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Guiding Circles

An Aboriginal Guide to Finding Career Paths

About the Program

Guiding Circles is structured as a two-booklet series that guides individuals from self-discovery through to career decision making. Each booklet can be used independently or as part of a complete career development journey. Both are available through Kocihta-facilitated training for career coaches, employment counsellors, teachers, and community members who support others in their career path.


The program is useful for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal groups and individuals of any age or gender. At its heart, Guiding Circles invites each person to recognize their own gifts and talents as the starting point for everything that follows.

Booklet One: Understanding Yourself

The first step in any career journey is knowing who you are. Booklet One: Understanding Yourself invites individuals to explore their life experiences as a foundation for career assessment — not through a checklist or a test, but through reflection, storytelling, and the discovery of their own gifts.

Working with a career facilitator, participants use the Career Circle to build a self-portrait across eight key elements. This creates a meaningful foundation for everything that follows in the career exploration process.

 

What participants will explore:

  • Their personal strengths, gifts, and talents

  • Life experiences that have shaped who they are

  • The connections between their sense of self and the world of school and work

  • How story-telling can unlock deeper self-knowledge

 

Booklet One is the starting place. It builds the confidence and self-awareness that makes career decisions feel grounded rather than guessed. ​

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Order Booklet One here.

Booklet Two: Finding New Possibilities

Once someone knows who they are, they can begin to see what they can do. Booklet Two: Finding New Possibilities helps individuals take everything they discovered in Booklet One and use it to explore career alternatives, make meaningful decisions, and build a vision for their future — one step at a time.

Grounded in the understanding that community and connection are part of a holistic career support model, this booklet invites individuals to involve the people around them in their journey. Long-term goals are broken into smaller, achievable weekly and monthly steps, making the path forward feel real and within reach.

 

What participants will explore:

  • How their self-assessment connects to a wide range of career possibilities

  • Strategies for evaluating career options using reasons, challenges, resources, and actions

  • How to involve family, friends, and community in career decision making

  • Entrepreneurial skills and pathways

  • How to narrow many possibilities down to a meaningful direction

 

Booklet Two is about momentum. It takes the self-knowledge from Booklet One and turns it into a path that is self-determined, supported, and forward-moving.

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Order Booklet Two here.
 

Facilitator Training Workshops

Kocihta offers facilitator training for both Guiding Circles booklets. These workshops are designed for career coaches, employment counsellors, teachers, and community members who want to bring Guiding Circles tools to the people they work with.

Both workshops use a hands-on, participatory approach. Small workshop sizes — 12 to 16 participants — ensure that every person leaves with the confidence, insight, and skills to deliver Guiding Circles activities with their own clients and communities.

 

Booklet One Workshop

This two-day workshop introduces facilitators to the Guiding Circles approach and equips them to deliver Booklet One with their clients. You will explore the circle as a metaphor for careers and life, practice active engagement techniques, and learn story-based questioning strategies that help individuals discover their skills, talents, and passions at a deeper level.

 

What is included:

  • Two interactive training days

  • Ten Booklet One workbooks to begin coaching clients immediately upon completion

  • Exclusive access to the Guiding Circles Booklet One coaching manual

 

Download the Guiding Circles Step 1 Brochure.

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Booklet Two Workshop

Building on the foundation of Booklet One, this two-day workshop prepares facilitators to help clients generate a wide range of career possibilities, evaluate their options, and make informed decisions with the support of their social circles. You will learn strategies to help clients overcome challenges, explore entrepreneurial pathways, and take confident steps toward their career vision.

 

What is included:

  • Two interactive training days

  • Ten Booklet Two workbooks to begin coaching clients immediately upon completion

 

Download the Guiding Circles Step 2 Brochure.

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Workshops can be hosted in your community. We come to you.

 

Bring Guiding Circles to Your Community

If your organization or community is interested in hosting a Guiding Circles facilitator workshop or learning more about the program, we would love to hear from you.

 

Email: contactus@indigenousworks.ca

Toll-free: 1.866.711.5091

Reach out for a quote or to discuss how Guiding Circles can work for your team, your clients, or your community.

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