As Scouts Canada continues to follow provincial and federal guidelines around the novel coronavirus, all in-person Scouting activities have ceased across Canada until further notice. In light of this, the Pathways to Your Future program is postponed until Fall 2020, at which time we look forward to resuming and properly facilitating this program pending government advisory. Thank you for your understanding.
To keep up the Scouting adventure online, we encourage you to visit Scouting at Home.
Helping you find your path in life – in post-secondary education and your career – is the Pathways to Your Future program’s goal.
As you try to figure out answers to the questions “Who am I?”, “Where am I going?” and “What’s possible?”, we provide you with the support you need to help you find your path.
If you face challenges in identifying and achieving your post-secondary and career goals due to economic, social, cultural, personal or other barriers, this program is for you.
Ann Marie Sweeney (Founder, the Sweeney Foundation), wanted to fund a program for older youth that focuses on their needs at two key crossroads in their lives: finding their post-secondary educational path and navigating their route from school to work.
With Mrs. Sweeney’s generous gift, Scouts Canada developed the Pathways to Your Future Program. This special initiative will offer 100 participants career counselling, skills development and mentorship as they complete their individual, youth-proposed and youth-led Scouting project.
By participating in the Pathways to Your Future program, you will receive professional training and hands-on experiences to help you choose the education and career path that is best for you. You will develop practical, in-demand skills like financial literacy, and project and relationship management. You will also build soft skills like creativity, consultative sales, collaboration, adaptability and time management—all things you will need to succeed in school, at work and in life.
As part of the process, you’ll identify, plan and execute a project or participate in an experience that helps build up your local Scout Group or Council.
Apply today and let us help you find your path!
To be part of the first cohort of participants, apply by May 1 (midnight PST).
The next deadline for applications will be posted to this site later this month. If you have any questions about the Pathways to Your Future program, email ptyf@scouts.ca.
How participants benefit from the “Pathways to Your Future” program
Training
As a participant of the Pathways to Your Future Program, you will receive free Scouts Canada training in Ottawa. Participants have three choices: Group Commissioner Orientation training, Group Support Scouter Onboarding training or Program Support Scouter training.
Group Commissioner Orientation Program
The Group Commissioner (GC) Orientation Program is designed to provide new GCs with the knowledge and attitude to successful lead their Scout Group. The program focuses on the Group Health Navigator - which is a tool to help Groups self-assess their maturity against Scouts Canada’s Five Priorities - and the tools or approaches they can use to improve their Group’s operational performance for each priority. GCs are encouraged to work with their Group Committee to set a vision for their Group, and then use that vision to develop their own strategic plan for increasing the positive impact they’re having within their community. Ultimately, it’s within Scout Groups that Scouts Canada’s Mission comes to life, and the goal of this program is to ensure Groups have the leadership they require to grow Scouting’s mission within their community.
Group Support Scouter Orientation
The Group Support Scouter Onboarding Program is designed to provide Group Support Scouters with the vision and approaches they need to successfully coach, mentor and support Group Commissioners to be successful. Group Commissioners are responsible for delivering the Volunteer Support Strategy to the Scouters within their Group; GSSs are meant to provide the same support to Group Commissioners, while also acting as key points of contact between Groups and the broader organization. GSSs are appointed to be Scouts Canada’s key representatives at the local level, and are empowered to build relationships with the GCs they support; the GSS Onboarding Program provides them with the approaches to build that trusting relationship, as well as coach GCs in building a stronger Group through a Plan-Do-Review process structured around the Group Health Navigator.
Program Support Scouter Program
Program Support Scouter Orientation will introduce volunteers to the Program Support team and provide an overview of expectations for their role. Topics that will be covered include consultative sales, project management, facilitation skills, event standards, and much more.
Participants in the Pathways to Your Future program have an opportunity to help grow and develop their soft and professional skills across Scouts Canada. As part of the Pathways to your Future program, participants will be matched with one of Scouts Canada’s Council or Functional teams to serve in a volunteer role. Within these volunteer roles, participants will be connected with a local mentor to act as an additional resource for success.
Council team roles focus on using an account management approach to provide support and guidance to Group Commissioners. Functional teams such as Program Support, Marketing & Communications, Scout Popcorn (fundraising) and Volunteer Recognition support and enhance Groups’ ability to deliver on Scouting’s mission locally. If a participant cannot be matched with a Council or Functional team role, the Pathways to your Future program will work with them to create a custom service project experience.
Your experience should align with Scouts Canada’s Five Priorities (Membership Growth, Safety Leadership, Program Quality, Volunteer Support or Group Capacity).
CareerJoy will provide free professional career coaching. CareerJoy assists in many types of career development and employee transitions, giving them a deep understanding of what students need to be successful when exploring and launching their careers. The training will be provided virtually.
Two streams are available to participants: Career Exploration and Workforce Entry Support. An initial consultation call (15-20 minutes) will take place to determine the appropriate stream.
Career Exploration
For those still in high school or recently in post-secondary education: explore possible careers and the path required to obtain them
Workforce Entry Support
For those already in post-secondary education or relatively new to the workforce: explore how to succeed in your current career stream, or discuss how your current skill set can be utilized in your current stream or pivoted to a new one
Both streams will include:
Refer to the Canadian Path Navigator and speak with your Section Contact Scouter and Group Commissioner.
Please refer to the Scouts Canada National Calendar for training dates.
Scouts Canada’s Five Priorities for Success are: Membership Growth, Safety Leadership, Program Quality, Volunteer Support and Group Capacity.
Your self-assessment will be used to help determine if you will benefit from the Pathways to Your Future program. The assessment will also help to evaluate your growth at the end of the program.
It can be helpful to have someone who knows you provide an assessment of your skills. We can’t always identify for ourselves what some of our hidden skill sets may be.
The program typically takes 12 months. During that time, you will have your Scouts Canada training, career coaching sessions (an initial placement call followed by two one-on-one sessions with a career coach), quarterly career coaching webinars and ongoing responsibilities relating to your new Scouts Canada role (e.g. Group Support Scouter).
This program is not a full-time commitment. Scouts Canada training typically takes four days. Participating in your role after the training is part of the commitment. The career coaching involves an initial call (approximately 15-20 minutes) to establish which path is best for you (Career Exploration or Workforce Entry Support). Within a few days, a coach will be assigned to you. You and the coach will arrange your sessions, which typically occur in a four-to-six-week window. There are two sessions with your coach that last 50 minutes each. There will be quarterly webinars of 60 minutes in length that you will be expected to either attend live or view later. The program should not feel overwhelming and you should be able to incorporate it into your current schedule.
