Is “centre” the new dirty word in career services?

The old dirty word in career services was “placement”. It was a remarkably tenacious word: when I first got involved in this field twenty years ago it was already blacklisted. And yet it still holds on by a fingernail in a few dark corners. It lurks about feeding the myth that students can go to a “placement office” and be handed the job of their dreams.

Once upon a time, the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers (CACEE) was the University and College Placement Association (UCPA). It dropped that name about 25 years ago (we won’t discuss the strange interim name ACCIS which didn’t stand for anything). And in the U.S., the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) was the College Placement Council (CPC).

But despite these name changes, it has taken forever for the word to die. Most career advisors have dropped the “placement officer” title and most career services offices have dropped the word from their names. Many rested on the word “employment” (“Student Employment Service”) before leaping onwards to “Career Centre” or “Career Services”. Not wanting to lose the brand equity in the name “CAPS” which used to stand for Career and Placement Service, the University of Alberta recently rebranded it’s office “CAPS: Your U of A Career Centre” – but now “CAPS” is just part of the name and no longer an acronym. Are McGill’s or Concordia’s CAPS offices next? (Recommendation: if you must keep the acronym, go with “Career Advising and Planning Services”).

But now, in the age of social networks and virtual worlds, the word “centre” may just be the new dirty word, a word of the past. “Centre” implies a place, an office somewhere on campus. But where is the centre for the job seeker? In the networked world, isn’t the centre the job seeker herself? The reality is that students don’t want to visit a “centre” – except perhaps for a personal appointment.

And this isn’t just a question of online versus in person. Students are looking for career development support and education throughout their institution. They were told that a post-secondary education would get them a job – and a better, higher paying one at that. Therefore, their school should ooze career education through its pores wherever they go. I don’t think this is an unrealistic expectation. Students are the customers and the customers are demanding a job as the #1 outcome of their education – so let’s give them what they need to get it. Understanding that “the customer is always right” is a basic tenet of successful customer service, this means that we must give them what they need on their terms (not ours).

This is not about placement and may not even be about an in-depth career development experience. It’s whatever level of career education they need to get the result they came for. Many career services offices have already discovered what may just be the Holy Grail: the power and reach possible by connecting with students through their faculties and departments. Next stop: professors who recommend career development workshops.

So perhaps it’s time to discard the word “centre” and the implication that career education should happen in a obscure office somewhere – or even on the career centre website. I’m not saying we don’t need an office for the career services staff. In fact, I would put the career services office right up there next to that of the VP Academic. After all, the customer wants their education to lead to employment – so career education needs to become an integral part of the post-secondary experience.

Of course, “centre” sometimes has another meaning. It can refer to a place of “influence”, “action”, or “leadership” as in “the centre for public policy” or “centre for innovation in…” If career education is going to spread throughout the institution and be embraced by administrators and academics alike then it will need leadership. Campuses will need something with a name like,… well, a name like the one they have at the University of Windsor: “Centre for Career Education.” Hmm. “Centre”: now there’s a word for the future!