“Learn, Connect and Collaborate” is the theme for CACEE National Conference 2016, and it captures perfectly our current priorities.  The job you do as Career Educators requires levels of agility and adaptability that would impress a juggling acrobat. 

There are many moving parts to manage at the same time.  Employers are reinventing the way they recruit young talent, graduate employment outcomes are being held up by government as THE key performance indicator for higher education and students come to you in need of support as they try to navigate the school to work transition. 

To keep it all going you have to stay in front of the issues, implement best practices using a network that shares data and works together to find the way forward. We all need to Learn, Connect and Collaborate.

New technologies are transforming recruiting tactics, disrupting current practice. We need to learn about the emerging paradigm. Not that long ago, employers needed to come to the campus to reach students but now they have options. In the era of social media, big data and applicant tracking systems, employers are experimenting with on-line talent searches, trying to find the algorithm that will bring them the best candidates. For these employers, and for students, the rules are changing; new protocols are being adopted.

As career educators, you need to understand them so you can share with students so they can be successful candidates. It’s crucial that students learn the new rules otherwise opportunities will go empty and graduates will be unemployed. CACEE National Conference offers the best opportunity for us to come together – to collaborate - and deal with the changes. With more than thirty breakout sessions and three keynote sessions, educator delegates have ample opportunity to learn from each other, from outside experts, and from employers. Helping new grads make the transition to the workforce is a complex undertaking – it works best when we work together.

CACEE National Conferences are all about connections; making new ones, reviving old ones, energizing the ones that make our daily work possible. Connections are critical to career educators. You are the hub of a network linking students and employers, providing the path for them to connect with each other. That network is ever changing and you’ll get ample opportunity to get caught up with the changes. Social activities, networking suites, and meal times offer plenty of chances to connect with fellow delegates.

CACEE National Conference provides the best forum to make the connections that keep your network flowing.