Page 2 - euroguidance-insight-newsletter-2012-spring

Vocational Guidance: Helping Advice Seekers to Help Themselves

Until 2005 Professor Dr. Bernd-Joachim Ertelt was working as a professor at
the Fachhochschule des Bundes für öffentliche Verwaltung, Fachbereich
Arbeitsver-waltung in Mannheim (Federal University of Applied Sciences for
Public Administration, department of employment administration).

Since 2005, he has been working as associate lecturer at the Hochschule der
Bundesagentur für Arbeit (HdBA) - Institute of higher education of the
Federal Agency of Employment). Since 1998 he has been working as asso-
ciate professor for Business and Human Resource Education and Counsell-
ing Science at the Jan Dlugosz University, in Czestochowa/Poland.

He is also an associate lecturer at the Universities of Heidelberg and Mann-
heim. He is honorary professor at the University of National and World
Economy in Sofia/Bulgaria and has been involved in numerous European
projects as well as been working as international expert of counselling sci-

ence. He has published national and international books.

Prof. Ertelt, is there such a thing as Sounds good, but is it still realistic sal models in the sense of rational
a best suitable profession? given the current employment- decision making. For an effective
Frank Parsons, an American psycho- market situation? Only a handful of consulting assistance it is in fact ne-
th
logist of the early 20 century, pos- professions are really demanded. cessary to recognise the counsel-
tulated three assumptions. That is correct. Therefore young lor’s expert role as well as the im-
people should have a good overview portance of the client’s heuristics.
Firstly, every person is most suitable people should have a good overview
for a specific type of profession. of professions and seek the advice What should she/he do instead?
of experts. Every advice seeker must They should get away from their
Secondly, people show in different decide alone but a counsellor can ‘medical’ approach, i.e. diagnosis,
professions different psychical cha- help him to make the decision with indication, prescription. This ap-
racteristics. care. A good vocational choice proach must be replaced by inter-
consists of a precise self –know- active strategies to solve problems.
Thirdly, professional contentedness ledge, one’s own abilities , the voca- The first step must be that client
is directly associated with the de- tional requirements and the pros and counsellor define together a
gree of accordance between the and cons of the vocational choice. problem and identify the client’s
personal characteristics of the pro- expectation as to the counselling.
fessional and the professional requi- What is the counsellor’s role? Does The last step is to elaborate an ac-
rements. he only provide help for self-help? tion plan and to initiate precise
Guidance counsellors have to chan- steps considering the client’s envi-
So it is better to choose a profession ge their role from the mere vocati- ronment and possibilities of sup-
than to hunt for a job. The goal ‘best onal-information provider, meaning port. A follow-up mentoring with
match person/profession’, however, description of specific professions, regard to short-term and long-term
should not be misunderstood as to a supplier of information strate- results of the process must be pro-
one-time act. One grows into a pro- gies. Counsellors must orientate vided.
fession at a precise workplace. The themselves more on the advice see-
best match is thus a long-term task ker’s procedure to make a decision.
for a person. It is paradoxical that some guidance The interview was conducted by
Clarissa Cordroch/Euroguidance Germany
counsellors still assume simple cau-