Research

Summary page

Research

Enhancing career development: The role of community-based career guidance for disengaged adults

The aim of this project was to investigate learning and career development services for adults, in particular, those in some way disengaged from the labour market and educational systems. It took as its starting point a community-based career guidance model operating in Victoria, the Crossroads project, and focused on women seeking to re-enter the workforce, older job seekers and mature-aged workers only marginally attached to the workforce.

The research was informed by the comprehensive Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD 2003) study on information, guidance and counselling services. That study recognised that career guidance can play an important role in better allocation of human resources in the changing world of work and in an ageing society.

It should also be noted that there is a strong emphasis in the literature on the distinction between career guidance and job-matching services, with the former increasingly taking a client-centred developmental approach aimed at enabling individuals to manage their own career and learning pathways.

Another study of global labour trends (Standing 1999) argues that, in the twenty-first century, job security is coming to an end and needs to be replaced with a system in which more and more people are able to combine competencies to create their own occupation, moving in and out of economic activity as necessary, and having different work status at different times of their lives. The author, Guy Standing, argues that this new style of work could mean for many ‘a careerless sort of nomadic existence’ unless backed by a strong sense of community and connection with representative organisations (Standing 1999, p.397). The findings of this research project bear out this claim.

The research—a literature review, stakeholder consultations and group discussions with potential clients of a community-based career guidance service—was structured around the following questions.

Is there a model for providing learning guidance to the target groups (women seeking to re-enter the workforce, older job seekers and older workers marginally attached to the workforce) which could be replicated around Australia?

What are the obstacles to implementing locally based career counselling for those outside the system?

What professional development is required in service providers and in the community to activate career guidance/learning brokerage?

What further data collection, research and policy development are needed?

Overall, it emerges that more is required on the part of government, employers and individuals to embed the notion of individually managed career paths for Australians of all ages. The stakeholder replies revealed that the concept of career development does not have broad currency, although it did resonate more widely when explained in terms such as community building or addressing skills shortages. (An unanticipated but welcome benefit of the research process has been its role in introducing people to the current thinking on career development.) The discussion groups held during the consultation phase indicated there would be considerable demand for a community-based career guidance service.

Model

The overwhelming majority of respondents agreed that such a community-based service, with a strong networking role, could help in meeting the career planning and learning needs of the target groups, most of whom are not career-literate and who have encountered other barriers to finding suitable occupations. Providing them with help to develop fulfilling pathways, especially if the service is provided before too long a period of disengagement, can bring multiple benefits to the individual, their family and their community.

While the elements contained in the model presented for discussion—a face-to-face service offered in a community setting by a trained counsellor familiar with local conditions—were seen as replicable, the prevailing view was that the precise nature of the service, its location and funding would depend on local economic and social circumstances, pre-existing infrastructure and services, partnership dynamics and so on. It emerged that, while fee-for-service funding would be feasible in some cases, the service would require public funds to support basic infrastructure requirements and salaries, including underwriting the effort of building and maintaining partnerships.

Obstacles

The experience of respondents threw light on the obstacles to effective career guidance within the current welfare system—those services offered by government agencies and by Job Network providers—and in technical and further education (TAFE) institutes. This reflects the widespread absence of career development services available to the target groups, the available services being primarily designed to cater to school children and tertiary students, rather than to older adults who cannot afford (or would not contemplate) private career counselling sessions. It also highlighted the remedial or ‘bandaid’ approach which colours current services for disengaged adults and the merits of investigating a system which encourages consideration of career paths before a crisis compels people to turn, in the first instance, almost inevitably to Centrelink. It should also be acknowledged that there are some state-funded measures designed to help fill the gaps (for example, Employment Directions Network in Western Australia and Skilling Solutions in Queensland).

Professional development

Professional development was seen as a major element in the success of any community-based scheme. The strong message to emerge was the need for a system which responded to the client’s needs and also to the capacity of the providers. Most respondents felt that, depending on the nature of the task, different levels of competency were required, the beginning point being directing people to reliable information, and ending with the provision of professional counselling services. All agreed that much should be done to raise awareness about the importance of career planning and management in a wide range of occupations, from parent to youth worker, health clinician, educator, librarian, Job Network or Centrelink employee, factory manager and so on. This suggested a modular approach to professional development, whereby relevant elements of career development could be included in existing training. The work being done in the Department of Education, Science and Training on creating career education materials was therefore welcomed. There was no disagreement with the idea of greater regulation of the profession, as long as this did not lead to an exclusive system which might run counter to the aim of fostering a career development culture.

Data collection and further research

Given the lack of widespread appreciation of lifelong career management in the contemporary world of work, there is likely to be merit in further research which can demonstrate its advantages; for example, by undertaking cost-benefit analyses and supporting demonstration projects. While the research did not produce a generic community-based model which could be replicated around the country, it did identify several ways in which the elements of the Victorian model could be adapted to suit local circumstances. There would be merit in running pilots in several of these areas.

In addition, the project was able to develop some general principles to provide a basis for further investigation of ways to build a career development culture in Australia. These principles:

recognise the importance in the current climate of work of building the individual’s capacity to manage a career pathway, and argue that this is a joint responsibility of the state, the individual and the employer

see equipping adults to resume and continue to learn as a critical factor in managing life transitions

argue strongly for collaborative approaches which ensure that the individual receives the most appropriate advice, and that the community’s resources are used in the most effective manner

call for widespread awareness-raising in relation to career development, in particular, amongst people working with disengaged clients

identify the potential, given the central position of occupation in people’s lives, for a community-based career service to act as an important conduit between employers, education providers and social service providers, and as a source of local intelligence about labour market trends (including volunteering and informal work and learning opportunities).

Ideas for action

Some ideas for specific action for governments, employers, providers and researchers are suggested at the end of this report. These build on initiatives catering primarily to school leavers introduced in the last few years, but concentrate on the needs of more mature clients, while also recognising the importance of intergenerational exchanges (between children and parents, for example). They suggest the need for a greater effort in building a culture of career development, with a move away from the emphasis on remedial approaches for adults who are changing career direction. This calls for:

a public marketing campaign, as well as a continuation of the current efforts to raise the profile of the profession, a task being tackled by the newly established Career Industry Council of Australia

greater support for affordable and independent career guidance services, with national leadership from government to encourage industry and welfare agencies and others to use such services

the further development or adaptation of learning materials relevant to adults seeking to make career changes, taking into account the barriers that disengaged clients can encounter in accessing information, because, for example, of poor English language or the absence of information technology skills

widespread professional development since without greater awareness about the way people think about work, how they learn and what barriers they face in changing direction, those seeking to help people to re-engage with society are not well enough equipped to do so

capacity building of community-based organisations in relation to career advice to help them to become more effective in brokering their own solutions to problems. This can be achieved by giving citizens opportunities to both acquire skills in marketing, negotiation, financial management and evaluation and develop a greater understanding of how their community can connect with the wider world, whose influence is so pervasive in the twenty-first century’s global labour market.