LMIC and CCDF announce joint 2026 research partnership
Introduction
The Labour Market Information Council (LMIC) and the Canadian Career Development Foundation (CCDF) have announced a partnership to understand how career development practitioners across Canada access and use labour market information (LMI) and how those needs have evolved over the past five years.
The partnership will support a national research initiative taking place in 2026 and reflects a shared interest in strengthening the evidence base on how LMI is used in practice within the career development field.
Understanding how LMI is used in practice matters
Career development practitioners play an important role in helping people navigate education, training, and employment decisions. At the same time, Canada’s LMI ecosystem has grown more complex, and persistent gaps remain in how LMI is accessed, interpreted, and applied in day-to-day practice.
This partnership brings together LMIC’s research and analysis expertise and CCDF’s deep connection to the career development community to examine how these realities affect practice today. By grounding the work in practitioner experience, the project aims to generate insights that reflect the tools, challenges, and constraints practitioners encounter when supporting clients.
Why practitioner use of LMI matters for the labour market
Career development practitioners support individuals through job transitions, training decisions, and changing labour market conditions. Their ability to access and apply relevant, usable labour market information influences how effectively people connect to education, training, and employment opportunities.
As Canada continues to navigate challenging labour markets, skills shortages, and ongoing workforce transitions, understanding how LMI is used in practice is directly linked to broader labour market functioning. Strengthening this understanding can help improve alignment between labour market information, practitioner needs, and real-world decision-making.
What the 2026 project will focus on
The research will focus on documenting current practitioner experiences with LMI, including:
- How career development practitioners currently access and use LMI
- The tools and data sources practitioners rely on most
- Practical challenges related to usability, relevance, and access
- Where information gaps continue to affect practice
Findings will be shared through insight products designed to be accessible and useful to practitioners, sector leaders, and others working in the career development field in late 2026.
What’s next?
Work under the partnership will begin and conclude in 2026, with findings to be shared later in 2026.
The partnership is being announced during Cannexus, Canada’s largest bilingual career development conference, where both organizations are engaging with practitioners and sector leaders.
As the work progresses, LMIC and CCDF will share updates and findings to build a clearer, practitioner-informed understanding of how labour market information is used in career development practice today.