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National Initiatives Concerning the Career Guidance/Information/Vocational Counselling - Ireland
Source: National Centre for Guidance in Education
Career Related Learning in Primary Schools
BackgroundOur impressions of the world including our attitudes to work are formed early in childhood. Children develop ideas and beliefs about the working world from family, peers and the media, which they act out and practice through play. At present in the UK there is a growing realisation of the need to include career-related learning in the primary curriculum. It is anticipated that such learning will aid children in managing their learning and work, understand and develop themselves, and prepare them for adult working life. Such learning it is believed will build on children's natural curiosity and their perceptions of work roles.
Career-related learning helps children to understand the world of work. It equips them with the skills and ability to plan, and to make and implement choices and decisions. It also allows them to take responsibility for managing their work as pupils and prepares them for the working world by getting them to think about their present and future roles as students, workers and citizens.Career-related learning is not about bringing a traditional careers education into the primary classroom on a formal basis but rather about building on children's natural curiosity and their existing perceptions of work roles on an informal basis.It is complementary to the curriculum in that children learn about the working world through subjects such as history, geography and science. It is also a way of helping children link learning to life and achieve development in three main areas - self development, career exploration, and careers management.
Guidance in Post Primary Schools
Guidance is a universal entitlement at post-primary as per the Education Act (1998). Each school is granted with an additional teaching resource to assist it with its guidance provision, ranging from approximately eight hours per week in small schools (less than 250 students), to approximately two full-time posts in schools with 1000 students or more. The Audit of Guidance in Post-Primary Schools however found that not all schools were utilising their guidance allocation from the Dept. of Education & Science.Under the recent Guidance Enhancement Initiative (2001) schools competed for additional guidance posts by submitting a proposal to the Dept. of Education & Science. 103 schools benefited under the Initiative. Guidance also forms part of the curriculum in schools through the Transition Year Programme (TYP), the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA), and Leaving Certificate Vocational Programmes (LCVP).
Under the Education Act schools are required to provide students with "appropriate guidance to assist them in their educational and career choices". NCGE convened a Committee on the request of the Dept. of Education & Science to make recommendations on what constitutes "appropriate guidance". The Committee is to make its recommendations to the Dept. of Education & Science in Autumn 2002. Schools are also required under the Education Act to prepare a school plan of which the guidance programme is a part. To assist guidance counsellors in developing a guidance programme plan NCGE has developed Draft Guidelines on Guidance Programme Planning for Schools. The School Guidance Review and Development Planning Initiative (SGRDP) fed into the development of the Draft Guidelines.Under the Schools IT 2000 programme, each second level school was provided with a computer for guidance purposes. Training was also provided for guidance counsellors in the use of ICT in guidance. In 2001 NCGE was asked by the Dept. of Education & Science to convene a Working Party to examine the use of ICT in facilitating the transition from postprimary to further and higher education.
At present there is a pilot measure for guidance, counselling and psychological services for early school leavers in Youthreach. The provision of hours ranges from 2.5 hours to 3 hours per week for a group of 26 young people. Youthreach staff have been trained in non-formal guidance skills under the EU Employment Initiative.
The guidance and counselling provision in further education is within the VEC system and in community education settings. The guidance allocation to VECs is the same as for post-primary schools. In addition information regarding Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses is provided to students by the course tutor. Information is provided to participants on community education programmes through the course tutor /co-ordinator also.
All of the Universities and most of the Institutes of Technology (IoT) offer a careers service to students. The main provision is targeted at final year students and recent graduates though some career services have started to provide careers education in the curriuculum of undergraduate courses. The Careers Advisory/Appointments Office provides information on educational and employment opportunities to students and graduates. Students can meet with a Careers Adsviser for educational and career guidance. Universities and the IoTs are not required by the state to offer careers services and the provision can differ across the sector. The main roles and tasks of the Careers Adviser include:
At present many of the Careers Services are involved in programmes at third level promoting student retention. NCGE organised a Colloquium 'Staying Power - Increasing Retention Rates in Higher Education' on behalf of the Dept. of Education & Science in 1999.
Adult Educational Guidance Initiative
The aim of the Adult Educational Guidance Initiative is to provide a quality adult educational guidance service to participants in VTOS, literacy and other adult and community education programmes nationwide. The initiative is being phased in through the establishment of pilot projects. The projects will establish and define the guidance needs of their target groups, with the aim of providing a responsive service on a local basis. The pilot project phase will be used to develop models of good practice before mainstreaming can occur.
Following public advertisements for proposals, 11 projects were selected to operate a two-year pilot programme which commenced late in 1999. The first phase of this initiative will run at a cost of IR£1.2 million. The initiative will expand on a phased basis each year, with the objective of having a comprehensive service in place by the end of the National Development Plan in 2006. The second phase commenced in late 2001 with 8 more projects being put in place. A third phase is due to commence in spring/summer 2002, and it is envisaged that a further eight pilot projects will be funded. The Adult Educational Guidance Initiative is funded by the Dept. of Education & Science, and forms part of the National Development Plan.
The provision of guidance, counselling and psychological services for young people at risk of social exclusion has been signposted in the past five years as a necessary support to assist them to participate in social and economic citizenship roles. NCGE has a role in the support and development of guidance in YOUTHREACH and similar programmes.The NCGE led Community Based Guidance Assistance (CBGA) Project focused on training significant adults in the community in non-formal guidance skills, to provide guidance to hard to reach young people.
Based on the learning from the CBGA project, NCGE successfully applied for YOUTHSTART funding for the 'Training Youthreach Staff in Non-formal Guidance Skills' project. As part of the Youthstart project, extensive research into the provision of guidance and support for early school leavers and young people at risk was carried out resulting in two research reports and a database of guidance and support services.
NCGE with assistance from the YOUTHSTART programme ran the 'Future Directions: Guidance as a Force for Social Inclusion' conference in Malahide in March 2000. The conference was attended by teachers, guidance counsellors, young people, staff from non-formal education programmes and projects, and policy makers from Ireland and other EU countries.
There are over 30 Youth Information Centres (YICs) nationwide managed by a variety of youth organisations. YICs offer an information service on a wide number of issues including employment matters, local community services and education and training to young people.
Career Guidance Provided by the Training and Employment Authority
FÁS — Training and Employment Authority is divided into 8 regions comprising 20 Training Centres and 62 Employment Offices. The Employment Services Officer compiles a profile of the jobseeker's educational qualifications, work experience, aptitudes and interests. Jobseekers have access to careers information, self help career guidance, information on training and further education, working abroad, and job vacancies. This information can be then entered into the FAS database of job-seekers which employers who are seeking to recruit suitable staff can search.
Career guidance provided by Employment Service Officers includes:
Additionally, FAS also provides information on career options through its online Career Directions web site. Viewers can view all careers held on the database or avail of the Career Directions Matching service whereby a list of careers will be identified based on their interests and qualifications.
Information can also be obtained on training programmes provided by FAS at its network of training centres. FAS has a research unit which can be an important source of information on labour market trends.
New services offered by FAS include:[Top]