Spring Session: April 7th to June 6th, 2025 

OSCA-ACOSO is pleased to announce that they will continue to offer Part 1, Part 2 and the Specialist in Guidance and Career Education Additional Qualifications courses this summer.
Additional sessions will take place in the fall and  winter. Advantages of taking the course with OSCA are the instructor is a current guidance teacher-counsellor, a one year OSCA subscription is included ($55 value if currently not active) and a downloaded copy of Ethical Guidelines ($25) is included. As part of the OSCA subscription, participants have the opportunity to attend the fall conference at a member rate, gain access to webinars throughout the year on topics related to guidance and career education, receive the weekly OSCA News to keep up to date with guidance/career topics, and receive the tri-annual OSCA Today, the professional magazine of the association.

Cost: $675 plus HST.
To register: www.osca.ca --> Next AQ course
Registration closes Friday, March 21st at 11:55 pm. This is a FIRM deadline.  
Teaching experience forms (Part 2 and Specialist) are all due no later than Wednesday, April 2nd. 
Please register early to reserve your seat!.

SAVE THE DATE! New Webinar Opportunity
What's New from School Mental Health Ontario
Tuesday, March 25th at 10:00 AM

As Guidance Educators, you play an increasingly important role in supporting student mental health! OSCA/ACOSO invites you to join Theresa Wilson and Tali Aikenhead, Implementation Coaches from School Mental Health Ontario, to hear about several of their newest resources, hot off the press, which support you, the students, and the parents/caregivers in your school community. SMHO continually updates its website to offer new and relevant resources that enhance your Mental Health Literacy toolkit. In this session, they will highlight your access to the newest professional development opportunity - MH LIT:  Mental Health in Action for Guidance Educators, available now in your E-Community.  You will also leave this 60-minute webinar with a resource list for easy access, to use and share with your colleagues. Register Here!

 

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OSCA/ACOSO invites presenters to submit proposals for workshops to be considered for our 2025 Conference, LEADERSHIP STARTS HERE: Empowering Leaders, Inspiring Change.

We are seeking presenters who excel in their areas of expertise and can deliver captivating and educational presentations to inspire NEW and EXPERIENCED teachers who are involved with Guidance and Career Education and Student Success.

Do you have students who dream of becoming a doctor? The Pre-Med Pathway at University of
Niagara Falls Canada allows them to get there faster.

Through this pathway, students in the Honours Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences
program at UNF can start medical school after just three years of undergraduate study. Their
first year of medical school will count toward their bachelor’s degree, saving them a full year of
study and tuition costs.

You are invited to a free virtual Guidance Dialogues event.

Visit the Guidance website for event information, including date, time, schedule and registration information (once available).

Registration is required and will be available in early April. This event is for guidance counsellors only.

Please send all event inquiries to: onunirecruitment@gmail.com .
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Nota : L''événement se tiendra principalement en anglais seulement.

Vous êtes invité(e) à une séance virtuelle gratuite des Dialogues.

Consultez le site Web Orientation pour de plus amples renseignements au sujet de l''événement, y compris la date et l''heure, l''horaire et des renseignements au sujet de l''inscription (une fois disponible).

L''inscription est exigée et sera disponible à compter du début avril. À noter que cet événement s''adresse uniquement aux conseillères et conseillers en orientation.

Prière d''envoyer vos questions à l''adresse : onunirecruitment@gmail.com.

The Ontario Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) is offering Future Veterinarian Bursaries. These bursaries are designed to support equity-deserving high school students who are passionate about pursuing a career in veterinary medicine. Three bursaries of $1,000 each will be awarded for the 2024-2025 school year to students who demonstrate financial need and a keen interest in veterinary medicine. This initiative is part of OVMA's ongoing commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion within the profession. The application deadline is May 30, 2025. 

For more details and to access the application form, please visit: Future Veterinarian Bursary. 

Rick and Amanda Hansen believe that people of all abilities should have the right to a barrier-free education. The Rick & Amanda Hansen Scholarship for Youth with Disabilities, funded generously by the April 1 Foundation, provides financial support to Canadian youth with disabilities to pursue post-secondary education.

This scholarship aims to make a profound impact on the lives of Canadian youth with disabilities by removing financial barriers and supporting career aspirations through post-secondary education.

Funding of up to $10,000 per year (up to a maximum of $40,000) is available for youth with disabilities looking to complete a 1- to 5-year post-secondary program at a publicly funded institution in Canada.

Whether your client is just starting out in their career, or ready to make a career change, career assessments can be a helpful tool to spark ideas and identify strengths. While some career professionals may prefer to use only paid assessments, these are not always financially accessible to all service providers. Of course, with any career test, it is important to analyze whether it is the right fit for your client as well as its reliability and validity. (This post from CLSR titled "Always assess the assessment" may be helpful in your analysis.) Here are 16 free career assessments to help get you started.

The Rick Hansen Foundation School Program (RHFSP) Difference Maker of the Year awards celebrate and recognize youth between the ages five to 18 years old that are leaders in making a positive impact for inclusion and accessibility for people with disabilities in their school or wider community.

Nominations for the 2024-2025 school year are now open! The award recipients will be announced during National AccessAbility Week, May 25 to 31, 2025. Individual award recipients will each receive $500 to recognize their work, while classrooms and youth groups will receive $1,000 to share. Learn more about our past recipients and get inspired with unique ways to make a difference in your school or community.

- Canada’s job market remains a key pillar of strength for an economy facing no shortage of uncertainties in the months ahead.
- Job growth has consistently outperformed, with firms in cyclically sensitive sectors driving the gains. While the overall unemployment rate remains high, it is skewed by younger workers in a few lower wage, lower education sectors.
- The solid starting point of the labour market is crucial as Canada navigates the threat of potential trade tariffs, slowing population growth, and an upcoming federal election.

Gen Z jobseekers are widely embracing TikTok and other social media platforms as new career resources, underscoring the need for organizations to enhance their online presence if they want to attract next-generation talent.

More than 9 in 10 (92%) of Gen Zs trust TikTok for career advice.

In fact, some of the respondents admitted that they widely embraced trending employment practices on the platform, such as job hopping (55%) and career cushioning (48%), found Zety's survey.

Forms are to be submitted no later than Friday, September 12, 2025 by 4:00 p.m.

The Ontario School Counsellors’ Association has a long standing tradition (over 40 years) of recognizing and awarding those who stand out in the field of Guidance and Career Education. OSCA recognizes individuals and/or organizations that have made a significant contribution to Guidance and Career Education in Ontario. We can say with confidence that our past award winners have helped thousands find their pathways to successful futures!

OSCA-ACOSO Anthony Di Lena Student Pathway Awards' mandate is to assist at-risk students in their journey towards success. An award is given to at-risk students who have demonstrated the exemplary ability to succeed in the face of adversity. $500.00 awards are presented to students who, in their postsecondary pursuits, are taking a pathway to apprenticeship, college, community living, university or work.

Nominated students must be graduating/or have graduated from an accredited public secondary, Catholic secondary, or inspected private secondary school, including First Nations, in the province of Ontario in the previous school year.

The deadline is Thursday, May 1, 2025 by 4:00 PM.