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Bulgaria and Romania, lasting 72 hours in Latvia, and occupying just three days (about 20
hours) for tutors in Romania not accessing GCDF training. The parallel initiatives in Romania
(see above) offer an interesting possibility for a comparative evaluation study.

2.5. Public employment service roles

There are a number of instances of the support offered by public employment services being
extended both to include more attention to career planning, and to permit access to service
beyond the traditional target group of unemployed workers (see also Sultana and
Watts, 2006). One such example is Cyprus, where the Ministry of Labour and Social
Insurance has moved on from an emphasis solely on unemployed people, and delivering
services through staff without specialist career guidance knowledge. The ministry has now
appointed 16 graduate-level counsellors who are receiving specialised in-service training and
offering guidance to the whole population, but with a particular focus on certain groups such
as the long-term unemployed, women not active in the labour market, and older workers.

2.5.1. Specialised academic training for PES staff

In public employment services, most staff are recruited on the basis of general educational
qualifications or academic qualifications which are deemed to be relevant, most often in
psychology or social sciences. There are, however, a number of instances of more
specialised academic training.
Germany has long offered degree-level training. For many years this was through an
association between the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (BA) and the University of Mannheim.
Recent years have seen the establishment of a specific, private University of BA in
Mannheim, training approximately 300 students per year at two locations. One specialised
degree covers career guidance and case management, while the other focuses more on
public administration issues in employment market management. Specialised training is not,
however, mandatory for employment as a career guidance counsellor in the BA.
Finland’s public employment service works through two arms: one is focused on
job-seekers and employment services, the other on vocational development. Vocational
guidance psychologists in the latter section are recruited with a master’s degree in
psychology and a licence to practise (both being legal requirements). Planned in-service
training addresses both the specific needs of each individual and the changing needs of the
service in the national social and economic setting. Staff working with job-seekers in the
employment arm of the PES are increasingly involved with guidance activities, and a basic
training programme now develops their client-interaction skills, as well as the skills needed
for providing services to employers.
In Ireland, the National University of Ireland at Maynooth has a long tradition of providing
training in adult guidance and counselling. Staff from the public employment service (FÁS)
are increasingly joined by staff from adult education and community settings. The course has
changed over recent years, in response to the buoyant labour market situation and high
levels of employment; those who have remained unemployed frequently have significant
difficulties and disadvantages, including mental health problems, disabilities and intercultural
issues. The diploma-level courses at Maynooth are distinctive in accepting both graduate

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