Career Planning Services

What is career planning?

Career planning is the process of identifying a career that fits with an individual's interests, skills, personality, needs, values and preferred lifestyle. This fit may be different at various points in a person's lifetime. The world of work constantly changes and people evaluate, adapt and take action through their working lives.

What services are offered to help me plan my career?

While we don't tell you which program or course to take at SAIT, we can provide you with support and information to help you make career and educational decisions.

For the general public, we offer:

• free evening workshops
• two-hour individual career planning for a fee of $175

What is included in individual career planning?

Individualized planning includes standardized assessments of your interests, personality and values, followed by a two-hour meeting with a counsellor to interpret the results and plan the direction to take.

This service costs $175 and it may be covered under some health plans; check with your benefits provider.

The access to the assessments is emailed when booking the appointment and needs to be submitted no later than four days before the appointment, with results being provided when you attend your appointment. 

Limited individual appointments are available and may be booked several weeks in advance.

Please note:

These sessions are suitable for individuals who are able to independently engage in conversation and planning. A difficulty with low English language skills, significant developmental disabilities or similar conditions during the session may not be best served by this type of career planning. The participants need to demonstrate a level of independence that does not require assistance with completing assessments or parental attendance during a session.

Call us at 403.284.7023 to book an appointment, and be prepared to provide an email address so you can receive the instructions and access to assessments.

Can you advise me on what program I should take?

A decision to enrol in a post-secondary program is based on a number of factors and requires research and choices only you can make. We suggest you find and choose the career or occupation you want to pursue and then find the program that trains you for it. Therefore we cannot tell you which program to take. We do provide the tools and steps you can take in making your decision and there are many assessments that can provide you with occupational and educational options.

For more information on prerequisites, transfer of credits and your eligibility for a program attend Open House, contact Admissions or a program information session.

Assessments

You will need to provide an email address to receive instructions and log-in information to access and complete the assessments. These assessments need to be completed and submitted no later than the day before the appointment. Each takes approximately 30 - 40 minutes to complete online and requires a Grade 9 reading level in English.

Assessment results are printed by our office and are only available when you attend your appointment.

Persons with developmental and similar disabilities may not be best served by this career planning package. If a person needs assistance with understanding and completing their assessments, or assistance during a career planning session (e.g. a translator or a family member assisting in understanding the process), we recommend checking out the following community resources:

• The Ability Hub
• Transitional Vocational Program
• Prospect Human Services
• McBride Career Group

What other resources and services are available?

• If you are between the ages of 15 and 24, the Calgary Youth Employment Centre offers free, comprehensive employment and career services online, through workshops or by phone at 403.268.2490.
• Alberta Learning Information Services offers free descriptions and self-assessments of occupations including job duties, work conditions, requirements and salary ranges.
• Alberta Human Services offers career planning workshops, as well as information about industry trends.