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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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