Career Discovery 2.0 - how we’re innovating our approach to finding your ideal path

Our goal at InceptionU is to have a curriculum that reflects current industry trends, improves employability outcomes and provides learners with a high-quality learning experience.

That is why we took a new approach to our Tech Adjacent program, which launched earlier this fall. The ability to stay agile is what differentiates our program from some larger institutions with predetermined curriculums (read more about that in our previous blog).

Together with our partners from 321 Growth Academy and the Alberta Government, we decided to “flip the script” on traditional career and skill-building programs.

Historically, candidates apply for technical training programs and do career-fit discovery work throughout the technical training. Even with rigorous intake processes, individuals can get into a program and find it’s not what they expected; that the day-to-day work is a mismatch or that they lack the aptitude or intrinsic motivation to succeed in their career choice. 

To reduce these risks, we intentionally built deep, strategic career work into the first four weeks of the program and prior to technical stream selection. 

“We know that a period of self-reflection and discovery can better inform their choices, which in turn, helps the learners develop confidence, a belief in their capabilities and long-term career success,” says InceptionU CEO Margo Purcell. 

The career streams available to them were Growth Marketing, Lean Sales, Design and Coding Support.

What can we say…it was a learning curve!!

It was exciting to watch this process unfold as learners who went into the program thinking they would choose one stream changed their minds after learning more about themselves, their strengths and what they wanted for their careers.

Stream selection day was highly anticipated, and there was a celebration for each individual as learners announced what stream they would be pursuing and why. Here’s what some of them had to say:

Sylvia Gora

Sylvia was interested in all four streams and ultimately selected Growth Marketing. She had experience working at ATB Financial and had recently gained skills in data and project management.

She enjoyed the “pressure cooker” sessions which gave her the opportunity to have hands-on experience in all four career pathways. The 4-week career discovery process allowed her to be more strategic about her career choices, rather than falling into the common trap of “I’ll take whatever I can get.”

“I was able to pick the career that fit me, rather than trying to fit myself into a certain career stream.”

Sylvia came to realize her transferable skills, which come easily to her, are something that employers are seeking and she learned how to highlight them on her resume - she’s collaborative, a great communicator, very productive and agile. 

She says marketing was a natural choice for her -  she loves working with others and communicating is one of her strengths. She also learned to be realistic about the career search process, knowing that finding the right one might take a little longer. 

Kenneth Cheung

Kenneth was interested in Design and Lean Sales and ultimately chose Lean Sales.

He moved to Canada from Hong Kong with his family 3 months ago and it has been a huge transition for him. He knew that landing a job in Canada would be difficult without first having some Canadian experience and connections.

With a background in engineering and as a corporate trainer and coach, Kenneth greatly valued the career exploration work he did with InceptionU to help him find and follow a new path. 

“I believe in the importance of knowing myself first. I really appreciated having the time and space to do the deep work and reflection.”

He says the “taster” sessions provided experiential learning and helped him make his decision.

The LifePath and Lumina tools reminded him of his strengths - a big-picture thinker, who is systematic, loves research, is an active listener and questioner. 

When he saw that he matched with 10 out of the 12 top skills for a salesperson, he knew it would be the right fit. 

Kenneth says the four weeks he spent with the cohort pushed him out of his comfort zone, as speaking in public was new for him. He believes he talked more in the last four weeks than he had at his job for 10 years!

Katy Macklon

Katy was open to all four streams, and wavered between Coding Support and Design. Ultimately, she chose Design. 

After a 17-year career at the University of Calgary, working as a web and office admin, she was curious about what a Tech Adjacent career could be. As a self-described introvert, she entertained all four options and had no preconceived notions of what she might choose.

It was a very intense four weeks - Katy says she got emotional when opening up and being vulnerable around 40 people she really didn’t know yet. She found the session about sharing accomplishments and receiving feedback helpful and validating. She was surprised when others commented they see her as a leader and a teacher - these are skills she never saw in herself before. 

“It can feel very overwhelming to be back in the classroom as an adult learner, but as you get to know everyone better, it gets easier. It is a very unique experience. Just go for it!”

Even on the morning of stream selection, she was still undecided. Conversations with a few of her peers ultimately helped her make the final decision to pursue Design.

She says it’s a leap of faith, but she loves learning and is ready to “see where the process takes me.” 

Babatunde Yakubu

Baba initially thought he was going to pursue Full Stack Development, but ultimately chose the Coding Support Pathway.

Working in supply chain, he saw how many processes in the warehouse were becoming automated through drag-and-drop software, so coding support really piqued his interest.

“The career exploration helped me discover that after working alone for most of my career, I actually love working with others. “

He enjoyed the four weeks working in groups, collaborating with one another and learning from the experiences of others. 

Originally from Nigeria and with a background in law,  Baba is ready to continue learning and soon begin a new tech career. He believes coding support is the right path for him as automation engineers and other related roles are in high demand. 

Are you ready to learn more? Check out Tech Trek to explore the tech career pathways that may interest you.