Page 5 - euroguidance-insight-newsletter-2012-autumn

Lyn Barham works at the National Institute for Careers Education
and Counselling in the UK. Her career has engaged with the deve-
lopment and delivery of career guidance from school-age students
through to the older workforce, with a pervasive concern to explo-
re how theory can both in-form practice and be further developed
through practice. She has moved over the years from practitioner
to trainer to researcher. Most recently, she has led a Europe-wide
project on training and competence of career guidance staff,
leading to the Cedefop publication Professionalising Career
Guidance (www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/publications/12888.aspx).
She is currently spending part of her time on a doctoral program-
me at the University of West of England, where she is exploring the

ways in which careers advisers conceptualise the notion of career.
Lyn Barham: “It is very important to ‘tune in’ to the individual

and work with their own priorities.”

“Helping older adults make career numbers of older people who are ageing workforce and related topics
decisions”, was a chapter published self-employed. I think that many ol- is something rather new.
in the CEDEFOP publication “Wor- der people, especially in lower-skilled I think the opinion is broadly appro-
king and Ageing – Emerging Theories jobs, may feel that outcome meas- priate. In the UK, from the 1970s to
and Empirical Perspectives” (2010). It ures now are valued more highly the mid-1990s, rates of work partici-
starts by stating that “the world of than the well-being of employees. pation by men aged 50-65 years fell
st
work in the 21 century is remar- But over-generalising is a danger; from 90% to about 65 %. The rate for
kably different from the mid-2000s individual people and work oppor- women was broadly level, reflecting
and individuals would have to res- tunities vary widely. the general increase in their partici-
pond accordingly”. Mrs Barham, do pation in the workforce. Rates stea-
you think that the average person According to the OECD and the died in the later 1990s and then star-
aged 50+ has already noticed that World Bank review of career ted to rise. That rise still continues.
the situation today is so much dif- guidance policies in 37 OECD and So it is interesting to note that this is

ferent from 20 or more years ago? European countries conducted near- a phenomenon of the last two deca-
Yes, I think individuals notice chan- ly 10 years ago, there are few exam- des, as you suggest, but also that the
ges in both types of work (manu- ples of effective responses to the change in trend occurred before the
facturing to service and knowledge- challenge of providing career gui- current financial turmoil and the re-
based work) and conditions of em- dance to older adults. Has the cent implementation of older ages of
ployment (more part-time work, and situation changed? state pension entitlement.
short-term contracts). The media give In the UK, any change is in the wrong
extensive coverage to employment direction. Special services for older Issues of career management skills
issues because they are so inter- people have largely disappeared. I development are currently an im-
related with the on-going financial am not aware of any large-scale portant part of many initiatives in
crisis in European countries, and else- study of the international situation, Europe and across the globe. More-
where. The changes are so multi- but the enormous problems of over, 2012 is the European Year for
faceted that even those people in unemployment amongst young “Active Ageing and Solidarity bet-
permanent, salaried positions will people (over 50% in some European ween Generations”. Could you sum-
have experienced change in work countries) are likely to attract greater marise the results of your research
processes, performance measures, policy attention. So I’m not optimistic focused on whether, and in what
and retirement age. about significant change to date. ways, career management skills are
Many people feel disorientated when different for older people?
ways of obtaining work are changed Reviewing the list of references in We have used an analogy, comparing
from when they were younger. Some the above mentioned and other a lifelong career to an aeroplane
see opportunities for personal recent papers on this topic one may flight. There are very different acti-
fulfilment, evidenced by growing come to a conclusion that issues of vities for take-off and for landing.