Page 16 - euroguidance-insight-2017-autumn

16
The Use of ICT in Guidance

ICT Guidance Tool for and by the Hearing-impaired

The current debate about ICT in career guidance is not about its benefits, which are obvious
and undeniable, but rather about the best ways to use it and improve existing tools. This
led to the development of the internet portal www.deafworking.eu • www.neslysimpracuji.cz
(in a Czech version); an evidence of an active relationship between clients and counsellors.

A crucial element of the portal is
the connection with two biggest
job portals in Czech Republic
that automatically resend the
relevant job offers to the portal
and notify the employers about
the possibility to advertise for
the hearing-impaired. These
major job portals have received
a lot of attention in the Czech
Republic lately as the unem-
ployment rate is at an all-time
low and the portals released
big provocative campaigns that
gained great popularity. Howev-
The integrated portal offers job integrated guidance systems de- er, the key in this cooperation is
opportunities for the hearing- pends directly on the communica- the communication skills of the
impaired. It serves as a source of tion and insight that the guidance career counsellors, which simi-
information as well as a platform practitioners can bring into the lar projects before lacked, and
for active collaboration between process. Being able to keep track therefore the tools were not as
the community of hearing-im- of the needs of the clients or other successful as they could have
paired, counsellors and employ- stakeholders (such as employers been.
ers. Together they created a job in this case) in the process is im-
portal that has over 100 job offers portant for building the right tools The project is a result of a prior
in their database. The shift to- and capitalising on the potential of survey that indicated the need
wards a participatory and commu- ICT in career guidance. for such services among the
nity based approach in building community members. It sup-
ICT tools in guidance is evident. Besides the basic information, the ports an evidence-based prac-
portal also offers the services of tice and therefore has been
The success of the portal relies counselling and guidance to the named as a winner in the Na-
on the identification of the needs clients as well as to the labour of- tional Career Guidance Awards
of the target group, which has fice employees or employers who 2016.
been neglected in pre-existing can find relevant information and
and similar systems. The poten- advice when dealing with the hear- Gabriela Kabotová,
tial of ICT in the development of ing-impaired client/employee. Euroguidance Czech Republic