Guidance Counsellors
Job description
These individuals assess the psychological functioning and personal resources of their clients. They help them orient or reorient themselves, integrate into the workplace, and adapt professionally. Their goal is to restore their socio-professional autonomy and develop their adaptation strategies. They are self-employed or work in:
- Public or private schools
- Local employment centres
- Community organizations (e.g. Carrefours jeunesse-emploi)
- Rehabilitation centres
- Private companies
Environment
- Controlled ambient temperature
Main tasks
- Use career counselling to support clients.
- Write intervention plans to facilitate personal and professional development.
- Use psychometric tests and inventories.
- Adapt interventions according to clients’ needs.
- Intervene with groups.
- Seek educational and vocational information.
- Maintain progress records.
- Keep up to date on changes in educational and career information.
- Work with other professionals (psychologists, social workers, psychoeducators, etc.), as required.
- Perform legally reserved activities, as required:
- Assess mental disorders.
- Assess intellectual developmental disorders.
- Assess a person with a professionally certified mental disorder.
- Assess a student with a disability or adjustment difficulties and determine an intervention plan.
Advancement and mobility
- A permit issued by the Ordre des psychologues du Québec (Quebec Order of Pshychologists) enables these individuals to bear the title of Psychotherapist and to practise psychotherapy.
Training and requirements
Formation
Most training programs are offered in French only.
University
Guidance counselling or educational and vocational information
Bachelor’s degree
Placement rate: 65.5%
30.5% of graduates pursue further studies
Master’s degree
Placement rate: 95.2%
Also required
- Membership in the Ordre des conseillers et conseillères d'orientation du Québec (OCCOQ [Quebec Order of Guidance Counsellors]) to practise as a Guidance Counsellor and carry out reserved activities.
- Licence to practise.
- The reserved activity of assessing mental disorders requires a permit from the Ordre des conseillers et conseillères d'orientation du Québec (OCCOQ).
Main skills and characteristics
Skills
- Data collection
- Active listening
- Oral expression
- Social perception
- Reading comprehension
- Service oriented
- Critical thought
- Written expression
- Active learning
- Coordination
- Teaching
- Judgment and decision-making
- Persuasion
- Solving complex problems
- Result evaluation
- Learning strategies
- Negotiation
- Time management
- Information processing
- System analysis
- Human resource management
Abilities
- Verbal skills
- Awareness of issues
- Written comprehension
- Oral comprehension
- Written expression
- Speech clarity
- Deductive reasoning
- Inductive reasoning
- Idea generation
- Information organization
- Speech recognition
- Selective attention
- Near vision
- Originality
- Classification
Knowledge and attributes
- Capacity to establish and maintain interpersonal relations
- Critical thinking
- Capacity to adapt
- Capacity to work in a team
- Versatility
- Rigour
- Creativity
- Capacity to facilitate a group
- Knowledge of psychology
- Knowledge of therapy and counselling
Interests
- Draft, communicate, and inform
- Work in an office
- Carry out research
- Self-employment
- Assist and advise
- Assist or care for people
Personality profiles (RIASEC)
- Social
- People with this profile prefer to be in contact with others, in particular to entertain, help or teach them.
- Enterprising
- People with this profile prefer having responsibilities, influencing others and responding to challenges.
- Conventional
- People with this profile prefer specific, well-defined tasks. They like to respect the order of things and follow established rules.
Appellation d’emploi liée (à traduire)
Educational counsellors (CNP 41320)
Skill type
Education, law and social, community and government services
Last update: January 29, 2026