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building-block in creating an active academic community within each country to engage in
national research and development and to interact with the international research
community.
‘Theories’ and ‘methods’ are referred to here in the plural. It is not the purpose of this
report to advocate any specific theory or method. Views on the appropriate theoretical
underpinning for career guidance activities change over time and respond to the distinctive
social and cultural traditions of different countries. Career guidance specialist practitioners
need a broad historical and cross-cultural knowledge of their theoretical field, and an
understanding of the different methods of delivery of career guidance services that reflect
different theoretical standpoints. They need to be able to relate this knowledge and
understanding to the economic, social and cultural conditions in their own country, and to the
broader European and international context. This constitutes a distinctive body of
professional knowledge for career development and career guidance, which draws on – and
contributes to – a range of other academic disciplines (including psychology, education,
economics and social studies), but with a specific focus on progression in learning and work
within the individual’s life course.
Each country needs to address the question of how extensive the specialised element
within the overall training should be. In those countries where graduate-level training is
established, such as Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and the UK, the typical minimum
duration of specialised study is one year (or its part-time equivalent), a period reflected in
countries such as Malta where new courses are being introduced. The year of specialised
study may be free-standing, or incorporated within a three/four-year first-cycle higher
education programme. It may include practical experience, or be followed by an induction
period in the workplace where final accreditation is confirmed. The exact nature and pattern
of study and accreditation should be the subject of national debate. Overall, though, there is
evidence in existing training provision to suggest that the equivalent of one year of full-time
higher education, or 60 ECTS credits, is an appropriate benchmark from which to start such
debate.
3.1.3. Promoting mobility
It is noteworthy that the current training for the career guidance profession, which Cedefop
and Sultana (2004, p. 76) note is ‘ironically … increasingly called upon to promote …
Europe-wide mobility and “boundaryless” careers’, leaves it ill-placed in enabling its own
members to make such moves between Member States.
A further function of career guidance is in support of European strategies to improve
vertical mobility in the workforce, which involves enabling access to the accreditation of
experience and learning, as well as providing access to new learning opportunities. With
regard to its own workforce, career guidance – perceived both as a professional activity and
a policy tool – needs to ensure that any actions to define sufficiency, as outlined above, are
sensitive to the need for progression pathways, including those from paraprofessional roles
to full professional status. It should also respect the valuable contribution made by
non-formal and informal delivery mechanisms, particularly, for example, in outreach activity
with marginalised or disadvantaged groups. Accreditation of prior experience and learning
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