Challenging times: Professional resilience for career guidance practitioners working in Ireland’s PES Professor Jenny Bimrose Institute for Employment Research University of Warwick

Context Policy Respons e Practice

Overview CONTEXT Transitional labour markets Policy: EU 2020 strategy RESPONSE ‘Building bridges’ ‘Conducting functions’ PRACTICE Flexibility, responsiveness & creativity Empowering staff with training & tools

Transitional Labour Markets (TLM) In the context of Public Employment Services?

Transitional Labour Markets (TLM) Interconnection & compatibility of:  Life & citizenship activities  Non-market useful social activities  Traditional, full-time jobs Social risk Uncertainty Reference: Gazier, B. & Gautie, J. (2011). The “Transitional Labour Markets” Approach: Theory, History and Future Research Agenda. Journal of Economic & Social Policy Available online:

Five key decisions (especially women) Occupation JobHouseChildrenMate

PES: changing environments Moving beyond Globalisation………

GreyingICT Vulnerable groups MismatchGreening

Implications for PES? Within the broader European policy context?

Changing world of work ‘more people need to work longer & differently’ PES face a number of immediate tasks (related to the execution of the European Employment Guidelines):  Lifting the employment rate  Reducing the number of bottle neck vacancies  Investing in a strong & sustainable active mediation

European PES: common future strategy ‘For European Public Employment Services business will never be ‘business as usual’ anymore…..The social function of PES is transforming. Today, they have to transform into ‘work focused gateways to welfare systems’….Confronted with various uncertainties and opportunities, as well as with explicit responsibilities and expectations, PES are in need of a clear and stable view on the necessary developments they have to succeed in to stay relevant and effective.’ Ref: EU (2013) Public Employment Services’ Contribution to EU PES 2020 Strategy Output Paper. Available at: file:///C:/Users/Jenny/Downloads/PES%20strategy%20EU%202020_EN.pdf

Applying a career/life course approach: ……. new clients, new approaches? Workers Employers Inactive groups

Role of Labour Market Information? Demand orientated service Profound understanding of labour demand Qualitative assistance for employers

PES: addressing the 2020 agenda? Building bridges Conducting

PES: building bridges

‘A more holistic approach to work…entails a shift from functioning (only) as service providers towards functioning (also) as service seekers, that compose scenarios for the most qualitative, effective & efficient constellation of services to meet the needs of the citizens & companies more flexibly & accurately…..cooperation of public, private, commercial & non-commercial agents is facilitated…’

PES: conducting functions A customer-orientated view of the ways services to employers could be optimised by ‘conducting’ Building bridges with other actors or providing the necessary service in- house Shift from reactive to proactive modus operandi

PES: building bridges key principles Value driven Customisation & differentiation Digitisation Inclusiveness Levelism Social innovation Integration & interoperability Evidence based

PES: conducting PES services give access to career guidance services, especially for NEET YP Direct towards specific career guidance services to facilitate LM transitions  Employment counselling  Career development counselling  Rehabilitation counselling  Career & LM information dissemination

PES: Youth Guarantee Adopted by Council in April 2013: Calls on Member States to ensure that all young people under 25 receive a good quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within four months of leaving formal education or becoming unemployed.

PES capacities: Youth Guarantee ‘PES overall capacities for the implementation of the Youth Guarantee in Europe are reasonable, leaving considerable room for improvement.’ ‘PES show significant capacity to ensure transparency, to offer multi-channelled services to all young jobseekers.’ ‘Further investment is however required in preventative services including youth at risk, in promotion of training and cooperation with relevant labour market actors.’ Ref: EU (2013). HoPES Assessment Report on PES capacities to implement the Youth Guarantee. Available at: file:///C:/Users/Jenny/Downloads/PES%20strategy%20EU%202020_EN.pdf

PES: managing the change process? Empower PES’s own staff by offering adequate training facilities & sufficient career development tools. Ref: Public Employment Services’ Contribution to EU PES 2020 Strategy Output Paper. Available at: file:///C:/Users/Jenny/Downloads/PES%20strategy%20EU%202020_EN.pdf

PES practitioners: Multiple demands Professional Identity Transformation

EmployID Funded by the EU (FP7) Focus: support for PES practitioners Four years: 2014 – 2018 User engagement – key component Scalable and cost-effective facilitation of professional identity transformation in Public Employment Services

Objectives to deliver comprehensive, sustainable, and cost- effective support for the facilitation of professional identity transformation to use a holistic tool suite that combines and links eCoaching, reflection, MOOCs, networking, analytical and learning support tools Facilitation as a key concept

Professional Identity Transformation

Consortium: 10 partners (with 2 PES)

Associate Partner Network Flexibility, stake holder engagement, and exploitation opportunities

EMPLOYId: PES practitioners All about creative solutions for supporting PES: Using new & emerging theoretical career concepts – making these accessible to practitioners HOW?

PES: 3-fold renewal? Active Securities Anticipatory Role Shift in approach Human capital Sustainable employment Support ‘work careers’ – give voice Enable change Facilitating, coaching & ‘conducting’ Exploit ICT

Career adapt-ability: what is it? ‘The capability of an individual to make a series of successful transitions where the labour market, organisation of work and underlying occupational and organisational knowledge bases may be subject to considerable change’ Ref: Bimrose, J., Barnes, S-A., Brown, A. and Hughes, D. (2011) 'The role of career adaptability in skills supply', Wath-upon-Dearne: UK Commission for Employment & Skills

Career adapt-abilities: inter-relatedness CAREER ADAPT- ABILITY RESILIENCEEXPLORATION CAREER DECISIVENESS

Career adapt-ability competencies (2012) ConcernControlCuriosity Confidence

Career Adaptable Competencies (2009) CONTROL:exerting a degree of influence on their situations CURIOSITY:broadening horizons by exploring social opportunities & possibilities CONFIDENCE:believing in yourself & ability to achieve your goal CONCERN:developing a positive optimistic attitude to the future Reference: Savickas et al. (2009). Life designing: A paradigm for career construction in the 21 st Century. In Journal of Vocational Behavior, 75, 3, pp

24 item inventory: 4 core constructs Please rate how strongly you feel you have developed each of the following abilities using the 5 point scale below. Strongest Very strong Strong Somewhat strong Not strong  Taking responsibility for my actions  Acting in line with my values and principles  Relying on myself  Observing different ways of doing things CAAI (UK): Sample statements

Thank you Adaptability dimension Career problem Career questions Career intervention ConcernIndifferenceDo I have a future? Orientation exercises Control Indecision Who owns my future? Self management training Decisional training Curiosity Unrealism What do I want to do with my future? Information seeking ConfidenceInhibitionCan I do it?Self-esteem building

Career Adapt-ability : research base (UK) International Life Design Group 13 country study (CAAS) – Special issue of JVB (2012) UK – qualitative indicators Mid-career workers (N=64) Older women (N=36) UK – quantitative CAAI Confirmatory factor analysis 4 Universities (N=753)

Key findings For practice: identifies competencies/strategies needed to survive in a volatile labour market belong to the individual, not the employer provides a clear indication of relevant interventions relevant for practice raises awareness of self-defeating behaviours

Key findings Raises aspiration Encourages autonomy Relevant across the life-course Potential for greater integration of ICT EmployId – online version of the CAAI UK

Challenging times: PES practitioners PRESSURE RESILIENCE

EmployID addresses many of the requirements for the PES contribution to EU 2020 For further details: orhttps://employid.eu/ Contact: THANK YOU