‘International Trends and Innovation in Career Guidance’ – presentation of a new ETF study

Fast-changing skills needs, racing technology, environmental degradation and an ever-widening gap between rich and poor all point to the need for quality career guidance to serve individuals and economies – all the more so in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. But in order to be an effective tool to navigate these challenges, career guidance itself must innovate. This was the message of the webinar held on 17 November 2020 to present and discuss the results of a new ETF study on ‘International Trends and Innovation in Career Guidance’.

This was also an opportunity to pay tribute to Helmut Zelloth,  Senior Specialist in VET Policies and Systems, a valued colleague of so many at ETF and outside ETF and the coordinator of this report, who sadly passed away before it was published. His work lives on in this important, evidence-based study, which aims to stimulate reflection and offer inspiration to policymakers.

In his opening address, Xavier Matheu de Cortada, Head of Policy Unit at the ETF, pointed out that EU policy papers highlight the renewed importance of career education and guidance: the  Council Resolution on better integrating lifelong guidance into lifelong learning strategies (2008) and Council Resolution on Guidance (2004), the Commission Communication on a “European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience”, stressing the importance of Guidance in a LLL context, the Council Recommendation on “vocational education and training (VET) for  sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience”, demanding high quality lifelong guidance services to also facilitate validation of non-formal and informal learning and highlighting the importance of guidance including to increase attractiveness of VET, the Commission Communication on “Youth Employment Support: a Bridge to Jobs for the Next Generation” and the Commission proposal for a Council Recommendation on “a Bridge to Jobs – reinforcing the Youth Guarantee”, both stressing guidance as key to avoid a new youth employment crisis.

Florian Kadletz, who completed Helmut’s work in bringing the report to publication, presented the key findings:

• Career guidance systems must be context-specific, they can’t just follow an international blueprint.
• Cooperation and coordination are key to policy effectiveness and efficiency, e.g. supporting to overcome fragmentation.
• There should be a shift to supporting individuals to manage their own education and career choices.
• A multi-channel approach to delivery is essential.
• The potential of ICT should be leveraged for delivery and analysis.
• Quality LMI needs to be made available.
• Stakeholders need evidence-based information to ensure the relevance and effectiveness of guidance.
• There is a need for professionalization and monitoring of career-guidance
• Adequate resources are needed, particularly with ICT.

Exploring the mega-trends

The report and its innovative examples are organized into four mega-trends: ICT use in career guidance; development of career-management skills; cooperation and coordination mechanisms; the role of parents in young people’s career choices.

The authors of the report, Angela Andrei (international expert), Fusun Akkok (Turkey), Hanna Voronina (Ukraine) and Almira Zakiyeva (Kazakhstan), each provided innovative examples of these mega-trends, with a lively discussion across the three partner countries revealing synergies and opportunities for cross-fertilisation of practices.

Ideas that had come up in break-out sessions found their way into the final plenary session where experts from international organisations looked at policy pointers for the future. On the influence of parents – an area lacking in research and innovation, but which solicited the most interest for its break-out session – UNICEF’s Bobby Soobrayan emphasised the need to reach out to those parents who are not already invested in their children’s future. This was echoed by the ILO’s Pedro Moreno da Fonseca, who wished to extend the reach to the wider community, where many figures of authority besides parents can provide opportunities for dialogue. Ronald Sultana of EMCER said “we also have to be a bit humble and listen to the parents” because “informal information in the community can be much more realistic than what comes from the formal channels”.

On the use of ICT in career guidance, once again inclusion was a key issue for the panel. A IAG study on career guidance in the pandemic cited by Pedro Moreno da Fonseca showed that digital services are “important but not a miracle solution” as many potential users do not have access to IT or lack basic skills for using it. Caution was urged with AI and psychodiagnostic tools, whose limitations need to be recognised and mediated.

The panel discussed competence frameworks and how to avoid duplication and embrace synergies, with Ronald Sultana pointing out that frameworks must also take into account populations with a high degree of informal work and UNESCO’S Hiromichi Katayama emphasising the needs of ageing workers.

The final discussion was on the importance of cooperation and coordination, which also appeared as the key ‘takeaway’ in a concluding Mentimeter survey of participants. Indeed, the webinar provided an example of this mega-trend in action with so many viewpoints and policy perspectives exchanged in a short space of time across virtual distances.

The webinar was chaired by Raimo Vuorinen of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, an ICCDPP board member.

Publication (EN):

https://www.etf.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2020-11/innovation_in_career_guidance_vol._2.pdf

https://www.etf.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2020-11/innovation_in_career_guidance_vol._1.pdf

Recording of the related webinar (in EN): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_WRbWq3jTA

Open Space page with further details: https://openspace.etf.europa.eu/events/etf-webinar-international-trends-and-innovation-career-guidance