Page 48 - Professionalising-career-guidance-practitioner-competences-and-qualification-routes-in-Europe

differently from the EQF level 6 descriptors, but the London communiqué (European
Ministers for Education, 2007) affirmed that there is no major difference in intent. The
Bologna process description of a first-cycle qualification, typically lasting three to four years
and including 180-240 ECTS credits, reads as follows:
‘Qualifications that signify completion of the first cycle are awarded to students who:
• have demonstrated knowledge and understanding in a field of study that builds upon their
general secondary education, and is typically at a level that, while supported by advanced
textbooks, includes some aspects that will be informed by knowledge of the forefront of
their field of study;
• can apply their knowledge and understanding in a manner that indicates a professional
approach to their work or vocation, and have competences typically demonstrated through
devising and sustaining arguments and solving problems within their field of study;
• have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their field of study) to
inform judgements that include reflection on relevant social, scientific or ethical issues;
• can communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and
non-specialist audiences;
• have developed those learning skills that are necessary for them to continue to undertake
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further study with a high degree of autonomy.’ ( ).
Policy-makers, specialist trainers and associations of professional staff in each country
need to consider whether this level of training is an appropriate goal in their national
situation, and what steps are needed to move towards it. In the small minority of countries
where a higher level of qualification is becoming the norm, the particular benefits of higher
training might be identified and articulated to extend the debate across the Europe-wide
guidance community. Brought together, these debates open a route towards seeking
evidence of what level of training, and what degree of professional specialisation within such
training, are needed to produce client outcomes in line with national and European
strategies.

3.1.2. Specialisation
It is widely remarked in earlier studies (OECD, 2004; Cedefop; Sultana, 2004;
McCarthy, 2004) that entrants to career guidance roles have frequently trained through
related academic fields, such as psychology, education, sociology and social work, or
economics, and that these subjects are sometimes regarded as an adequate proxy for
specialised career guidance training (see Section 2). While these subjects provide solid
foundations on which a deeper understanding of career guidance can be based, we do not
support the notion that they obviate the need for such specialised training. Career guidance
specialist practitioners need their professional preparation to include coverage of the specific
theories and specific methods of career guidance. Such study is central to high quality in the
direct delivery of services, and to supporting the unique contribution that the career specialist
brings to network delivery. It serves to strengthen professional identity, and is an important

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( ) See: http://www.bologna-bergen2005.no/EN/BASIC/050520_Framework_qualifications.pdf [cited
28.11.2008].

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