HIGHER LANDING HELPS PROFESSIONALS TAKE CONTROL OF THEIR CAREERS – EVEN IN UNCONTROLLABLE ECONOMIC TIMES

OUR STORY

By the mid-2010s, Jackie Rafter could see something had changed in the economy. As a founder of two executive search firms, Jackie saw hundreds of talented, skilled, experienced professionals adrift in an economy that didn’t seem to want them. They were stressed and struggling. And at the same time, they hoped for more than just another job. They wanted something meaningful where they could make their highest contributions to the world.

This led Jackie to found Higher Landing, a firm that would offer professionals a new way to navigate a changing economy and build purpose-driven careers aligned with their values.

A KEY INSIGHT: PROFESSIONAL TRANSFORMATION STARTS WITH THE PERSONAL

In building Higher Landing’s Career Transformation process, Jackie drew not just from her history in executive search, but in the way agents represented athletes, how companies took new products to market, and how entrepreneurs pitched their products in TV’s Dragon’s Den. There were lessons in all of those for professionals.

But those things alone weren’t enough. It was only when Jackie built a deep personal exploration phase into her career transformation process that the pieces clicked. That’s how people unlocked their true purpose and value in the market. That’s how they could build the careers they truly wanted.

A BRUTAL RECESSION AND A GENERATIONAL ECONOMIC SHIFT

Higher Landing was founded in Calgary, AB. While both city and province were economic powerhouses from 2000-2014, by 2015 the economy was in chaos. The economy shed tens of thousands of high-paying jobs, the unemployment rate spiked, and suddenly there were dozens of professionals for each job opening. Desperation became the norm.

This was especially true for professionals who had built careers in the energy sector. But with this latest downturn, the jobs were not going to come back. Automation and shifting global markets meant professionals needed to adapt and transition their careers for good. Or get left behind.

THOUSANDS OF CAREERS AND LIVES CHANGED

Higher Landing tested its new career programs in this bleak economic landscape. And remarkably – it worked better than Jackie could have hoped. While many in Alberta struggled to make ends meet or see a path to a future, Higher Landing clients found themselves making big career leaps by focusing on their true value rather than just their skills and experience.

Between 2015 and 2023, over 4000 professionals ‘landed higher’ in new industries, new jobs and in new career paths aligned with their true purpose. The Higher Landing process and program had been battle-tested in one of the worst economic periods imaginable. It was time for the next step – to expand the company’s work from Alberta to the entire country.

GOING NATIONAL

Higher Landing now has programs available across Canada, including programs for women professionals, foreign professionals living in Alberta and for those looking to build their careers in Canada’s rapidly growing clean energy sector. 

What’s most exciting: The programs are offered to successful applicants at no cost because they’re funded in partnership with governments and government agencies across the country. 

Meanwhile, each day Higher Landing continues to fulfill its mission: to help the world land higher, one person at a time.

LEADERSHIP

JACKIE RAFTER, MBA
Founder, President & CEO

  • Jackie Rafter is a visionary entrepreneur and catalyst for bringing to life forward-looking ideas and businesses. As Founder, President & CEO of Higher Landing, a global career transformation provider, Jackie works with and mentors professionals, executives and globally-known athletes to help them realize their greatest ambitions and career goals. The proprietary Career Transformation methodology she has pioneered at Higher Landing is being broadly adopted across professions, particularly in the oil & gas industries as they go through significant, disruptive change.

    Born in Calgary, Canada, Jackie is a passionate change agent who believes deeply in the ability of people to tap into their potential. She is particularly focused on helping people reinvent, brand and package themselves to take advantage of the massive systemic changes taking place in job search and career management. She has taught at the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary and regularly appears in various media as an expert and thought leader on the oil & gas job market and the career transformation strategies necessary to thrive in it.

    Jackie’s experience prior to founding Higher Landing spanned successful careers in industries ranging from international professional services to corporate finance. Additionally, she built two energy industry professional search firms, founded Canada’s first publicly traded company with an all-female Board of Directors (Roxi Capital, now trading as Plastifab Corp. - PFB.TSX) and was a founder of Anorak Capital (now trading as Total Energy Services TOT.TSX).

    Jackie holds dual degrees from the University of Calgary with an MBA and Bachelor of Education (French), is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and has worked in five countries including Monaco, the UK, Switzerland and South Africa. She is a champion of helping people live healthy and authentic lives and enjoys travel, fitness and running long distance. Her mission is to transform the way people manage their careers and to “help the world land higher one person at a time”.

ERIN WILKINS, B.GMT
Chief Operating Officer

  • Erin has always had a passion for training and advising professionals. One of her great joys is helping people to make connections and find solutions, ultimately allowing them to land higher. She has worked with Higher Landing since 2016 as an Instructor and Career Transformation Strategist, Government Program Manager, and Operations and Marketing Coordinator.

    Erin's practical and results-based approach has been an asset for Higher Landing. Her ability to find solutions where others see problems has led to success in a variety of professions, including training, recruiting, coaching, operations management and entrepreneurship. She has always enjoyed the challenge of working to grow organizations. As a Founding Principal and President of The Quaderra Group, a boutique oil and gas professional search firm, she was heavily involved in the creation and establishment of the company, along with its ongoing management and direction.

    Erin graduated with great distinction from the University of Lethbridge in 2000, with her Bachelor of Management and dual majors in Marketing and Management Information Systems. Upon graduation, she returned to her birthplace of Calgary and has lived here ever since. She enjoys anything to do with the arts, especially live theater, and is a loving wife and devoted mother to the light of her life, her daughter Lauren.