Larry Iles is an award-winning Career Jedi. He has an extensive education and leadership portfolio that he has applied throughout his 22 years at Thompson Rivers University, all within Career and Experiential Learning. Larry began his career as an elementary school teacher working in Cache Creek, British Columbia. An opportunity presented itself to work with youth on social assistance in Kamloops. The program was called “Starting Points” and had a component on career and life planning. After teaching this program for a year, he knew that this is the type of work he wanted to learn more about and continue in.

Larry works one-on-one with students and alumni, providing valuable career knowledge and career development support. Larry has said  “My favourite moment working with students is when they have an experience and really connect it to their personal career development-and as a result, have this fantastic clarity about themselves and next steps. This happens so often when working with 1000’s of  students in the career counseling model.” For the fall of 2021, Larry will be taking on a new role of Experiential Learning Coordinator for TRU.  The goal of this position is to develop a new model for Experience Learning at TRU, through volunteerism and service leaning courses.

What advice would you have for someone new to Career Education?

For folks thinking about becoming involved in the Career advising/counseling world-the advice would be to take the CACEE Educator Certificate Series. This certificate is a wonderful way to explore the career development profession, network with those that have been around for a while and determine if this is the right career path. It is a difficult profession to get a start in, as it is hard to obtain that first experience, the certificate will definitely help with that first step.

When you consider the future of Career Education, where do you see it evolving?

In light of COVID-19, this question needs some serious thought and consideration, right now the future of this profession will be how to engage students through virtual appointments and teaching. The future of career development in times of COVID-19 provides an opportunity. The pandemic offers students and career professionals a teachable moment - careers are not always stable and folks need to adapt to manage unexpected career shifts.

What do you value most of your CACEE membership? 

This is the value of being a CACEE member - the opportunity to discuss, debate, and collaborate on big career issues that affect our students and the professions of career planning and student recruitment.

Larry is father to two adult sons, a partner to an amazing person, an avid downhill skier, backcountry hiker, wine appreciator and has recently been reintroduced to the world of freshwater fishing