Three Guiding Themes

This year's conference title is Reimagining Career Readiness: Building Pathways to Impact.

This conference brings together school career and guidance counselors, college and university career services staff, community job service representatives, workforce development and employer partners, as well as privately licensed professional counselors. Through collaborative dialogue and actionable strategies, attendees will explore innovative approaches to workforce development, career readiness, and purpose-driven practices that empower career professionals, youth, and people throughout the lifespan of their career.

The conference comprises of three themes that will serve as our guidance for this year's call for proposals.

Theme 1: Building Bridges in Workforce Development

Workforce development focuses on creating sustainable talent pipelines that meet the evolving needs of employers and communities. It emphasizes collaboration between education, industry, and workforce agencies to prepare individuals for meaningful careers in a global workforce. This theme is designed to spotlight practical best practices in order build and expand on workforce development initiatives taking place throughout the state of Ohio and beyond.

Theme 2: Engaging Minds in Career Readiness

Career readiness is about more than technical skills—it’s about sparking curiosity and connecting learning to real-world opportunities. This theme explores how educators, workforce partners, and private career counselors can foster engagement and confidence, equipping individuals to navigate K-12, college, career, and life with purpose.

Theme 3: Finding Purpose in Practice

This theme centers on the well-being of career practitioners themselves, recognizing that purpose-driven advising begins with personal clarity and resilience. Attendees will explore strategies for integrating wellness and meaning into their counseling and career services practices, ensuring they can guide others from a place of balance and authenticity.

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If you, or members of your network, are interested in sharing a program, practice, intervention, or research around the topics of career, workforce, talent, and professional development, OCDA encourages you to review our conference title and guiding themes and submit a proposal!

Questions/Concerns about submitting a proposal? Please email Rachel Richardson, OCDA President-Elect and Conference Planning Committee Chair at richardson.607@osu.edu.

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