Page 28 - Professionalising-career-guidance-practitioner-competences-and-qualification-routes-in-Europe

The first is an ‘academic’ tradition, which aligns with seeking status for the profession by
association with a university academic discipline. Whereas in teaching this was associated
with the elevation of the subject specialisation as the basis for assertion of status, for career
guidance it may be more associated with the attempt to demarcate a distinctive range which
constitutes the ‘specific theories and specific methods of career guidance’. In both cases,
status is potentially claimed through academic mastery of the field of knowledge.
The second is a ‘social efficiency’ tradition, which is associated with technocratic
rationality, identifying the specific duties and tasks of career guidance and building training
programmes to ensure their performance at an acceptable level. This tradition values
competence statements, and may include delivery of training through practice of skills and
procedures. Because it aims to move new recruits rapidly to competent performance, it may
be particularly applicable to induction training programmes, although this is not its only
potential application.
The third is a ‘developmentalist’ tradition, which gives priority to the broad development of
the career guidance practitioner. Professional training attends to methods for developing
relationships with clients rather than mechanically applying skills. Practice is based on using
the practitioner-client relationship as a medium for mutual growth.
Finally, a ‘social reconstructionist’ tradition attends to the transformation of social
situations rather than their reproduction. It is most likely to apply in situations where the
career guidance practitioner is concerned to address disadvantage and discrimination, and
both to challenge ‘the system’ and to strengthen the individual service user in addressing the
issues they encounter. Many EU-funded projects are targeted at disadvantaged groups,
either through providing training opportunities to which career guidance is an adjunct service,
or directly addressing the career development needs of groups such as refugees or older
workers. Where specialised training has been developed by these projects, it may well be of
a social reconstructionist nature.
Training for career guidance practitioners occurs at various stages of their personal career
journey, notably pre-service, at induction, or on a continuing in-service basis. These
distinctions are not clear-cut. Many learning opportunities can be accessed on both a
full-time (typically pre-service) or part-time (typically in-service) basis. The following
paragraphs indicate some of the situations more commonly found during this study.

2.2.1. Pre-service training
In a number of countries, pre-service training is not available, although across Europe the
trend is clearly towards its expansion. Some training falls at a borderline between pre-service
and induction, in that it follows recruitment but precedes direct work with clients.
The increasing amount of available pre-service training is mainly delivered through
academic courses in universities and other higher-education institutions, at first- or
second-cycle level. It is likely to align most strongly with the academic and developmentalist
traditions outlined above. It is unlikely to be exclusively used by potential entrants to career
guidance practice. Many courses are offered through part-time as well as full-time modes
and those in post may choose to access such training, particularly where it is newly

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