Career guidance in partner countries

Slovakia

Career guidance is substantiated for all population groups with any level of education. It is an appropriate and effective tool for the reduction of information inequality and to increase the access to further information.

The current system of career services in Slovakia does not cover the needs of all citizens who would be interested in them. Career consulting focuses on the client's current problems and it does not see his career development in the long term prospects. Counselling services in schools focus mostly on further studies and only minimally develop the students´ career perception that goes beyond school education. Educational advisors do not always have the appropriate competencies. In the field of employment services, counselling is carried out in the context of information and advisory services. Consulting services in offices of labour are focused mostly on the quantity of clients and personnel are understaffed.

In Slovakia there were 425,858 registered jobseekers on 31st of December 2012, which represents a 14.44% rate of unemployment. Since 2008, the number of registered unemployed has been gradually increasing, of which 50% belong to the group of long-term registered, 45% with low education, 33% under the age of 29 year. Long-term registered, low-skilled and young unemployed are those who most need high level of individualized care in the field of continuing education for the purpose of professional, vocational and personal development. Current high mismatch between the skills of graduates and the requirements of the labour market increases even more the risk of protracted registration as jobseekers. Therefore, the strengthening of career guidance and counselling form an essential tool for equipping current and future workforce with needed skills and thus a tool to expand the job success possibilities for our people. Therefore it is necessary to seek constantly new opportunities and solutions, to extend consultancy services to other institutions and to establish partner networks of labour market actors in order to form the workforce capable of responding to the needs of the labour market. For this reason it is necessary to improve the level of professionalism and guidance also by familiarizing and comparing with other foreign experience.

Hungary

By the fact that Lifelong Learning (LLL) has been gaining more importance, the concepts connected to lifelong learning guidance (LLG) have replaced a simple career planning. The current social structure requires a new attitude towards the career planning. Employees can select among several thousands of positions and they expect to spend between 30 and 35 years actively in the labour market. An individual cannot avoid leaving, changing and re-planning his/her career because he/she is compelled by the environment. The professional career has currently been longer and more variable than ever and this also means that the economically active population must acquire and improve their general skills and key-competences to the level which would be acceptable for the requirements of the labour market.

In Hungary job-seekers have access to the career counselling mainly in market conditions. Current experiences show that several age-groups have to be provided with customized career guidance which means that special needs are attached to each age-group. The target of the career guidance is to make the client more independent and competent in order that he/she can assess his/her abilities, competences and areas of interest and shape his/her own individual career at any age or point of his/her life. This kind of service is currently unavailable for young and adult employees in Hungary.

Changing labour conditions require to shape individual needs continuously. The competences and areas of interest must be associated with education, training and labour-market opportunities in harmony with individual objects of life. Career guidance as a tool can contribute to the implementation of all the above."

France

In France, the number of job seekers is increasing every year. In October 2012, the number of jobless people in France reached its

highest level in 14 years. In late October, the second largest economy in the European Union (EU) up to 3.103 million people was looking for work. Compared with the previous month, this represents an increase of 1.5 percent compared with October last year, the number of unemployed increased to 10.3%.

The state has an interest in promoting youth employment. It is important to introduce a new educational system that takes into account the demand of the labor market and its future development. LENO CONSULTING as an educational institution operates mostly with job seekers. For our coaches is very important to always be prepared for the current labor market trends and predict its development by creating new training modules. It is important to develop career guidance and benefit from the experience of the member states of the EU.

Netherlands

Guidance and counselling are part of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in the Netherlands. Also VET is embedded in the connection with the labour market and social partners are therefore strongly involved which is one of the reasons that youth unemployment percentage is reasonably low in Holland in compare with other EU countries. Another reason is the system of accreditation of work placement companies and the minimum quality standards for these companies, including the incomes qualified mentor coaches. The VET system together with career guidance practices have had a long-term tradition in the Netherlands and its linkage and comparison with systems of other European countries is desirable. The needs of labour market do not reach only national scope but easily cross the border of EU countries.

22. 01. 2014, 00:00

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