25165 version 1
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Apply career development theory to the practice of career counselling
Level
7
Credits
25
Purpose
People credited with this unit standard are able to: select and apply career
development theories; assist the client to identify career options; adhere to
safe ethical practice in career counselling; assist the client to clarify life and
career goals; and review the career counselling process.
Subfield
Career Practice
Domain
Career Consultation
Status
Registered
Status date
20 November 2009
Date version published
20 November 2009
Planned review date
31 December 2013
Entry information
Open.
Replacement information
This unit standard replaced unit standard 13117 and unit
standard 13119.
Accreditation
Evaluation of documentation and visit by NZQA and
industry.
Standard setting body (SSB)
The Skills Organisation
Accreditation and Moderation Action Plan (AMAP) reference
0121
This AMAP can be accessed at http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework/search/index.do.
Special notes
1
Definitions
Boundaries refer to client psycho-social issues, non-career related issues,
relationship with the client, and philosophical views.
Career refers to the wide range of occupational, family, civic, and political roles which
individuals will undertake throughout their adult lives. It includes paid employment,
self-employment, unpaid work, multiple jobbing, entrepreneurial enterprise, homebased enterprise, study as an adult, and unemployment. A career is a
developmental and lifelong process.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
25165 version 1
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Career practice refers to the umbrella profession under which the following vocations
sit – career resources, career information, career education, and career consultation
which includes career counselling, career advice, and career guidance.
Client refers to people receiving a career related service who may be individuals or
groups associated with employment, education, or training, or in some cases may be
an organisation.
Counselling refers to the several processes of interviewing, testing, guiding, and
advising. It is designed to help an individual solve problems and plan for the future.
Ethical practice refers to the code of practice as defined in the constitution of an
established career practice association, for example, the Career Practitioner
Association of New Zealand.
Needs are those relating to gender, culture, Māori, ethnicity, age, religion,
philosophy, learning, disability, socio-economic group, career options, and language.
Practitioner refers to a specialist who gives expert career advice or information.
Psycho-social issues refer to underlying issues clients may present in a career
consultation that may create barriers to career development of the client, for
example: employment history, unemployment, culture, rehabilitation, abuse, health –
physical and emotional, disabilities, pregnancy, relationships, grief, addictions,
convictions.
Work patterns refer to waged and unwaged work.
2
Legislation relevant to this unit standard includes but is not limited to the: Privacy Act
1993, Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992, Human Rights Act 1993.
Elements and performance criteria
Element 1
Select and apply career development theories.
Range
examples of career development theories may include but are not limited to –
trait and factor theories, developmental theories, career decision-making
theories, social learning theories, emerging theories;
evidence is required for three development theories.
Performance criteria
1.1
The career development needs of the client are identified.
1.2
Career development theories are selected in accordance with the needs of the
client.
1.3
Career development theories are applied in accordance with the needs of the
client.
Range
application may include but is not limited to – the use of related
tools, use of concepts, use of appropriate language, interactions.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
25165 version 1
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Element 2
Assist the client to identify career options.
Performance criteria
2.1
Rapport is established in accordance with the needs of the client and ethical
practice.
2.2
The desired outcomes of the counselling process are determined with the client
in accordance with their identified needs.
2.3
The client is assisted to identify their expectations in terms of education,
employment, and personal achievements.
2.4
The client is assisted to interpret their career history in terms of its impact on the
career planning process.
2.5
Career preferences are prioritised with the client in terms of their expectations,
their realistic fulfilment, and the client’s current situation.
Element 3
Adhere to safe ethical practice in career counselling.
Performance criteria
3.1
The environment in which counselling is provided is safe for all parties and in
accordance with the needs of the clients and legislative requirements.
Range
3.2
a safe environment may include but is not limited to – space,
facilities, privacy, security, adequate timeframe, inclusive
language, ethical practice, current information, relevant legislation.
Professional boundaries in career counselling are recognised and stated to the
clients in accordance with ethical practice and legislative requirements.
Range
crossed boundaries, shifts in boundaries, perceived changes in
boundaries.
3.3
Strategies for responding to shifts in boundaries are utilised in accordance with
ethical practice and legislative requirements.
3.4
Biases in career practice and counselling are recognised in accordance with
ethical practice and legislation.
Range
biases include but are not limited to – gender, culture, Māori,
ethnicity, age, religion, philosophy, learning, disability, socioeconomic group, career options, language.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
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Element 4
Assist the client to clarify life and career goals.
Performance criteria
4.1
The client is assisted to identify a wide range of work options in accordance with
their prioritised needs.
Range
work options must include – contractual, portfolio, selfemployment, salaried, wages, full-time, part-time, voluntary,
unpaid work, job sharing, multiple jobbing, entrepreneurial
enterprise, home-based enterprise.
4.2
The client is assisted to select and develop strategies that enable their identified
career goals to be met.
4.3
The client is assisted to source information that is relevant to their career goals.
Range
4.4
information may include but is not limited to – current research,
work patterns, labour market trends.
The range of tools used assists the client to clarify work and other life roles.
Range
evidence of three tools is required.
Element 5
Review the career counselling process.
Performance criteria
5.1
Feedback from the client whether the career counselling process applied
validates the strategies used.
Range
may include – client satisfaction, client understanding of options,
outcomes of the interaction.
5.2
The review of the career counselling process confirms the match of the
identified options to the needs of the client.
5.3
The review of the career counselling process determines that follow-up by the
practitioner is in accordance with identified goals of the client.
5.4
The review of the career counselling process examines provision of career
practice in terms of ethical practice.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
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Please note
Providers must be accredited by NZQA, or an inter-institutional body with delegated
authority for quality assurance, before they can report credits from assessment against
unit standards or deliver courses of study leading to that assessment.
Industry Training Organisations must be accredited by NZQA before they can register
credits from assessment against unit standards.
Accredited providers and Industry Training Organisations assessing against unit standards
must engage with the moderation system that applies to those standards.
Accreditation requirements and an outline of the moderation system that applies to this
standard are outlined in the Accreditation and Moderation Action Plan (AMAP). The
AMAP also includes useful information about special requirements for organisations
wishing to develop education and training programmes, such as minimum qualifications for
tutors and assessors, and special resource requirements.
Comments on this unit standard
Please contact The Skills Organisation info@skills.org.nz if you wish to suggest changes
to the content of this unit standard.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016