Centre for Career Design

The Schulich Centre for Career Design (CCD) offers innovative programs, services, and resources to help students identify, pursue, and achieve their career aspirations. By combining personalized career support with industry insight and employer engagement, CCD helps students build meaningful career paths — contributing to Schulich’s strong employment outcomes and reputation among top recruiters. At the heart of our work is a Career Design approach that integrates Design Thinking with the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Career Readiness Competencies.

Design Thinking, a human-centered, iterative process, moves through five stages — empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test — encouraging experimentation and continuous refinement rather than a linear path. Applied to career development, it empowers students to intentionally shape their professional journeys, testing possibilities and making decisions aligned with their values, strengths, and goals.

NACE Career Readiness Competencies form a nationally recognized framework of skills employers value across industries, supporting lifelong career success. The eight competencies are: Career & Self-Development, Communication, Critical Thinking, Equity & Inclusion, Leadership, Professionalism, Teamwork, and Technology.

Together, these frameworks equip students with the mindset, skills, and confidence to navigate their careers and thrive in a rapidly changing world.