Page 69 - Professionalising-career-guidance-practitioner-competences-and-qualification-routes-in-Europe

The more recent rapid growth in postgraduate courses in Poland arose from the need to
train more careers counsellors to meet the large increase in the provision of vocational
counselling, underpinned by legislation in education, employment and youth services. In
2003, the Ministry of National Education and Sport produced a regulation governing the
organisation of psychological and educational support in public kindergartens, schools and
educational institutions, introducing career guidance into schools. In 2004/05, the Ministry of
Education developed career guidance programmes for schools, which required teachers to
be trained to deliver career counselling. To assist this, the Ministry of Education developed a
framework for postgraduate studies and made grants available to promote and support the
development of postgraduate programmes, cofinanced with the European Social Fund
(ESF). Careers counsellors were gradually introduced into schools having undertaken
part-time training over 12 to 18 months.
Since the law requires that all careers counsellors are graduates of higher education
(university), postgraduate studies in career guidance counselling have recently been
developed by approximately 30 universities. Most of these programmes last for three
semesters (1.5 years). Almost a half of the private universities in Poland have developed
courses, as this was seen as an emerging market, with many universities able to offer free
postgraduate studies for career guidance counsellors drawing on EU cofinancing under the
European Social Fund.
The programmes differ. In most cases, the universities developed the programmes
themselves, based on existing models and curricula from the Ministry of Labour or Ministry of
Education; in other cases, they have used external experts to support this process. Specialist
courses are being designed, such as one in career guidance for working with clients with
disabilities, which will have a medical focus.

4.6.3. Changes responding to the Lisbon strategy and Bologna process
As yet, neither the Bologna process nor the Lisbon strategy has impacted on the delivery of
the postgraduate course at the University of Łódź. The course is based on subjects, not
modules. There is a credit transfer system in place at the university which currently covers
those on undergraduate programmes and exchange students on the Socrates programme.

4.6.4. Entry requirements and alternative routes to entry and qualification
Entrants to the postgraduate course at the University of Łódź must have a master’s degree in
social sciences, such as sociology, psychology or pedagogy, and normally one or two years
of work experience. Undergraduate study gives a sufficient academic basis for specialisation
in career guidance, but there are no exceptions to the requirement for a master’s
qualification. However, it was decided to broaden this out to include very motivated
applicants who do not have work experience; these undertake a one-month placement in an
organisation offering career guidance, such as a labour office or private careers company.
There is no accreditation of prior learning or prior experiential learning for entry to the
programme, or any exemption from studying subject areas once on it.
Other institutions have established their own entry requirements, which may be different
from these.

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