CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
CAREER GUIDE for schools
1st Annual Report
2005 - 2006
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
Artwork:
Vassilis Tzanoglos
Evaggelos Anastasiou
Makis Mazarakos
CareerGuide network is carried out within the framework of the Socrates/Comenius 3 and
is co-financed by the European Commission
Contact Number:225936-CP-1-12005-1-GR - COMENIOUS - C3PP
Copyright © 2006 Carrer Guide
All rights reserved.
Reproduction or translation of any part of this work without the written permission of the
copyright owners is unlawful. Request for permission or further information should be addressed to the copyright owners.
Printed by EPINOIA S.A.
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
CAREER GUIDE for schools
1st Annual Report
2005 - 2006
Editors: Sofoklis Sotiriou, Eleni Lampou, Nora Gikopoulou
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1. Aims and Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2. Methodology Of Working Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
3. Activity Report of Working group: “How to find out about yourself” . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
4. Activity Report of Working group: “How to find about the job market” . . . . . . . . . .35
5. Activity Report of Working group: “How to develop your career” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
6. Career Guide schools’ Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
7. Portal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
8. Dissemination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
9. 1st annual Career Guide Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
Preface
This annual report documents the Career Guide Network activities of the year 2005 -2006.
The aim of the document is to present the main achievements but also the obstacles that
came up.
During the first year the main work concerned the organization of working groups and
the design of working groups’ research activities. The effort was focused also on building
efficient collaboration scheme among the consortium.
Subsequently, on this document, consortium presents the experiences in the Career Guidance Network, the objectives, the achievements and the obstacles in this first year.
The Annual Report includes seven main chapters describing the key points and the milestones of the project. At the beginning of this volume, the reader will find the main objectives of career guide Network and the working groups’ development methodology. At the
next chapter, will be presented the achievements at the first year. Specifically, the construction of the Working groups research activities, the schools’ network, the portal and the dissemination activities are presented. The annual report accomplished with the presentation
of the 1st annual conference of “CareerGUIDE for Schools” that took place in Athens.
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
1. Aims and Objectives
The main aim of the career guide network is to bridge the gap between school and work.
The main contribution of the networks work will be the provision of a real world experience
bridging academic and occupational learning and interests. Through a series of proposed
methodologies, the network will explore and demonstrate ways that European schools
could adopt in order their students to explore possible career pathways that integrate their
strengths and interests with classroom and occupational learning. The career exploration
journey is a vital part of students becoming citizens with more clearly defined futures having identified and pursued their potential opportunities. This aim will try to serve the following objectives and provide a different perspective in the current situation as described
in the previous session.
• To stimulate the effort of bringing career guidance to the education policy front
and contribute to the upgrading of teaching and learning career development.
Although career development guidance has been explored extensively the last years,
most of the work has as a focal point adult population. The proposed network will try
to highlight the importance of introducing career guidance from the early years of the
educational system since efforts to intervene in the life career process can accelerate or
strengthen the acquisition of knowledge, attitudes and skills about self and the world
of work.
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
• To develop generic skills profiles relevant to key jobs and to create a dedicated
web portal, the CareerGUIDE for Schools portal and a series of additional communications (workshops, info-days, conferences) to make this information available.
The generic skills profiles which will be included will describe the jobs, setting out the
vision, role and life style associated with them. The specific technology areas and tasks
associated with each job will be outlined, as well as the level of behavioral and technical skills required to carry out the profiled jobs.
• To explore the best practices on the implementation of career guidance education
in Europe through extended surveys. Working groups of the network are going to
record and analyze the needs of career-guidance teachers and students in Europe, best
career-guidance practices and activities etc. and produce a series of reports which are
going to form the basis for developing the “Report on Effective Career Guidance in
Schools”. The report could help all those persons who formally or informally take part
in the process of educational and career guidance of children.
• To offer specialized support and training opportunities to educators of career guidance in schools throughout Europe. Through the CareerGUIDE for Schools portal all
school teachers could have access to and familiarize with career guidance resources.
Teachers who are interested in the specific thematic area could be informed on various
training opportunities offered all over Europe. Additionally, tutors of career guidance
will be able to exchange best practices and experiences on the issue of career development.
• To develop new curriculum guidelines that will assist education and training policy
makers and decision makers across Europe to design courses to match the skills profiles
and needs of Europe’s industry and meet the aims of the eEurope Action Plan.
• To establish horizontal links between school & society. The proposed network aims
at joining the society with school through the integration of various elements of the
wider society in the participating school communities. By engaging policy makers and
labour market agencies throughout Europe in the CareerGUIDE for Schools portal,
automatically society is integrated in the school curriculum.
• To evaluate the application of ICT-based methodologies and practices addressed
to career guidance. The function of the network will be based on the use and exploitation of the possibilities offered by Information Communication Technologies that will
support qualitatively the effort. The same concept i.e. the utilization of ICT will form the
basis for indicating new methodologies of good career guidance practice.
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
• To promote the European Dimension in career guidance reinforcing long-term mobility in Europe. The CareerGUIDE for Schools portal will accumulate information on
the issue of career guidance from various European countries offering the opportunity
to anyone interested on the issue to gather information in a European level. Users
will also have the chance to discuss on the specific topic with people with common
interests, from other European countries and explore another country’s culture. Furthermore, schools all over Europe, implementing CareerGUIDE for Schools portal, can
follow a common approach on educational and career guidance. The CareerGUIDE for
Schools workshops which will be held in all participating countries, will also contribute
to maximising the European Dimension in career guidance, since professionals from all
over Europe will meet each other and offer information about their occupation in their
country to school-children and teachers. The workshops will promote career diversity in
the extended European community.
• To create the conditions for the network’s sustainability and expansion. The partnership aims to create a cooperation network open to expansion and development.
This by definition will assist the effort of sustaining the networks function after the end
of this project. The CareerGUIDE for Schools network will put special effort on utilizing
outcomes of other Comenius projects, develop collaboration and include other Comenius partners in the Network. In addition, the partnership aims to support further the
continuation of the network by own resources and by trying to ensure additional funds
from other external resources.
The Consortium of CareerGuide network consists of the following partners:
• Ellinogermaniki Agogi, Athens, Greece
Ellinogermaniki Agogi is an educational organization of private law, officially recognized by
the state. It is an institutional member of EDEN (European Distance Education Network)
and of STEDE (Science Teacher Education Development in Europe) network.
Ellinogermaniki Agogi was the first Greek educational organization, which applied ODL
in secondary level education in the year of 1993. Since 1995, the organization has established a devoted department, the Research and Development Department for the design,
development and implementation of the research activities in education, expanding the
collaboration with Universities and pedagogical Institutions across Europe, as it provides
the best test bed for research applications.
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
• Newman College of Higher
Education, Birmingham, UK
• INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France
• University of Louis Pasteur,
Strasbourg, France
• Technical University of Dresden,
Dresden, Germany
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
• Alfa-Omega Communications, Talin, Estonia
• Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania
• Kaunas Maironis Gymnasium, Kaunas, Lithuania
• Institute for Future Studies, Innsbruck, Austria
• IPA S.A., Bucharest, Romania
• Technical University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria
• Ellinogermaniki Agogi, Athens, Greece
• University of Athens, Athens, Greece
• ALBA Graduate Business School, Athens, Greece
• Orientum- Career Counsellors, Athens, Greece
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
• Newman College of Higher Education, Birmingham, UK
Newman College is a College of Higher Education in the University sector. It provides
undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses in initial teacher training and continued
professional development for teachers and undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in
a range of other areas, including Psychology, Education Studies. All undergraduate programmes include work placement modules and Newman has extensive experience in
vocational preparation. Newman College has a long-standing and extensive network of
student mobility co-operation through the ERASMUS provision. In addition, the college cooperates through the Teacher Training Agency with the Ministries of Education of France
and of Spain. Other educational specialisations include ICT development and application,
the provision for children with Special Educational Needs and citizenship education. The
University of Leicester validates awards.
• University of Athens, Athens, Greece (will be withdrawn)
• INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France
INSEAD is widely recognised among the world’s top-tier business schools as one of the
most innovative and influential. It is the only business school with full-fledged campuses in
Asia (Singapore) and Europe (Fontainebleau). Currently, 147 faculty members teach more
than 840 MBA students, 6,800 executives and 73 PhD students from over 75 countries. The
INSEAD Executive MBA is being launched in autumn 2003. INSEAD’s unique global perspective and multicultural diversity are reflected in all aspects of its research and teaching.
The INSEAD-Wharton Alliance, announced in May 2001, combines INSEAD’s resources
with those of Wharton’s campuses in Philadelphia and San Francisco, to deliver business
education and research across a Global Learning Network.
• Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany
The Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden) founded in 1828 does not only rank
among the oldest technical universities in Germany but also among the most important
ones as far as research is concerned. Having been committed to the natural sciences and the
engineering sciences until the reunification of Germany, TU Dresden has developed into an
all-around university due to the new faculties of social sciences and medicine. With its altogether 14 faculties it now offers a broad scientific spectrum which only few universities in
Germany are able to match. The university’s consistent orientation toward competitiveness
is also closely linked to its being restructured at the beginning of the 1990’s. Of course, this
also includes a commerce-oriented way of thinking and action as well as the xpansion of
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
already existing partnerships of science with industry and commerce. Leading commercial
enterprises have acknowledged the university’s commitment to practice-oriented teaching
and research, among other things, with the foundation of thirteen endowed chairs.
• University of Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France
The UNIVERSITY LOUIS PASTEUR STRASBOURG (ULP) is the Laboratory of Educational Sciences. This institution has two fields of research; the educational multimedia and the adult
education. It organizes research seminars. The researchers participate in research programs, international congress and publish their research results in international reviews in
education. The laboratory has got 20 members.
The Laboratory of Educational Sciences has participated in several EU programmes on ICT.
It is developing also university training in professional guidance for the students especially
in the reform of the higher education in Europe (Bologna Process). The objective is to
provide to the students information about the professional opportunities. The ERASMUS
program, proposed to the students since 9 years, help them to acquire more foreign language skills and knowledge about the Higher education in Europe and the different European cultures. With the Laboratory of Educational Sciences, the University Louis Pasteur in
Strasbourg has developed a competence of research in educational multimedia and more
particularly in pedagogical usage of the Internet. It has developed several university training’s on pedagogical usage’s of the Internet and notably a diploma on distance education
via the Internet, the University Diploma for the Utilisation of Informational and Communicational Technology for Education.
• ALBA Graduate Business School, Athens, Greece
ALBA is an educational not-for-profit association of Greek corporations, currently numbering 50. ALBA’ s mission is to foster a new generation of managers, from Greece, but also
from other countries in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Balkans and Eastern Europe, capable of operating in a global environment, and at the same time equipped with the necessary skills for becoming agents and catalysts of change and development in this region. It
does so by offering a rigorous postgraduate business education of the highest international
academic standards, adapted to the specific problems and circumstances of the not-fully
developed economies and societies around Greece.
ALBA has established a well equipped Career Office, which offers a wide range of career
services, in order to help students plan and successfully develop their careers. The mission
of the Career Office is to provide, on the basis of ALBA’s extensive knowledge of the job
market and its close links with the business community, excellent support to assist students
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
and alumni in making sound career decisions and help them plan a successful career path.
A variety of support services are offered to all students wishing to gain extensive up-to-date
information about the job market.
• Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania
Vytautas Magnus University is under the Lithuanian Ministry of Science and Education. The
decision to establish the University of Lithuania in Kaunas was made by Lithuanian cabinet
of Ministers on February, 1922. The act of re-establishing Vytautas the Great University
Vytautas Magnus university, Department of Education - was re-established in 1991. Its
mission is to provide the city, region and the country with a wider access to humanitarian culture. It organises a variety of activities, including studies, research and international
projects.
• Technical University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria
The Technical University of Sofia, created in 1945 is the oldest higher school for engineering education in Bulgaria. Its more than 55000 alumni have considerably contributed to
the development of the Bulgarian industry, energy, transport and communications sectors.
Today with 19000 students and 1800 staff TUS is the largest technical university in the
country and plays an important role in the national education system. The University has
good traditions in international cooperation.
During the period 1991-2001 it participated actively in the EU funded TEMPUS program
(more than 60 projects with a total budget of 9 mln. EUR). Now the TUS is very active in
the Socrates and Leonardo programs, oriented toward students and professors exchange
with EU 15 universities. Besides TUS scientists’ teams are working under several research
programs, like COPERNICUS for example. More than 60 bilateral agreements with foreign
universities (mostly of them with universities from EU countries) are supporting the international cooperation
• Institute for Future Studies, Innsbruck, Austria
The IFS is a young institution of applied research, which focuses on selected topics of future
of education and work. It has been founded by the Association for Flexible Learning in
Innsbruck (Austria). Main interests are in the research and public discussion of questions
concerning future use of information and communication technologies (ICT), especially in
professional world and education. A strong focus is put on ICT support for the combination of different learning contexts (formal, non-formal and informal learning). A major goal
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
is the promotion of life-long learning among the population and local, regional, national
and European/international policy makers. The Institute investigates actual trends, analyses
possibilities and risks in society and examines consequences on professional and private
life.
• IPA S.A., Bucharest, Romania
IPA SA is a privately owned company focused on research and design in automation, currently employing about 240 people. Based in Bucharest, it has subsidiaries in the main Romanian towns. Founded in 1960 for the formation of the national industry of automation,
IPA’s specialists have established direct and permanent relations with most noteworthy
companies and institutions in Romania, placed in various sectors: industry, information
technology, energy including renewable, transport, agriculture, environmental protection,
a.o.
• Kaunas Maironis Gymnasium, Kaunas, Lithuania
Kaunas Maironis gymnasium is one of the oldest schools in Lithuania. It is the institution of
local municipality providing curriculum programme across the four year learning areas for
higher classes of secondary education.
Kaunas Maironis gymnasium has a specialized programme for students that includes career guidance services (briefing, counselling, competencies development). Kaunas Maironis Gymnasium is responsible for Modelling of career guidance for secondary schools in
Lithuania, local centre of career guidance for pupils, organizer of conferences on career
guidance for schools.
• Alfa-Omega Communications, Talin, Estonia
Alfa-Omega Communications is a private company which was founded in January 2000.
The company’s core business area is international Public Relations and Communication. Its
objectives and mission consist in the provision of customized communication and information services. Its main expertise is in the fields of business, education, science, technology
and social issues.
Alfa-Omega Communications has established constructive relations with the opinion leaders, scientists, business leaders, educational and political circles, mass media publications
and news agencies. Its expertise includes corporate communication, marketing communication, media relations and organizing of events.
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
• Orientum- Career Counsellors, Athens, Greece (new partner)
The ORIENTUM Company was created aiming at providing services in the space of Counselling and Vocational Guidance, addressing mainly to students of Secondary Education.
Constituted by young persons, specialised in the space of Vocational Guidance and job
market, it aims at providing completed projects of counselling of career in the students,
helping them in the crucial phase of choice of academic department. The name of the
company derives from the Latin “Oriens” (Sunshine) and stands for an effort to help the
students for a new beginning in their academic and professional career.
The collaboration of Orientum with the company named KARIERA SA provides career counsellors with the capability of combining practically education with job market work and, via
the newspaper “Kariera”, it offers the readers’ useful information on subjects of education
and labour market.
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
2. Methodology of working groups
The working group is the main methodological “unit” of the Career Guide network. As
far as the network activities on training and supporting teachers and counsellors are concerned, there are three underlying pedagogical concepts:
• To embody career guidance in the school’s curriculum as a wide open process by exploring and adapting the best practices of it
• To establish horizontal links between school & society by bridging the gap between
education and labour market
• To adapt and evaluate the application of ICT-based methodologies and practices addressed to career guidance.
According to the proposal the work of the CareerGUIDE for Schools network will mainly be
based upon the principles of the collaborative approach. The network consisted of working
groups on different sub thematic areas that work independently but meet and reflect to
each other periodically, in order to combine and utilise knowledge and research evidence
for producing the best of it.
The working groups cooperate implementing practices, activities and techniques. The
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
members of the working groups had either face to face meetings or virtual meetings. In
those meetings group members recorded progress and concluded on their future actions.
The general guidelines, the timeframe of each work that had to be performed as well as the
dissemination of the work, were discussed by all partners and each group separately partners. Milestones of the first year were the formation of the research activities, the structure
of the Portal and the planning of working groups.
The formation was discussed at the kick off meeting (10/2005) and the structure of the Portal defined at the second meeting in Dresden (03/06). The final planning and the working
groups’ structure defined at the third meeting in Athens (11/06). In addition, several msn
working groups meetings took place during the first year, in order to discuss the process of
research work. Furthermore, there were two meetings of the working groups’ coordinators,
where reorganization’s topics were discussed.
The exact research themes and the respective number of the working groups are determined with the formation of the network. The major outcome of the working group is the
“working group report” on the research theme.
Moments of the meetings
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
The main objectives of the working groups are:
• To stimulate the effort of bringing career guidance to the education policy front and
contribute to the upgrading of teaching and learning career development.
• To develop generic skills profiles relevant to key jobs and to create a dedicated web
portal, the CareerGUIDE for Schools portal and a series of additional communications
(workshops, info-days, conferences) to make this information available.
• To explore the best practices on the implementation of career guidance education in
Europe through extended surveys (“Report on Effective Career Guidance in Schools”).
• To offer specialized support and training opportunities to educators of career guidance
in schools throughout Europe.
• To develop new curriculum guidelines
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
• To establish horizontal links between school & society.
• To evaluate the application of ICT-based methodologies and practices addressed to
career guidance.
• To promote the European Dimension in career guidance reinforcing long-term mobility
in Europe
• To create the conditions for the network’s sustainability and expansion.
At the kick off meeting were planned the basic thematic accesses. In accordance with those
plans, the work of the progress is organized in two parallel accesses. The first concerns the
current status of Career Guidance in Europe. All partners collect relevant information for
their country, such as the number of official institutions that provide career counseling and
the models of career guidance that each country implements.
The second access refers to research activities for “best practices” at the field of the Career
Guidance. At the 2nd meeting in Dresden were defined the organization and the working
groups’ thematic areas:
WG1
School to Labour Transition
•
•
•
•
•
WG2
Methodologies and approaches (including ICT) in career guidance
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Personal development
Career and education guidance
Special people groups transition
Skills matching with market job needs
Other uploads related to school to work transitions in Europe
Personal development
Counselling
Career skills
Work placement
Role playing
Information giving
Other uploads related to Methodologies in career guidance
CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
WG3
Attitudes, perception of students/teachers towards Career guidance
• Attitude/perception of students
• Attitude/perception of teachers
WG4
Career design skills
• Decision making skills and problem solving
• Personality (personal awareness, personal effectiveness skills, self- esteem, values)
• Collecting and evaluating information skills (collection, planning and
organize the information, critical thinking, communication skills)
Following the evolution of the research activities, the consortium decided to change the
structure of the working groups as an attempt to make topics less obscure and ambiguous and to provide network teachers and counsellors with one more structured and clear
methodology for career guidance based on the theoretical and scientific background of
career guidance.
In particular the problems that came up were related with the following topics:
a) Some titles weren’t clear and did not refer to a specific content.
b) In some cases consortium noticed there were overlaps at the content.
c) The relation of the content among the working groups was ambiguous
Three working groups created and specialised in different sub-thematic areas. The three
working groups represent the three vital steps a student should do in order to achieve a
successful career and in general a life path.
The student, at first, recognizes and accepts his personal inner and external traits. Student
makes an effort to understand himself, his abilities and his skills, his values and his motivations. This thematic area concerns the Personal Development, one of the most substantive
and difficult part of the procedure of career guidance.
After having the “information” for him, student wants to learn information about the system of education and the labor market. The education that institutions provide, the needs
of labor market, the skills required most and the main links regarding labor market tenden-
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
cies are topics that included in the second working group.
The last step concerns the matching of personal traits with a specific career and the detection of alternatives choices and career plans. The development of career skills, the steps to
make a good decision, the construction of cv and cover letter, the preparation for the 1st
interview and the adaptation in new work placements, comprise the topics of the third
working group.
Following this structure of content, a teacher or a counsellor can easily approach the field
of career guidance and help their students.
The current status of working groups’ organization, presented at the table below:
WG1
Find out about yourself
• Self
• general and life skills (learning skills and competences, talents, abilities)
• coaching(coaching, process, practice, methodology)
• personal, values, interests and motivations
WG2
Find about the job market
• job market
• Skills, experience and knowledge required for different groups of professions
• Marketable and non-marketable professions
• Easy steps how to find out the information about the job market and it’s
needs in the countries of project partners
• Proposed methodologies
WG3
How to develop your career
• Career design skills
• Work placement
• transition
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
The content of working groups is presented in a more detailed way at the lines below:
• Know about yourself: In this working group, the procedure of recognition of the self
aspects is the vital thematic. In this framework, practices concerning personal recognition and development were studied and then published in the website (WIKI section).
Other parts of the research activities of this working group were self concept, self esteem, self assessment, a proposed coaching process, practices, methodology on children’s interests and values.
• Know about the labour market: In this working group, topics concerning labour market were worked on. Main topics are industry constraints, research on marketable and
non marketable professions, providing a methodology for organizing career panels and
career days in schools or educational institutes.
• Develop your career path: In this working group, some practices concerning career
design skills – especially, problem solving and decision making – are studied and then
published in the website. The development of competencies and skills or Role playing
games and exercises on: Decision making skills, CV writing, presentation skills, social
skills, communication, personal effectiveness, Cultural adaptation skills, learn how to
search job vacancies were investigated and published in the website
The work that had done from each partner embodied to the new topics of working groups.
In a more specific way
The content of the old working group 1 “school to labor transition” has embodied at
working group 3 “How to develop your career” and working group 1“ Find out about
yourself”.
The working group 2 has been shared to working group 1 and working group 3.
Working group’s 3 content has transferred to the first access, where the current status of
career guidance in each partner’s country can be described. In this section, statistics and
researches for attitudes can be referred.
Working group 4 embodied to working group 3 “how to develop your career”, concerning
the topic of career decision, and to the working group 2, regarding the topic of information.
At the tables below, the cross changes are presented:
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
WG1
School to Labour Transition
•
•
•
•
WG2
Methodologies and approaches (including ICT) in career guidance
•
•
•
•
•
•
WG3
Personal development
Career and education guidance
Special people groups transition
Skills matching with market job needs
Personal development
Counselling
Career skills
Work placement
Role playing
Information giving
Attitudes, perception of students/teachers towards Career guidance
• Attitude/perception of students
• Attitude/perception of teachers
WG4
Career design skills
• Decision making skills and problem solving
• Personality (personal awareness, personal effectiveness skills, self- esteem, values)
• Collecting and evaluating information skills (collection, planning and
organize the information, critical thinking, communication skills)
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
WG1
Find out about yourself
• Self
• general and life skills (learning skills and competences,
talents, abilities)
• coaching(coaching, process, practice, methodology)
• personal, values, interests
and motivations
WG2
Find about the job market
• job market
• Skills,
experience
and
knowledge required for
different groups of professions
• Marketable and non-marketable professions
• Easy steps how to find out
the information about the
job market and it’s needs
in the countries of project
partners
• Proposed methodologies
WG3
How to develop your career
• Career design skills
• Work placement
• transition
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
Methodology of research and implementation
Working groups aim to develop training material and best practices and activities, which
can be used from counselors at secondary school. In particular aim to create practical and
useful exercises and activities that can take place in a classroom, that hold no more than
30’ minutes and counsellor can use them as a session, accomplished in a lot of parts, or as
individual practices.
Theoretical background: Each exercise or activity has been based on a specific theory that
presented concisely. So consortium declares the aims, the basic axes – key points and the
whole concept of the theory.
Links: will be provided a data basis of suggested web counselling platforms
Implementation: best scenarios will be implemented at classroom by researchers. Although,
in order to avoid distance problems with school far away located, consortium can train
counselors and explain with details the procedure of implementation.
Evaluation: Counselors that will implement exercises will evaluate the activity.
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3. Activity Report of Working group:
“How to find out about yourself”
Working group 1 has as a title “How to find out about yourself” and are participating
Ellinogermaniki Agogi as working group leader, Newman College of Higher Education
(NCHE), Kaunas Maironis Gymnasium (KMG) and ALBA Graduate Business School.
The main aspects of working group 1 comprise of:
Self
General & life skills
Coaching
Personal Values, interests
& motivations
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
analysis of the term “self” and its aspects
self concept, self esteem, self assessment
activities for the self concept
learning skills & competences
talents
abilities
coaching
process, practices, methodology
children’s interests and values
specification
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Personal Development it’s a hard continuous process, vital part in the procedure of Career
Guidance, helping pupils to understand and articulate all aspects of their personality in order to make specific plans for a stable future achievement. This process is indeed an open
wide plan made by pupils, connecting their emotional, educational and the vocational self
aspect.
Actually, it is student’s first step in a long life path, in a path of realizing and acting and it
could be embodied in the schools’ curriculum as an open wide plan.
Personal development could be shaped in schools as a curriculum which encompasses any
area of learning that promotes students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
and helps them to be prepared for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of
adult life.
For all these reasons above, we regarded the issue of Personal Development, the first step
at the career counselling procedure and one of the most difficult parts.
Regarding the research activities, working group1 has already created a matrix with specific
practices, in accordance with the appropriate methodology. Most of the activities have
been uploaded at the wiki, but partners keep working on this section.
Some representative activities for self concept improving are presented at the next paragraphs:
The Interview This is a great beginning-of-the-year activity. Students will be separated into
dyads. Each is paired with someone he does not already know well. Allowing five minutes
per interview, the students interview each other. Then standing behind the person he has
just interviewed, his hands on that person’s shoulders, each child tells what he has learned
about the other, introducing him to the class.
The Journal As a journal entry each student might write a poem, describe a dream, or
share something he is pleased about or unhappy about. It is the student’s journal; Teacher
entries only if the student says I may. However, teacher does check regularly to ensure that
there are at least three dated entries per week.
Designing Self-Collages Using pictures, words, or symbols clipped from magazines that
represent things they enjoy doing or own, places they’ve been, people they admire, or
careers they desire, students create a collage. They place their names on the back, and
teacher post the collages around the room.
Ranking Traits Teacher asks students to rip a piece of paper into ten strips. On each they
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write a word or phrase that describes themselves. It should be assured that no one of
students will see what they have written, so a student can be extremely honest. Then the
student arranges the traits in order from what he most likes about himself to what he least
likes. When done, teacher says, “Do you like what you see? Do you want to keep it? Now
give up one trait. How does the lack of that affect you? Now give up another. Give up
three. Now what kind of person are you?”
Accentuate the Positive Breaking the class into groups of four to six, students focus on
one member at a time. Students in the group tell all the positive things they can about that
person. Encouraging compliments that focus on behavior rather than something that cannot be altered or developed like a physical characteristic. No put downs are allowed. Every
comment must be positive. One student acts as the recorder. This list is then given to the
person for his journal.
Thumbprints Each student places his thumb on an inkpad and make a thumb print. Beforehand I photocopy the five general fingerprint patterns shown in the encyclopaedia, so
students can identify their type of print. Teacher discuss the fact that each fingerprint is special because it is totally unique. Then each student creates an animal using the thumbprint
as the body. The students place this in their journals.
Create a “Me” Commercial Each student write a two- to three-minute television commercial. The topic is why someone should hire him. The commercial depicts the student’s
special qualities. After they work on these, students present their commercials in front of
the class. Another variation is for a group of five to create a commercial for each one and
then present this in front of the class.
Drawing Self Portraits – Life Trees Using a small mirror, students draw themselves. Students can use black or colored pencils, but any medium could be used. The picture does
not have to be exact, but it should be representative of that student. These portraits also go
into the journals. An optional variation is to divide the shape for the face down the center
lengthwise. Half the face can be a depiction of how the student sees himself, and the other
how he thinks others see him. This is accompanied by a journal entry that describes how
the student sees himself versus how he thinks others see him. Instead of the self portrait,
students can draw a tree, depicting self. This can be the tree of their life.
These activities are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many other activities through which
a teacher can help her students build a positive self-concept. These types of activities hopefully give students the strength to withstand the pressures of the pack; they hopefully enable students to resist that pull to metamorphoses into who they’re not.
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In additional, working group 1 presents some
indiacating links, relevant with the topic of personal development.
Personal development curriculum
Qualifications & Curriculum authority - U.K.
Career Development Activities
America’s Career Resource Network
Elementary - Personal/Social Development: “Making Choices”
High School - Personal/Social Development: “Managing Hassles”
State of Michigan
Personal Development Planning
University of Cardiff
At the lines below, working group1 presents an
activity referred to personal development section. The exercise created from the wg1 partners and implemented at the secondary school
at Ellinogermaniki Agogi. As far as we have
videotape the procedure of implementation, a
demo is available for the consortium and the
network of schools. At the paragraphs below
are presented the theoretical background, the
description of the exercise and the findings.
Johari Window Theory
The “iceberg exercise” has been based on the
Johari‘s Window theory. The Johari Window is
a widely used model for understanding and
training self-awareness, personal development,
improving communications, interpersonal relationships, group dynamics, team development
and inter-group relationships.
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Personal Development Planning
University of Northampton
Career & Personal Development
Canterbury Christ Church University
Personal and social education
Health Promoting Schools
Personal and social education
Singapore Ministry of Education
Personal and social education - Curriculum Guidelines
National Curriculum Online - U.K.
Standards and Quality in Personal and Social Education in Wales
Education and Training in Wales
Ten Activities to Improve Students’ Self-Concepts
The Johari Window actually represents information - feelings, experience, views, attitudes,
skills, intentions, motivation, etc - within or
about a person - in relation to their group, from
four perspectives, which are described below.
Johari Window terminology refers to ‘self’ and
‘others’: ‘self’ means oneself. ‘Others’ mean
other people in the person’s group or team.
The four Johari Window perspectives are called
‘regions’ or ‘areas’ or ‘quadrants’. Each of these
regions contains and represents the information - feelings, motivation, etc - known about
the person, in terms of whether the information is known or unknown by the person, and
whether the information is known or unknown
by others in the group.
The Johari Window’s four regions are as follows, showing the quadrant numbers and
commonly used names:
CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
johari window four regions
Iceberg exercise
1. what is known by the person about him/
herself and is also known by others - open
area, open self, free area, free self, or ‘the
arena’
2. what is unknown by the person about him/
herself but which others know - blind area,
blind self, or ‘blindspot’
3. what the person knows about him/herself
that others do not know - hidden area, hidden self, avoided area, avoided self
4. what is unknown by the person about
him/herself and is also unknown by others
- unknown area or unknown self
•
Open/free self
Blind self
Hidden self
Unknown self
The aim in any group should always be to develop the ‘open area’ for every person, because
when we work in this area with others we are
at our most effective and productive and the
group is at its most productive too. The open
free area, or ‘the arena’, can be seen as the
space where good communications and cooperation occur, free from distractions, mistrust,
confusion, conflict and misunderstanding.
The elements of each region can be information, feelings, sensitivities, fears, manipulative
intentions etc.
By telling others how we feel and other information about ourselves we increase the open
area, through the process of ‘disclosure’, which
enables better understanding, cooperation,
trust, team-working effectiveness and productivity.
•
•
We write in the board a series of human
traits or we give pupils a photocopy with
all these traits plus 6 cartels to each one.
Then students choose 6 traits that describe
themselves and write them on the 6 cartels. We assure students that no one will
see what they have written, so a student
can be extremely honest.
Then students arrange the traits in order
from what they most like about themselves
to what they least like. When done, we ask,
“Do you like what you see? Do you want to
keep it? Now give up one trait. How does
the lack of that affect you? It isn’t obligatory for all students to answer the questions.
5-6 opinions can be heard. We also try to
clarify students’ movements, facial expressions even their glance.
Afterwards, we suggest students to give
up another trait and next to give up three.
Now we ask them ‘’what kind of person are
you?” After giving up six of the qualities,
we could hear all comments students have
circularly in order to clarify their feelings.
We recommend them to regain all traits
one by one, if they feel like. This exercise
ends up when children obtain all traits they
really want or think they need.
Findings:
As the implementation completed, we saw
great tension as students decided, which traits
they will give up. We heard comments about
how incomplete the student felt without those
traits, and we saw great relief, and a new understanding of the importance of those traits,
as they are regained.
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4. Activity Report of Working group:
“How to find about the job market”
The working group 2 has as a title “Find about the Job market”. The participants at this
group are Vytautas Magnus University, as coordinator, IPA, ORIENTUM and Newman College of Higher Education.
Theoretical approach
For many human beings a profession becomes “foundation of life” (F.Nietzsche) and,
therefore, professional choice becomes one of the most important decisions in humans’
lives. If this decision is right, then a human being is able to actualize and develop himself
by feeling an important part of a society and conversely, the wrong decision may cause
personal dissatisfaction of life, inadaptability and other negative factors. Not long ago the
choice of profession was a single act in a person’s lifetime, but nowadays it is becoming
a continuous process… And therefore, “person’s continuous preparation for vocational life
and further career designing are strategically important for the social integration of all age
group and functioning of the labor market system.
The concept of “labor market” in its’ initial meaning meant the place where human work-
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force was bought and sold, as the human workforce was un-separated from human body.
In different stages of the development of economy, the proportion between physical and
mental workforce became unequal. First of all, for a long time till almost the end of XIX century, human being embodied the source of physical energy in manufacturing as there were
no other kinds of energy source. Therefore, working abilities of human being were usually
assessed according to physical strength. Eventually, physical strength of human being was
replaced by steam force, electricity and other sources of energy. Then the main functions of
workforce were absorbed by mental and spiritual features of human being.
Nowadays the workforce is incorporated into the economical activity through the relationship of hiring. The main subjects of those relationships are:
•
employers (private persons, organizations, state),
•
hired employees (owners of workforce),
•
institutions and organizations intermediating in labor market (labor market exchanges, employment offices, learning centers, professional unions).
Labor work relationships can not be treated as purchase or selling of workforce, as contemporary labor market solves not only economical, but also crucial social problems. Here
could be mentioned rational application of human resources, citizens’ employment by
struggling with un-employment, establishment of new working places, registration and
financial support of unemployed, instructions and re-qualification of human beings searching for jobs, etc.
1. Job market needs
According to scientists, there are some key strategies developed for job-search success.
Those strategies can help manage many factors that influence a successful job search:
1.1. Making the research
If there is any company you would be very interested to work in or any jobs that fit your
interests, abilities and educational background, just start making the research on your own:
go for interview, read newspapers, ask familiar people for different information in such way
checking out everything for yourself. You simply should avoid preconceived notion that
company or job of your dream is a lost case.
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1.2. Exploiting unemployment
While you are unemployed and searching for job, take an advantage to enter internship,
apprenticeship, volunteer position, extra classes, etc. of your interest. In such way you will
stay motivated and moving on the right pathway to dream-job.
1.3. Marketing yourself
Distinguish yourself from other job applicants by showing what competencies and strong
motivation for job you have. Combination of key competencies (analytical skills, communication skills, interpersonal skills, leadership skills, ICT skills, flexibility, foreign languages,
etc.) with professional knowledge should be the main focus referring for job-search success.
1.4. Combining own interests with growth fields
Try to find possibility and combine your future professional choice with growth fields,
namely, the job market fields which currently are developing quickly and lack qualified
workers. By getting involved in job market areas of your interest that apparently have
growth potential, you can apply gain experience at once moving with the market.
1.5. Target industry changes
Use the advantage of growing employment opportunities that have emerged as a response
to technological and economical changes in the job market. There are three main types of
such opportunities: small business (working in a small company), contingency work (parttime, temporary, contract employment) and self-employment (starting own business).
1.6. Relocate
Follow three steps of relocating in order to extend job opportunities and reduce future
costs: determine job growth areas (by region, state, city or town), evaluate own options
(what are the job opportunities in own fields of interest, are there places to enter extra
classes, are there interested places to stay in leisure time, etc.) and calculate the cost of living (what is the housing, what kind of public transportation system exist, etc.).
2. Skills, experience and knowledge required for different groups of
professions
Different groups of professions require different skills, experience and knowledge of em-
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ployee who should be aware of the main content of profession which is based on understanding of:
2.1. Profession’s:
• history and development (observation and analyzes of origin, development and disappearance of different professions);
•
need and perspective (labor market constantly designs the need of certain professions
which might be perspective or not);
•
cohesion with other professions (different groups of professions have certain common
relationship, therefore, it should be known what skills, experience or knowledge are
required for group of professions or one particular profession);
• educational institutions (institutions offering to acquire skills, knowledge for a certain
profession).
2.2. Content of work implemented according to the profession:
• external content of work (information about tasks being implemented in the workplace, their priority and following results);
• internal content of work (knowledge and ability essential for active participation in
chosen professional field);
• nature of wok (in which surrounding the activity is implemented, for instance, inside or
outside the building, etc.).
2.3. Human being in work process:
• moral-characteristic features (combination of personal moral-characteristic features and
work requirements promoting additional motivation for improvement of qualification,
new knowledge and quality of work).
•
psycho-physiological features (description of certain requirements set for particular
professions, for example, speed of reaction, coordination of motion, concentration of
attention, good memory, etc);
• medical and psychological contraindications (personal features blocking full-fledged
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professional activity, for example, certain disorder of vision, audition, verbal expression
or allergy, claustrophobia, et.).
2.4. Economical-social peculiarities of profession:
• working conditions (duration, shift work, part-time work, holidays, etc.);
• geography of profession (spread and need for certain profession in different areas);
• incomes (general incomes foreseeing future perspectives for rising);
• career opportunities (ability for professional development);
• social security (provided social assurance different for certain professions).
3. Marketable and non-marketable professions
To succeed in the global marketplace, a person needs specific profession which is considered to be marketable, meaning, being in labor market need, flexible, able to compete in
the system of markets’ expansion where new professions appear and old ones disappear.
4. Easy steps how to find out the information about the job market
Trying to find out the most essential information about the job market the following references should be provided for all being interested:
• links to the websites at national level (representing project partners’ countries) and
international level (sharing broader information);
• references to scientific literature.
5. Proposed methodologies
Useful tools encouraging find out more about the different jobs could be the following:
• Career days organized in different educational environments aiming at meeting representatives of different companies by revealing what kind of employers for different
activities they need.
• Career panels organized in different environments (educational or work place) aiming
at meeting representative of particular profession. In this case listeners are given opportunity to ask all the questions helping to reveal the essence of a profession they might
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be going to choose.
• Visits to labor organizations or educational institutions in order to see practically the
everyday and ordinary conditions while accomplishing certain activity.
•
Mass-media (information about different jobs obtained by TV, radio, etc.).
• Literature (scientific, fiction, newsletters, newspapers, magazines, etc.).
• Role-play (short repetition of true-life scenes by imitating certain behavioural stereotypes observed in different professions. The natural experience by role-plying reveals
deeper cognition of unfamiliar things).
• Video material (recorded video material describing peculiarities of certain profession).
Referencies:
1. “Job market strategies”, Job Smart by Princeton Review Publishing L.L.C.
2. Jovaiša T., Oreniene R. “Vocational Counselling in the Contex of Human Resource Development”, Vocational Education: Research and Reality, 2003, No. 7, 48-62 p.
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5. Activity Report of Working group:
“How to develop your career”
At the working group 3 are participating ALBA Graduate Business as working group leader,
INSEAD University, Kaunas Maironis Gymnasium (KMG), Ellinogermaniki Agogi (EA), University of Luis Pasteur (ULP), Newman College of Higher Education, (NCHE), Technical
University of Sofia (TUS), Alfa – Omega Communications (A&O) and Orientum-Counselors.
Working group 3 has as a title “How to develop your career” and comprises the aspects
below:
Carrer design
skills
Work Placement
• Development of competencies and skills identified in WG1
• Role playing games and exercises on: Decision making skills, CV
writing, presentation skills, social skills, communication, personal
effectiveness, Cultural adaptation skills, learn how to search job
vacancies etc
• Methodologies, practices
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
Transition
• Guidelines and exercises/games for getting prepared for the
school to University transition
• Guidelines and exercises/games for getting prepared for potential
career change in the future (adaptation skills on labour changes,
or changes on personal interests etc)
• Encouragement to higher education methods (e.g AIM higher
program etc)
• Methodologies, practices
The research’s activities of the working group 3 “How to develop your career” have been
parted into three sections, the career design skills, the work placement and the transition.
At this report are presented a brief theoretical background, specific techniques and activities and some typical relative links.
A. Career design skills
The first step conducted was to find the definitions of Career Design Skills, namely the
definition of the most important concepts. After a bibliographical research, we defined that
Career Design Skills refer to what we do with success. They are comprised by knowledge
and abilities that a person needs in order to succeed in the career path he/she has chosen
and function efficiently in his/her career. Skills are all the organized patterns of behavior
acquired through training and practice and Career is the effort that a person makes in
order to develop his/her personality, knowledge and experience so as to succeed in the
work field. It was decided that the main focus of this WG should be the collection of career
design skills taught at school but also throughout a person’s lifetime. It was considered
necessary that each member of the working group was assigned to one research topic.
Particularly the research topics explored were:
Decision making skills:
1. Define the Problem
2. Gather Information
3. Boundaries
4. Develop Alternatives
5. Weigh Alternatives
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6. Implement the solution
If results are not what you expect, review your options and alternatives.
Decision making techniques
There are many techniques that can help students to make the best decisions possible
with the information you have available. We have selected the techniques more useful
and suitable for high school students. Using them, you will be able to predict the likely
consequences of decisions, work out the importance of various factors and choose the best
possible decision.
• Facing equally attractive alternatives (Buriden’s Ass)
This technique of decision making is used when two or more equally attractive alternatives
are faced.
List all the negative points of each alternative.
Choose the alternative with less negative points.
• Grid Analysis/Measured Criteria
This method is most effective where there are two or more good alternatives and many
factors to be taken into account.
List all alternatives.
List the factors that are important for making the decision. Lay these out in a table, with
options as the row labels, and factors as the column headings.
Score each alternative for each of the important factors in your decision. Use a scale from 0
(poor) to 3 (very good). Note that you do not have to have a different score for each option (e.g. if none of them are good for a particular factor in your decision, then all options
should score 0).
Now multiply each of your scores by the values for your relative importance. This will give
them the correct of each alternative.
Add up the total scores for each alternative. Select the alternative with the best score.
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• Decision Tree Technique (Simplified)
Decision Trees provide a highly effective structure within which you can lay out options
and investigate their possible outcomes. They also help you to form a balanced picture of
the risks and rewards associated with each possible course of action.
You start a Decision Tree with a decision that you need to make. Draw a small square to
represent this towards the left of a large piece of paper.
From this box draw out lines towards the right for each possible solution, and write that
solution along the line. Keep the lines apart as far as possible so that you can expand your
thoughts.
At the end of each line, consider the results and write them down.
Challenge to see if there are any solutions or outcomes you have not considered. If there
are, draw them in. If necessary, redraft your tree if parts of it are too congested or untidy.
You should now have a good understanding of the range of possible outcomes of your
decisions.
Now you can work out which option has the greatest worth to you. Estimate how much
you think it would be worth to you if that outcome came about. Assign a score to each
outcome (score scale: low, medium, high).
Estimate the probability of each outcome. Assign a score to the probability of each outcome (score scale: low, medium, high).
Now estimate the cost of each option (score scale: low, medium, high).
When you have calculated these decision benefits, choose the option that has the largest
benefit, and take that as the decision made.
Should I implement the decision? (PMI-Plus/Minus/Implications)
Draw up a table with 3 columns: ‘Plus’, ‘Minus’, and ‘Implications’.
Underneath ‘Plus’, write down all the positive results of taking the action. Underneath ‘Minus’ write down all the negative effects. Underneath ‘Implications’ write down the implications and possible outcomes of taking the action, whether positive or negative.
By this stage it may already be obvious if the decision should be implemented. If it is not,
consider each of the points you have written down and assign a positive or negative score
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to it appropriately. The scores may be quite subjective.
Add up the score. A positive score shows that an action should be taken, a strongly negative score that it should be avoided.
• Getting a rounded view of the situation (Six Thinking Hats technique)
This technique is used to look at decisions from a number of important perspective and
helps you to get a more rounded view of a situation. If you look at a problem with the
‘Six Thinking Hats’ technique, then you will solve it using all approaches. Your decisions
and plans will mix ambition, skill in execution, public sensitivity, creativity and good contingency planning. Each ‘Thinking Hat’ is a different style of thinking. These are explained
below:
You focus on the data available (past experiences, observed or reported events etc) and
see what you can learn from them(white hat).
You look at problems using intuition and emotion. Also you think how other people
will feel about each alternative (red hat).
You look at the negative points of each alternatives. You try to see why it might go
wrong. You try to minimize these points (black hat).
You look at the positive points and the benefits of each alternative(yellow hat).
You try to develop new and more creative solutions (green hat).
It stands for process control. This is the hat worn by people chairing meetings (blue
hat).
• Deciding whether to make a change (Cost/Benefit Analysis)
See how much the change will cost to make.
Calculate the benefit you will have from this change.
Work out the time it will take for the benefits to repay the costs.
It is clear that for career decision making the estimated value of the costs and the benefits
are quite subjective
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Decision making risks
As decision makers estimate the possible outcomes of their decisions they often think about
risk, which is the possibility of an undesirable result. This attitude towards risk varies from
person to person and, even for a specific person, may vary over time.
• Advice on Risking
Decide whether the risk is necessary or desirable. Spend some careful thought before acting, so that you will not end up taking unnecessary risks.
Risk for the right reasons and when you are calm and thoughtful. Don’t take a risk because
you are angry, hurt, depressed, desperate, or frightened.
Have a goal. When you take a risk, have a clear purpose in mind so that you will know, after
the fact, whether you succeeded or not.
Determine the possible costs as well as the benefits. List all the positive expected effects of
a successful outcome and all the negative expected effects of an unsuccessful outcome.
Try to make an accurate estimate about the probability of each case.
Dismiss extremely remote or unrealistic possibilities. For example, in the decision, Shall I
eat a sandwich? there are risks like dying of poisoning, but these should not normally enter
into the risk evaluation because they are highly if not extremely improbable.
Goal Setting
Developing one requires conscious projection into the future in order to bring clarity to the
direction you should take now. This section provides information to design and write your
goals so that they will become real.
“SMART”: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely
Specific: A goal is specific when you know exactly what is to be achieved and accomplished. A simple goal is easier to understand. Imagine your goal as specifically as you
can. Ask: Who, where, what, when, how...specifically?
Measurable goals are quantifiable. Think of the evidence that will let you know you
have achieved it. For example, words like better or faster are not quantifiable. “Increase
my course grades by 10%” provides a clear measure for a goal.
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Achievable goals are self-maintained; the achievement of the goal is up to you alone.
Realistic goals are practical and possible. Realistic goals are a balance between what is
hard and what is easy to achieve.
Timely goals mean that they are scheduled. There is a finite duration to your effort, a
deadline. For example, “by the end of June” is more specific than “toward the end of
June”. However, the most precise statement is: June 30, 20XX.
Related links
http://www.managementhelp.org/prsn_prd/decision.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_Making
http://www.virtualsalt.com/crebook5.htm
http://www.virtualsalt.com/crebook6.htm
http://mentalhelp.net/psyhelp/chap13/chap13o.htm
http://www.cdm.uwaterloo.ca/step3.asp
http://www.businessballs.com/problemsolving.htm
http://www.decision-making.co.uk/
http://career.berkeley.edu/Plan/MakeDecisions.stm
http://www.time-management-guide.com/decision-making-skills.html
http://www.studygs.net/problem/index.htm
http://www.career.fsu.edu/student/current/choose_a_major/career_decision_
guide/index.html
http://www.pertinent.com/articles/communication/kareCom12.asp
http://faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/daweb/lexicon.htm
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_OO.htm
Problem solving skills
Here are some guidelines that will help you analyze, define, and solve problems in an orderly way. Problem solving is a recursive process; you must continually go back and forth
between steps and do some parts again. Similarly, you might not always proceed in exactly
this order. Thus, these guidelines are not meant to be rigid and absolute.
The problem is investigated, broken into sub problems, terms are defined. A determination
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is made about the nature of the problem. Some research is made into whether or not it has
been met in the past, and if so, how.
Steps:
1. State what the Problem is.
Does it have multiple aspects? If so, what are they? This should include a written description of the problem in the clearest way it can be put. The statement might begin with the
problem as given. The problem should always be stated in your own words.
A useful aspect of any definition or problem statement is to state what the thing is not. By
clearly identifying what is not the problem, you’ll clarify what it is.
2. Clarify the Problem.
A. Define the key terms of the problem. (What is an X?) Use synonyms. Continue to
define in more and more general or specific ways. This kind of definition allows the
breaking of the problem into attributes, components, and general features.
B. Articulate the assumptions being made about the problem and describe the way a
solution would have to work. Assumptions can be tricky because they tend to be automatic and submerged; not consciously made. This articulation step in the problem
solving procedure involves the conscious listing of all assumptions that can be identified. The listing is without prejudice or judgment or hostility. Just list as many as can be
thought of.
C. Obtain needed information. Research into past approaches to the problem or to
similar problems will help you get new ideas as well as gain understanding of the nature and environment of the problem itself.
3. Explain the Problem.
A. Discuss the problem with someone else. Explain it carefully. Listen to your own explanation. Discussion has two important features. First, it enables you to get information, suggestions, and ideas. Secondly, discussing your problem with someone allows
you to see what you really think.
Explain why the problem is a problem. What are its negative or undesirable features?
By explaining why the problem is problematic, you discover more about its nature and
whether it really is a problem. Next, by explaining in detail the negatives of the prob-
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lem, a set of more specific targets can be identified, thus better lending themselves to
being solved.
B. Look at the problem from different viewpoints. Remember that your view of reality
is only one view. By imaginatively taking on the viewpoints of various other people
affected by a particular problem, you can sometimes discover solutions that you as
yourself would never think of.
C. Ask a series of clarifying whys. By asking “why” of every statement of the problem,
possible solution, or identified goal, clearer definitions are made.
4. Put the Problem in Context.
A. What is the history of the problem? Knowing where it came from can help focus your
efforts toward a solution to try or away from a solution not to try. If a particular solution
has been tried already and met with a sensational disaster, you might not want to try it
first again.
B. What is the problem environment? What are the surrounding contexts? Are there associative factors that helped cause or perpetuate the problem? Have there been similar
problems and solutions that may be useful in solving this one?
An understanding of contributing or perpetuating factors will help you to take steps to
prevent a problem from coming right back once you solve it. Similarly, studying how
similar or analogous problems have been solved may lead you to a shortcut solution to
this one.
C. List the constraints of the problem. What limitations are imposed, what is required,
what must be observed in solving the problem? Constraints are simply requirements
to keep in mind, part of the problem’s basic dimensions. Writing them down helps to
keep them in the foreground as you work toward solutions. And, of course, occasionally
the identified constraints turn out, upon listing and examination, not to be necessary
after all. They can be eliminated or worked around.
What is a Problem?
One of the creative thinker’s fundamental insights is that most questions have more than
one right answer and most problems have more than one solution. In keeping with this
insight, we will offer more than one definition of a problem, in hopes of filling out its meaning as fully as possible. Different definitions yield different attitudes and approaches.
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1. A problem is an opportunity for improvement. Note that problems need not arrive as
a result of external factors or bad events. Any new awareness you have that allows you to
see possibilities for improvement brings a “problem” for you to solve. This is why the most
creative people are “problem seekers” rather than “problem avoiders.”
2. A problem is the difference between your current state and your goal state. A problem
can result from new knowledge or thinking. When you can identify the difference between
what you have and what you want, you have defined your problem and can aim toward
your goal.
3. A problem results from the recognition of a present imperfect and the belief in the possibility of a better future. The belief that your hopes can be achieved will give you the will
to aim toward the better future. Your hopes challenge you, and challenge is another definition of a problem.
Related links
http://www.coping.org/relations/problem.htm
http://www.virtualsalt.com/crebook4.htm
http://www.mediafrontier.com/Article/PS/PS.htm
B. WORKPLACEMENT
At the table below are presented some of the main links, relevant with the topic of work
placement. The research activities are on progress.
SCADPlus: Guidelines for employment policies (2005-2008)
Match your skills with their needs - JobDig
Labor Market Research
CARP - About The Skills Match Jobs & Employment Program
Job Search Process
Job Surveys and Occupational Outlook
Matching The Right Skills To The Job
Matching Programmes and Services to Local and Regional Needs
Romanian Market Job Assesment 2004-2005
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C. TRANSITION
The notion of Transition from school to work has been identified in the following situations:
1. High School – Work (career guidance): The transition phase of students after they finish
high school before they enter the job market
2. High School – University – Work (education and career guidance): The transition phases
of students before they enter a higher educational institute and after that, before they
find a job
3. High School – Work – University – Work (specialization in education, possible master
degree, possible career change): The different transition phases the students have to
face like when they finish school and find a job and then, when they decide to go to a
higher educational institute and find a new job afterwards (often in other job topics)
The research topics identified existing in the 3 aforementioned situations were the following:
• Personal Development
o School, VET
o coaching
This topic refered to the identification of personal skills and competences that require
development in order to get prepared for the job market
• Career and Education guidance
o Job Search (Career offices, schools, Universities)
o Career path counseling (external consultants, agencies)
o Orientation to education (Education guidance)
o Career change (VET, consultants)
This topic refered to all the consulting services that a student may require in order to
pursue a job career. These services may be provided in the school or by externals counselors in all three transition situations diagnosed above.
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• Special People groups transition
o Disabilities, special needs
o Role of School and University
The transition from school to work of people with special needs requires more careful
and focused activities. In this topic specific methodologies and practices were identified.
• Skills Matching with Market Job Needs
o Job Market assessment
o Personal assessment
Transition WG focused on what is done in EU countries and by whom concerning these
three different situations.
Each topic covered geographical regions (from all consortium countries), educational levels (all levels), training of experts, agents (organizations focusing on transition). Research
findings covered methodologies addressed to people until 28years old (transition from
University studies to Work)
Each WG member covered at least one of the research topics mentioned above. Each partner assigned to one topic. Any material found during research was uploaded to the wiki
web site public to the whole team. An example is presented below:
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Austria: Moehlenhoff + Partner GmbH
Denmark: IKU/Institut for Karriereudvikling
Finland: HRM Partners oy
France: Excelia
Germany: Moehlenhoff + Partner GmbH
Ireland: TRANSITIONireland
Italy: Corium
Norway: Tennebo & Partners
Poland: Bigram SA
Portugal: Power-RH
Sweden: Antenn Consulting AB
Switzerland(French): Von Rohr & Associates S.A
Switzerland(German):Moehlenhoff + Partner AG
The Netherlands: Slooter & Partners
United Kingdom: Chiumento
When a partner found material that belonged to another topic other than the one he/she
was assigned to, the material was forwarded to the partners who were responsible for the
specific research topic directly.
In case a partner found material which belonged to another WG, he/she sent the material
via e-mail to the WG leader.
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6. Career Guide schools’ Network
In accordance with the proposal, each partner will create his/her own national network of
schools that will implement original practices and activities.
During this activity the partnership design and implement network management procedures and tools, including progress monitoring; carry out regular network level evaluation;
co-ordinate regular meetings of the collaborating partners; and implement quality control
procedures. Regular communication among the partners will be ensured throughout the
whole duration of the network.
Special efforts will be made by the administration boards to ensure the sustainability of the
network after the end of this project and to expand its synthesis by establishing cooperation with other institutions and networks that focus on the network’s thematic area.
Career Guide schools’ network consisted of about forty schools or educational institutes at
the moment.
The leaflet and the invitation letter have been sent by all partners to schools or educational
institutes, in order for the network to be expanded.
The members of the network will enjoy the following benefits:
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• Access to the CareerGUIDE web portal with info on career guidance
• Information exchange with other professionals and schools across the European Union
•An opportunity to publish and to publicise their own work, activities and concerns
• Invitations to national and international conferences
• Immediate access to fellow professionals who share their interests and endeavours
• CareerGuide for schools newsletter
The Career Guide Web Portal is the main tool for the network’s communication and cooperation. It includes data on policies and good practice in Career Guidance in schools within
the European Community. In addition, it offers support and useful resources to teachers for
implementing Career Guidance in schools and new curriculum guidelines are available as
they are developed.
At the lines below, the network of school is presented:
UK - Oaks Collegiate
• Bartley Green School
(Technology & Sports College)
• Bournville School
(Business Enterprise College)
• Frankley Community High School
• Hillcrest School and Community College
• Lordswood Boys School
(Sports College and Sixth Form Centre)
• Harborne Hill School
• St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School
(Maths and Computing College)
• Selly Park Technology College
• Selly Oak School
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France
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Lycée Polyvalent Emile Mathis - Schiltigheim
Lycée Professionnel Aristide Briand Schiltigheim
Lycée Général & Technologique Jean Monnet Strasbourg
Lycée Général & Technologique Jean Monnet Strasbourg
Lycée Polyvalent Marguerite Yourcenar Erstein
Lycée professionnel Jean Geiler Strasbourg
Lycée Général & Technologique Henri Meck Molsheim
Romania
• Faculty of Psychology and Sciences of Education, Special Education Department, in
Romania
• Romanian Society for Lifelong Learning, in Romania
Bulgaria
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The National Resource Center for Vocational Guidance of Sofia, in Bulgaria
High School of Tourism “P. K. Javorov”, Dobrich, in Bulgaria
Secondary Technical school “Dr Nikola Vassiliadi”, Gabrovo, in Bulgaria
PGMET, an Educational Institute in Bulgaria
IKOFEN, an Educational Institute in Bulgaria
Hristo Botev School (SOU) Ivaylovgrad, in Bulgaria
Centre of Training Firms – Ministry of Education and Science in Bulgaria (3 sectors)
Greece
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
National Centre for Vocational Orientation,
(EKEP) in Greece
Career Office of Ellinogermaniki Agogi School, in Greece
Career Office of General High School of Karnidi, in Greece
Career Office of General High School of Astros, in Greece
Career Office of General High School of Kiato, in Greece
High School of Kerasochori Evritanias, in Greece
Centre of Career Counselling and Guidance of Zakinthos, in Greece
Centre of Career Counselling and Guidance of Karditsa, in Greece
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UK - Oaks Collegiate
• Bartley Green School
(Technology & Sports College)
• Bournville School
(Business Enterprise College)
• Frankley Community High School
• Hillcrest School and Community College
• Lordswood Boys School
(Sports College and Sixth Form Centre)
• Harborne Hill School
• St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School
(Maths and Computing College)
• Selly Park Technology College
• Selly Oak School
France
• Lycée Polyvalent Emile Mathis - Schiltigheim
• Lycée Professionnel Aristide Briand Schiltigheim
• Lycée Général & Technologique Jean Monnet
Strasbourg
• Lycée Général & Technologique Jean Monnet
Strasbourg
• Lycée Polyvalent Marguerite Yourcenar Erstein
• Lycée professionnel Jean Geiler Strasbourg
• Lycée Général & Technologique Henri Meck
Molsheim
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
Romania
• Faculty of Psychology and Sciences of Education, Special Education Department, in Romania
• Romanian Society for Lifelong
Learning, in Romania
Bulgaria
• The National Resource Center for Vocational
Guidance of Sofia, in Bulgaria
• High School of Tourism “P. K. Javorov”, Dobrich, in Bulgaria
• Secondary Technical school “Dr Nikola Vassiliadi”, Gabrovo, in Bulgaria
• PGMET, an Educational Institute in Bulgaria
• IKOFEN, an Educational Institute in Bulgaria
• Hristo Botev School (SOU) Ivaylovgrad, in Bulgaria
• Centre of Training Firms – Ministry of Education and Science in Bulgaria (3 sectors)
Greece
• National Centre for Vocational Orientation,
(EKEP) in Greece
• Career Office of Ellinogermaniki Agogi School,
in Greece
• Career Office of General High School of Karnidi, in Greece
• Career Office of General High School of Astros,
in Greece
• Career Office of General High School of Kiato,
in Greece
• High School of Kerasochori Evritanias, in
Greece
• Centre of Career Counselling and Guidance of
Zakinthos, in Greece
• Centre of Career Counselling and Guidance of
Karditsa, in Greece
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7. PORTAL
The network’s web Portal is the main tool of the network’s function and aims to serve both
communicational and working needs of the working groups. The platform provides direct
access to communication, information and professional support.
At the Kick off meeting presented the Career Guide web Portal characteristics and structure.
The presentation included an illustration and definition of virtual learning communities
and communities of practice as well as description of the central elements which constitute
them. More specifically, clarified the topics below:
- Number & Type of users
• project group: provide CG info
• Externals: network members (CG teachers & organizations): read, communicate
• visitors
• 2nd level: students
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- Tools
a) Project related Information
• Official website with “new annotation”
• Documents, links, etc.
• News incl. schedule
• Project Contact data
• Search engine (website & documents)
• Public request form
b) Communication (for registered)
• Mail
• Forum
• Chat
• Document rating / feed back
• Blog / wiki
c) Personal Information
• Contact Data
• Interests
• schedule
• ID
d) Access to Evaluation tools
• Questionnaire
• results
e) Management Tool
• Roles: admin, superuser, user
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
The final address ( www.careerguide.eu) and the main structure of the portal presented
and confirmed at the 2nd meeting. All menus and submenus were presented together
with their specifications and structure. The portal has a public space and a restricted one.
The public space include all main menus of the portal (network info, career guidance issues etc), whereas the restricted space include the partners communication and network’s
evaluation.
Working group leaders and work package leaders are responsible for the content of both
the public and the restricted area.
In accordance with previous construction of working groups’ activities, there were 4 private
forums, one for each working group, where only partners could have access.
As far as the working group activities reorganized in a different way, there were some
changes at the structure of Portal.
The main communication amongst partners takes place through wiki at the moment. According to the technical future plan report, the structure of the portal has been completed
and will be ready in next months.
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
Status Report of the CG Web Portal (Functionality Profile)
Since May 2006 the network’s web portal is accessible under www.career-guide.eu. Its design is based on a combination of a web-based content management system (CMS) with a
forum-like communication tool. After first testing and a re-design in July 2006 the network
partners delivered extensive content.
1. Structure:
Fig.1: Front page (Introduction to the “CareerGuide for Schools”
Network)
The structure of the Website is organized into six main categories that are listed below with
the following sub topics:
1 Home Career Guidance, Aims, Methodology, Activities, Partnership, Download
leaflet, New: 1st Conference
2 Thematic Areas Theme 1: Know about yourself, Theme 2: Know about the Job
Market, Theme 3: Develop Your Career
3 Public Forum Public Forum, Wiki Career Guide
4 Comenius Action Socrates Programme, School Partnerships, Training of School
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
Education Staff, Comenius Networks
5 European Dimension Vocational Training Programme, Joint Actions, Leonardo
da Vinci Valorisation activities, Employment Programmes, EQUAL initiative, Social
Inclusion Programmes, Career Guidance in Europe
6 Contact Become a Member, Login, Imprint, Sitemap
2. Communication Management:
The main focus of the CG portal is the communication and information support for an international network. Currently the web portal comprises of two different communication
tools, (A) a public forum for posting messages that are related to Career Guide objectives
(open for all) and (B) an external communication tool with the main function to support
the internal CG consortium to collaboratively assemble the knowledge that is used to build
the Career Guide set of services.
2.1. Public Forum (http://www.career-guide.eu/?pid=807)
Fig 2: Posting a message
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
Fig 3: Message Board
(Included message title,
message text, date of the
message)
2.2 Wiki Application for the consortium (http://www.calt.insead.edu/LivingLab/CareerGuide/Wiki/)
The Wiki application allows users to post messages and to upload educational material to
the career guidance sector. A first experience of using this portal was that the inclusion of
Wiki as tool is highly suitable for the consortium.
Fig 4: Wiki Application (Front
Page)3. Information Management
(Content Management System)
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
3. Information Management (Content Management System)
The content management system supports the creation, management and publishing of
the corporate information of the Career Guide website. It is a specified area to let registered
users easy and quickly upload documents and create the web content. It also provides the
opportunity to manage the structure of the site, the appearance of the published pages,
and the navigation.
Fig. 5: Log in to Backend (protected
administration interface)
The authoring environment provides a non-technical way of creating or updating web
content, without any knowledge of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). It is designed to
work like any word processing program (for instance MS Word).
Fig 6: Easy-to-use authoring environment
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
Fig 7: Site Tree
The CMS also allows managing the structure of the site. That is, where the pages go, and
how they are linked.
4. User Management
The User Management allows the super user to create or delete users, i.e. to submit new
members of the network and to equip them with the necessary access rights of the CG
web portal. After the creation of new users one can manage them by providing users with
different authorisations. Future steps of development include (among other things) the
improvement of the rights management system.
Fig 8: List of registered User
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
Fig 9: Add new User
5. Language
The Career Guide Web portal offers two different languages (English and German). After
the click on the flag, one can read the menu and the complete contents in the desired language. One of the next steps of development will be the integration of other languages,
for instance French and Greek.
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
8. DISSEMINATION
As far as dissemination is concerned, the Career Guide network makes use of all available
dissemination channels. The dissemination strategy includes specific measures for the dissemination of the products and the outcomes of the network.
The main activities of the dissemination are the development of concrete and specific dissemination plan, the development of the website, the presentations to conferences, Press
Releases, the production and distribution of promotional material and products of the
network (CD-ROM, leaflets and posters), provision of access to CareerGuide for Schools
Web Portal to the wider educational community, organization of CareerGuide for Schools
Conference and the distribution of the “Report on Effective Career Guidance” to policy
makers. The aims of all the above-mentioned activities are: (a) to stress the importance of
career guidance in schools, (b) to promote a European dimension in career guidance and
(c) to support the network’s sustainability and expansion.
According to the aims of proposal, the main outputs are:
• Development of the Network’s Web site
• Dissemination material (CD-ROM, leaflets and posters)
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
• CareerGuide for Schools Conference
The specific dissemination actions that have accomplished include:
• Development of the project’s web-page and provision of access to the web educational portal.
The network’s partnership intends to provide access to educational and academic institutions and individual researchers that focus on career guidance. In this way the network’s
research outcomes are going to be more widely known and used while in parallel this will
serve the network’s intentions for sustainability and expansion.
• Presentation of the project and its anticipated outcomes in conferences, seminars
and workshops
During the first year the following presentations of career guide project took place by all
partners:
22nd of September 2006, Romanian Society for Lifelong Education organized in Bucharrest, the International Seminar “Today’s Young Adults Integration in European Society of
Tomorrow”. IPA SA presented one paper related to “Career Guide for School” Network
26th ,27th of January 2006, Graz, Austria, Valorisation Conference, Flyers, Handouts
– Conference Participants, members of other projects, policy makers, researchers
23th of June 2006, Innsbruck, Austria, transnationale Konferenz „Jugendliche stützen – erreichen – aktivieren. Chancen für Beratung und Orientierung“, Conference - Guidance for
younger people, Leaflets - educational and occupational guidance councellors
8th, 9th of June 2006, Innsbruck, Austria, Microlearning Conference, Leaflets, Handouts
– teachers, students, researchers
8th, 9th of June 2006, Hall, Austria, BildungOnline, Leaflets, Handouts – teachers, pupils,
counselors
• Production of leaflets in all partners’ languages
By the meeting in Dresden (3/2005) had already been published the leaflets, translated to
all partners’ languages. The main points of the leaflet’s text concern the definition of Career
guidance in general and the clear aims of Career Guide Network, the methodology and
the main planned activities.
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
Leaflets have been distributed to the schools of the network, to national and private counselling organisations and to all participants by the 1st annual Conference.
Figure 1: The leaflets are translated in all languages.
In the figure, there is the English, German and Greek
leaflet.
• Production of other material
For the conference’s needs, had been produced invitations, programmes, posters and certifications of attendance. Photos of material
According to the proposal, consortium also produced a career guide pencil, in two colours.
• Organization of the first annual conference, 4th November 2006, in Athens
Two of the most important dissemination’s activities had accomplished on November of
2006. The first annual Conference of Career Guide Network and the two press releases
promoted the Career Guide network and attracted a lot of people at the field of career
counseling.
• Press Releases
Two press releases created for the Conference, the first one for invitation and the second
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
one after the Conference. Press releases were published on several newspapers in the field
of economy, and labour market. Apart from the newspapers, press releases were published on specific sites that address to teachers and counselors.
Figure 2: The press releases
in EXPRESS, HERALD TRIBUNE
– Greek edition, and DAILY FAX
Newsletter for the 1st Career
Guide Conference
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
9. 1st annual Career Guide Conference
The first International Conference titled ‘’Career Guidance: A European Dimension’’ was
organized by Ellinogermaniki Agogi and hosted in the premises of ALBA Graduate Business
School. Over 120 European and Greek scientists, teachers and counselors specialized in
Career Guidance Thematic and Labor Market participated in the conference. As Mrs Chrysoula Kosmidou-Hardy, the responsible for Career Guidance Sector in Pedagogical Institute
of Greece, mentioned ‘’teachers should encourage children on active research’’. Additionally, Mr Nikitas Kastis, the Deputy Director General of Lambrakis Foundation highlighted
the importance of life and labor skills while the representators of Ellinogermaniki Agogi and
ALBA underline the importance of Personal Development and Emotional Intelligence in
children’s awareness. Finally, the employability and job market’s needs were discussed by
career counselors of Orientum. At this moment, the steps of Career Guidance seem a little
bit suspended. However, Career Guidance’s future is assigned positive as the Education
will turn its eyes over this sector.
The target group was teachers and counsellors from Greece and Europe. The dissemination plan was included an attractive invitation and poster that had been sent via e-mail
or post. A far as we wanted to reach teachers and counselors at schools, we contacted
at first with the offices which have the authority for schools at specific geographic region.
Through these offices the invitation forwarded to all schools. An easy completed registra-
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CAREER GUIDE 1st Annual Report / 2005-2006
tion form had been uploaded to career guide portal, in order to measure, more or less, our
participants.
All participants took a portfolio that included conference’s programme, leaflet of career
guide network, a career guide pencil and a certification of attendance. Proceedings have
been uploaded to Portal and will be sending to all participants by the end of year. We had
had about 180 registrations forms and about 130 participants! Apart of the great participation, it is worth to be mentioned that we had from the counsellors an excellent feedback
for the quality of the conference.
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Epilogue
The Career Guide Network has covered the first year and at the moment has established
strong basis that comprise a real pledge for the future action and success. At the one hand,
working groups’ thematic areas have been stabilized, the methodology for research activities have been defined and all partners have started to implement exercises at the schools
of network. At the other hand, via the portal and all the others dissemination activities, such
as leaflet, the conference and the press releases, career guide network has been disseminated to counselors working at the public and private sector. The same time, the consortium
ascertained day by day the great interest in the field of career guidance and the teachers’
– counselors’ desire to participate at Career Guide network. Under these circumstances,
we plan our future actions very carefully, in order to be accorded to scientific and practical
requirements as well.
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