Educational Counsellors
Job description
These individuals advise students on their schooling. They can also provide them with career and personal development support. This group includes guidance counsellors, individual educational assistants, and career and academic information counsellors. These individuals work in:
- Secondary schools
- School centres
- Post-secondary institutions (CEGEP, university)
- Employability organizations
- Private practice
Environment
- Controlled ambient temperature
Main tasks
- Advise and inform students about studies and careers.
- Coordinate co-op and school-to-work transition programs.
- Provide counselling services.
- Administer and interpret various tests (interests, personality, aptitudes, etc.).
- Train, coordinate, and facilitate groups and workshops.
- Coordinate orientation programs.
- Advise students on personal and social issues.
- Ensure student recruitment and placement.
- Oversee school-based peer support programs, as required.
- Supervise interns.
Advancement and mobility
Guidance Counsellors
- These individuals may specialize in academic guidance, personal, or social counselling, or career counselling.
- A permit issued by the Ordre des psychologues du Québec (Quebec Order of Psychologists) enables these individuals to use the title of Psychotherapist and to practice psychotherapy.
Hourly wage
The hourly wage is calculated by averaging wages from 2022 to 2024.- Minimum
- $28.85
- Median
- $44.00
- Maximum
- $50.55
Job prospects for 2024-2028
Job prospects for 2024-2028
Job prospects
All of Québec
All of Québec
Total jobs for 2023
All of Québec
All of Québec
Gender distribution
All of Québec
- 82.9% Female
- 17.1% Male
- 82.9% Female
- 17.1% Male
Job types
All of Québec
- Full time
- Part time
- Full time
- Part time
Yearly wage on 2020
All of Québec
All of Québec
Other characteristics
All of Québec
- Non traditional for men
- None
All of Québec
- Non traditional for men
- None
Sectors of activity
All of Québec
-
NAICS 6186% of jobs
-
NAICS 6244% of jobs
-
NAICS 912% of jobs
-
NAICS 812% of jobs
-
NAICS 55, 562% of jobs
-
Others4% of jobs
All of Québec
-
NAICS 6186% of jobs
-
NAICS 6244% of jobs
-
NAICS 912% of jobs
-
NAICS 812% of jobs
-
NAICS 55, 562% of jobs
-
Others4% of jobs
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%
Multidisciplinary (Educational sciences)
Bachelor’s degree
Placement rate: 69.3%
28% of graduates pursue further studies
Master’s degree
Placement rate: 72.4%
17.3% of graduates pursue further studies
- Bishop's University
- Concordia University
- Université de Montréal
- Université de Sherbrooke
- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
- Université du Québec en Outaouais
- Université du Québec à Montréal
- Université du Québec à Rimouski
- Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
- Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue
- Université Laval
- McGill University
- TÉLUQ
Also required
Guidance Counsellors
- Licence to practice.
- Membership in the Ordre des conseillers et conseillères d'orientation du Québec (Quebec Order of Guidance Counsellors) to use the title of guidance counsellor.
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
- Systems evaluation
- 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
- Autonomy
- Capacity to adapt
- Capacity to work in a team
- Versatility
- Rigour
- Sense of initiative
- Commitment to quality
- Capacity to facilitate a group
Interests
- Draft, communicate, and inform
- 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.
Official name of the NOC 41320
Educational counsellors
Job titles
- Guidance Counsellors
- Career counsellor - education
- Counselling intern
- Personal academic counsellor
- School counsellor
- Co-op officer - schools
- School adjustment officer
- Student affairs and employment officer
- Independent or applied studies officer
- Education officer
- Co-op placement officer - school
- School guidance department head
- Guidance service head
- College counsellor
- University counsellor
- First nations studies program academic adviser
- Indigenous advisor – college
- Student counsellor
- Counsellor for aboriginal students
- International student adviser
- Student services counsellor
- First nations counsellor - education
- Academic adviser
- Academic skills counsellor
- Co-op program coordinator - school
- Student employment services coordinator
- Educational guidance director
- Guidance counsellor - education
- Learning and study skills specialist
Skill type
Education, law and social, community and government services
Last update: January 29, 2026