1. POLICY AND RESEARCH DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIELD OF CAREER GUIDANCE – BRIEF INTERNATIONAL SCAN Presentation for the National Research Symposium, Ottawa, Canada, 13 March 2013 by Dr John McCarthy, Director International Centre for Career Development and Public Policy, Nice, France Email: jmc@iccdpp.org

2. Policy development trends World region: European Union Initiator: European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network Development of tools to compare the state of lifelong guidance policy development across countries

3. Policy development comparative tool Five areas of policy examined: +Access to services +Career management skills +National coordination and cooperation +Quality assurance +Evidence base

4. Policy development comparative tool Progression continuum of policy steps/features/reference points described Implications for six sectors (schools, VET, higher education, adult education, employment, and social inclusion) drawn/deduced

5. Policy development comparative tool: Evidence base UndevelopedDeveloped No information held on cost- benefits to government Immediate, medium and long- term calculated savings to the public purse in the form of economic and/or social returns on investment Limited information on added value returns as a result of individuals participating in careers services Evidence of on-going longitudinal tracking and studies that measure the impact of differing careers interventions in different settings

6. Policy development comparative tool: Quality assurance Under developedDeveloped Fragmented and/or one-off user satisfaction surveys Absence of a careers management skills framework, linked to access to services by key priority groups Highly organised quality assurance and evidence-based systems that involve users in the design and development of services Total quality management system in place that also captures data on career management skills, levels of investment and added-value returns

7. P olicy development comparative tool: Career management skills – monitoring and verification of outcomes Under-developedDeveloped No system in place to monitor and evaluate CMS activities System in place to monitor and evaluate CMS activities; monitoring leads to progressive quality and impact gains CMS not explicitly set as a learning/developmental outcome CMS set explicitly as a learning/developmental outcome either separately or within relevant subjects or interventions No evidence of formal CMS assessment No regular reporting Evidence of systematic and advanced formative assessment of CMS; assessment used as a didactic tool for self development Education, training and Public Employment Services institutional reports with documented evidence collated in a national database and evaluated; annual national report published with recommendations; recommendations integrated into further policy reforms and action plans

8. Policy development comparative tool: Access to services-data collection 1. Under- developed 2345. Developed No infrastructure in place to collect data on existing services No mapping or profiling of future needs of different target groups No data present for different groups and sectors Some efforts in place to collect data from different sectors of the population Some reports for policy- making drafted with this data Some data collected at institutional level and collated at national/region al level and by sector for policy-making purposes Data on service usage collected at sector level and collated at national/region al level Collated data used for policies to improve service access Data on service usage and potential demand are collected and collated systematically at national/regional level to profile the services, and used to develop evidence-based responses to target group provision

9. Policy development comparative tool: National coordination and cooperation Reference points for lifelong guidance policy: +Policy partnership: support, elaboration process, monitoring and evaluation, exchange of practice, connections to lifelong learning and employability strategies +Establishing a national forum for lifelong guidance: shared definitions and terminology, composition, tasks and roles, relationship of forum to government, citizen perspective +Operational modes of a forum: communication, cooperation, coordination of policies, actors, and service delivery

10. Example of policy reference point for national coordination and cooperation: policy partnership Under-developedDeveloped No structured co-operation exists between government ministries, social partners, and civil society on lifelong guidance policies and systems A national lifelong guidance policy partnership/forum advises on a range of national strategies (education, employment, social inclusion) and action plans, and coordinates programmes and activities

11. Policy development measurement- concluding comments The concept of policy development comparative measurement The concept of evidence-based policy-making Attention to evidence/data collection in the policy comparative tool Limitations

12. Policy and research development trends: world region Australasia Australia (2012) National Career Development Strategy Roles and responsibilities of national, states and territories governments, and of other key actors Preparation: +literature review of national and international research; +identification of needs and wants of young people under age 24 years and of their parents, teachers, communities; +an options paper for career development interventions and for a national strategy; and +a cost-benefit analysis for each of the options

13. Australia: Green Paper for NCDS Areas where priority action needs to be taken: Improving access Standards and quality assurance Leadership (including a national forum) and priority setting Improving the knowledge base through a research agenda

14. New Zealand – Developing benchmarks for careers education provision in secondary and tertiary education (2012) Secondary: Student learning outcomes (competent and highly competent CMS when leaving compulsory education) -School leadership -Resources Tertiary: Student learning outcomes in CMS -Employer and industry engagement -Student engagement -Tertiary organisation engagement.

15. Policy and research development: world region Africa South Africa (2012) The Framework for Cooperation in the Provision of Career Development Services in South Africa Directions: Leadership and coordination – national and provincial forums Partnerships and cooperation Careers and labour market information National career development service Standard setting and quality assurance Research and evaluation

16. Actual research on making a difference! Target group: young disadvantaged people Mobility Manifesto by the Boston Consulting Group (Sutton Trust 2010) Cost-effective schemes to improve social mobility Independent careers and education advice service: Every 1 GBP spent by government on the service would generate 7 GBP in extra lifetime earnings for the young person

17. Research on making a difference Next Step UK: National Careers Service Intervention Outcome Exploratory Evaluation (2012) Next Step customers vs “control/matched group” Both groups: mix of employed and unemployed Next Step customers: first intervention – 72% F2F; 27% telephone helpline; 1% web Treatment group gain significantly more in employment status post treatment (3 months, 6 months) Proportion of treatment group on Job Seekers Allowance declines more significantly post treatment (3 months, 6 months)

18. Research on making a difference Norwegian Agency for Lifelong Learning: VOX Target group: adults in vulnerable social, economic and work situations Users’ reflections on experiences of services of Career Centres in some of 14 counties Users’ reflections on how career guidance contributed to changes in their participation in education and employment

19. NORWAY Results of user surveys: very satisfied with provision; guidance had a positive effect Guidance received reported as a crucial factor for the following changes: Over 50% started an education/training programme, post intervention Over 50% have changed job situation: unemployment to employment; job change; change within present job e.g. promotion

20. Nordic Countries Voice of users: promoting the quality of guidance for adults in Nordic Countries (2010-11) Funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers Adults frequenting guidance services in adult learning centres Survey results: Overall, respondents rated statements concerning the benefits of educational outcomes of guidance more strongly than statements that concerned vocational or personal outcomes Similarly, statements that concerned personal outcomes were rated more strongly than statements about vocational outcomes

21. REFERENCES Voice of users: promoting the quality of guidance for adults in Nordic Countries (2010-11) http://www.nordvux.net/download/6821/voice_of_users.pdfhttp://www.nordvux.net/download/6821/voice_of_users.pdf Career guidance for change (Norway) http://www.vox.no/no/global- meny/English/Statistics-and-research/Publications/Career-Guidance-for- Change/http://www.vox.no/no/global- meny/English/Statistics-and-research/Publications/Career-Guidance-for- Change/ An exploratory evaluation of the Next Step service https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/an-exploratory-evaluation-of-the- next-step-service https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/an-exploratory-evaluation-of-the- next-step-service The Mobility Manifesto http://www.suttontrust.com/public/documents/20100312_mobility_manifesto20 102.pdf http://www.suttontrust.com/public/documents/20100312_mobility_manifesto20 102.pdf Lifelong guidance policy development: a European Resource Kit http://ktl.jyu.fi/img/portal/23229/ELGPN_resource_kit_2011- 12_web.pdf?cs=1350649791 http://ktl.jyu.fi/img/portal/23229/ELGPN_resource_kit_2011- 12_web.pdf?cs=1350649791 Australia: National Career Development Strategy – Cost Benefit Analysis of Rationale and Options http://foi.deewr.gov.au/node/16282http://foi.deewr.gov.au/node/16282