Professor Jenny Bimrose Dr Sally-Anne Barnes IER, University of Warwick ESRC Seminar – Digital Technologies 29 November 2011 Skills & competencies required by career practitioners to develop internet-based practice

Setting the scene in the UK Evidence: ICT & practice Increasing use Pressures to up-date Inconsistent terminology Policy: Shrinking resources Shifting priorities Changing paradigms Context: ‘Digital natives’ & Web 3.0 Open and linked data Professionalisation agenda for workforce Pressures on service delivery

Workforce Capacity? ‘... the knowledge base of the Career Guidance workforce which is necessary to use ICT technology can be lacking... This is not conducive to the direction in which the occupation as a whole is moving...’ Ref: Cobbett, D., Dodd, F., Miller, S. and Shearer, L. (2009). Skills needs and training supply for career guidance – a gap analysis. Newcastle upon Tyne: Trends Business Research Ltd.

Research questions? Skills & competencies: Which are required to deliver on ICT-based guidance? Workforce capacity: Is there a skills gap? Organisational issues: Engagement, perceived relevance & infrastructure support

Study 1: Investigation of the skills/ competencies required for practice Funded by CfBT – focus on practitioners /managers (2009 – 2010, England) Study 2: the role of ICT in careers service transformation Funded by UKCES – focus on managers/ stakeholders (2010 – 2011, UK)

Study 1: Small scale, mixed method empirical study Interviews, focus groups and online forum 6 sites across delivery & geographical contexts Study 2: Telephone interviews, digitally recorded Both: Literature reviews Methodologies

ICT: Current usage in CEIAG Resources: most exploited Communication: embryonic Materials: under- developed

Key messages: literature Impact:reliable evidence on the impact of ICT in delivery of careers guidance lacking Gap:gap in understanding what comprises effective internet-based guidance Costs:early indication that cost savings likely to be minimal Skills:lack of consensus re: competencies/ skills required

Key findings: young people Engagement:high levels with technology Main uses: communicate, gather information Preference:face-to-face communication Concerns:about personal safety Age-based:IT services based on age required

Young people’s aspirations for internet- based guidance Multimedia information Chat rooms communication Social networking BUT retain face-to-face contact

Skills & competencies for ICT-based CEIAG? ICT user skills Guidance skills Digital skills

ICT User Skills ICT technology ICT terminology Awareness Keyboard Mouse Practical Skills

Digital Skills Cognitive/ Physical Technical Social/ personal

Digital Skills: Social/Personal Communication General Knowledge Creativity Collaboration Self-Esteem Parallel processing Persistence Peer-to-peer learning Risk-taking

Digital Skills Cognitive/Physical Multi-tasking Logical thinking Problem solving Trial & error learning Technical Hand-eye coordination Technical confidence Web-design Content creation

Digital skills profiles of practitioners & managers (self report) Majority ‘high’ or ‘medium’ for most essential digital skills Web design & content creations - most support required Overall: workforce well positioned to develop confidence and additional skills to engage effectively in internet-based guidance delivery

Future Prospects? Usage Potential Brakes Limited Interesting practice Enthusiasm Generally! Infrastructure Confidence

Contra-indications Lack of staff training policies CPD v. delivery Training Uncertainty Reluctance Contracts IT systems ‘not fit for purpose’ Undermined confidence Infrastructure

Success indicators Training & staff development Technical infrastructure Senior management vision & support Monitoring & evaluation

Theory and Practice ‘ICT-based training which is specifically tailored to the context of Career Guidance is lacking. For example, whilst ICT competency training such as the ECDL is available, this is not provided through a grounded Career Guidance framework, and as such does not ensure the targeted development of skills specific to using a computer for Career Guidance purposes.’ Ref: Cobbett, D., Dodd, F., Miller, S. and Shearer, L. (2009). Skills needs and training supply for career guidance – a gap analysis. Newcastle upon Tyne: Trends Business Research Ltd.

Some challenges for careers guidance Ethical issues: identity, privacy and safety for clients (especially young people) Professional identity: changing nature of career practice and therefore the expertise offered by the practitioner Working smarter: capitalising on human resources (e.g. by pooling of expertise through the potential for collaboration) & resolving (e.g. intellectual property)

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