career development tool (cdt) project
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DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL (CDT) PROJECT JUNE 2014 FINAL Evolution Research PO Box 558 Glenelg SA 5045 Phone 0411 586 538 Email: evolutionresearch@senet.com.au June 2014 Evolution Research EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BACKGROUND This project was commissioned by the Department of Social Services (DSS) to train and assist a small number of Disability Employment Service (DES) Providers who volunteer to trial a career assessment tool and to evaluate the process through feedback from DES consultants and participants who are involved in the project. A primary objective of DES is to achieve sustainable employment outcomes for participants. Employment Pathway Plans (EPP) and effective job matching are considered central to this aim. The evaluation of DES 2010-2013 found that: There is low satisfaction with training and skills development, with many participants not getting the development opportunities they believed they needed; There are very low education outcomes, with the focus almost entirely on employment outcomes despite a relatively low skills base; Good job matching is of importance to achieving sustainable outcomes, especially for people with high support needs; and Many participants who were placed in employment would prefer a job with better prospects. These findings presented a strong rationale for exploring ways to target skills development and develop job matching capability in a service delivery setting. DSS therefore commissioned Evolution Research to conduct action research as a first step to examining the potential benefits of career assessment instruments for employment pathway planning for people in DES. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The requirement of the project involved training and assisting a small number of DES providers who volunteered to trial career assessment instrument/s and to evaluate the process through feedback from research participants. The project required participating providers not currently using such a tool to be equipped with a career development resource and to then assess whether this assists in identifying the skills and capabilities of job seekers to better inform skills development needs in the EPP. In this way the project design was intended to simultaneously deliver a tangible benefit whilst also researching the role of career development tools in employment service planning. Training was provided to 19 consultants from four DES providers based in metropolitan New South Wales (Sydney). The number of training participants was limited only by DES consultant availability as DES providers were offered the option to nominate as many staff as possible. Training sessions were held at each DES provider’s office. Material covered in the training included: 1. Introduction to the project and use of standardised assessment tools for career development; 2. Administration and interpretation of the chosen career development tool; and 3. Labour market research and identification of realistic career goals. On completion of training, DES consultants had a period of approximately four weeks in which to trial the career development tool with as many DES participants as possible, as part of their employment pathway planning process. Following the trial period, DES consultants were required to attend a focus group to provide feedback regarding their perceptions of the usefulness of career development tools. At this time consultants also provided Evolution Research with de-identified client profile information which was used to provide background understanding of the rationale to choosing which clients may benefit from the use of a career development tool, and also background information regarding participant disability types, education and employment history, duration with the DES and duration unemployed. DES consultants also provided de-identified copies of participant EPPs for identification of how the career development tool had impacted on EPP development. Individual face-to-face interviews were also held with DES CDT Project 2 Evolution Research participants who agreed to meet with an Evolution Research consultant to gain feedback regarding their satisfaction with the employment pathway planning process incorporating a career development tool. Feedback gained from DES consultants and participants was also used to identify any issues that were encountered in using a career development tool in a DES setting. FINDINGS The use of a career development tool as part of the employment pathway planning process has been very well received by both DES consultants and DES participants. DES consultants stated overwhelmingly that the use of career development tools had added value to the employment pathway planning process and that it was found to be of great assistance in identifying realistic employment and study options with participants. Similarly, the majority of DES participants who participated in interview indicated the same findings. Both DES consultants and participants felt that inclusion of a career development tool in the employment pathway planning process is beneficial as it assisted in identifying alternate job options that may be suitable and also assisted in identifying actions that would need to be taken in order to reach an identified and desired employment or study goal. However, in the majority of cases participant EPPs had not been updated to reflect or include specific details of the actions that they had identified with the DES consultant in order to achieve their employment or study goals. The majority reported that the EPP is primarily used to provide a broad overview of the actions required when participating in DES and that it does not provide specific detail as to the actual activities that would be undertaken. Some barriers were identified in relation to the use of a career development tool in a DES setting, for example when working with participants who present with characteristics such as extremely low motivation and interest in activities, extremely low insight and confidence in their skills or extreme ambivalence in relation to returning to work. These barriers are not considered specific to the tool used as part of this trial, but are considered to highlight issues that require implementation of alternate interventions such as counselling or motivational interviewing, in order to assist the participant to become ready to consider employment options and to participate in completion of a career development tool. Other barriers that were identified included that participants of an older age group (e.g. age in their mid-fifties to sixties) and also participants with a history of high level qualifications and highly skilled employment history, gained less benefit from the tool. These participants indicated that the tool did not effectively target higher-skilled jobs and felt that an alternate approach, such as individual career counselling, may be more effective. Overall, both DES consultants and participants indicated that a career development tool is suitable to use with most participants in a DES setting and that it is a valid and useful approach to assisting participants to determine realistic employment and study goals. Despite the limited timeframes and competing demands which prevented broader application by DES consultants with participants over the project period, it is considered that the findings of the project provide a useful indication that the use of a career development tool as part of an employment pathway planning process in DES settings warrants further investigation. The use of a tool provides a tangible and evidence-based point from which to commence discussions with participants who are uncertain or unrealistic about their future job choices and once potential jobs are identified, a solid basis from which to identify skills development needs. There is clear potential from the findings that the usefulness of the EPP to DES participants can be improved significantly, by making it a working planning document that directly links the goals and specific activities that participants need to undertake to work towards their study and/or employment goals. Further training to DES consultants for this purpose would be considered beneficial. CDT Project 3 Evolution Research On the basis of the early findings of this project, it is considered likely that if the use of a career development tool could be embedded into DES practices, ensuring that DES consultants are appropriately trained not only in a tool’s use but also in appropriate job matching, skills development exploration and more effective utilisation of the EPP, that many of the adverse findings of the DES 2010-2013 evaluation could be overcome. CDT Project 4 Evolution Research CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.......................................................................................... 2 BACKGROUND........................................................................................................................................... 2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................................................ 2 FINDINGS ................................................................................................................................................. 3 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 7 BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT ..................................................................................................................... 7 PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT ............................................................................................................................ 7 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................. 9 SELECTION OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL .................................................................................................... 9 OSI-2....................................................................................................................................................... 9 CDT TRAINING STRATEGY ......................................................................................................................... 10 TRAINING PARTICIPANTS ............................................................................................................................. 10 CDT TRAINING ......................................................................................................................................... 10 PROJECT REQUIREMENTS............................................................................................................................ 11 IDENTIFICATION OF DES PARTICIPANTS.......................................................................................................... 12 DATA COLLECTION .................................................................................................................................... 12 FINDINGS ........................................................................................................ 13 PARTICIPANT PROFILE ............................................................................................................................... 13 PROCESS OF PROFILING PARTICIPANTS ........................................................................................................... 13 DES CONSULTANT FEEDBACK ..................................................................................................................... 14 USEFULNESS OF A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL .............................................................................................. 14 IMPACT OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOLS ON FUTURE EMPLOYMENT PATHWAY PLANNING ...................................... 17 PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK ............................................................................................................................ 17 EXPERIENCE AND SATISFACTION USING THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL PROCESS ................................................. 17 USEFULNESS OF A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL FOR EMPLOYMENT PLANNING ...................................................... 18 IDENTIFICATION OF NEXT STEPS IN THE EMPLOYMENT PATHWAY PLANNING PROCESS .............................................. 19 APPROPRIATE APPLICATION OF A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL ........................................................................... 20 ISSUES OR BARRIERS EXPERIENCED IN USING A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL IN A DES SETTING .................................. 20 APPLICATION IN PRACTICE.......................................................................................................................... 21 DISCUSSION .................................................................................................... 23 OVERALL FINDINGS .................................................................................................................................. 23 PERCEPTIONS OF DES CONSULTANTS OF THE USEFULNESS OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOLS .................................... 23 DES PARTICIPANT SATISFACTION WITH THE USE OF A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL ................................................ 25 ISSUES EXPERIENCED IN USING CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOLS IN DES SETTINGS ..................................................... 26 LIMITATIONS OF THE CURRENT PROJECT ......................................................................................................... 26 CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................................................... 26 RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................................... 27 APPENDICES .................................................................................................... 28 CDT Project 5 Evolution Research FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE ................................................................................................................ 28 CLIENT INTERVIEW GUIDE .......................................................................................................................... 29 ACRONYMS ADHD – Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ASCO – Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO) CDT – Career Development Tool CISS – Campbell Interest and Skills Survey CSS – Congruence Skills Sort DES – Disability Employment Service DSS – Department of Social Services EPP – Employment Pathway Plan HA – Harrison Assessments JVIS – Jackson Vocational Interest Survey KPI – Key Performance Indicator MBTI – Myers-Briggs Type Indicator NEO PI-R – NEO Personality Inventory OCD – Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OSI-2 – Occupational Search Inventory – Form 2 SDS – Self-Directed Search SII – Strong Interest Survey CDT Project 6 Evolution Research INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT A primary objective of Disability Employment Services (DES) is to achieve sustainable employment outcomes for participants. Employment Pathway Plans and effective job matching are considered central to this aim. The evaluation of DES 2010-2013 found that: There is low satisfaction with training and skills development, with many participants not getting the development opportunities they believed they needed; There are very low education outcomes, with the focus almost entirely on employment outcomes despite a relatively low skills base; Good job matching is of importance to achieving sustainable outcomes, especially for people with high support needs; and Many participants who were placed in employment would prefer a job with better prospects. These findings presented a strong rationale for exploring ways to target skills development and develop job matching capability in a service delivery setting. The Department of Social Services (DSS) therefore commissioned Evolution Research to conduct action research as a first step to examining the potential benefits of career assessment instruments for employment pathway planning for people in DES. PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT The requirement of the project involved training and assisting a small number of DES providers who volunteered to trial career assessment instrument/s and to evaluate the process through feedback from research participants. The project required participating providers who are not currently using such a tool to be equipped with a career development resource and to then assess whether this assists in identifying the skills and capabilities of job seekers to better inform skill development needs in the Employment Pathway Plan (EPP). The intention of the EPP is to underpin the provision of services to a job seeker1. The EPP is an individually tailored plan that identifies the job seeker's vocational goals, and records the activities the job seeker will undertake to reach these goals. If a job seeker has an employment services provider the plan will also list specific ways the provider will support a job seeker to improve their employment prospects and gain sustainable employment. The EPP should be reviewed and updated at each contact with an employment services provider to reflect changes in the individual's circumstances, participation requirements and the activities they are undertaking. The EPP caters for all job seekers with activity test or participation requirements and also non-activity tested job seekers. Government policy requires all recipients of DES (job seeker), who have activity test or participation requirements and do not have an activity test exemption, to have a current EPP. Under social security law, income support recipients with participation or activity test requirements cannot qualify for payment unless they are prepared to enter into and comply with the terms of an EPP when required. The project design was intended to simultaneously deliver a tangible benefit whilst also researching the role of career development tools in employment service planning. 1 Commonwealth of Australia (2014), “Chapter 3.2 – Section 3.2.8 What is an Employment Pathway Plan?”, in Guide to Social Security Law, v. 1.204 CDT Project 7 Evolution Research The overall requirements of the project required Evolution Research to report on: Perceptions of DES employment consultants regarding the usefulness of career development tools; DES participant satisfaction with the employment pathway planning process incorporating a career development tool; and Any issues experienced in using career development tools in DES service settings. To deliver the project, Evolution Research was required to: Identify an appropriate career development tool for the purpose of the project; Develop and deliver training to DES provider staff (employment consultants) in the administration of a career development tool; Collect feedback from DES consultants on the usefulness of systematic career development planning as part of developing employment pathway plans, using focus groups and structured written feedback; and Collect feedback from DES participants on satisfaction with the employment pathway planning process which incorporates a career development tool, using face-to-face interview and written survey. The research was not an evaluation of the efficacy of the specific career development tool used, but an indication of whether a career development tool in general may be useful in a career development planning process. CDT Project 8 Evolution Research METHODOLOGY SELECTION OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL A number of tools were researched and considered for use in the current project. These included the Occupational Search Inventory (OSI-2 and -3), Self-Directed Search (SDS), NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R), Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Congruence Skills Sort (CSS), Jackson Vocational Interest Survey (JVIS), Strong Interest Survey (SII), Harrison Assessment (HA) and Campbell Interest and Skills Survey (CISS). A number of these tools were determined to be unsuitable for the project’s purpose due to requirements unsuitable for the disability employment setting and range of qualification levels of DES consultants. Several tools were considered unsuitable due to the requirement for the test administrator to hold formal qualifications (e.g. psychologist or relevant university qualification) or specific certification in the tool in order to be eligible for its administration (e.g. MBTI, JVIS, NEO PI-R, SII). Others were considered less suited to the disability employment setting due to limitations in the target application group, for example the CISS which is considered to be primarily useful for career planning for college-bound or college-educated individuals. Tools such as the MBTI and NEO PI-R were also considered unsuitable as the additional experience required to interpret the findings of the tool in order to achieve meaningful career recommendations is considered an unrealistic expectation of the average DES consultant. Tools which were considered suitable for application in the CDT project included the OSI-2, CSS, SDS and HA tools. The final choice of tool was based on several factors including appropriateness to the DES participant target group, ability to generate a list of potentially suitable jobs from which participants and their consultant could research and choose from, job listings and questionnaire based on Australian norms and Australian job requirements, flexible administration method (paper-based and online), and cost. Two equally suitable tools were identified as the OSI-2 and the SDS, however the OSI-2 was chosen due to it being a more cost effective option in the longer-term. OSI-2 In completing the OSI-2 questionnaire, test takers rate four work related categories: work activity interests, work skills, job preferences and personal abilities. Eight broad interest categories are assessed across these four work related categories, including: Technological, Nature, Scientific, Culture, Entertainment, Helping, Persuasive and Organising. Obtained test scores are used to generate an OSI Code which is then related to occupations with similar codes. In this way a variety of occupational options can be listed for the test taker to consider. The OSI Occupations Finder has a list of corresponding occupations for each code (and each permutation of the code) which the test taker can consider for suitability and further investigation. The occupational content of the OSI Occupations Finder is drawn from the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO), various other occupational databases and a wide sampling of Australian newspaper job advertisements. Although the OSI does not require specific qualifications for administration, the test publisher seeks assurance that the purchaser has some training in the principles of testing and some experience in using and interpreting standardised test material. Relevant information in the principles of testing and in the using and interpreting of standardised test material was incorporated into the CDT training provided to DES consultants. It was also noted that any remaining concerns regarding an individual’s suitability to administer the test could be largely overcome by utilising the online administration and scoring system, thereby removing any chance of administrator error. The OSI-2 is available for administration via a hand-written question and answer format, and also via an online format where the test is undertaken online and the scoring and OSI code generation are completed and provided to the consultant via an online login. This online service is available through SurvStar and has been endorsed by the test publisher. For manual administration, the test administrator is required to have a copy of the Professional Manual, question booklets, score/profile sheets, and Occupations Listings. For online administration, the test administrator CDT Project 9 Evolution Research required a copy of the Professional Manual and Occupations Listings only. All relevant materials were provided to DES consultants at the time of training. CDT TRAINING STRATEGY TRAINING PARTICIPANTS The projects’ desired target was between 45 and 90 DES consultants who had an existing case load of job seekers, to be trained in the use of a career development tool. The recruitment of DES consultants to undertake the CDT training was conducted as an expression of interest from DES providers in the Sydney area. There were no prerequisite qualifications or level of experience required to be nominated to attend the CDT training. A number of DES Providers were advised by the department that they could nominate as many consultants to attend the training as they wished, with no limit on the places available. Four services provided consultants to participate in the MI project. Final numbers of participating consultants were limited by availability at each DES Provider. Across the four services a total of 24 consultants were nominated by their organisation to participate in the training. 19 of those originally nominated attended the training. Over the course of the project, application of the CDT tool and completion of project requirements were not implemented broadly by the DES consultants who participated in the training. Of the 19 consultants who completed the training, only 13 provided feedback to Evolution Research regarding the project by attending a focus group and / or providing participant data and engaging participant’s to meet for a face-to-face interview. One consultant advised the research team of their inability to continue participation in the project due to excessive work load in their current role and a requirement to train a new staff member which was preventing application of the career development tool. Five consultants failed to have any further communication with the research team post training, despite several and varied attempts to contact them. CDT TRAINING Evolution Research developed a Career Development Tool training package which incorporated training in the use of the OSI-2 and also labour market research methods for the research and identification of suitable job options identified in the use of the tool. The training was conducted over three hours at each DES Provider’s nominated office. The training incorporated three sections: 1. Introduction to the project and use of standardised assessment tools for career development; 2. Administration and interpretation of the OSI-2; and 3. Labour market research and identification of realistic career goals. During the first module, DES consultants were refreshed on the purpose of the project and the requirements associated with their participation, and also given guidance on identifying participants who would benefit from use of a career development tool as part of their employment pathway planning process. The second session introduced DES consultants to the OSI-2, providing understanding of its application, how to administer and score the tool, and how to use the results provided by the tool in employment planning. This included information from the OSI-2 Professional Manual regarding the background of the tool, correct application, and administration and scoring of the tool. Manual administration and scoring of the OSI-2 was demonstrated to the training group, and participants were then provided with the opportunity to complete, score and interpret the OSI-2 while the facilitator was on-hand to observe and guide correct application of the tool and to answer any questions participants had. This approach enabled the trainer to ensure that individual consultants understood the process and could correctly administer, score and interpret the tool. Following manual administration, online administration of the tool was demonstrated to the group. All participants were provided with training handouts for reference whilst applying the tool with participants. Participants CDT Project 10 Evolution Research were also provided with a number of case studies which were discussed during the training session. This further enhanced each participant’s knowledge of applying the tool to a range of participant situations and also a range of considerations regarding barriers or issues which could arise during the process of applying or interpreting the tool. The third session provided training in the undertaking of labour market research in order to ensure consultants possessed knowledge of appropriate techniques to research identified jobs according to their personal suitability for participants, and according to study, experience and labour market availability considerations. Training in labour market research was designed to enhance the matching of participants to their most suitable and realistic options for both study and employment. DES consultants were provided with instruction as to suitable websites and approaches they could utilise when undertaking labour market research and job matching processes. Each DES consultant was provided with sufficient copies of the OSI-2 (in both paper and online format) to administer the tool to at least five participants over the course of the project application period. PROJECT REQUIREMENTS Evolution Research provided the background information and project requirements to each participating DES consultant at the commencement of the CDT training session. This information had also previously been provided to the nominated contact at each DES so that they could inform consultants of the project requirements when nominated for the training. The stages of the project as outlined to participants included those identified in the table below. Stage CDT Training CDT Application DES consultant Focus Group DES Participant Interviews CDT Project Project Requirement DES consultants attended a 3-hour training session delivered by Evolution Research at each DES Provider’s nominated office. All consultants were required to have an existing case load to ensure the techniques covered in the training could be applied. DES consultants were required to trial the career development tool and job matching techniques as part of an employment pathway planning process with as many participants as possible during the application period. Consultants were required to administer a post-CDT administration survey to participants to gain feedback regarding their experience and perceptions of the employment pathway planning process utilising a career development tool. A post-CDT application focus group was held to collect feedback on the application, impact and usefulness of a career development tool as part of the employment pathway planning process. DES participants were asked by their DES consultant to attend a voluntary one-on-one interview with an Evolution Research consultant to provide feedback on their experience during the CDT and employment pathway planning process. Up to 35 participant interview times were made available for DES consultants to use. Individual participant interviews were held at the DES office. Interview duration was between 15 and 30 minutes. 11 Evolution Research IDENTIFICATION OF DES PARTICIPANTS DES consultants were asked to identify participants who they felt would benefit from the use of a career development tool as part of their employment pathway planning process. It was anticipated that there would be a wide variation in the individual situation of each participant in relation to their employment journey, disability and mental health. DES participants involved in the project were selectively sampled by consultants to ensure as much diversity as possible. DES consultants provided de-identified participant profile information to Evolution Research for a total of 18 participants with whom they used a career development tool. This information outlined the reason for having used the tool with the participant, and general background information such as the participant’s disability type, education and employment history, and general observations considered of relevance to the participant’s situation in relation to employment pathway planning. Of the 18 participants who used the career development tool, 14 indicated willingness to participate in a one-on-one interview to discuss their experience with the career development tool process. Of these participants, 12 actually attended the interview. All participants were provided with a plain language statement describing the project and the requirements of their involvement. This document was discussed with the participant by the Evolution Research consultant prior to commencement of the interview to ensure appropriate understanding of their involvement. DATA COLLECTION A combination of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods were used in the collection of data from both DES consultants and participants. A combination of strategies was used including focus groups, individual participant interviews, participant profile summaries, and Employment Pathway Plan reviews. F OCUS G ROUP A focus group was held to seek feedback from DES consultants regarding the application of a career development tool with participants, observed outcomes arising during and from the process, barriers or issues experienced in relation to implementing a career development tool with participants and perceptions regarding the potential usefulness of continued use of career development tools with DES participants, including with different disability groups and demographics. Discussion also considered the DES consultant’s satisfaction with the application of a career development tool as part of the employment pathway planning process, and any advantages or disadvantages of this approach compared to current practices not utilising a career development tool. Feedback from focus groups is discussed in Section 4 of this report. F ACE - TO - FACE I NTERVIEWS Individual face-to-face interviews were held with all DES participants who agreed to participate in discussion as part of the project. An interview question guide was developed by Evolution Research to ensure general consistency of questioning by each Evolution Research consultant. The question guide is attached in section 7 of this report. Feedback from face-to-face interviews is discussed in Section 4 of this report. CDT Project 12 Evolution Research FINDINGS Findings from the data collection processes of this project are presented in the following section, with attention firstly given to feedback provided by consultants via focus group and structured written format, and then feedback provided by DES participants during face-to-face interview following the completion of a written survey. Following this, examples of real-world application by the DES consultants over the course of the project period are provided. PARTICIPANT PROFILE PROCESS OF PROFILING PARTICIPANTS DES consultants completed de-identified profile information for each of the participants that they administered the career development tool with. These profiles provided an outline of information such as the participant’s disability, duration with the DES, duration of unemployment, education and employment background, and general observations considered relevant by the consultant to their decision to use the career development tool with that participant. Copies of de-identified EPPs were also provided by the DES consultants and examined by Evolution Research to determine the level of detail included in EPPs, and where relevant, any notable change in EPPs following application of the career development tool. D ISABILITY TYPES The majority of participants selected for the use of a career development tool were recorded as having a psychological or cognitive impairment (10 of 15 recorded disability types), including, anxiety, depression, Asperger’s Syndrome, Bipolar Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism, Intellectual Disability or an acquired brain injury. Approximately half of these participants were diagnosed with more than one of the above listed disabilities. Of the remaining participants, three were recorded as having multiple physical disabilities (including cancer, spinal disorder, hand disorder, heart disorder, neck/shoulder/arm disorder and diabetes), and two were recorded as having both physical and psychological impairments. R EASON FOR USING A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL A number of reasons were identified by DES consultants as to why they chose particular participants to use a career development tool with. Several participants were identified as having more than one reason as to why they were thought to potentially benefit from the tool. The identified reasons included: No, or uncertain vocational direction; Lack of motivation towards work; No recent work experience / long-term unemployed; Need to explore broader range of options; Need to narrow down a broad range of interests; Identify areas of interest; Possesses unrealistic job goals; Psychological barriers prevent return to work – need to identify jobs where barriers will not be an issue or exacerbated. General observations by DES consultants regarding their participants indicated additional reasons as to choosing these participants to use a career development tool. Typically, many participants were described as being difficult to engage in conversation or in DES activity (often due to low motivation), or as having limited insight into their own skills, likes and dislikes. These factors were identified by DES consultants as very restrictive in identifying appropriate employment pathways for participants. D URATION OF DES REGISTRATION AND TIME UNEMPLOYED The average period that participants had been registered with their DES provider at the time of completing the career development tool was 6.5 months. The shortest time was 2 weeks and the longest time was 21 months. CDT Project 13 Evolution Research The average period of unemployment for participants at the time of completing the career development tool was 36 months (3 years; note that the maximum period of unemployment was removed when calculating the average due to its potential to skew the results). The minimum period of unemployment was 12 months and the maximum was 180 months (15 years). E DUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT BACKGROUND With the exception of two participants whose maximum education levels were Year 11 and Year 12, the level of education achieved by most participants included post high-school education. Included in educational attainments were courses at the Certificate I, II, III and IV levels, Diploma level, Bachelor and Post-Graduate degrees. Many participants had completed more than one course and several were currently studying at the time of completing the career development tool. Employment history varied significantly with: a number of participants having no employment history, or having only completed work experience; some participants having held multiple lower-skilled positions across a range of industries (e.g. Gardener, Yard Hand, Warehousing, Waiter, Sales Assistant and Cleaner); and a small number of participants having held higher skill/academic qualification level positions (e.g. High School Teacher, Journalist, Marketing Manager, Lawyer, Engineer, and Public Relations Consultant). DES CONSULTANT FEEDBACK USEFULNESS OF A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL U SEFULNESS OF A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL FOR EMPLOYMENT PLANNING The use of a career development tool was indicated by the majority of consultants to be something that was seen as beneficial. Consultants stated that it assisted with the identification of suitable job and/or study options which then provided guidance and direction for subsequent activities. DES consultants who found the use of a career development tool to be beneficial indicated that: The tool added to the level of engagement of the participant; The tool was useful for a range of participants, from newly registered participants to long-term participants with a history of long-term unemployment; The tool provided job options and a path towards study; The tool opened up discussion regarding training and study; The tool expanded on job options for participants with a limited or narrow view; The tool was very good for participants who did not know what they want to do as it helped them to identify and think about possibilities; The tool was good for resistant participants as it gave other options that they had not previously considered; and The tool provided the participant with options not previously thought of and assisted in establishing rapport between the participant and consultant. The tool was identified to be of benefit not only to participants, but also to DES consultants. It was reported that the process of using a career development tool ensured that the consultant thought about the process of how to get their participant to their job goal, and as a result provided a range of short term activities that would be of benefit to the participant and their employment preparation and job-seeking efforts. The tool was also considered to be of benefit to the consultant in that it assists them to get to know more about a participant by providing insight into their interests, likes and dislikes in relation to work. A small number of consultants who had not found the career development tool useful indicated that for some participants it provided unrealistic job prospects (such as a medical engineer for a participant with an Intellectual CDT Project 14 Evolution Research Disability) as it matched interest rather than aptitude, and in some cases the jobs were “pitched too high” and needed to include more “survival jobs” that did not require extensive skills or qualifications. In the case where unrealistic job options were identified, one consultant reported that this then made it difficult to gain agreement from the participant on more realistic and achievable goals. Another example noted that the tool was not useful in a particular case of a 21year old that presented as very ambivalent as he had circled a response of “no” to nearly all questions in the tool, resulting in no useful results being available to then continue employment planning discussions. In another example, the consultant stated that one of their participants had become overwhelmed with the length of the questionnaire and failed to complete it. E ASE OF USE OF A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL Overall, most DES consultants reported that the career development tool was quite easy to implement as part of their employment pathway planning process with participants. It was found to be of an appropriate duration for most participants, with the average time taken to complete the tool being approximately 15 minutes (online and paperbased administration). Consultants reported that they needed to allocate a longer appointment time than usual when using the tool with participants as additional time was necessary for the scoring and exploration of the occupations listing with a participant. While it was noted by some consultants that consideration of job options could be done at the next appointment, others stated that they found the process more engaging if they completed both the administration of the tool and the identification of potential job options with a participant at the one appointment. These consultants indicated that this process took between one to one-and-a-half hours to complete. There were a number of situations where consultants reported the tool being more difficult to implement. The tool was difficult to use with participants who had literacy difficulties or who were from a non-English speaking background (but did not require a translator for general communication). In these cases it was noted that the tool could be successfully administered verbally to the participant but that this became more time consuming. Implementation using a translator was reported to take approximately one hour. A difficulty noted in relation to the use of a translator was that some concepts could be difficult to translate, however the consultants still felt that the tool had been useful for these participants. A PPROPRIATE APPLICATION OF A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL DES consultants identified a number of factors which they considered would influence the appropriate time at which to use a career development tool with a participant. These factors included: Age of the participant – the use of a career development tool is considered to be of greater benefit for younger age participants who can then explore training options required to gain their desired career. It was noted that participants of an older age (for example mid-fifties and early sixties) did not gain as much benefit from a career development tool as they had limited time left in their working life in which to pursue additional study. However, participants of an older age group were noted to benefit if they were likely to be pursuing jobs that required no qualification (e.g. low or medium skilled labour), particularly where they had significant gaps in their employment history or were unable to return to their previous field of employment and had limited insight into suitable alternatives. Readiness of the participant to consider job-seeking – some consultants consider the use of a career development tool to be appropriate only when a participant is “job ready” so that marketing and seeking employment in the identified field can commence immediately on completion of the employment pathway planning process. Other consultants stated that a career development tool can be an excellent way to engage and motivate a participant who is uncertain as to whether they have any employment prospects and who otherwise appears unwilling or ambivalent about participating in an employment pathway process. These consultants indicated that identification of potential job options assists in the development of agreed shortterm and long-term goals which are then clear for the participant to work towards, and also assists in determining any skills gaps which will require the participant to undertake training or study in order to CDT Project 15 Evolution Research successfully gain employment. Other benefits of using a career development tool with participants who are ambivalent or resistant to engaging with their DES provider were noted in that it demonstrated to the participant that they could be involved in the process of determining what they wanted to do, rather than just following obligations specified by their consultant. In these cases the process of using a career development tool was seen as a positive experience for the jobseeker as they were able to see action. Uncertainty of job options – the use of a career development tool was seen by DES consultants as an effective way of providing reassurance to participants of a “correct” career pathway. It was reported as providing validation of job choice and putting a positive approach on job search efforts for participants already engaged in a particular employment pathway. For other participants who have a very broad range of job options, the career development tool was considered an effective way for the participant to be assisted to narrow down their options, and to be able to prioritise them in order to focus on pursuing the most realistic and appropriate options, rather than having an unfocussed and less targeted approach. Duration of registration with DES Provider – feedback from consultants was mixed in relation to the most appropriate stage at which to use a career development tool with participants. Some felt that it was of most benefit to use early on in a participant’s registration with the provider, in order to set a course of action early in the process. Other consultants felt that this would be more determined on a case by case basis as some participants are not ready to consider employment options at an early stage, and require more time to establish rapport and undertake preparation activities (for example, DES run employment preparation workshops) before engaging in a set vocational direction. V ALUE OF A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL TO THE E MPLOYMENT P ATHWAY P LAN Despite the small number of examples raised where the career development tool had not been of use, the majority of consultants indicated that the administration of a career development tool was useful as part of the employment pathway planning process, but that it had very little impact on the EPP itself. Many consultants indicated that they made no change to their participant’s EPP once they had identified appropriate employment or study goals, as they do not perceive this to be directly related to the EPP document. At most, these consultants indicated that they would note the change in job goal if required, but that no other detail would need to be changed or added in the EPP. These consultants perceive the EPP to be more of an agreement or “contract” between the participant and DES service, providing an overview of action and obligations and acting as a guide to reinforce commitment, rather than providing a detailed plan. This perception was generally observed to be in line with their understanding of what their particular organisational requirements are. A smaller number of consultants noted that they had made changes to the participant’s EPP as they found that identifying the job goal in the EPP assisted to link the career development tool process with the next steps, assisting the participant to see the point in the activities in which they were engaging. In addition, these consultants generally identified the next steps and specific actions (e.g. particular course or job-seeking activities such as reverse marketing of specific industries) that would be involved in the participant’s future appointments with the DES. It was noted that this was a way to gain greater commitment and ownership by participants in relation to their job seeking activities. A review of EPPs provided to Evolution Research by the DES consultants supported the above findings. It was noted that nine of fifteen participants had not had their EPP revised following completion of the employment pathway planning process using the career development tool. The majority of these EPPs were noted to be quite broad in nature (for example they did not identify a specific job goal but only identified the hours of employment that the participant was seeking) and did not identify specific activities that the participant would need to complete in working towards employment. The main focus of the EPP appeared to be more on outlining the responsibilities the participant had in relation to attendance at appointments and performing job seeking activities in general. Of the four EPPs that were revised by the DES consultant and participant following use of the career development tool in the employment pathway planning process, the key change that was noted was that the specific employment goal CDT Project 16 Evolution Research (i.e. the name of the job/s) was written as the employment goal, whereas the previous EPP did not identify the type of job that the participant wished to pursue. One of the EPPs identified both short- and long-term goals in relation to study and employment, and also identified specific activities required for employment, study and maintenance of mental health. The remaining three EPPs, while now specifying a specific employment goal, included only broad, generic detail about the requirement to attend activities at the DES office to prepare for employment. Most consultants stated that they would only update an EPP at the times required by either the Department (every three months), or by their management (monthly in the case of one DES Provider). Most indicated however that when updating the EPP it was rare for significant changes to be included as they generally did not include detail relating to the specific activities participants were required to undertake during their process with the DES. IMPACT OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOLS ON FUTURE EMPLOYMENT PATHWAY PLANNING The majority of consultants indicated that the use of a career development tool has great potential to assist in engaging participants and to identify suitable and realistic employment options. In addition, many consultants noted the potential that using a career development tool would have in improving job retention of participants as it would assist in providing a better job match, rather than participants being directed into any job that may be of limited suitability or which they do not enjoy and therefore have limited motivation to maintain. These consultants indicated that if they had a suitable career development tool available that they would implement this as part of their process with participants, particularly with participants who are long-term unemployed, who are ambivalent regarding job choices, or who have limited or no insight into employment options that would be realistic and suitable for their particular situation. As indicated above however, although DES consultants see the benefit to the planning process, changes and activities identified following the use of a career development tool are unlikely to be reflected in the EPP as this is generally not used as an ongoing, specific activity planning and review document with participants. PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK EXPERIENCE AND SATISFACTION USING THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL PROCESS U NDERSTANDING OF THE TOOL ’ S PURPOSE DES participants who completed the OSI-2 described having a clear understanding as to the purpose of the tool prior to its completion. Clients described their DES consultant as having provided them with a clear explanation of the purpose of the tool and how to complete it in all but one instance. One client stated that he had not been provided with explanation beforehand but that he was able to understand it by reading the instructions on the first page of the tool. The range of explanations provided by participants as to the purpose for them completing the OSI-2 included: It looked at my likes and dislikes; To see what type of job I should do and which field I should follow; To try and help me work out jobs; To show me what jobs and industries are out there; To open up options and see if my state of mind would open up options; To look for direction and style of job; To look at future job prospects; and To match what I like to do with different jobs as I do not know what I can to do. The majority of participants indicated that their experience in completing the OSI-2 and the end result it provided matched their understanding of its purpose. One participant indicated that his experience had not resulted in clarification of the jobs he could pursue but instead created greater confusion for him. He felt that this was due to possessing a limited understanding of his current skills and capabilities after having been retrenched from his employment of 17 years two years ago. CDT Project 17 Evolution Research E ASE OF COMPLETION All participants indicated that the tool itself was easy to understand and simple to follow. A small number stated that it was quite lengthy but did not indicate this to be a significant issue for their own capabilities. Direct participant feedback included one participant from a non-English speaking background who utilised an interpreter when completing the questionnaire. He stated that he was able to understand the tool and the questions asked. R ESEARCH OF POTENTIAL JOB OPTIONS The majority of participants stated that their DES consultant assisted them to research potential job options identified through completion of the OSI-2 in order to assist in ensuring their suitability and to help them in deciding on the most suitable job/s to pursue. Some noted that through this process they were able to narrow down their options by identifying jobs that would not be suitable due to physical or academic/qualification requirements. Participants stated that the process of researching job options helped them to identify options that were within their capabilities. A small number of participants indicated that they had not yet researched individual jobs at this stage due to having only completed the tool within the week prior to their interview and that they therefore had not had time to do so. It was noted that their DES consultant had advised them that this would be the next stage in the process. One participant stated that through identifying and researching job options “it provided impetus to explore other options and ongoing momentum to find something”. I NPUT INTO JOB CHOICE All participants stated that they had a clear say as to which job/s they felt were suitable and which jobs or study options they had agreed to pursue. No participants felt that their consultant had directed them into a job that they did not wish to pursue through the process of completing the OSI-2. Some participants noted the contrast of this in relation to their previous experience with their DES provider, indicating that they have previously been directed towards jobs that they considered unsuitable or that they had no interest in performing. They reported being happy that their consultant was listening to them and trying to help them to gain employment that would be satisfying and appropriately matched to their capabilities. USEFULNESS OF A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL FOR EMPLOYMENT PLANNING The majority of participants stated that the career development tool had been useful for assisting them to identify suitable job and study options to pursue, or to confirm that their current ideas regarding their employment path were appropriate. Participants also indicated that they were in agreement with their DES consultant as to the suitability of these jobs. Feedback from participants who found the tool useful in identifying new options included: CDT Project I was surprised at the end result as it brought up good options that I had not considered; It was helpful – the job listing contained jobs I did not know existed; The tool identified work I had done in the past and has encouraged me to look at training; The result matched my likes and dislikes. I was uncertain as to my job options prior to doing the questionnaire but it helped me consider jobs I otherwise would not have thought of; I was able to identify a suitable job that I want to do – I am going to enrol in a Certificate IV in Warehousing to look for work as a warehousing supervisor; We have identified transferring my electrical skills into retail or warehousing; It identified sales and factory work which are both suitable for me; I was not sure what I could do after running my own business, but this has opened up a new direction; and It was a much better process than my previous DES provider who kept referring me to jobs that were too physical. 18 Evolution Research Feedback from participants who did not find the use of a career development tool to be useful was, in the majority, those that had already identified an employment pathway that they wished to pursue and that they considered realistic. However, feedback from these participants regarding the usefulness of a career development tool included: I already have a fairly set idea of what I want to do, but it could help for people to come up with ideas; It showed me what I wanted and confirmed I am on the right track; I already had a good idea of what I’m doing but it did reaffirm what I was doing which was reassuring; and I’m quite aware of the skills I have already so personally did not gain much benefit, however it helps the DES consultant to get to know you better by highlighting the interests you have. A small number of participants indicated that they had not found the use of a career development tool to be useful for their particular situation. This included feedback from two male participants who were aged in their early sixties who felt that the potential jobs identified through the process were unrealistic for their situation, as the options required extensive further study which was not suitable considering the remaining length of their working life. One of these participants also felt that the use of a career development tool was not useful for someone in his position of having three university degrees and extensive high level employment history. He felt that the job options presented did not appropriately match the qualifications and skills that someone with his similar history would hold. In relation to using a career development tool he stated that “the principle is there but the tool is not quite right for the older age group”. The other participant stated that although he felt that the job options were not pitched appropriately to the older age group that it was still beneficial as “it’s an encouraging process – it provides breadth”. One participant felt that he could see the potential in using a career development tool to assist participants to determine realistic job options. However, he indicated that his personal experience had caused him more confusion and uncertainty. He stated that he felt he had been unable to answer the questions in the tool with clarity or accuracy as he lacks an understanding of his current skills base. He stated that he has been out of work for approximately two and a half years, having been retrenched from a position he held for 17 years. He stated that the impact of this, along with a number of personal issues he has recently encountered, have impacted his confidence and self-awareness in relation to work and that in order to gain any benefit from a career development tool designed to explore work options outside of those he may have experienced, he would first require a “skills assessment” to find out what skills he possesses. Despite having identified the use of a career development tool as having been of benefit, one participant felt that the process would be wasted. He stated that: No matter how career development tools fit, the result will be steered off course by the DES push for getting people into jobs to reach their profit – participants are driven into jobs that are not suitable but where the DES has an existing relationship with an organisation so it is convenient for the DES. IDENTIFICATION OF NEXT STEPS IN THE EMPLOYMENT PATHWAY PLANNING PROCESS Feedback from DES participants regarding their level of awareness of the steps that they would need to take next as part of their employment pathway process was mixed. Approximately half of the clients interviewed stated that they were clear on their next steps and indicated that their DES consultant had revised their EPP in response to having decided on a suitable, specific job or study goal. However, although these clients had awareness of the next steps and had had the new goal written in to their EPP, most indicated that the EPP only provided a broad overview of the actions required and did not provide specific detail as to the actual activities they would be undertaking. The actions identified by clients for their next steps included: CDT Project I will be doing a course at the DES office for the next two weeks to help me get ready for job seeking; My consultant is helping me to enrol in a course at TAFE; I will need to do some study – we need to explore this further; We will take the next steps to look for jobs in these areas (i.e. those identified with the OSI-2). 19 Evolution Research Of the remaining participants that were interviewed, a number felt that they required further clarification of the next steps that they would be undertaking, either because they felt that the steps outlined by the DES consultant were unrealistic, or because they had not been sufficiently included in the planning of the next steps. One participant stated that a new EPP had been written but that there was no real change to the previous EPP. Another stated that she had a new EPP that had been developed the week before but that she had not read it as her consultant “always writes it and then gets her to sign it”. A statement provided by one participant during face-to-face interview summarised the feedback received from the majority of participants in relation to the EPP: The EPP contains quantified milestones but is not much of a plan. APPROPRIATE APPLICATION OF A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL All participants who participated in a face-to-face interview, regardless of whether or not they had found the use of a career development tool personally useful, indicated that the most appropriate time to use a career development tool was soon after a participant commenced with a DES Provider. The reasons provided for this related to the perceived benefits that the career development tool produces, such as assisting participants to think about realistic options, motivating participants with the realisation that there is something they can do, providing a set goal and something to work towards, assisting the participant to be aware of their abilities and interests, and assisting the DES consultant to get to know the participant and to therefore be able to assist them in locating suitable and satisfying employment. Specific feedback provided by participants during face-to-face interview included: It would have been more helpful at the start as I would have gone for other jobs and would not have been applying for things I can’t really do physically; You would get a job sooner; It could be useful at the beginning for people who are ready for employment but uncertain of their options; It would definitely be good to complete it as soon as you get to the provider, rather than further in the process. It has the potential to get people thinking about options; For long-term unemployed it is probably useful to give them when they start with a DES to provide them with a goal that is based on their interests; It definitely sets a direction so would be good on the second or third appointment you have with the DES to decide your path early; For people of a younger age (i.e. earlier in their career) it would be good to do this right at the front end just after the first interview with the DES provider – they will get an idea of where the client’s head is at and it will encourage the individual to think in a structured way. It would be much better to do it earlier on – it’s a stimulant to positive thinking; I think it is a good idea to do this at the start as I have just done. I spent 12 months with another DES provider and was never asked to do anything like this. ISSUES OR BARRIERS EXPERIENCED IN USING A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL IN A DES SETTING Feedback from both DES consultants and participants highlighted a relatively small number of barriers or issues that were encountered, or that could be anticipated, during the use of a career development tool in a DES setting. Issues that were identified mainly related to whether or not a career development tool was considered an appropriate approach to use with all participants, or whether there are particular participant groups where this may not be appropriate. Limitations of the use of a career development tool with some participant groups were identified as follows: CDT Project 20 Evolution Research Use with participants of an older age group – some DES consultants and participants indicated that a career development tool may have limited usefulness for participants of an older age group (for example, aged in their fifties or sixties). The reason given for this was: o Participants of an older age have limited time remaining in which to work, and considering potential options that require extensive study does not seem realistic. In this case, the potential benefits were considered to be limited and it was suggested that a career development tool could be used to identify potential industries or general job areas, but that it should not be used to examine lists of specific jobs. Use with participants who possess higher qualifications – some DES consultants and participants have expressed difficulty in determining appropriate job options through the use of a career development tool as they perceive that they are focused on lower-skilled occupations. However, DES consultants also noted that this is an issue even without a career development tool as it can be difficult to find job options that match an individual’s career expectations if they have previously worked in higher skilled and higher educated positions. Some participants indicated that one-on-one sessions with a qualified career counsellor may be more appropriate for those with higher education and experience backgrounds. Use with participants who have a moderate intellectual disability – it was noted that many of the job options that were listed in the jobs listing were not appropriate for someone with significant intellectual or learning barriers and that utilising this process with them created unrealistic expectations as to their potential job future. Use with participants from non-English speaking backgrounds who require a translator – the issues identified in relation to this were not suggesting that a career development tool was not appropriate for these participant groups, but to highlight that additional time is required when administering the tool and also that care needs to be taken to ensure that the translator possesses an accurate understanding of the concepts and jobs in each of the questions in the tool, thereby ensuring accurate and equivalent translation for accurate results of the tool. The other barrier identified by some DES consultants was that they have very limited time to spend with each participant and that they need to allow more time (approximately one to one-and-a-half hours) to complete the full career development tool process. Some consultants noted that it can be difficult to provide this time to a participant due to their current work load demands. Overall, both DES consultants and participants indicated that a career development tool is suitable to use with most participants in a DES setting and that it is a valid and useful approach to assisting the participants to determine realistic employment and study goals. APPLICATION IN PRACTICE Given the limited application period provided for the current project there is limited availability of real-life examples supporting the benefits that consultants have found using a career development tool. However, anecdotal evidence from several consultants demonstrates that even in the shorter term they are observing benefits to participants. Specific examples, beyond the many where participants had been able to identify and agree on an appropriate job direction after using the career development tool, are presented below. A participant had not worked for 29 years and had little knowledge of the skills she possessed that she could apply in a workplace, and very little confidence in relation to identifying jobs that may be considered suitable to apply for. Although having been previously involved with other DES providers, she has not had an identified job goal prior to now, with general applications being submitted for jobs that previous consultants felt she may be able to secure, regardless of whether she was interested in them. Using the career development tool, the participant has been assisted to identify a range of skills that she possesses and has CDT Project 21 Evolution Research identified a realistic job goal that matches her interests. She is now being assisted to find work experience in the new area of work with the goal to then move to seeking employment once she has gained sufficient experience to demonstrate her suitability and capabilities to an employer. A participant aged in her late twenties has significant employment barriers arising from high levels of anxiety. She previously worked as a Housekeeper / Cleaner for a period of six years, however resigned due to anxiety. The most recent employment she had secured had been as an assistant in a party supplies store, however due to the requirement to perform duties in the main shop area where customers were located, she was unable to cope and resigned after a very short period of time. She completed the career development tool with her DES consultant and explored a range of job options that were identified. They agreed on a suitable direction of process work that would enable her to work in a structured “back of house” role where her anxiety would not be exacerbated. The DES consultant undertook reverse marketing to contact potential employers which has resulted in the participant securing employment as a clothing sorter. The role was described by the DES consultant as being a perfect fit for her participant’s disability needs, and a job which fits in with her expressed likes of maintaining structure and repetition in her role, with limited contact with others. The participant has also indicated that she is very happy at the prospect of commencing her new role and that she feels positive in relation to its suitability for her. CDT Project 22 Evolution Research DISCUSSION OVERALL FINDINGS PERCEPTIONS OF DES CONSULTANTS OF THE USEFULNESS OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOLS O VERALL USEFULNESS OF A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL WITH DES PARTICIPANTS The use of a career development tool was indicated by the majority of consultants to be something that was seen to be beneficial. Consultants stated that it assisted with the identification of suitable job and/or study options which then provided guidance and direction for subsequent activities. The use of the tool was also identified as an effective way to engage participants and to provide motivation towards gaining work or towards engaging in study that would lead to a desired employment goal. The tool was found to be useful with a range of participants, from newly registered participants to those that had been registered with the DES for a longer-period of time, and also with participants with varying employment and education history. No gender differences were observed in relation to the usefulness of the tool, however in relation to age, the tool was found to be less useful for those with limited working life remaining. Difficulties were reported when working with some participants of an older age group (e.g. age in their fifties or sixties), particularly where these participants identified job goals that required extensive study or where these participants had previously held highly skilled and higher-academically qualified positions. DES consultants reported that using a career development tool had assisted them to identify realistic job options and appropriate study pathways with participants, and that during the administration and discussion of the results of the tool it elicited more discussion from participants regarding training and study. The tool was also identified as a useful way to provide more focus in a participant’s employment pathway, providing an effective and structured way to narrow down very broad job preferences. Conversely, it was also useful in broadening job options for participants who had a very narrow focus on an often unrealistic job goal. In addition to the direct benefits to participants, using a career development tool was identified as useful for DES consultants also, in that it helped them to gain greater knowledge of their participant’s likes and preferences, and also encouraged them to think more about the process and activities required in assisting the participant to reach their desired job goal. In the small number of cases where the use of a career development tool was not found to be useful in the employment pathway planning process, a number of factors not directly related to the tool were evident. These included the potential impact of a participant’s intellectual disability on the appropriateness of the tool; a client presenting as very ambivalent and disinterested in all of the activities identified in the tool; a participant failing to complete the tool due to feeling overwhelmed with its length; and a participant who felt unable to accurately respond regarding his skills due to a lack of knowledge about, and lack confidence in his existing skills. In each of these cases it is considered that application of the tool was likely not appropriate. For a participant with a moderate intellectual disability, a career development tool designed for use with the average population is likely to be unsuitable and an alternate means of career exploration should be investigated. Where a client feels overwhelmed by the length of the questionnaire, it is possible that breaking completion down into shorter time-frames may have assisted; for example, completing only one or two of the sections of the tool at a time. In addition for this participant, and also for the remaining participants who presented with characteristics such as ambivalence, low interest in activities, and extremely low insight and confidence in their skills, it is likely that they required different intervention prior to completing such a tool. Interventions such as motivational interviewing or personal counselling may have assisted in overcoming barriers and issues impacting on mood and confidence, or assisted in identifying factors that were creating the perceived ambivalence, moving them to a point where they felt ready to engage in a process of exploring suitable job options. CDT Project 23 Evolution Research Overall, DES consultants found a career development tool of this length (approximately 15 minutes completion time) to be suitable for participants, however several indicated that the overall amount of time required to complete the employment pathway planning process with the career development tool to be a challenge along with the competing demands on their time in working with other participants. Several consultants noted however that the benefits to be gained in assisting a participant to have a clear and realistically achievable job or study goal meant that investing in the required time was rewarded. The issue of DES consultants reporting insufficient time to use a career development tool is not considered indicative of unsuitability of such a process, but is rather a reflection on the pressure reported by consultants to get as many clients through appointments as quickly as possible so that they can focus on engaging in job-seeking. Other potential difficulties in implementing the tool were noted in relation to the use of a translator to administer the tool. DES consultants indicated that they needed to be mindful that questions were translated to an equivalent meaning and that significantly more time would be required to administer the tool. Consultants noted however that the use of a tool was still beneficial for clients from a non-English speaking background. U SEFULNESS OF A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL TO THE E MPLOYMENT P ATHWAY P LAN DES consultants concluded that the use of a career development tool provided clear and definite benefits in relation to assisting clients to identify and agree on realistic and desirable job and study goals. They noted the use in relation to identifying a particular job and then matching this with the participant’s existing skills and capabilities, and then using this to identify particular activities that the participant would benefit from undertaking in order to be successful in their pursuit of their desired job goal. However, the outcomes of the process of using the career development tool for this purpose rarely carry over to providing detail on a participant’s EPP. The majority of DES consultants see the purpose of the EPP to provide a broad overview of a client’s direction whilst receiving the services of the DES provider, and use it to identify broad milestones and participation requirements such as attending fortnightly meetings at the DES office and agreeing to search for a set number of jobs, or to apply for jobs that meet the criteria of a specified number of work hours per week. For the most part however, DES consultants do not use the EPP as a tool to identify specific short- and long-term employment and study goals or to specify particular activities to be undertaken with and by the participant in working towards their employment or study goals. DES consultant’s report that they rarely update a participant’s EPP in line with changes new activities that have been identified, but that they tend to only update EPPs when they are required to. This means that EPPs are usually only updated on average once every three months, regardless of any progress in the participant’s achievement towards agreed goals. The updating schedule is therefore driven by policy and DES management directives, rather than by the relationship with the participant’s achievement or identification of required actions. DES consultants reported that this means that most participants do not see the EPP as a valuable tool and instead consider it to be more of a compliance contract. P OTENTIAL FUTURE USE OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOLS DES consultants overwhelmingly indicated that they see the benefit of continuing to use career development tools as part of an employment pathway planning process with participants, even if they do not yet see the value of adapting a participant’s EPP to reflect changes and actions arising from the outcomes of the career development tool process. DES consultants not only identified the benefits that the use of a tool has on engaging and motivating participants, and assisting them to identify realistic and achievable goals, they also identified the potential impact that use of a career development tool can have on the longer-term situation of the participant. Many consultants noted the potential that using a career development tool could have in improving job retention of participants through achieving a better job match to positions that participants enjoy and value and that they are therefore more motivated to maintain. CDT Project 24 Evolution Research DES PARTICIPANT SATISFACTION WITH THE USE OF A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL O VERALL SATISFACTION WITH THE EPP PROCESS UTILISING A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL The majority of DES participants reported being generally satisfied with the employment pathway planning process using a career development tool, reporting the tool to be of great benefit to identification of realistic employment and study goals that matched their likes and preferences. Where participants did not have knowledge of the potential jobs identified from the outcomes of completing the career development tool, most participants indicated that their DES consultant had assisted them to research these jobs to gain knowledge of the specific requirements of each job. Feedback indicated that this process had been useful in ruling out jobs that did not match physical or psychological capabilities or that described characteristics considered unsuitable by the participant. Overall, feedback indicated that participants felt that jobs had been more appropriately matched to them individually and that their DES consultant was taking the time to find out what they really wanted to do. Participants reported feeling that they had say in the type of job that they would like to do, rather than just being expected to get into any job regardless of its suitability or desirability. This process was described by many participants as having provided the added benefit of increasing their motivation to get a job. Several participants also indicated satisfaction with the process as they were assisted to identify study options that would improve their skills to get into their desired type of work. This was in contrast to what many reported having previously experienced where they have been advised that they cannot consider study as an option and that they need to find employment instead. U SEFULNESS OF A CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOL TO THE E MPLOYMENT P ATHWAY P LAN The majority of participants stated that the career development tool had been useful for assisting them to identify suitable job and study options to pursue, or to confirm that their current ideas regarding their employment path were appropriate. They felt that this was a beneficial inclusion to an employment pathway planning process as it assisted in identifying alternate job options that may be suitable for them and it assisted them in identifying the actions that they would need to take in order to reach their desired employment or study goal. However, the majority of participants stated that their EPP had not been updated to reflect or include specific details of the actions that they had identified with the DES consultant in order to achieve their employment or study goals. Participants did not seem surprised by this as the majority reported that their EPP has only ever been used to provide a broad overview of the actions required and did not provide specific detail as to the actual activities they would be undertaking. A large proportion of participants indicated that although they had discussed the next steps that they would need to take to work towards their newly agreed employment or study goal, they were still uncertain as to what they actually needed to do. Several indicated that if a greater level of detail was included in the EPP that this could make it a more useful document, and a useful reminder and prompt towards achieving the required actions. It is therefore apparent that although the use of a career development tool is perceived by participants to provide significant benefits, participants feel that there are further advantages to be gained by more closely linking and documenting detailed activities related to the achievement of employment and study goals into the EPP. P OTENTIAL FUTURE USE OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOLS All participants who provided feedback as part of the project, regardless of whether or not they had found the use of a career development tool personally useful, indicated that use of a career development tool would be beneficial to many future DES participants. Participants overwhelmingly indicated that a career development tool should be used earlier in a participant’s time with a DES provider, as opposed to part-way through the process. The rationale provided by participants was not only CDT Project 25 Evolution Research related to the personal benefits they attained, but also to the benefit that it assists the DES consultant to get to know the participant, therefore making them better able to assist in locating suitable and satisfying employment. Some participants described the career development tool to be of limited use to their particular situation however they were able to identify the factors that contributed to this. Clients of an older age group reported less satisfaction in relation to the outcomes that they achieved through the process, however felt that this was due to them having less scope to participate in longer-term study options to assist them in pursuing higher-level jobs. Another identified issue was the use of a career development tool at an unsuitable time due to an adverse psychological state which required alternate interventions before it would be appropriate to engage in the process. ISSUES EXPERIENCED IN USING CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOOLS IN DES SETTINGS There were relatively few issues experienced in using career development tools in DES settings. As discussed above, DES consultants found the use of a career development tool to be appropriate for the majority of their clients, including for a relatively wide range of ages, disability types, educational background and employment history. Of the issues that were identified, it is considered that where these were not due to the tool not being appropriate to a specific intellectual or cognitive requirement, most other barriers could be overcome with the use of other appropriate interventions. For example, the issues identified for participants in the current project indicated that they may not have been ready to engage in consideration of employment options, and that there may have been other barriers or issues occurring that needed to be addressed through other means, such as counselling or motivational interviewing, before they would be ready to engage in the process. LIMITATIONS OF THE CURRENT PROJECT Several factors are considered to have limited the findings of the current project and which need to be taken into account when considering the finding. It is recognised however, that the DSS considered that the value of the current project would be to provide indicative results only and that it was not expected that statistically reliable information could be gained due to the very limited timeframes available in which to implement the training and administer the career development tool with participants. As indicated above, the timeframes available in which to implement training in the career development tool impacted on the number of DES consultants that were available to attend the training. The relatively short notice in the lead-up to the training, combined with the time of year and several public holidays and school holidays, meant that the target number of DES consultants to be involved in the training could not be reached. This in turn impacted on the number of DES participants that consultants utilised the career development tool with, which limited the amount of feedback that could be gained regarding participant satisfaction with the process. Many DES providers reported that Departmental audits were being undertaken in their office at the same time as the project’s implementation period, which limited the time available to implement the new strategy with their clients as they prepared for the audit. In addition, several DES consultants advised that they had been unable to implement the tool with any clients as their office was short-staffed due to absence and staff turnover, resulting in them having to pick up additional client load and responsibilities of training new staff. CONCLUSIONS Whilst the limitations of the project are acknowledged, it is considered that the findings of the project have provided a useful indication that the use of a career development tool as part of an employment pathway planning process in DES settings warrants further investigation. Despite the limited timeframes and competing demands which prevented broader application of the tool, the overwhelmingly positive feedback from DES consultants and many participants indicates that there is potential value in using a career development tool to assist participants to identify realistic and desirable employment and study goals. The use of a tool provides a tangible and evidence-based point from which to CDT Project 26 Evolution Research commence discussions with participants who are uncertain or unrealistic about their future job choices and once potential jobs are identified, a solid basis from which to identify skills development needs. There is clear potential from the findings that the usefulness of the EPP to DES participants can be improved significantly, by making it a working planning document that directly links the goals and specific activities that the participants need to undertake to work towards their study and/or employment goals. On the basis of the early findings of this project, it is considered likely that if the use of a career development tool could be embedded into DES practices, ensuring that DES consultants are appropriately trained not only in a tool’s use but also in appropriate job matching, skills development exploration and more effective utilisation of the EPP, that many of the adverse findings of the DES 2010-2013 evaluation could be overcome. To further enhance the application of a career development tool, DES consultants could also benefit from training in a technique such as Motivational Interviewing to assist in identifying clients who are not ready to engage in career development exploration due to the types of barriers identified in this report, and to assist them to work towards overcoming these before attempting the use of a career development tool. However, this is not considered to be something that needs to take place prior to successful use of a strategy of using career development tools in a DES setting, but rather a further beneficial step to enhancing the DES participant experience and outcomes. It is anticipated that with continued use of a career development tool more participants will feel that they have been placed into jobs or skills development training that more appropriately matches their desired prospects and interests, as time has been taken to explore their skills, interests and training requirements. With provision of appropriate skills training and more appropriate job matching according to a participant’s preferences and capabilities, this would be anticipated to naturally lead to an increase in sustainable employment outcomes over the longer-term. RECOMMENDATIONS Evolution Research believes consideration should be given to the implementation of the following recommendations to encourage the use of career development tools throughout the DES sector. Extension of the current project to include a wider range of DES providers over an extended period of time to validate these findings. Clarification of Departmental policy requirements to DES providers in relation to expectations of the use of the EPP. Education of DES providers of the benefits of the EPP including more specific goals (both short- and longterm) and a greater level of detail of the activities a participant is encouraged or required to complete, and how these link to achievement of their goals. This should include education regarding the benefit of progressively reviewing achieved goals or activities and re-writing the EPP to reflect progress. CDT Project 27 Evolution Research APPENDICES FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE Who has had an opportunity to use the OSI with at least one client? Who used online as well as paper? Did you find using a tool useful? How? / Why not? (in what ways did it help in relation to employment planning?) Do you think your clients found the tool useful? How? / Why not? When do you think it’s most appropriate to use the tool? (e.g. at the start of a client’s program, later in the process etc) Is using a tool valid for all clients? Do you think using a career development tool can add value to the employment pathway planning process? Was it easy or difficult to implement the tool? How long did it take? (Is that an appropriate length of time) Did you have any issues in implementing the tool? Did using the tool open up discussion about suitable employment, or provide any other direction? Did using the tool result in changes to the existing EPP you had with your client? Did it result in any changes to the way you will approach employment pathway planning in future? Thinking about a tool, not specifically the OSI, do you see it as a potentially useful tool to add to your existing skills/tools? CDT Project 28 Evolution Research CLIENT INTERVIEW GUIDE The DES Provider has been trialling a new approach in the way they help their clients, so I’m interested in feedback from you as to how your consultant has recently been working with you. Sometime in the last few weeks, your consultant would have talked with you about suitable jobs for you to pursue and as part of this also asked you to complete a questionnaire that looks like this (show OSI). I’m interested in your feedback about the process you went through to explore your job options. Anything you say in this meeting stays between you and I – we won’t be passing any feedback on to your consultant. 1. How long have you been with <DES NAME>? 2. When you were asked to complete this questionnaire, did you understand why you were asked to complete it? YES / NO If yes, what was your understanding of the purpose of it? 3. How did you find the process when you were completing the questionnaire? Were you comfortable completing it? Did you find it easy or difficult to follow? 4. If you came up with more than one job that you were interested in after completing the questionnaire, did your consultant help you to research the different jobs so you could understand what was required in them, and so that you could then decide on the most suitable job or study options to pursue? YES / NO 5. Thinking about the whole process, of completing the questionnaire and then looking at job options that might be suitable for you, as a result, has it helped you to identify and agree with your consultant on a suitable job or study to pursue? YES / NO If yes, do you know what steps you need to take next – have you discussed these with your consultant? / NO Are the next steps written into your EPP? YES YES / NO 6. Do you feel as if you got a say in which job you’re pursuing? And a say in the activities you need to do to pursue that job? YES / NO 7. Do you think using the questionnaire and going through that process was helpful for you? YES / NO If yes, how? If no, why not? 8. If a longer-term client only – do you think this process would have been more useful if it had been done earlier (e.g. soon after you started with <DES name>) or was now a good time? CDT Project 29
