From busy to burn-out: Benchmarks to help career development professionals define, evaluate and approach resource challenges
This webinar provides insights from two separate recent studies on the resourcing and organisational support for career development work, and its impacts. CDI Research Manager Stephen Plimmer presents results from this year's Big Listen results, showing support levels and how these impact clients and professionals. Independent career development practitioner, Carl Jackson, provides insights on how pressures are manifesting on the front line.
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Date
17 Jun 2026 -
Time
04:00 PM -
Duration
1 hour(s) and 30 minute(s) -
Venue
Zoom -
Contact
Sector resourcing is an ongoing challenge for the career development sector, but until now, we have lacked data to inform the scale and impact of how this impacts the sector. This webinar shares insights from two separate research studies:
- An independent study of the pressures on career practitioners and how these affect appointment times and personal unpaid overtime.
- The CDI's Big Listen survey, which shows the extent to which career guidance professionals are supported in their working environment and correlates support levels with both career professional wellbeing and client/student outcomes.
The results show that career development professionals feel under pressure across the sector, while important organisational support mechanisms are variable and often weak, with implications for service outcomes. The results help professionals to recognise their own situation in the wider landscape, and answer the question of whether they are merely busy, or at risk, due to their situation.
As well as providing new sector insights, the session will also involve interactive group sessions to explore ways of tackling these challenges, providing support for each other and data for the CDI in its role of supporting professionals. Anonymised insights will be shared after the session and used to help the CDI to consider how it can support professionals facing challenges in the future.
Learning outcomes
• Understand the latest trends in the overall health of the sector and develop Self-awareness of the situation and its risks.
• Learn how to use data to make the case for greater resourcing of career development work.
Speakers
Stephen Plimmer is Research Manager at the Career Development Institute.
Carl Jackson RCDP is a career development professional and founder of Sussex Apprenticeship Bootcamp.
This session supports the following CPD competencies:
• Career Development Practice
• Professional Practice, CPD and Research