ICCDPP

CAREER DEVELOPMENT BENCHMARKS - TERTIARY

Admin Account — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:13:00 GMT

This recent publication by Careers New Zealand provides a set of quality benchmarks for career development programmes and services in tertiary/post-secondary further and higher education and training in New Zealand. It outlines a clear and consistent framework to enable tertiary organisations and external bodies to review the effectiveness of their career development programmes and services. The benchmarks focus on the career management competencies/needs of students.

The benchmarks are presented in three categories:

-Student engagement

-Employer and industry engagement

-Tertiary organisation engagement.

A four point descriptive scale is used for each benchmark:

-Ineffective

-Adequate

-Consolidating effectiveness

-Highly effective.

A very useful Glossary is provided.

This publication is highly recommended for tertiary education and training organisations.

AUSTRALIA: NATIONAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY - COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF RATIONALE AND OPTIONS

Admin Account — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

This report, prepared in 2011 by Deloitte Access Economics for the Australian government, examines the options presented in the report prepared by NOUS (see previous publication on this site) for a National Career Development Strategy for Australia. In its introduction the report cautions that it is impossible to conduct a fully-fledged cost benefit analysis because of the granularity of the available data on the benefits of career development services due to the incomplete nature of the current evidence base. Among its conclusions are the need for investment in strengthening the evidence base, especially on the benefits generated by career development services provision.

AUSTRALIA: NATIONAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY - RESEARCH PROJET 1 REPORT

Admin Account — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 03:22:00 GMT

This recently published research report was compiled by Miles Morgan for the Australian government in order to inform future government strategy on policies for career development. It consists of a review of national and international career development research as well as consultations with experts and with States and Territories personnel. The review aimed to identify the evidence base for:

best practice career development models
the impacts and benefits of career development interventions on youth transitions
the skills young people need to enable them to manage their learning and work lifepaths
ways to address the needs of specific target groups.

Criteria for effective career development practice were distilled from the literature review. These included characteristics of

effective career development systems
effective delivery mechanisms
effective content.

These criteria were in turn applied to what happens in Australia at the moment and significant gaps were identified and recommendations made. This document is a very useful synthesis and starting point for countries who wish to develop or to improve career guidance provision for its citizens.

Career Education Benchmarks for Secondary Schools (New Zealand)

Admin Account — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:31:00 GMT

These benchmarks developed by Careers NZ through an iterative process are designed to help schools to evaluate their success in implementing careers education programmes and to improve their quality. They are presented as a self-review tool and consist of four sections:

Student learning outcomes: career management skills, the competencies that students should develop by the time they leave compulsory education. These learning outcomes are presented at two levels: competent student; highly competent student.
Inputs: school leadership, management and governance, creating a positive climate for career education. It includes providing sufficient resourcing and support, and ensuring that there are clear strategies and plans to enable a whole-school approach.
Inputs: school's approach for planning, implementing, evaluating and improving career development programmes and services to ensure that the needs of all students are met
Inputs: information systems - systems and processes for accessing, managing and evaluating information and resources.

Résultats des services d'information et d'orientation professionnelle

Admin Account — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:48:00 GMT

Ce document etait préparé pour l’examen des politiques en faveur des services d’information, d’orientation
et de conseil a la demande de la Commission européenne et de l’OCDE et publie en 2003. Le but était
d’examiner différentes méthodes utilisées pour mesurer les résultats de la prestation du service d’information et d’orientation professionnelle, de fournir des modèles de ces méthodes, de résumer les études de synthèse appliquant ces méthodes à l’analyse des informations disponibles, et d’indiquer des orientations prioritaires pour la collecte de telles informations à l’avenir, ainsi que pour leur partage et leur diffusion efficace.

Fostering Career and College Readiness

Admin Account — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 10:37:00 GMT

This is a very useful summary of research results concerning the impact of career guidance for second level school students on their engagement, retention, academic achievement, transitions to tertiary education and the labour market, and career and life success. It draws significantly on school experience in the USA.

Orientation tout au long de la vie : Etat des travaux: Rapport court

Admin Account — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 09:21:00 GMT

Ceci est la version abrégée du rapport (2008-10) préparé par le Réseau européen pour les politiques d’orientation tout
au long de la vie (ELGPN), un réseau d’Etats membres ayant bénéficié de financements européens dans le
cadre du programme d’apprentissage tout au long de la vie.
Sommaire
Avant-propos............................................................................................................................................................................................5
Remerciements........................................................................................................................................................................................7
1 Vue d’ensemble............................................................................................................................................................... 9
2 Programme de travail d’ELGPN 2009–10....................................................................................................................11
3 La capacité à s’orienter tout au long de la vie (Programme de travail 1/WP1)................................................... 13
4 Elargir l’accès aux services d’orientation tout au long de la vie (Programme de travail 2/WP2)................... 16
5 Mécanismes de coopération et de coordination (Programme de travail 3/WP3)............................................. 19
6 L’assurance de la qualité et ses preuves (Programme de travail 4/WP4)............................................................. 22
7 Supervision de la politique de I’UE (Groupe de travail 1/Task Group 1).............................................................. 25
8 Projets financés par I’UE : Synergies et liens avec les politique (Groupe de travail 2/Task group 2)............ 28
9 Evaluation du travail d’ELGPN................................................................................................................................... 30
10 La prochaine phase........

Lifelong Guidance Politiken und Strategien Work in Progress-KURZBERICHT

Admin Account — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 09:14:00 GMT

Ein Bericht über die Arbeit des Europäischen Netzwerks für eine Politik der lebensbegleitenden Beratung 2009–10
Inhalt
Vorwort.......................................................................................................................................................................................................5
Danksagung..............................................................................................................................................................................................7
1 Überblick........................................................................................................................................................................... 9
2 ELGPN-Arbeitsprogramm 2009–10.............................................................................................................................11
3 Career Management Skills (WP1)............................................................................................................................... 13
4 Erweiterung des Zugangs (WP2)................................................................................................................................ 16
5 Mechanismen der Zusammenarbeit und Koordination (WP3)............................................................................. 19
6 Qualitätssicherung und Evidenz (WP4)..................................................................................................................... 22
7 Beobachtung der EU-Politik (TG1)............................................................................................................................. 24
8 EU-finanzierte Projekte: Synergien und Verbindungen mit Politik (TG2)........................................................... 27
9 Evaluierung der Arbeit des ELGPN............................................................................................................................. 29
10 Die nächste Phase................

Políticas de orientación a lo largo de la vida: “Una tarea en marcha”-INFORME RESUMIDO

Admin Account — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 09:06:00 GMT

“Red Europea sobre Políticas de Orientación a lo largo de la
vida” (ELGPN),
Índice
Prólogo........................................................................................................................................................................................................5
Agradecimientos.....................................................................................................................................................................................7
1 Visión General.................................................................................................................................................................. 9
2 Programa de trabajo del ELGPN 2009–2010..............................................................................................................11
3 Habilidades para la gestión de la carrera (Paquete de Trabajo 1)........................................................................ 13
4 Acceso a los servicios de orientación (Paquete de Trabajo 2)............................................................................... 16
5 Mecanismos de cooperación y coordinación (Paquete de Trabajo 3)................................................................. 19
6 Garantía de calidad y recogida de datos (Paquete de Trabajo 4)......................................................................... 22
7 Seguimiento de las políticas de la UE (Grupo Transversal 1)................................................................................. 25
8 Proyectos financiados por la UE: sinergias y vínculos con las políticas de la UE
(Grupo Transversal 2).................................................................................................................................................... 28
9 Evaluación del trabajo realizado por el ELGPN........................................................................................................ 30
10 Próxima fase.

Políticas de Orientação ao Longo da Vida: Trabalho em Curso-RELATÓRIO Síntese

Admin Account — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 09:00:00 GMT

Rede Europeia para as Políticas de Orientação ao Longo da Vida (ELGPN)
2010
Índice
Prefácio…………………………………………………………………………..…….3
Agradecimentos ..……………………………………………………………………...5
1. Visão global ……………………………………………………………..….…6
2. Programa de Trabalho 2009-10 da ELGPN …………………………………...7
3. Competências de Gestão da Carreira (Grupo de Trabalho 1) ..……………….9
4. Alargamento do Acesso (Grupo de Trabalho 2) .…………………..………..11
5. Mecanismos de Cooperação e de Coordenação (Grupo de Trabalho 3) .……13
6. Assegurar a Qualidade (Grupo de Trabalho 4) ………………15
7. Monitorização da Política da UE (TaskGroup 1) ...………………….17
8. Projectos Financiados pela UE: Sinergias e Ligações com a Política (TaskGroup 2) ...................................................................................…………..19
9. Avaliação do trabalho da ELGPN …………………………………………..21
10. A Próxima Fase .

Lifelong Guidance Policies: Work in Progress -Short Report

Admin Account — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 08:49:00 GMT

This is a shortened version of a report on the work of the European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network from 2008-2010. It covers: career management skills, widening access to careers services, cooperation and coordination of stakeholders, quality assurance of services, and developing the evidence base for policies. The full report has already been placed/referenced on this web site.

Lifelong Guidance Policies: Work in Progress. Dr R Vuorinen and Dr T Watts eds.

Admin Account — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:48:00 GMT

This is the full report of the work of the European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network (ELGPN) 2009-10 in a very readable format as presented by the representatives of the EU Member States, and edited by Dr Vuorinen and Dr Watts. It describes the structures and processes of the ELGPN and reports on its work in implementing the priority action areas of the Resolution (2008) of the EU Council of Education Ministers: expanding access to services, teaching and learning career management skills, assuring the quality of careers services, developing the evidence base for policy making, and stakeholder cooperation and coordination at national, regional and local levels. Country examples of actions for each of these are provided. It outlines the EU policy context for the work of the Network, examines links between policy and EU funded guidance projects, and considers the development of a Common European Reference Tool for lifelong guidance.

Lifelong Guidance Across Europe

Admin Account — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:05:00 GMT

This Cedefop 2011 publication examines progress by EU Member States in implementing the priority action areas of the 2008 European Council Resolution on Lifelong Guidance. These areas are: expanding access to careers services, the teaching and learning of career management skills, assuring the quality of career services, developing the evidence base for policy making, and strengthening cooperation and coordination of key stakeholders at national level. It covers the period 2007 to 2010.

Self-Help and Career Planning: Report for Skills Development Scotland 2009

Admin Account — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 04:39:00 GMT

This report prepared by the Centre for Educational Sociology at the University of Edinburgh, describes a trial of possible measures of young people’s career self management skills and decision-making. The research considered pupils’ use of self-help services, in particular career development websites, and the impact of these websites on pupils’ career related learning and skills.

The main findings include:

the use of career development websites in Scotland has had a very limited impact on pupils' career related learning and skills; the only positive discernible impact on career related learning and skills was from an interview with a careers adviser
the use of the school's career library had a greater impact on pupils' career management skills than did the use of the main Scottish career development websites
for school-pupils, self-help provision is only one element that is used alongside other career service provision
truancy, having a negative attitude to school, and lower attainment were associated with a lower usage of self-help services including career websites. These factors, however, did not make a difference to the chances of pupils having direct contact with a careers advisor (both on a group and an individual basis)
pupils from a minority ethnic background were more likely to seek direct contact with a careers advisor than to use self-help services
family and friends are considered by pupils to be their most important source of career information and advice.

These findings are important in the light of the central role envisaged for career development websites (as well as other ICT) in government strategies for careers related learning and skills.

Career Developments: Newsletter from Canada

Admin Account — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 04:21:00 GMT

This is Volume 2 Issue 2 of Career Developments, a newsletter issued by the Canadian Council of Career Development Associations. It features:

-Information about the Council of Associations

-Do Career Development Interventions and Services Work?

-A Provincial View from New Brunswick.

Other issues may be accessed at: http://www.ccdf.ca/ccdf/index.php/careerdevelopments

Assessing the Impact of Labour Market Information (LMI): Second Phase Results

Admin Account — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 03:53:00 GMT

This is a power point presentation prepared by the Canadian Research Work Group to describe the back ground to the project, its preliminary results in the second phase, and next steps. It is one of Canada's contributions to the Forum and deliberations on the ICCDPP site which is concerned with the topic "Prove It Works", arising from an international Work Group established on the recommendation the 2009 International Symposium on Career Development and Public Policy. See the Forums section of this site.

Making Career Development Core Business by Prof. Richard Sweet and Prof. Tony Watts*

Admin Account — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 01:30:00 GMT

This study*, published in December 2010, was commissioned by the Departments of Education and of Business and Innovation of the State of Victoria, Australia. Victoria has a population of 5.5 million inhabitants living mainly in urban areas.

The focus of the study was the effectiveness of career guidance provision for young people in secondary schools and in VET and ACE settings. Existing career development programmes and provision were reviewed and state, national and international best practice drawn on.

Recommendations for improvements include: career guidance in the curriculum, school management of career guidance provision, the leadership role of the Department of Education, strategic support for career guidance in VET and ACE settings, external services support, school education region support, State-wide coordination in this field, cooperation and coordination between agencies that assist the career development of youth at risk, and support for families.

The full list of contributors to this review were: Professor Richard Sweet, Dr Veronica Volkoff, Professor A.G. Watts, Sue Helme, Dr Suzanne Rice, Professor Jack Keating, Sujatha Pannell.

EVIDENCE AND IMPACT: CAREERS AND GUIDANCE-RELATED INTERVENTIONS

Admin Account — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:50:00 GMT

This publication (2008) written for the CfBT by Dr Deirdre Hughes is situated in UK policy aims of increasing the participation of young people in further education and training in the UK with specific targeted increases for years 2013 and 2015. In particular the publication examines how the impact of information, advice and guidance services can be assessed in assisting the achievement of such targets. This is an important question facing policy-makers, service delivery managers, practitioners and as well as the concerned public.

While written for a UK audience, the text is an excellent source of knowledge and information on general issues concerning evidence, its nature and collection, and on possible policy performance indicators. Its chapters cover:

key questions about evidence
the evidence base
strategies, tips and tools for measuring and assessing the impact of careers and guidance-related interventions
the customer voice-personalisation.

A very useful glossary of terms is provided in Appendix 2. Highly recommended.

Social Mobility of Young People and Adults in England: The contribution and impact of high quality career services

Admin Account — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 04:43:00 GMT

While the context and content of this paper sit firmly within the expressed political positions of the three main UK political parties during the present year, 2010, Section 3 of the report demonstrates that career services and counselling support can and do make a difference in terms of learning outcomes such as increased self-confidence, self-esteem, motivation, and enhanced decision-making. They also support significant participation in learning and educational attainment. For progression to employment, the evidence is less clear though there is some evidence that highly intensive support for the unemployed can make a difference.

Proposed Performance Measures and State Responses: Analysis and Next Steps

Admin Account — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 03:50:00 GMT

This report (2004) by Chris T King and Sarah Looney of the Ray Marshall Centre of UTA contains a discussion of 30 workforce development performance measures generated by several US states for 7 areas of interest to policy and program leaders and rated by them for usefulness.

The seven areas are: outcomes for employers and the economy; labour market outcomes for program participants; social welfare outcomes; customer satisfaction; skills gains; return on investment; and sub-group and comparative information. A One-Stop Career Centre was one of the features of services examined in this context.

In their review of the measures, the authors used the following lenses: rationale; feasibility; accuracy; validity; systems focus; time frames; and definitions.

While career development services were only one of the program features examined, the lenses used by the authors can be of value to policy makers/developers, delivery service managers, researchers, and leaders of the career guidance community in the search for meaningful policy performance indicators.

PROPOSED APPROACHES TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PERFORMANCE MEASURES

Admin Account — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 03:35:00 GMT

This policy brief (2005) by Sarah Looney and Chris T King provides backround to the movement to develop a standard set of performance measures for publicly funded programmes that comprise the US workforce development system. It also reviews two prominent US proposals: common measures proposed by the Office of Management and Budget , and the measures of the Integrated Performance Information Project.

While not specifically dealing with the performance indicators for career guidance/development services and programmes, the content of the policy brief has pertinence for such discussions in the USA and beyond.

The Economic Benefits of Career Development Services by CICA

John McCarthy — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 02:00:00 GMT

This report was commissioned by the Careers Industry Council of Australia in 2006. It looked at possible areas of research on the economic benefits derived from the provision of career development services. The key benefit identified was better informed career decision-making that leads to improved labour market outcomes. The conclusions outline potential avenues to help inform future research into the economic benefits of career development services.

Translating Career Theory into Practice: The Risk of Unintentional Social Injustice

Admin Account — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:11:00 GMT

This article, written by Dr Jim Sampson of Florida State University and delivered as a presentation at the IAEVG conference in Jyvaskyla in June 2009, examines two elements of policies for career guidance: the effectiveness of career guidance interventions in relation to cost and access to such interventions by citizens. It commences by identifying the different elements of career guidance and proceeds to examine the translation of career theory to practice, the effectiveness of career guidance interventions, and the access people have to career guidance. Collaborative counselling is proposed as an intervention to improve access. The paper ends with a discussion on how to balance effectiveness and access in career guidance delivery.

In his preparation of this paper, Prof Sampson noted the lack of a comprehensive and consistent evidence base for career guidance interventions and the little or no attention paid to integrating career theory, public policy, and the cost-effectiveness of career guidance interventions.

AUSTRALIA:National Partnership Agreement on Youth Attainment and Transitions

Admin Account — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:16:00 GMT

This is a recently signed agreement between the Australian federal government and the States and Territories of Australia. It is designed to address the objectives of the National Education Agreement and the National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development already signed by the same parties.

The new agreement covers the engagement of young people aged 15 to 24 with learning, work, employment and the transitions involved, particulary to improve outcomes in educational attainment. There is special reference to social inclusion aims, especially for the indigenuous disadvantaged. Its overall aim is to better align federal, State and Territory programmes and services related to youth, career and transitions. Under the agreement the States and Territories will gradually assume primary responsibility for career guidance activities.

The agreement sets out indicative actions and outcomes for the following reform areas:

multiple learning paths
career development
mentoring
school, business, community partnerships
individualised, personalised support for young people at risk.

It also sets out performance indicators and benchmarks for the agreement.

This Agreement is one example of how federal and regional governments can share the responsibility of career guidance provision and of the devolution of power to the regions with performance indicators.

Linking the Climbing Frame and the Matrix Standard for Information, Advice and Guidance Services

Admin Account — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 07:58:00 GMT

The Climbing Frame is an electronic tool developed by Unionlearn, an organisation established by the Trades Union Congress in the UK to help Union Learning Representatives to promote lifelong learning in the workplace and to assist members to access learning opportunities.

The Matrix Standard is a unique quality standard to support the effective delivery of information, advice and guidance wherever it takes place. It has been found useful by trade unions in benchmarking and developîng learner support initiatives in the workplace

This guide (2009) brings these two frameworks together, showing how they complement each other and the benefits of this complementarity in delivering high quality support to learners.

Report on the Quality of Guidance Provision in one Second-level School in Ireland

Admin Account — Wed, 27 May 2009 08:17:00 GMT

This is an example of a ministry inspection of the provision of career guidance of one second-level school in Ireland. It presents the findings of the evaluation and makes recommendations for the further development of guidance provision in the school. It shows the nature and condition of the linkages between the provision of career guidance and other school curricular and pastoral provision.

Looking at Guidance: a Report of the Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Science, Ireland

Admin Account — Wed, 27 May 2009 07:54:00 GMT

Looking at Guidance is a report of the Guidance Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Science, Ireland. It consists of an analysis the findings of fifty-five reports on inspections of Guidance in second-level schools carried out from September 2006 to May 2007. The report comments on the quality of provision and whole-school support for Guidance, the quality of planning and preparation, the quality of teaching and learning, and the quality of assessment. The reports also draws on the outcomes of a questionnaire administered to over 1,100 students in the schools where inspections took place. The report discusses features of good practice and concerns identified in the inspections of Guidance.

Careers Wales: a Review in an International Perspective

Admin Account — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:36:00 GMT

This review undertaken by Prof. Tony Watts for the Welsh Assembly Government, was part of a wider review of careers services in Wales, UK. Its aim was to review the work of Careers Wales in terms of strengths and challenges, including its links to other career guidance providers, in an international context, using benchmarks provided by the OECD Career Guidance Policy Review and drawing comparisons with other main all-age guidance providers in New Zealand, Northern Ireland and Scotland (with some reflections on comparisons with the adult careers services in England).

The report is structured as follows:

setting the direction (policy context, structure, resources, international context)
shaping the service (including access, coherence, targeting, and marketing)
improving performance (assuring quality)
working with other guidance providers
summary of strengths and challenges.

The development of lifelong guidance delivery systems and access to such by citizens is a high political priority in Europe. In most countries segmented and dis-associated career guidance services exist; and one approach to overcome such boundaries is to develop a networked and linked approach to the provision of an all-age service. This report is essential reading on one country's experience of a network linked approach, enhanced with comparisons to other all-age models in other countries.

Careers Wales: a Comparative Analysis of Performance 2005-8

Admin Account — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:18:00 GMT

This is the contribution of ESTYN, Her Majesty's Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales, to a review of careers services undertaken in the context of the Welsh Assembly Government's Action Plan "Skills that Work for Wales". The review was to determine how Careers Wales was in a position to respond to dynamic factors arising from policy developments, demographic changes, and economic conditions.

ESTYN analysed its inspection and thematic surveys across the 6 career companies that comprise Careers Wales, addressing issues of standards, the quality of education and training, and leadership and management. The inspections involved direct observation of the work of guidance practitioners, interaction with the clients, and discussions with staff and management.

This is an interesting example of how

an inspectorate undertakes an assessment of a career guidance service
an inspectorate can operate in a network model of guidance delivery so as to improve performance across the network of partners (six different career companies were involved)
the practice of group and individual guidance can be assessed through observation.

L'orientamento Professionale: Guida practica per i decisori

Admin Account — Wed, 06 May 2009 09:38:00 GMT

La guida practica è un documento realizzato dalla Commissione Europea e dall'OCSE per rispondere alla continua evoluzione delle politiche dell'instruzione, della formazione e dell'occupazione.

L'obiettivo della guida è di aiutare i decisori dei Paesi dell'OCSE e dell'Unione Europea ad elaborare politiche efficaci di orientamento professionale nel campo dell'instruzione, della formazione e dell'occupazione.

De la politique a la pratique: une evolution systemique vers l'orientation tout au long de la vie en Europe

Admin Account — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:04:00 GMT

Ce rapport, redigé par Prof Ronald Sultana pour le CEDEFOP en 2007/8, fait le bilan des progrés accomplis par les pays européens dans la mise en oeuvre des priorités définies par la résolution du Conseil Education de mai 2004 concernant l'orientation tout au long de la vie. Ces priorités sont:

mettre en oeuvre des systèmes d'orientation tout au long de la vie
élargir l'accès à l'orientation
renforcer les mécanismes d'assurance qualité
renforcer les aptitudes des citoyens à gérer leur apprentissage et leur carrière
renforcer les structures intervenant dans le développement des politiques et des systèmes au niveau national et régional.

Prof Sultana a conclu que malgré les progrès importants accomplis, il reste beaucoup à faire pour développer et consolider les systèmes et politiques d'orientation tout au long de la vie. Les structures des Etats membres et de l'Union ont toutes leur role à jouer dans le réalisation de ce dernier objectif.

Local variations: a study of new arrangements for Careers services for young people in England by Prof Tony Watts, Allister McGowan, and David Andrews

Admin Account — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:41:00 GMT

Funded by CfBT Education Trust, this research examined the impact on career guidance provision for young people of new arrangements for budget and management responsibilities by all local authorities in England since such changes came into effect in April 2008.

The authors concluded that there is a need for a stronger and more coherent national policy framework to be implemented so that young people may benefit from career guidance services of comparable quality regardless of their geographic location in England. Such a framework should be based on a detailed clarification of (i) the nature and relationships of key concepts; (ii) whether or not the distinctive expertise of the professional practitioner is recognised; and (iii) the extent of young people's entitlement to professional career guidance from an external source.

The Intermediate Impacts of Advice and Guidance: Summary of Research

Admin Account — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:09:00 GMT

This is a summary report of the research that tested whether the provision of advice and guidance makes a difference over time to the work and learning outcomes of adults aged 20 years plus. Based on a telephone survey of 4000 information, advice and guidance recipients, it compared the outcomes of advice and guidance recipients to a control group of information only recipients.

Clear differences emerged on levels of confidence, motivation and opportunity awareness between the two groups with greater benefits reported by the advice and guidance recipients.

The Intermediate Impacts of Advice and Guidance: Research Report RR638

Admin Account — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:53:00 GMT

This research tested whether the provision of advice and guidance makes a difference over time to the work and learning outcomes of adults aged 20 years plus. Based on a telephone survey of 4000 information, advice and guidance recipients, it compared the outcomes of advice and guidance recipients to a control group of information only recipients.

Clear differences emerged on levels of confidence, motivation and opportunity awareness between the two groups with greater benefits reported by the advice and guidance recipients.

Career guidance in the Mediterranean region - comparative analyses by RG Sultana and AG Watts

Admin Account — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 11:37:00 GMT

An examination of policies for career guidance was one component of a European Union programme (MEDA-ETE) being implemented by the European Training Foundation to support education and training for employment in the Mediterranean region. It involved 10 Mediterranean countries. The research on career guidance policies produced country reports on which this comparative analysis is based. The report covers:

the socio-economic context
the drivers for change
current provision
policy issues
ways forward.

It also presents country profiles and comparative statistics.

Review of career guidance policies in 11 acceding and candidate countries - synthesis report

Admin Account — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 11:17:00 GMT

In 2002 at the request of the European Commission, the ETF began information on policies for career guidance in 11 countries in the process of accession or who had candidate status to entry to the European Union. This is the first synthesis report produced by the ETF. The data collected focused on key goals and policy instruments, roles of stakeholders, targeting and access, staffing and financing, quality assurance, delivery settings and methods, and evidence base.

Preparing for Success: Northern Ireland Strategy and Implementation Plan for Career Guidance Services

Admin Account — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:24:00 GMT

This is a joint strategy and implementation plan for career guidance services in Northern Ireland of two government ministries/ the Department of Education and the Department for Employment and Learning. Based on extensive consultation exercises on its proposals of 2007, the document outlines a new comprehensive strategy for the delivery of career guidance services and the challenges involved. It articulates a vision for the future and maps the actions required to deliver it.

The vision is subdivided into five themes:

Careers education
Access to careers information
Improving careers advice and guidance
Improving quality
Improving professional development.

Om bedre integration af livslang vejledning i strategierne for livslang laering

Admin Account — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:57:00 GMT

This is the Danish translation of the European Council of Education Ministers' Resolution (2008) on better integrating lifelong guidance in strategies for lifelong learning. The Resolution defined four key areas/axes to guide national reforms of policies and systems:

1) fremme af evnen til selv at orientere sig gennem hele livet

2) lettelse af adgangen til vejledningstjenester for alle borgere

3) udvikling af kvalitetssikringen af vejledningstjenester

4) fremme af koordineringen af og samarbejdet mellem de forskellige aktører på nationalt, regionalt og lokalt plan

Einer Besseren Integration Lebensumspannender Beratung in die Strategien fur lebenslanges Lernen

Admin Account — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:43:00 GMT

This is the German translation of the Council of Education Ministers' Resolution (2008) on better integrating lifelong guidance into lifelong learning strategies.

It defines 4 key axes of action for the reform of guidance services in Member States:

1. Förderung der Fähigkeit zur Planung der beruflichen Laufbahn in jedem Lebensabschnitt;

2. Erleichterung des Zugangs aller Bürger zu den Beratungsdiensten;

3. Entwicklung der Qualitätssicherung in den Beratungsdiensten;

4. Förderung von Koordinierung und Zusammenarbeit zwischen den verschiedenen Akteuren auf nationaler, regionaler und lokaler Ebene,

Rapport Guégot: Conclusions des Travaux de la mission sur la formation tout au long de la vie

Admin Account — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:17:00 GMT

This Report was presented by Deputy Guégot to the French National Assembly in December 2008. It examined:

problems in initial and continuing training supply: quality, transparency, funding, governance
inequalities for young people and adults in accessing training
difficulties in career guidance provision to support youth and adult participation in training.

It presents 16 propositions to address these issues.

Integrar melhor a orientacao ao longo da vida nas estrategias de aprendizagem ao longo da vida: O Conselho da Uniao Europeia

Admin Account — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:25:00 GMT

O Conselho da Uniao Europeia de Novembro de 2008 convidam os estados-membros a:

favorecer a aquisicao da capacidade de orientacao ao longo da vida
facilitar o acesso de todos os cidados aos servicos de orientacao
desenvolve a garantia de qualidade dos sericos de orientacao
incentivar a coordenacao e cooperacao dos diversos intervenientes a nivel nacional, regional e local.

Incluir mejor la orientacion permanente en las estrategias permanentes de educacion y formacion permanente: El Consejo de la Union Europea

Admin Account — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:14:00 GMT

El Consejo de la Union Europea de noviembre de 2008 invita los estados miembros a aplicar los siguientes principes rectores:

favorecer la adquisicion permanente de capacidades de orientacion
facilitar el acceso de todos los ciudadanos a los servicios de orientacion
desarrolar la garantia de calidad de los servicios de orientacion
fomentar la coordinacion y la cooperacion de los distintos protagonistas a niveles nacional, regional y local.

Résolution "Mieux inclure l'orientation tout au long de la vie dans les stratégies d'education et de formation tout au long de la vie" : Conseil de L'Union Européenne

Admin Account — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 09:52:00 GMT

Le Conseil des ministres d'éducation de l'Union européenne ont adoptés cette Résolution en novembre 2008 afin de aider les états membres a réformer leur politiques, systémés et pratiques de l'orientation tout au long de la vie et de donner un soutien communtaire au travail de la European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network (ELGPN).

La Résolution invite les états membres a appliquer les principes directeurs ci-aprés dans leurs efforts de réforme:

favoriser l'acquisition de la capacité à s'orienter tout au long de la vie
faciliter l'accés de tous les citoyens aux services d'orientation
dévelloper l'assurance qualité des services d'orientation
encourager la coordination et la cooperation des différents acteurs aux niveaux national, régional et local.

Quality Standards for Young People's Information, Advice and Guidance

Admin Account — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:42:00 GMT

This publication (2007) of the Department for Schools, Children and Families of the United Kingdom sets out a framework for the planning, managing and reviewing of information, advice and guidance services for young people aged 11 to 19 years. The 12 standards were developed through a lengthy consultation process and their operation tested in the north west of England. They represent a set of recommendations to to all local authorities (municipalities) and guidance and learning providers working in a coordinated way at local level.

12 standards are presented together with evidence indicators.

Careers Scotland Quality Standards, Impact Measures, and Evidence of Standards Being Met (2007)

Admin Account — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 15:49:00 GMT

This briefing document outlines key features of Careers Scotland's (now part of Skills Development Scotland) Quality Asurance Framework for its services and products. It describes:

-outcomes for individuals

-service delivery standards

-guidance standards.

It provides for measures of impact on individuals at four levels of evidence:

-satisfaction

-behaviour

-learning

-results.

TELEPHONE GUIDANCE PILOT EVALUATION

Admin Account — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:12:00 GMT

This is the full external evaluation report of the career guidance telephone pilot evaluation tested by New Zealand Careers Service with young people aged 12 to 29 years of age. It identifies the advantages for the user and the challenges for an experienced guidance practitioner.

TELEPHONE CAREER GUIDANCE: EVALUATION HIGHLIGHTS

Admin Account — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:06:00 GMT

This is a good example of a one page briefing paper giving highlights of the evaluation study of a career guidance telephone service pilot project of Careers Service New Zealand

Examining the Impact and Value of EGSA to the North of Ireland Economy

Admin Account — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:07:00 GMT

This study, commissioned by the Educational Guidance Service for Adults (EGSA) in Northern Ireland (NI), attempts to capture the current return to the economy of the investment in career/educational guidance services provided to the adult population by EGSA.(EGSA has been in existence in Northern Ireland for 40 years). This report explores EGSA and the services it provides. The research results clearly show the significant positive contribution that EGSA makes to Northern Ireland both in terms of labour market outcomes and economic impact. EGSA's headline annual economic contribution is estimated to be:

Labour market outcomes:

580 clients progressing in work/being promoted

• 270 clients not being promoted but having higher productivity due to enrolling on a course

• 20 clients from full-time education starting a new job

• 770 clients not in employment or full-time education starting a new job.

Economic impact:

800 more people in employment, contributing £26m in wages and profits (GVA) and £12m in net tax revenue (sum of income tax, national insurance, corporation tax and social security benefits saved). This translates into £9.02 net additional tax revenue for every £1 of public money invested in guidance services today. In terms of relativities to NI aggregates, the economic impact equates to 0.10% of both NI total employment and GVA.

One of the key targets of the Programme for Government, which the authors can relate to EGSA impacts, is the target for raising NI’s overall employment rate by 5% (by 2020). If EGSA’s current contribution is maintained, EGSA will contribute to assisting 1 in 10 people into employment of the overall additional jobs needed to meet the employment rate target.

The labour market and economic returns are based on the assumption of EGSA's current annual 10,000 interventions (combination of individual clients and persons assisted by advocates to EGSA) and the current economic activity status of clients since the Client Relationship Management Information System was set up in 2006. The authors point out that the analysis and scenarios used in the study have been based on the response rates to EGSA's tracking process of which returns have been around 10%. Actual outcomes may be higher than what has been measured.

Careers Advice in Australian Secondary Schools: Use and Usefulness

Admin Account — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:34:00 GMT

This 2008 report was produced by the Australian Council for Educational Research for the Department for Education, Science and Training. It examined the participation of pupils in career guidance activities in upper secondary school and of the perceived usefulness of such activities to pupils. In overall terms, the individual career guidance interview was perceived as the most useful activity participated in. Lower-achieving pupils and pupils unsure whether they would complete the final secondary school year year placed more value on careers interventions. As young people participated in more career activities, they found career advice to be more useful.

L'orientation professionnelle: guide pratique pour les décideurs

Admin Account — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:59:00 GMT

Malgré de nombreux exemples de bonnes pratiques, les services nationaux d'orientation professionnelle de nombreux pays présentent de grandes insuffisances. Cet ouvrage, publié conjointment par la Commission européenne (document de travail des services) et l'OCDE donne aux décideurs publics des outils pratiques pour s'attaquer à ces problémes et pour mettre en oeuvre des politiques de formation tout au long de la vie, des politiques actives d'employabilité et des politiques d'équité sociale. Dans un langage simple, qui n'a rien de technique, il traite d'une grande diversité de questions qui sont fondmentales du point de vue d'efficacité des services d'orientation professionnelle. Comment élargir l'accès à l'orientation professionnelle? Comment améliorer la qualité de l'information sur les métiers et les professions? Comment s'assurer que les qualifications du personnel correspondent aux objectifs de l'action gouvernmentale? Enfin, comment amélioere le pilotage strategique dans ce domaine?

Careers Education in New Zealand Schools by Karen Vaughan and Ben Gardiner

Admin Account — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:10:00 GMT

This research was undertaken in 2006/7 by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research on behalf of the Ministry of Education. The overall aim of this research is to contribute insight that will guide and support decisions about the direction, focus, and resourcing of careers education in New Zealand schools. It stands alone as baseline information about how schools organise careers education, how school principals view careers education, what careers staff think about their role and the purposes behind what they do, and the range of activities in which they engage students.

Guidance in Europe: Comparative analysis of services for unemployed adults in 5 EU countries

Admin Account — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:30:00 GMT

This is a research based project that aimed to provide a comprehensive comparative and evaluative analysis of the function and outcomes of labour market and career advice and guidance programmes and services for out-of-work individuals and workers at risk, in five European countries (France, Germany, Spain, Slovenia, and the UK).

Advice and guidance programmes and services for adults are defined in this study as mediating services aimed at increasing the employability and the mobility of individuals, not only geographical or occupational mobility, but also mobility between different statuses (unemployed/inactive, trainee, learner, volunteer, precarious job-holder, stable job-holder, qualified job-holder).

The three key results of the project were the development of criteria for assessing the outcomes of advice and guidance programmes and services (as transitions for individuals), a typology of these services across different institutional, legal and funding contexts, and an analysis of the functions of these services as agencies for transitions.

The results of the project could thus lead to an increased attention in the policy but also in the practitioner and in the research communities to different and relatively contrasted frameworks of implementation of advice and guidance services and programmes and to their implications for individuals. They also provide the basis for reviewing the way in which advice and guidance services are assessed and evaluated.

Recognising Community Based Career and Employment Services

Admin Account — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 22:56:00 GMT

Brisish Columbia finds itself at a crossroads concerning supply driven and demand driven careers and employment services according to a document prepared by the Social and Planning Research Council of British Columbia for ASPECT and for the British Columbia Career and Workforce Alliance. A booming economy has led to skills shortages and the need for demand driven career and employment services. The overall policy context is that from 2007 there is full devolution of labour market funding and responsibilities from federal to provincial level (including British Columbia) with a new Labour Market Development Agreement to be negotiated.

Evaluations of supply driven career and employment programmes and services in 2001showed the lack of a strong connection to employers and employment. Demand driven services also have limitations especially as they have narrowly defined economic goals and a limited set of indicators for effective programme delivery. Neither do they address the issue of persistent unemployment for particular sections of the population. The authors argue the need for a comprehensive approach involving supply and demand driven approaches with a significant focus on skills development. Cost - Benefit Analysis should have appropriate and complete measures embracing measures of employment and earnings as well as social development indicators.

The document provides advice on best practice in careers and employment service delivery and on labour market policy evaluation. They advocate the use of local and community based guidance provision than the use of large private non-local and international firms to deliver the service.

Making the Case: Demonstrating the Impact of Careers Services by Roberta Neault and Deirdre Pickell

Admin Account — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 22:44:00 GMT

This 4 page briefing document published by the British Columbia Career and Workforce Development Alliance calls on the career and employment services sector in that province to take an interest in demonstrating the impact of careers services, programmes and interventions. It strongly advocates the use of the Canadian Research Work Group (CRWG)Framework on evidence based practice in career development (see this document on this web site- open the section on Policy and Research and scroll down to Assessing Effectiveness; also visit the Assessing Effectiveness Forum for an inspiring article on measuring impact by Stu Conger and Bryan Hiebert).

A Review of Guidance in Second Level Schools 2006 by the Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Science, Ireland

Admin Account — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 09:56:00 GMT

This report comprises the first comprehensive review of guidance services in second level schools (students aged 12 to 18 years) since the establishment of such services in the 1960s in Ireland. It was carried out in four parts:

A survey of the existing use of resources (personnel, capital) allocated for guidance in all 738 second level schools in Ireland by the Department of Education and Science
An in-depth survey of 260 of those schools
Case studies of guidance provision in 15 of those schools
Individual and group interviews with stakeholders (school management, parents, students, guidance counsellors).

Wide variation of experiences of guidance provision, both across schools and within schools, was reported by the stakeholders. The value of certain guidance activities was confirmed but issues of access to and resources for guidance provision were strongly emphasised by all stakeholders.

Careers and Labour market Information in Ireland by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs 2006

Admin Account — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 15:41:00 GMT

This well constructed study and report had several aims:

To establish users' preferences for and usage of different careers information types and sources
To catalogue existing careers information resources
To assess both guidance practitioners' and the general public's knowledge of labour market information
To determine the best means to reach different population target groups
To make recommendations for practical improvements in career and labour market information dissemination, particumarly from a user perspective.

The study was undertaken through a combination of desk and field research and involving quantitative and qualitative methods. Policy literature and good examples of practice from other countries were collected. Existing Irish resources were searched, catalogued, and appraised according to the criteria of (i) up to date, (ii) user friendly, (iii) comprehensiveness, and (iv) relevance. A matrix exercise, a statistical analysis, and focus group conversations were other parts of the methodology.

In general, there was very low awareness and usage of existing labour market information resources. Recommendations include the need for improved access to such information and the need to make such resources more user friendly.

Perceptions of the General Public on Guidance Services 2006-National Guidance Forum Ireland Study

Admin Account — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:48:00 GMT

This study was commissioned by the National Guidance Forum of Ireland in 2006 to ascertain the views and experiences of citizens on their experiences of the guidance services that were available to them. Such information as gathered from users and potential users informed the recommendations of the National Guidance Forum as to a future lifelong guidance service provision.

The methodology of the study consisted of:

an extensive review of Irish and international literature to give context to the study and to give a platform for the interpretation of the findings;
a questionnaire used with individual citizens and organisations; and
focus groups which targeted the views of older adults, persons of different nationalities, persons with disabilities, unemployed, and persons with low incomes.

The findings showed a keen awareness of respondents of the value of career guidance services, a wide range of opinions on the existing services, and support for increased public investment in the services. Many had difficulty in accessing the services, especially young people and employed people, and needed "guidance" on how to obtain guidance!

Outcomes from Careers Information and Guidance Services by Malcolm Maguire and John Kileen

Admin Account — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 14:53:00 GMT

This is an expert paper jointly commissioned by the EC and OECD as part of the international review of policies for career guidance initiated by the OECD in 2001. The paper considers the contextual issues that impinge on career guidance activities and their outcomes and considers the the types of outcomes that can be viewed as desirable and identifiable. It assesses the various methods of measuring outcomes which are or might be employed. Existing evidence on the outcomes of guidance is reviewed and the implications for policy and research future agendas are addressed.

New Zealand Careers Services: A Review in an International Perspective by Prof A G Watts

Admin Account — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 10:45:00 GMT

In the evaluator's opinion, New Zealand Careers Services represents the most fully integrated example in the world of an all-age career guidance delivery structure. The report (2007) describes the key features of the service and sets down five challenges to be addressed:

public awareness/market penetration
the guidance needs of adults
relationships with other guidance service providers
a stronger evidence base
strategic leadership.

A Systematic Literature Review of Research into Career-related Interventions in Higher Education by Professor Jenny Bimrose

Web Master — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:10:00 GMT

This literature review undertaken (2005)for the Higher Education Careers Services Unit in the UK by the Institute of Employment Research at the University of Warwick, examined career-related interventions and their impact on students' career related decisions, career learning and progression towards the labour market.

Although there is substantial literature in the English speaking world on different curricular and extra-curricular interventions, broadly defined, which may impact on a student's career learning, progression, and career decision-making, evidence related to the efficacy of these interventionsis limited.

Six themes were identified from the literature for which research reports were assessed:

career related interventions
curricular interventions to support
vocational trajectories
curricular related interventions
extra-curricular interventions
pre-entry curricular interventions
multi-cultural curricular interventions

FUTURE TRACK: a longitudinal study of Higher Education Applicants in the UK by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit

Web Master — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:07:00 GMT

This article is a summary of the first report of Future Track, a study of 130,000 higher education applicants in the UK in 2006. Commissioned by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit, the study will track these applicants for the next 6 years and on through their early careers, including unsuccessful HE applicants and also successful applicants who chose to pursue non-HE opportunities.

Some of the findings of the first report (the study is being undertaken by the Employment Studies Unit of the University of Warwick) are somewhat expected while others are not. Here is a selection:

Applicants from families where one parent had already participated in higher education had greater expectations of attending higher education than those from families who did not have such experience.

73% reported that they had not received enough or no information on the career implications of post-age 16 subject choice
60%had notreceived enough or no information on the relationship between HE courses and employment.
51% had not enough or no information on possible alternatives to higher education
57% had not enough or no information on the range of degrees on offer

The Public Benefits of Career Development Services: A National Research Strategy by Prof Richard Sweet

Web Master — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:04:00 GMT

This is an important paper for policy developers in the fields of education, training and employment, and for researchers. It was commissioned by the Careers Industry Council of Australia and written by Professor Richard Sweet who had responsibility for the OECD review of policies for career guidance in 2001-03.

While its context is Australia, its content is valid for all countries. The paper addresses the following questions:

Why is a national research strategy needed?
What is the current state of career development research in Australia?
How might a national research strategy be delivered?
How should a national research strategy be funded?
How should a national research strategy be managed?
What should the focus of the national research strategy be?

The Potential Benefits of the National Reform Agenda: Australia Government Productivity Commission

Admin Account — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 18:55:00 GMT

This is a study of the potential economic and fiscal impacts of the National Reform Agenda of the Council of Australian Governments. The National Reform Agenda includes an interlinked human capital stream covering health, education and training, and work incentives with benefits from each area feeding into the other. The results of the study are exploratory and indicative of potential benefits.

The education and training element seeks to equip more people with the skills needed to increase workforce participation and productivity. The four areas targeted are: early childhood development; literacy and numeracy; transitions to further education and work; and adult learning. For each of the areas, discrete groups of potentially at risk individuals were selected. Indicative high-level outcomes for the transition component included increasing the proportion of young people making a smooth transition from school to work and higher education, retention in education, and higher participation in upper secondary education. General improvements in educational attainment were seen as important also for workforce participation and for health.

From both a policy and career development perspective, the study is a very useful introduction for policy makers, researchers and career guidance community leaders to interlinks between policy areas, to macro-level indicators, and to the potential benefits of smooth transitions to further education or work to which career development interventions contribute.

AN EVALUATION OF THE UFI/LEARNDIRECT TELEPHONE GUIDANCE TRIAL by Rosie Page, Becci Newton, Ruth Hawthorn, Will Hunt and Jim Hillage

Admin Account — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 22:28:00 GMT

This is a Research Report, RR833, published by the Department of Education and Skills in the United Kingdom. The research was undertaken as part of a government review of advice, information and guidance services for adults. It specifically sought to evaluate a trial extension of Ufi/learndirect telephone guidance service for adults to handle a substantially larger volume of calls, and to test a three stage call back and action planning model of such provision. The research also examined issues such as the generation of demand for telephone guidance versus the capacity to meet such demand, the short-term positive outcomes achieved, and the cost-effectiveness of telephone guidance versus face to face guidance.

The results show high demand, less use of the three stage model, more positive outcomes related to action planning by users including user satisfaction, and similar costs for telephone guidance as per face to face interviews.

Employment and Educational Equivalence Outcomes

Admin Account — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 00:21:00 GMT

This is a gem of creative thinking on how equivalence to employment status could be ascertained in the measurement of outcomes from career development interventions. Employment status is perhaps the most common statistic that interests policy makers in terms of measurement of outcomes of career development interventions. But does it and can it have equivalence and in which ways? How can participation in training be regarded as equivalent? How can the completion of training contribute to such equivalence? Read on. Well done to Stu Conger, retired Director of the Canadian Career Development Foundation and to Bryan Hiebert of the University of Calgary, who have combined policy making and research and practice expertise for this provocative article.

A downloadable copy can be accessed through the Policy Points downloads section on the Home Page.

Careers Scotland: Creating the Evidence Base

Admin Account — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 00:19:00 GMT

This Report provided by Careers Scotland narrates the approach taken by it from the outset to create the evidence base to support its business case.

Elements of its approach have included:

Performance Management
Stakeholder Surveys
Evaluation Studies
Research and Development
Reflective Practice
School Leaver Destination Returns

Careers Scotland: Data Sources for Administration, Quality Improvement, and Efficacy/Impact

Admin Account — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 23:06:00 GMT

This Report set out in tabular format shows the sources of data that Careers Scotland use to manage three aspects of their service:

1. Routine administration

2. Improving quality

3. Measurement of efficacy and impact

Our thanks to Liz Galashan, Agnes O Donnell, Anne Aitken and John Eddyshaw of Careers Scotland.

The State of Practice in Canada (2005) in Measuring the Impact of Career Services

John McCarthy — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 22:19:00 GMT

In response to a recommendation from the pan-Canadian Symposium, the CRWG launched, in the fall of 2004, a preliminary study to learn more about how Canadian providers of career services evaluate the impact of their services. The main goal of the research was to explore the current state of practice in Canada in order to create shared understandings of evaluation procedures currently being used as well as the desired outcomes for career development practices. Specifically, the CRWG set out to learn about:

􀁸

the service outcomes actually gathered and reported by front-line career practitioners;

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the service outcomes gathered and reported at the office, agency or school board levels;

􀁸

the service outcomes which are being achieved by front-line and office, agency, and/or school board levels but which are not reported;

􀁸

how policy makers (who fund services) evaluate the services, what they want back from the services, and the kinds of evaluation information and data they prefer to have about the services; and

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how employers evaluate career development services in the workplace, what outcomes they want from these services, whether the evaluation information is useful to them, and the kinds of evaluation information they would prefer to receive.

The products of this research are presented in this report, which contains five major sections. Chapter 2 provides a brief synthesis of recent research on the efficacy of career development interventions. In Chapter 3, the methods employed for collecting and analyzing the data are described. Chapter 4 provides a summary of the key findings for each of the research target groups. Conclusions, recommendations and an overview of the proposed research agenda to follow from this work are included in Chapter 5.

The Efficacy of Career Development Interventions: A Synthesis of Research 2004

John McCarthy — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 19:49:00 GMT

This article by Dr Chris Magnusson, a leading Canadian researcher and academic, contains the results of a survey of articles examining the efficacy of career development services and interventions that had been published in English-language career journals over the past 10 years. The articles included provide a representative sampling of research in the field. The central themes and observations from the review of 53 English-language articles are presented here, in the following categories:

target audience;
populations and samples;
research methods;
general efficacy findings, and
diverging theoretical assumptions.

The Economic Benefits of Career Development Services

John McCarthy — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 19:37:00 GMT

Commissioned by the Careers Industry Council of Australia and published in November 2006,

this scoping study looks at possible areas of research on the economic benefits from career

development services. Career development services refer to vocational and educational

advice provided by career development practitioners. School-based advice currently

dominates career development services, though advice is also provided in universities,

TAFEs, via Job Network and related programs, and via private agencies.

The key benefit from career development services is better informed decision-making in

education and career choice that should assist over the longer term in achieving higher

workforce participation, lower unemployment (less job search time and less skill mismatch),

greater skill development on average (and so higher earnings) and higher career satisfaction.

These benefits accrue to the individual, but are also benefits to society as a whole (for

example, through the tax/transfer system – higher productivity and participation and lower

unemployment translate into higher tax revenues and less welfare payments – with those

savings then able to be spent on other things or handed back as tax cuts).

While it makes sense that more informed decision-making should lead to improved labour

market outcomes of the kind noted above, proving the case is a more difficult proposition.

Thus far in Australia there appears to have been very little research along these lines.

This scoping study outlines potential avenues of research which may be available to help

inform on the benefits of career development services:

A stocktake of current usage of career development services, compiling data which may be currently collected on usage of services, what sort of services are being accessed and characteristics of users.
Post-consultation surveys, examining how satisfied people were of the service provided to them. This could also include interrogation of existing career development related questions in the likes of LSAY, Young Visions and other longitudinal datasets.
A stocktake of performance of career development services.
A detailed literature review of the benefits of career development services, building such as via on the material presented in this paper.
A survey-based approach, preferably via a longitudinal study of users of career development services, to help track longer term outcomes for individuals. The key questions would relate to future employment, wages, further education and career satisfaction. Such a study should contain a well defined target group and a control group.
A cost-effective method may be to include questions on career development services as part of other surveys, such as graduate destination surveys and LSAY.
An outcomes-based approach using research other than surveys – key outcomes which career development services are hoping to influence could be monitored over time at a macro level, such as monitoring the average length of job search, levels of job mis-match and measures of skill shortage.
Economic benefits of career development services if appropriate, and evaluating economic benefits with the assistance of a well specified macroeconomic model.

Terms of reference for future research into the economic benefits of career development

services could be developed with these research strands in mind.

Finally, any evidence on improved outcomes could be translated into broaderby extrapolating survey results to the broader population of users

Effectiveness of NZ Careers Service 2005: one page summary

John McCarthy — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 20:57:00 GMT

This is an eye-catching example of how to present the results of the evaluation of the effectiveness of careers services, provided by New Zealand Careers Service:

Service Evaluation 2006: New Zealand Careers Service

John McCarthy — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 19:42:00 GMT

This overview (2006) summarises outcome achievements for the Output Agreement measures, and then discusses key findings from each service evaluation, and trends across the range of services that Career Services provides, taken from the individual service reports.

Overview of Service Usage Data 2006: New Zealand Careers Services

John McCarthy — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 19:17:00 GMT

This is a brief overview (2006) of types of data collected by New Zealand Careers Services rapuara on careers service and product usage, and how such data is collected and by whom. It concerns (i) routine administrative data, (ii) data to improve the quality of the services and products, and (iii) data to show the efficacy of careers service interventions.

Service Evaluation 2005: New Zealand Careers Service

John McCarthy — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 18:46:00 GMT

This report provided by New Zealand Careers Service Rapuara provides performance measurement information against Purchase Agreement obligations for its core services and products as well as specific outcome evaluation of identified projects and services.

More specific objectives measured were the following:

· client satisfaction performance

· process improvement

· outcomes: attitudes, informed decision making, tangible outcomes

· awareness of other services provided by Career Services.

CAREER GUIDANCE: DEVELOPING THE EVIDENCE BASE

John McCarthy — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 01:29:00 GMT

This document is a report of a meeting held in Copenhagen in August 2006 attended by practitioners, researchers, trainers, guidance delivery agencies, and policy makers who participated in the IAEVG 2006 Annual Conference. The meeting focused on three categories of data and their collection:

Level 1: basic statistical data for administrative and accountability purposes e.g. usage of services;
Level 2: data for improving the quality of the services provided;
Level 3: data to show the efficacy of certain interventions and measures.

The report contains good examples of the practice of Level 1 and Level 2 data collection and of research/evaluation framework on how Level 3 might be collected. Discussions by participants concerning each of these are also presented.