Transcript No Slide Title

Demand for Career Guidance
in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
An Indicator for the Growing Need of More Effective
Transition Support Services
INAP Conference Turin, 17 September 2009
Helmut Zelloth / ETF
State-of-the-art definition
• ….services intended to assist
• ….individuals and groups
• ….of any age
• ….at any point throughout their lives
to make
….(a) educational choices
(b) training choices
(c) occupational choices
…and to manage their careers
Paradigm shift …
…has started in EU and OECD countries
 from intervention at key points in life
to a lifelong perspective
 from psychological ‘testing’ to
«tasting the world of work»
from external expert support to
career (self)-management skills
 from individual guidance to group-and
self-help approaches
Distinction
from other concepts …

Induction

Promotion

Selection

Placement
Methods
and research design
 Sample of 5 low- and middle-income countries
neighbouring to the EU (Montenegro, former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Egypt, Georgia, Ukraine)
 Field visits (interviews) and questionnaire
 Comparative analysis includes 4 more countries
(Turkey, Russia, Albania, Jordan)
 Knowledge-sharing and –building tools
Demand and barriers


Barriers to guidance development
Push and pull factors shaping
demand
+ Labour market developments
+ Education and training reform
+ Policy induced drivers
+ Push factors from supply side

Empirical evidence
BARRIERS TO MEETING DEMAND
FOR CAREER GUIDANCE
Large informal
economy
Social capital
versus
Human capital
Academic orientation /
Shadow education
system
Challenges
Tradition of
‘Informal guidance’
Affordability /
Institutional barriers
DRIVERS OF DEMAND FOR
CAREER GUIDANCE
in low- and middle-income countries
(1) EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
 Very limited but positive (Montenegro, fYR of Macedonia)
 Research capacities in larger countries (Ukraine, Turkey, Russia)
DRIVERS OF DEMAND FOR
CAREER GUIDANCE
in low- and middle-income countries
(2) POLICY INDUCED DRIVERS
 Policy beliefs
 Policy actionism
 Push factor from supply side
 Foreign aid
 EU integration process
DRIVERS OF DEMAND FOR
CAREER GUIDANCE
in low- and middle-income countries
(3) LABOUR MARKET DEVELOPMENTS
 Expanding and fast changing economy
 Structural unemployment and labour market
mismatch
 Preventive labour market policy
 Labour market flexibility/security imbalance
 Social inclusion policy
DRIVERS OF DEMAND FOR
CAREER GUIDANCE
in low- and middle-income countries
(4) EDUCATION + TRAINING REFORMS
 Modernisation of primary education (tier-cycles)
 Increased diversity, flexibility and complexity of
learning opportunities
 Drive towards higher education / qualifications
 Reducing drop-out / more efficient use of
investment in education
FINDINGS
 LEVELS OF POLICY PROFILE (policy interest +
policy priority - low, medium, high) – do not correlate
with ETF geographical regions
 DONOR-DRIVEN versus HOME-GROWN Career
Guidance Development (FYR Macedonia /Montenegro)
 MODELS OF SERVICE PROVISION
(psychological versus pedagogical; Centre approach;
(Semi)specialist approach; Curriculum approach; Virtual
approach)
(A) THE ‘CENTRE’ APPROACH
- in educational settings
- in public employment services
- cross-sectoral settings
MACEDONIA (former Yugoslav Republic)
• Career Centres in all VET schools
MONTENEGRO
• CIPS – Centres for Career Information and Counselling in some
regions (public employment services)
UKRAINE
• Career and Professional Guidance Centres (based in regional
PES), abolished but now discussed to re-introduced
GEORGIA
• Career Consultants in VET Centres
(B) THE ‘CURRICULUM’ APPROACH
TURKEY
• Career education included in class guidance programs in all types of
schools + staff from public employment services (ISKUR) conduct
class- and group discussions in general education and TVET schools
UKRAINE
Labour lessons and ‘Occupations of Today’
EGYPT
• Subject ‘Practical fields’ compulsory from Grades 7 to 9
(C) THE ‘VIRTUAL’AND WEB-APPROACH
TURKEY
• Piloting a national web-based career information system
aiming to serve all target groups with a lifelong guidance
perspective
- databases on educational and training programmes
- standard occupational outlook supporting labour market information
- self-assessment tool
- web-based questionnaires on abilities, interests and occupational values
to help different target groups with self-exploration
Conclusions and pointers
on career guidance

Better articulation of the demand and improved
evidence on the outcomes needed
- fostering research and evaluation
- building up an evidence base

Wider access to career guidance services and
changing the mode of delivery necessary
- more resource-efficient approach (group- and self-help)
- shift from a psychological to a pedagogical/hybrid delivery model
(building on the new guidance paradigm, eg career selfmanagement skills, career education, work-tasting)
- enhanced career information (print- and web-based)

Apprenticeship and career guidance
- Despite impartiality of career guidance: new paradigm might
positively correlate and impact on choosing VET / apprenticeship
as pathways