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The First Professor of Career Guidance in Denmark

On 8 March 2019, the International Women’s a reflexive model, its purpose is to support counsellors
day, Denmark’s first professor of career who wish to unleash the collective and liberating
guidance gave her inaugural speech at the potential of career guidance. You can also read about it
University of Aarhus: ‘What is career? – in the article 'Career Guidance in Communities: A Model
Career guidance as a field of research – for Reflexive Practice'. The concept of career guidance
between adaptation and emancipation’. in communities contributes to the research into career
guidance in two ways: first to bring the importance of
We spoke to Professor Rie Thomsen and communities in the career guidance into focus and
asked her: second, as a concept for the many career guidance
activities that take place outside the counselling office.
What does it mean to Danish career
guidance practice that we now have a In my international research work, I have published two
professor in career guidance? books on social justice together with Tristram Hooley
and Ronald Sultana. We are currently working with
It makes the field more visible. It will help grants from the Nordplus programme to prepare a
people to discover that there are many ways in Summer School in Norway next summer and we are
which careers can be understood. collecting votes from practitioners working with social
justice, which we will publish on our website
I was interviewed for Danish media where the https://careerguidancesocialjustice.wordpress.com.
title was ‘Dear young people, lower your
shoulders, your choice of education does not
have to decide your future’. The key point is
that the linear thinking that characterises the
political communication to young people about
education choices and implementation is
actually a false premise. After the interview,
people were writing to me, saying: ‘You are
just SO right, I did not take the straight path
either’. I also saw parents tagging their
children and other young people because they
wanted them to get the message that their
choice of education does NOT decide their
future. Because of this I started a Twitter feed
#twistedcareer, where you can get an insight
into the winding career paths of ordinary
people.

What are your current projects and fields of
research?

I continue to work on the theme from my PhD
‘Career Guidance in Communities’ and in
collaboration with Rita Buhl and Randi
Skovhus from VIA UC with whom I have
written the book ‘Guidance Provision in
1 �
Communities and Groups’ . The book contains