Career guidance helps people take charge of their careers
October 11, 2022
Every year, in the United States, millions of graduating students—including both high school and college graduates—prepare to enter the workforce. Yet, for many, uncertainty looms on the other side of the graduation stage. Some are unsure of what career paths to embark on, while others feel underqualified to pursue the jobs of their dreams. Campus career centers or job fairs may provide leads on open positions or help with resume writing – but for those who don’t know where to start or how to translate their interests and skills into meaningful work, more personalized career guidance is needed.
Career guidance refers to services that help people manage their careers and make informed choices about their education, training, and occupation. It takes many forms, including the provision of information on different career paths, personalized guidance or counseling, skill assessment, and education on decision-making and career management, and is available in many parts of the world. In some European countries, career guidance is a guaranteed right for workers of all ages. Young adults who participate in career guidance activities reportedly earn 10-20 percent more than their counterparts.
Yet, the quality and accessibility of these services vary. As a report by the Inter-Agency Working Group on Work-Based Learning found, the need to invest in more effective programs continues to grow with changes in technology, the global economy, and the world of work. Effective career guidance, the Working Group recommends, should be flexible, responding to individual needs and allowing people to reflect on their own talents, interests, and potential.
To learn more about the types of career guidance available to workers at any point in their careers and living anywhere in the world, check out these resources:
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental agency of 38 countries including the United States, routinely publishes reports on the kinds of career guidance offered by its member nations. In addition to providing an overview of these programs, most of which are government-funded, the reports assess the strengths of the services and make policy recommendations to increase the quality and accessibility of career guidance. For instance, a recent report analyzes Germany’s career guidance programs for low-qualified workers. With technological innovations reshaping the kinds of skills that are in demand, these services were developed to help low-qualified workers in Germany navigate the labor market and connect to appropriate training and employment opportunities. But even with the provision of career guidance at the federal level, the OECD found that “low-qualified workers are less likely to receive career guidance than those with higher qualifications.” Read reports on career guidance services in other countries, including Australia, Canada, and Latin America.
Several governmental and non-governmental agencies share career guidance resources online. For individuals in the United States, tools like the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), a source of occupational information developed under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration, provides data on almost 1,000 occupations, helping users identify jobs that match their goals and needs. For those at the beginning of their employment journeys, resources like the OECD’s Skills Profiling Tool assess skill sets, identifying strengths and suggesting jobs that make use of those skills. The government of Quebec, Canada, also publishes career guidance resources online, including a skills profiling tool, information about the labor market, links to training programs, and access to counseling services.
Online career guidance portals have also grown in popularity. Providing information on location-specific education and training programs and even virtually connecting people to career advisors, these portals are available for free or at low cost in several countries, including South Korea, New Zealand, and Scandinavian countries. An OECD report on career guidance for adults found that, for those living in regions where face-to-face services are limited or for workers who cannot afford private services, these portals offer cost-effective career development support. However, for older workers or individuals with low digital literacy levels, online career guidance may not be as accessible. The most high-quality portals provide tools that help users “understand their own abilities, skills needs, and job preferences,” the OECD concludes. Portugal’s Vi@s portal, Slovenia’s e-Counseling service, and Australia’s Job Outlook are a few examples of online career guidance portals that offer such resources.
Whether online or in-person, effective career guidance is key to helping both those new to the workforce and those looking to make a change in their career navigate the increasingly complex labor market. It’s never been more important, then, for governments, employers, and schools to invest in these services, making them more flexible, more personalized, and most importantly, more accessible.
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