Page 52 - Professionalising-career-guidance-practitioner-competences-and-qualification-routes-in-Europe

practicum spread over three years of training, with progression in the different tasks that
students undertake. These include interviews with Swedish people and immigrants, which
are then analysed and presented at the university, plus group and individual interventions
that are recorded on video and presented in seminars. Tutors also visit the student’s
workplace on at least two occasions to observe an interview which is assessed (and may be
approved or not).
In France, training for the role of Conseiller d’orientation psychologue (COP) includes a
16-week placement in a guidance centre (CIO) and six to eight weeks in an enterprise. Both
placements are used to produce evidence for the final assessment.
The recently developed master’s course in Latvia is the result of wide international
consultation. It integrates practical training into each module and includes a clear statement
of purpose for this: ‘the aim of practical training is to facilitate the development of the student
career counsellor’s professional competence, characterised by the skill to work with clients
professionally and creatively and to have an analytical-evaluative attitude towards the
counsellor’s work’ (see case study on Latvia in Section 4.5.).
In Bulgaria, the master’s degree incorporates the competence-based global career
development facilitator (GCDF) to provide a practicum, including an assessed case study
(see case study on Bulgaria in Section 4.2.).
Vocational guidance psychologists in Finland’s employment offices are required to have a
master’s degree that includes the highest possible grade in psychology. Their induction
programme, which includes information about changes in society and labour markets, then
requires them to spend one to two weeks in a work placement outside the employment
service.
In Scotland, a new postgraduate professional qualification has been developed that
places an emphasis on practice-based learning. All students at the three universities offering
the course are assigned a practice tutor by Careers Scotland, the national career guidance
organisation. The practice tutors act as mentors and experts for the duration of the course,
and contribute to students’ individual learning plans and professional development (see case
study on Scotland in Section 4.7.).
Less detail is recorded about several other instances where a practicum is actively used,
or under consideration:
• degree courses in human resource development in the Netherlands, with an optional
specialism in career counselling, have an assessment process which includes transcripts
of tapes and a ‘test of competence’ These courses are structured so that the third of the
four years is spent on a work placement;
• in Poland, some degrees have a work placement of about eight weeks;
• in Iceland, the element of practical training is being developed as the course moves from
being a postgraduate diploma to become a master’s degree.

3.4. Labour market and occupational knowledge

Knowledge of the opportunities available to individual citizens is a crucial element in
delivering career guidance services to help them make informed choices about their own

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