development is a rising need for students so it is vital to incorporate it as a required course. The role of social media and electronic media is key in educating and enlightening both citizens and policymakers about the increasing significance of career development to societies at large and how it contributes to employability, well-being, and job creation. Over the years, we have quality evidence, reliable data, and best career development practices from career scholars and career practitioners globally that have significantly contributed to UN Sustainable Development Goals. As a careers sector we are united to collectively advocate and take action for a UN Careers & Livelihood Day in collaboration with multi stakeholders around the globe promoting that ‘Career Development is the change we wish to see in the world’. I passionately urge the careers sector to be Bold & Brave. Join us in the global careers movement by contributing to our blog for UN Careers & Livelihood Day: https://www.undcl.org/ . In closing, I want to share a valuable resource from the OECD on ‘Investing in Career Guidance’ https://www.oecd.org/education/career-readiness/Investing in Career Guidance_en.pdf Greater collective synergy, cooperation, and co-creation are “the need of the hour’ Let’s make the world better through championing career development in a world that sorely needs more of it! |