Canada’s largest career development conference, Cannexus, just wrapped up in Ottawa. The past four days have seen over 1,300 delegates from across Canada and around the world share ideas and learn from each other to advance career development in service of the public good. The conference is designed and delivered by CERIC and, as Chair of the Board of Directors for the charity, I was privileged to collect feedback and insights from many of the delegates and partners. Here are three takeaways from Cannexus20.

Place matters

What if we created a global network of intensely local places? How does the work we do or the jobs we have create a better sense of place within these global networks? Perhaps my favourite takeaway from this conference was the sense of place that it created for me. According to Zita Cobb, Founder of the Shorefast Foundation, the places where we live and work offer a coherent foundation for navigating the world. When we are more connected to our communities the individuals and the community are healthier, resilient and more likely to thrive and prosper over time. This is the value of having a deep sense of place and knowing how your work and career connects with your community.

Do more you

Deeply understanding who we are – our interests, skills, preferences, style, limitations, values – allows folks to build the future through our careers. Tristram Hooley, an internationally renowned career development researcher and Cannexus20 keynote speaker, offered the perspective that “career development is life itself.” Growing through the work we do in ways that align our interests, talents and experiences builds our own capabilities in the most engaging ways. When we’re in the zone or being more of who we are then our communities are much more likely to benefit from our contributions.

Serve the public good

All business is community business. Or at least it should be. My awesome colleague and Founder of Challenge Factory, Lisa Taylor, shared the idea that career practitioners and learning professionals are not necessarily preparing people for the future of work, but that we’re actually building it together. By aligning the right people with the right work, paying attention to career development serves the public good by reducing unemployment, raising tax revenue, enhancing co-opetition, strengthening mental health, creating unique value for citizens, and so much more. By advancing career development we are also building healthy communities because peoples’ work and the value we create in our careers is central to the story of what makes societies thrive and succeed.