1. Career guidance in the new career era Towards a career perspective in career guidance for the unemployed
Marijke Verbruggen
Research Center for Organization Studies
Faculty of Business & Economics
K.U.Leuven

2. This presentation Changing nature of careers
Career guidance in the new career era
Career guidance and public policy
Cases
CASE 1: Guidance for workers in Flanders
CASE 2: Bilan de Compétence in France

3. Changing nature of careers Traditional careers (Baird & Kram)
Maintenance
Exploration
Trial
Establishment
Decline 20 25 35 45 55 65
Performance
High
Low

4. Changing nature of careers Traditional life careers
Model of age differentiation
Study
Work
Retirement

5. At organizational level
Changing nature of careers Increasing need for flexibility and its impact on careers (1)
At organizational level
Drivers: globalization, technological innovations, knowledge economy, etc.
E.g. Less employment security, less possibilities for hierarchical career steps, increased importance of training
Impact on careers
More transitions
Inter-organizational
Lateral
Importance of employability
Individual career management and psychological success

6. At macro-level: towards a transitional labour market
Changing nature of careers Increasing need for flexibility and its impact on careers (2)
At individual level
Drivers: increased labour market participation of women, new family arrangements, increased individualism, etc.
E.g. part-time work, career breaks
At macro-level: towards a transitional labour market
Public goals
Decreasing unemployment rate
Stimulating lifelong learning,
Improving work-life balance,
Prolonging careers
Impact on life careers: more transitions in and out of the labour market

7. Changing nature of careers Contemporary careers (Hall & Kahn)
Ex Exploration T Trial Es Establishment M Mastery Ex T Es M Ex T Es M
Psychological success Ex Es M T 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 6

8. Changing nature of careers Contemporary life careers
Model of age-integration
Work
Study
Family
Retirement
Unem-ployment

9. Changing nature of careers Traditional versus contemporary careers
Traditional career
Contemporary career
Employment relationship
Job security for loyalty
Employability for performance and flexibility
Transitions
Within the firm
Within and between firms; in and out of the labour market
Skills
Firm specific
Transferable
Success
Pay, promotion
Psychological
Responsible for career management
Organization
Individual

10. Careers are changing – or aren’t they? Changing jobs
Job mobility anno 2005
(Source: Eurobarometer)
42% of the European workers agrees that changing jobs every few years is good for people
Belgium
EU25
Annual job mobility
6,3%
8,4%
% of employees who worked with 1 employer
30%
26%

11. Careers are changing – or aren’t they? Age integration
Employment rate per age group anno 2006 (1996)
(Source: Steunpunt WSE)
Belgium
EU27
15-24 year
27,6% (26,9%)
36,3%
25-49 year
80,2% (77,6%)
79,0%
50-64 year
45,7% (35,1%)
54,4%

12. Careers are changing – or aren’t they? Transitional labour markets
Some transition indices anno 2006 (1996 or 1999)
(Source: Steunpunt WSE)
Belgium
EU27
Training participation rate among year olds
7,6% (6,2%)
9,4%
% career breakers (full-time)
0,8% (0,7%)
Not known
% career breakers (part-time
5,7% (1,0%)
% long-term unemployed among unemployed
54% (59,7%)
46%

13. So, are careers changing?
Traditional careers are not dead
But contemporary ≠ traditional careers
Overall, they are less predictable and more dynamic
Work security is no longer a guarantee, but now comes from career competences

14. Career guidance in the new career era Definition (OECD, 2004)
Range of services
e.g. one-to-one interviews, group discussions, telephone advice, on-line self-help tools
Intended to assist people of any age with
Educational, training and occupational choices
Developing the competencies to self-manage their careers

15. Career competences (Hall, 2004)
Career guidance in the new career era Activity to enhance career competences (1)
Career competences (Hall, 2004)
Low
Self-awareness
High
Adaptability
Paralysed
Blocked
Reactive
Chameleon behaviour
Rigid
Performing orders
Protean
Pro-active

16. Career competences (DeFillippi & Arthur, 1996)
Career guidance in the new career era Activity to enhance career competences (2)
Career competences (DeFillippi & Arthur, 1996)
KNOWING HOW
KNOWING WHY
KNOWING WHOM
Preferences, interests, values, etc.
Social network
Professional competences, strengths, weaknesses

17. Educational and training institutions Organizations Policy makers
Career guidance in the new career era Beneficiaries of contemporary career guidance
Individuals
Educational and training institutions
Organizations
Policy makers
Employability of the labour force
Transitional labour market
Social inclusion …

18. Correct for market failures
Career guidance and public policy Key roles for public policy (Watts & Kidd, 2000)
Correct for market failures
Risk of unequal access and partiality in career guidance in schools and organizations
E.g. entitlement to impartial career guidance
Ensure the quality of the career guidance
Competent staff, appropriate guidance methods, etc.
E.g. career counsellor training, quality schemes

19. Career guidance and public policy Guidelines of CEDEFOP (1)
Centrality of the citizen
Independence
Impartiality
Confidentiality
Equal opportunities
Holistic approach
Enabling citizens

20. Career guidance and public policy Guidelines of CEDEFOP (2)
Improving access for citizens
Availability
Accessibility
Continuity
Responsiveness
Assuring quality of provision

21. Entitlement to career guidance since January 2005
CASE 1: Guidance for workers in Flanders Flemish entitlement to career guidance for adult workers
Entitlement to career guidance since January 2005
For adult workers
Access at low cost for the participant
Once every 6 years
Subsidies for qualified career centres
For trajectories of min. 6 hours individual counselling
Guarantee of impartiality and confidentiality
Focus: helping clients with career self-management

22. Adapted to the counselee's personal needs
CASE 1: Guidance for workers in Flanders Guidance methods (empirical findings)
Past – Present – Future
Self-analysis
Analysis of career possibilities
Goals and action plan
Holistic approach
Adapted to the counselee's personal needs

23. CASE 1: Guidance for workers in Flanders Guidance effectiveness (empirical findings) (1)
Reaction
Satisfaction: 8,7/10
Usefulness: 8,4/10
Learning effects
Sustainable improvement in career competences
Self-awareness
Adaptability
Clients feel more responsible for own career

24. Learning => Behaviour
CASE 1: Guidance for workers in Flanders Guidance effectiveness (empirical findings) (2)
Behavioural effects
Transitions
40% has changed employer (39% of the low-educated)
10% is unemployed (14% of the low-educated)
37% started a training (50% of the low-educated)
Learning => Behaviour

25. Career focus in career guidance seems to work
CASE 1: Guidance for workers in Flanders Lessons for guiding the unemployed
Career focus in career guidance seems to work
Career management competences can be improved
Career management competences help to realize one’s goals
Remarks
Is a minimum level of career self-management necessary for a career focus to work?
Attention to the low-educated
(Self-)reflection seems less attractive to low-educated
More external barriers after the counselling

26. CASE 2: Competence assessment in France Droit du bilan de compétence
Entitlement to competence assessment since 1991
For job seekers and employees
Three phases
Preliminary phase (assessing the individual’s needs)
Investigation phase (analyzing client’s competences & determining possibilities in career evolution)
Final phase (written synthesis with results and recommendations)
Through personal interviews and evaluations, tests, diagnosis and individual research

27. CASE 2: Competence assessment in France In practice
Anno 1998
900 skill audit providers
audits (30% employed, 70% job seekers)
Effectiveness (Bernaud, Gaudron & Lemoine, 2006)
Durable increase in self-awareness and self-esteem
Transitions among the initial unemployed
47% started a training course
27% found a job

28. Some remaining questions
Career competences can be improved through career guidance – but... how (exactly)?
Are different forms of guidance equally effective?
Self-help techniques
Telephone help
Group guidance
What after the guidance?
How can career counsellors help people to deal with barriers?