Transcript Plan - International Association for Educational and

Career Development and Public Policy:
Two worlds, two realities that need to talk
Points of view from 14 OECD countries
Presented by Michel Turcotte, CC
Human Resources Development Canada
Vice-President of the Ordre des conseillers et conseillères d’orientation et des
psychoéducateurs et psychoéducatrices of Québec
E-mail: [email protected]
Plan
The Symposium: why, when, who, how
Defining career development services
Public policy
Programs and services offered
Organization of services
Staff training
Issues identified by each country
Symposium conclusions
Organization of Symposium
Why?
Career counsellors felt there was a need for this
Symposium; they tend to pay little attention to policy
issues.
Career development services depend on public policy
and vice versa: policies that regard these services as
important should have a better understanding of what
they are.
Organization of Symposium
When, who, why?
May 1999 in Ottawa.
Participants from 14 countries (Argentina, Australia, Canada,
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands,
New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom, United States)
including
members of the policy making community (decision
makers) and the counselling community.
Preparatory work: country documents on the career
counselling situation in each country.
Two-day closed Symposium, think tank format.
Proceedings of the Symposium.
Career Counselling Myths
Give informed advice, can accurately foresee where
the jobs will be and help people make the ideal
choice.
Taking a battery of tests enables people to choose the
ideal career.
Intended only for students, the unemployed and the
underemployed.
Definition
 For the purposes of the Symposium, the general term “career
development services” refers to the set of psychological and
educational resources that help individuals to make life
transitions and changes, and to develop and consider
appropriate vocational development projects and strategies by
which they can acquire new skills as they plan their
educational or occupational future
Self-knowledge
Awareness of job prospects
Learning about decision-making and transition processes.
Definition
In the Netherlands and Finland, individuals must
learn how to manage their own careers:
What kind of person am I when it comes to motivation,
interests, strengths and weaknesses? (personal identity)
Given my qualities, in what field can I make a contribution
to society? (choose a career path)
In what type of occupation can I establish meaningful
relations with others? (working identity)
Public Policy
All the countries have policies that entitle people to
free career development services. What varies are
the resources invested, the level of service, control
and co-ordination measures, and consultation
mechanisms with the career counselling community.
In Spain and Argentina, there is little consultation. In
Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands, career
development experts are consulted.
Programs
in the schools
Career education
Basically, information on occupations and study
programs (in Argentina, Germany, Australia, New
Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom)
In the other countries, career plan/portfolio
development is added.
Programs
in the schools
(1 of 2)
Career counselling:
In some countries, basically an information
service (Argentina, Spain, Australia, Germany,
New Zealand).
The Netherlands and Finland emphasize the
development of personal and working identity.
Placement services in the universities.
Organization - Argentina
Very decentralized services.
In the schools, counsellors try to train the teachers
responsible for providing career guidance.
Guidance services are most effective in the
universities. Sometimes, universities offer services
to the general public.
Organization - Spain
In the high schools, the counselling service supports
teaching, academic and career guidance, and tutors.
It also co-ordinates with other services and
establishes links with the community. The guidance
counsellors are part of the teaching staff and
generally teach psychology and the transition to the
labour force.
Most universities have established career guidance
services.
Organization - Australia
Services are very decentralized (states, school
boards) and diverse:
One state has a statement of results for career education but no
curriculum for career education teachers.
In another, career counsellors play a leading role.
In another, teachers incorporate “people and work” into the curriculum
at least every second year from kindergarten through Grade 10.
The Government of the Commonwealth produces
and distributes a variety of information products on
occupations and the labour market, in print and on
the Internet.
Organization - United
States
“An un-co-ordinated mosaic.” The system in the
United States is largely decentralized, resulting in
uneven provision of career development programs
and services.
National Occupational Information Coordinating
Committee (NOICC) and State Occupational
Information Coordinating Committees
Organization - Ireland
The law does not spell out what students are entitled
to; it is left up to school administrations.
Guidance services are virtually non-existent in
community, literacy and adult education programs.
Some private counselling organizations provide paid
services.
Organization - Denmark
Decentralization is the guiding principle
University: the State
Adult education and high school: counties
Immigrants and refugees: municipalities
Approximately 15,000 professionals, paraprofessionals and non-professionals, mostly half-time
(teaching/guidance).
There are many career development services, but
they are scattered and do not form a coherent
organization.
Organization - Finland
Until recently, the structure for providing guidance
services within the school system was clearly
prescribed by the Ministry of Education. There was a
strong insistence on including career education
classes in the curriculum. Now, the time allotted to
those classes has been reduced.
The municipalities and the schools now control the
curriculum and distribute resources. The provision of
guidance services has become more diversified as a
result.
Organization - Hong Kong
Career counselling and employment services for high
school students and the general public are provided
by the Education Department, the Labour
Department, and the Hong Kong Association of
Careers Masters and Guidance Masters.
The latter creates, supervises and supports career
preparation teams in each high school, trains
teachers, and provides resources and information
services on careers and training.
Organization - France
Teachers play a key role in career education.
Guidance counsellors/psychologists act primarily as
the institutions’ technical advisors in this area, and
also hold one-on-one counselling meetings; in the
French school system, the teachers are the primary
decision-makers on guidance for their students.
Organization - France
Advisory and information organizations (2)
518 information and guidance centres (CIOs), under the
Ministry of Education.
322 local missions (MLs) and 308 assessment,
information and guidance offices (PAIOs); these
generally have the status of associations and are headed by a local elected
official; 37% of their funding comes from the State and 63% from the
regions.
Information organizations: two public bodies produce
information
National Employment and Training Information Bureau (ONISEP)
(National Ministry of Education)
Youth Information and Documentation Centre (CIDJ) (Ministry of
Youth and Sport)
Organization - Germany
The Federal Labour Office Exchange (Arbeitsamt)
had exclusive authority (until 1997) to offer career
counselling and employment services to all clients
(700 branches; 350 major branches including an occupational information
centre).
Private and voluntary organizations are now
appearing. Fees for the services offered can legally
be charged only to the employer.
Universities offer students counselling services and
high schools generally have a teacher/counsellor.
Organization - Netherlands
From regulation to deregulation, centralization to
decentralization; non-interference policy; loss of
control and of quality evaluation.
Each school is responsible for career education and
guidance.
The subject teachers, the homeroom teacher, the counsellor and the
career education teachers have complementary responsibilities. The
school administration develops a vision and policy on the organization
of career education and guidance in the school but does not prescribe
how it is to be dispensed.
Linkages are made between the subject being taught and the
occupations in which it is used.
External guidance services can be purchased.
Organization - Netherlands
(2)
National Continuous Learning Action Program
 Self-management of employability by the individual
 To provide a starting point, businesses are required to
invest in worker employability.
Organization - New Zealand
In 1990, the government created Career Services
Government departments (Education, Labour), school
boards, universities became clients.
Career Services offer information, counselling and
guidance services; clients can go to an office, phone or
send a fax to receive careers advice.
An accurate information system is a key component
of all government guidance and information
initiatives.
Concern with impartiality.
Organization - U.K.
The Ministry of Education and Employment (MEE)
is responsible for the education and training system
in the U.K., including career information, career
education and career guidance.
In the early 1990s, the MEE awarded a series of
contracts to 66 local occupational services, most of
which are corporations with a Board of Directors.
The directors represent various community interests.
Personnel - Denmark
The people involved in guidance are teachers or
administrators, who take on career guidance in
addition to their responsibilities.
In almost all cases, the individuals assigned to career
guidance receive brief training once they are on the
job.
It is possible to earn a graduate degree in education
with a career guidance specialization. However,
there are few students entering the field.
Personnel - Australia
People enter the field by various pathways in
education and training (teaching, psychology, social
service or human resources management). There are
some nine undergraduate programs that include a
specific career education or career guidance
component.
In 1992, the National Board of Education,
Employment and Training (NBEET) defined a set of
professional skills for guidance counsellors.
Personnel - Germany
The Ministry of Employment has a monopoly on
training. Its staff takes a three-year program at the
Ministry’s private university. To be admitted,
students must have an apprenticeship diploma in a
trade and two years of work experience.
To fill training needs, a six-month program was
developed to qualify office employees to become
career guidance counsellors.
Personnel - Ireland
Some universities offer a one-year full-time postgraduate program. To get a job in a second-level
school, the Department of Education requires a
Master’s degree in education with a specialization in
guidance counselling.
Personnel - Argentina
While almost all the on-site profesionals are
psychologists, school psychologists or educational
specialists, the training they receive is generally
insufficient.
Demand for qualified specialists has increased in
recent years, and some state universities have created
graduate programs for career counsellors.
Personnel - Spain
Career counsellors are university trained
diploma in education, psychology or psychoeducation
a program of only two years, after completion of a
minimum three-year program in a related field
need to pass a state exam in order to work in a high school
guidance department.
In institutions of higher learning, however,
counsellors have qualifications of all kinds.
Personnel - France
Information and guidance centres (CIOs): staffed by
career counsellors/psychologists.
Local missions (MLs) and assessment, information
and guidance offices (PAIOs): 6,000 employees with
a wide variety of qualifications.
Personnel - United States
Training varies widely, from brief on-the-job training
to a Ph.D.
NOICC has developed the National Career
Development Guidelines for the development of full programs in
career development at all levels of education.
NOICC and the National Career Development
Association offer a 120-hour para-professional program for
professional career counsellors.
The National Board for Certified Counselors
(NBCC) is a national voluntary body which certifies counsellors.
Personnel - Finland
Finland has a highly professionalized guidance and
counselling system. There are career counsellors
who came out of the Labour administration and also
career guidance psychologists in the school system,
particularly in the higher grades at comprehensive
high schools. In both cases, a Master’s diploma is
required. Both groups are highly qualified by
international standards.
Issues - Hong-kong
 To meet employers’ expectations, career development
specialists will have to change their roles and act as
trainers rather than career counsellors:
 turn out graduates who can use information
technologies to full advantage, are infused with a spirit
of exploration and discovery, and are committed to selfimprovement through continuous knowledge
acquisition
 help young people understand the culture, history and
political, economic and social systems of mainland
China
Issues - Argentina
Create a system to guarantee universal access to
career counselling in the schools and the community;
create regional information and counselling centres.
Promote the creation of a national computerized data
bank connected to educational and employment
organizations.
Implement remote information and guidance
systems.
Implement retraining and ongoing training programs
for counsellors.
Issues - Denmark
Professionalization.
Quality assurance and evaluation.
An individualized approach.
The environmental impact of occupational choices
should be factored into career counselling.
Issues - Finland
Rethink the concept of career. New careers are more
fragmented and evidence the need for lifelong
learning and an appropriate career development
strategy. Individuals must acquire not only specific
occupational skills but also a working identity.
Today’s world seems to require people to manage
their own lives and careers. Career planning is
being replaced by career management.
Issues - France
The career information and counselling services
offered to students are woefully inadequate
(approximately one counsellor per 20,000 students).
Create synergies between the different organizations
and offer equivalent services to different client
groups.
Certify career counselling practitioners and
professionals. Supervise practices. Should a
professional corporation be created?
Give everyone access to accurate, relevant
information about training and careers.
Issues - Germany
How can people be prepared to manage their own Me
Incorporated? Self-management and selfemployment.
Factor environmental issues into counselling.
Issues - Ireland
A coherent policy framework for counselling services
(education and the labour market).
Promote social inclusiveness to keep people from
dropping out of advanced studies.
Lifelong counselling (in connection with the EU).
A national framework for practitioners’ roles and
training (certification and diplomas).
National strategy to exploit the potential of
information and communication technologies.
Issues - Netherlands
Career guidance in academic subjects.
Career guidance in school policies.
Greater expertise on the part of subject teachers,
homeroom teachers, career education teachers,
counsellors and the administration.
Issues - New Zealand
The concepts of lifelong learning and investment in
training are at the core of counselling-related
concerns and policy development.
Access to information.
Impartial career counselling.
Access to career counselling for target groups.
Quality of career development services: regulation,
control and quality issues.
Issues - Spain
The number of specialized career development
professionals is small compared with the high
demand for their services. Practitioners do not all
have specific training in the field.
Policies on guidance are uneven in the different
educational levels. There is no continuity from one
stage to another, which gives an impression of a
piecemeal approach to guidance rather than a holistic
process.
Issues - United States
Policies are often dependent on the values of the
governing party and the influence of lobbies.
Career development services can be viewed as a way
to achieve a specific policy objective or as a
component of a more complex intervention program.
Issues - Summary
Quality assurance and funding:
What is the best way to ensure
that career counselling organizations funded by the State provide service of
superior quality?
Technology: How can providers of career counselling services most
effectively use new technologies to dispense their services?
Staff training and qualifications
Increase resources (France, Argentina, Spain)
Access to impartial, accurate information: France,
N.Z.
Issues (2)
Lifelong career development and overlapping
responsibilities: Finland, Netherlands, N.Z., France,
Ireland.
Maintaining an individualized approach to career
development: Denmark, Germany.
Market-driven approach: Hong Kong.
Green approach: Denmark, Germany.
Incorporate career development into academic
subjects to a greater extent: Netherlands.
Symposium Conclusions
1. Lifelong career development
The purpose of career development services today is
to help individuals not to choose careers but to
construct them.
It is important that career development services be offered
on an ongoing, lifelong basis. In Europe, the popular terms
are:
Lifelong learning
Lifelong career development
Symposium Conclusions
2. Partnership
Governments are increasingly promoting enabling
processes, i.e. they seek out and capitalize on the
influence, collaboration and energy of many
individuals and organizations.
Governments must consider what career
development services they should offer themselves
and what their role should be in relation to the
services provided by others.
Symposium Conclusions
3. Professionalism
In many countries, there is concern about the poor
quality of much of the career education services
provided in the schools, the fact they are taught by
teachers inadequately trained for such work and with
inadequate support in the form of quality standards,
inspection mechanisms and performance
measurement.
 There is also a need to define the skills expected of career
development professionals at all levels:
IAEVG
Canadian Standards Committee
Symposium Conclusions
4. Technology
Role of information and communication technologies
It is easy to use technology to get around access problems.
For example, the U.K. has just launched a major initiative
to fund career development services for adults. However,
the decision was based exclusively on the availability of
resources, which means more attention is being paid to the
information side than to career counselling per se. No
cost-benefit analysis was performed.
Symposium Conclusions
5. Crossing administrative boundaries
One of the major problems raised by policy-making
in the career development field is the fact that policy
tends to cross administrative boundaries, particularly
the boundary between education policy and labour
market policy.
What is the impact on a “lifelong career development”
policy?”
Symposium Conclusions
6. Raising the profile of career development
Policy makers, including politicians and their
advisors in the public service, need to have a more
accurate idea of what career development involves.
Policy makers offered five pieces of advice:
Don’t underestimate the press
The phone has to ring
Recognize the importance of personal experience
Provide the sound bytes
Counsellors need to overcome their ethical reluctance to
use their skills for political as well as helping purposes.
Next Symposium - March 2001
5 discussion points
Describe the policy models for career development
services in your country.
In your country, what quality outcomes for career
development services for all age groups are endorsed
by both policy makers and practitioners?
For your country, what are the costs and benefits of
career development services?
Next Symposium - March 2001
The public sector, employers, unions, the private
sector, community organizations and the voluntary
sector all have a role to play in providing career
development services.
What does your country consider to be the
appropriate level of professional training,
qualifications and skills for career development
practitioners?