International Competencies for Educational and Vocational Guidance Practitioners*
Final Report to the
General Assembly of the
International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance
4. September, 2003
Prepared by
Elvira Repetto
Beatriz Malik
Paula Ferrer
Nuria Manzano
Bryan Hiebert
* In 1999, the IAEVG General Assembly unanimously agreed to begin an initiative to
create International Counsellor Qualification Standards. As the initiative unfolded,
the advisory committee thought it was more in keeping with the mandate of the
IAEVG to focus on educational and vocational guidance practitioners, rather than
counsellors, especially seeing as counselling was only one of several functions
performed by educational and vocational guidance practitioners. Furthermore, many
Board members thought that IAEVG was not in a position to dictate international
standards but it could declare what it thought were the competencies required in
order for educational and vocational guidance practitioners to deliver quality
services to clients. Therefore, the name of the initiative has changed to reflect
these decisions.
Many thanks go to the team that coordinated this project
and compiled the results:




Elvira Repetto
Beatriz Malik
Paula Ferrer
Nuria Manzano
The team is located at the UNED, Madrid, Spain
1
Context and Background
In the constantly and rapidly changing world in which we live, the career/life planning
needs of people are vastly different than they were several years ago. These changes
impact not only the needs of clients, but also the way in which guidance services are
provided. Thus, it is useful to review the roles, functions, and basic competencies
required for guidance workers to respond effectively to the social and educational
needs of clients and to have a clear conceptualization of those functions, roles,
competencies, and responsibilities, regardless of work setting in which these services
are provided.
Currently, there is wide variation across countries in professional training, and the
roles and functions carried out by counsellors and other guidance practitioners. There
are a variety of services offered to clients, by different types of professionals,
involving different activities, clients, and types of training. In this international
context, it is useful to open a dialogue regarding the competencies that define the
work of educational and career guidance providers, in order to meet the needs and
demands of clients in the educational system and the labor market. The ultimate goal
of this dialogue would be to reach agreement on the kind of competencies practitioners
need to acquire in order to perform their jobs effectively. In a constantly changing and
increasingly global society, it is useful to undertake this task at an international level,
in order to establish a common ground for practitioners and their clients across
different countries, thereby gaining clarity on the competencies that under gird the
profession.
Several groups (e.g., Hiebert, 1999, 2000) have been developing guidelines for those
who deliver career development services as one means for enhancing accountability and
helping practitioners better identify the process in which they are engaged. However,
these tend to be focused on the context in the country where they were developed
(e.g., Canada). There is a need for an initiative with a more international focus that
could establish international guidelines regarding the competencies needed for
educational guidance and career practitioners to provide quality services.
Recognizing the needs, in 1999, the IAEVG embarked on a project to create
International Competencies for Educational and Vocational Guidance Practitioners. The
project evolved over 4 years, culminating in a validation study which was completed in
the spring of 2003. This report describes the project and summarizes the results.
Project Aim
The main goals of this project were:
1. To identify the competencies needed for people providing educational and vocational
guidance services in different work settings in different countries.
2. To propose recommendations for training programs designed to prepare people who
provide educational and vocational guidance services to meet the International
Competencies for Educational and Vocational Guidance Practitioners.
2
Methodology
A team from Spain directed the project, coordinated by Elvira Repetto, Beatriz Malik,
and Paula Ferrer-Sama. The coordinating team worked with an international steering
committee and an international pool of career development experts drawn from over 10
countries. The Steering Committee consisted of the following members:
Person
Country
Africa & Arabic World
Asia
Australia & New Zealand
Canada & USA
European Union Members
Non European Union members
Central Latin America
South-Latin America
Mark Watson
Teruyukin Fujita
Judith Leeson & Ellen Fleming
Bryan Hiebert & Mark Savickas.
Joachim. Ertelt
Sasa Niklanovic
Gabriela Cabrera
Diana Aisenson & Silvia Gelvan
The steering committee began by exploring similar initiatives that have been developing
world wide and creating a framework for the International Competencies that
embraced the best components of existing models and was relevant for workers in an
international context. The draft framework was circulated to members of the steering
committee, and selected career development experts, to consult with their
constituents and provide feedback to the coordinating team. Suggestions were
incorporated into a revised model which was the focus of a large scale validation
completed in the spring of 2003. In addition to members of the steering committee,
several others were actively involved in data collection, including: Wojciech Kreft
(Poland), Raimo Voerinen (Finland), Michel Turcotte (Canada), and Tom Clawson (USA).
The Model
The International Competencies for Educational and Vocational Guidance Practitioners
incorporate a competency-based approach, focusing on the knowledge, skills, and
attitudes needed to provide quality services. They are divided into two major sections:
core competencies that all practitioners need regardless their job setting, and
specialized competencies that are additional skills, knowledge, and attitudes that may
be required, depending on the type of work setting and the client groups that are being
served. Some professionals will need to have a broad range of specialized
competencies, while others may require only a few, depending on the nature of the
services they provide. The specialized competencies are seen as equally important,
representing different, not more important or less important, areas of practice.
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The core competencies focus on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed by all
practitioners, for example:
 ethical behavior and professional conduct;
 advocacy and leadership in advancing clients learning, career development and
personal concerns;
 awareness and appreciation of client cultural differences;
 awareness of their own capacity and limitations;
 ability to design, implement and evaluate guidance and counselling programs;
 familiarity with information on educational, training, employment trends, labor
market, and social issues; and
 communicate effectively with colleagues.
In addition to these core competencies, there are 10 areas of specialized
competencies that may not be required of all practitioners, but will be required by
some, depending on the nature of their work. The areas of specialized competency are:
1. Assessment: Analysis of the characteristics and needs of the individual or group
to whom the program is addressed, and also of the context where they are
inserted, including all agents involved. The aim is to integrate and evaluate data
from inventories, tests, interviews, scales and other techniques that measure an
individual’s abilities, aptitudes, barriers, life roles, interests, personality, values,
attitudes, educational achievements, skills and other relevant information. This
specialization includes the related but distinct competency of test interpretation,
that is, explaining to a client the results of an assessment and their implications.
2. Educational Guidance: Assisting individuals to select courses, make educational
plans, overcome learning difficulties, and prepare for post-secondary
education/training or entry into the workforce. Guidance is often done in large
groups, in contrast to counselling which is more often done with individuals or small
groups.
3. Career Development: Fostering the attitudes, beliefs, and competencies that
facilitate mastery of vocational development tasks, the ability to plan and
adaptation to work-role transitions over the life-span. It typically uses a
developmental model.
4. Counselling: Prompting self-reflection to clarify self-concepts, identify options,
make decisions, and resolve difficulties.
5. Information Management: Collecting, organizing, maintaining, and disseminating
information pertinent to education, training, occupations, and employment
opportunities; coaching clients in its effective use.
6. Consultation and Coordination: Providing information, guidance, and professional
advice to parents, teachers, school administrators, and employers who wish to
facilitate the educational progress and career development of their charges.
Organizing and managing school and community personnel to create referral
sources for students regarding programs, services, and networks.
7. Research and Evaluation: Studying issues related to guidance and counseling, such
as learning processes, vocational behavior and its development, values, etc.
Examining the effectiveness of interventions.
8. Programs and Service Management: Designing, implementing, supervising and
evaluating interventions to address the needs of a target population.
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9. Community Capacity Building: Encouraging collaboration between community
partners to assess human capital and community needs, as well as developing plans
to address the economic, social, educational, and employment goals of the
community.
10. Placement: Supporting individuals in their efforts to obtain occupational positions
by teaching job search skills and creating employment opportunities.
The complete competency framework is provided in Annex A and available on the web
site that was used to collect data in the validation study:
http://www.uned.es/aeop/index0.htm.
Procedure
Pilot Study. The first draft of the International Competencies was developed by
examining existing literature to generate an initial list of competencies, then, using the
steering committee and the expert panel as a reference group in a Delphi process to
develop a framework and refine the competency statements. This resulted in a draft
questionnaire that the reference group distributed to 20-30 practitioners in their
home countries to obtain pilot data. The practitioners were chosen to provide a cross
section of perspectives on: a) Work setting (educational, work and employment, and
community), b) Type of service provision (practitioner, counsellor education and/or
supervision of a service/program), and c) Position (career advisor, counselor, job
marketer, counselor educator, teacher, community trainer, psychologist, educational
planner, social worker, etc.). Practitioners were asked to rate each competency
according to four criteria:
 Clearness (CL): The competency is clearly written and is unique and different
from the rest of competencies.
 Pertinence (PN): Relevance of the competence in meeting individual and social
needs within your context.
 Viability (VI): Possibility of guidance counselor becoming qualified in that
competency.
 Utility (UT): Usefulness of competency in improving guidance services to clients.
The process also requested suggestions for improving the structure of the competency
framework (appropriateness of the classification, number of functions, sufficiency of
competencies for each function, etc.) and specific competencies (location of
competencies within framework, poor wording, ambiguous competencies that need
clarification, irrelevant competencies that should be deleted, missing competencies,
overlapping competencies, etc).
Most competencies obtained high ratings on all four criteria. Several suggestions were
made to improve wording and to shift the location of some competencies. The
competency framework was restructured to incorporate the suggestions of the pilot
sample, revising the wording, deleting overlap, and adding some new competencies. The
result was used for the validation study.
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Validation Study. The validation study asked respondents to indicate their: country,
work setting (e.g., educational, work and employment, community), type of service
provided (e.g., practitioner, counsellor training, supervisor of a service/program), main
function/role (e.g., careers advisor, counsellor, teacher), and the areas of specialization
covered in their work (e.g., assessment, educational guidance, career development,
counselling, information management, consultation and coordination, research and
evaluation, program service management, community capacity building, placement). This
was followed by the list of competencies, asking participants to indicate on a four-point
scale: (a) the relevance of the competency for the work performed and (b) how
effectively they had been trained in that competency. In this way, data were obtained on
both the relevance of the competencies and the potential need for training.
The survey was translated into 7 languages: Spanish, English, French, German, Finnish,
Italian, and Greek. Steering Committee members coordinated the distribution of the
validation survey in the 9 geographical areas they represented. The survey also was
available on a web site constructed explicitly for the validation study.
Results
Over 700 responses were received from practitioners in 41 countries. All the core
competencies were thought to be relevant or very relevant by more than 75% of
respondents. For the most part, training in the core competencies was thought to be
effective or very effective, except that 30% of respondents reported receiving little
or no training in program evaluation or cross-cultural sensitivity. These levels
(relevance of at least 75% and training deficits reported by 30% or more of
respondents) were generally used to interpret participant responses.
Perceptions of the relevance of specialized competencies was more varied. This was
expected, in that the relevance of specialized competencies was intended to be related
to the nature of the work in which practitioners were engaged, and not all specialized
competencies would be relevant to all work settings. Generally speaking, all the
assessment competencies, all the career development competencies (except knowledge
pertaining to legal factors and their implications for career development), and all the
information management competencies (except equivalence of degrees and professional
qualifications in different countries), were thought to be relevant, however more than
30% of respondents noted that they had received little or no effective training in any
of the the assessment, career development, or information management competencies.
Regarding educational guidance, respondents saw their main role as working with
students in career-related decision-making processes, competencies for which they
thought they had received effective training. They did not see helping students in a
broader context (to overcome learning difficulties, become more motivated, or consult
with teachers and parents) as being part of their job and reported that they had
received little or no training for those competencies.
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Respondents saw themselves as being adequately trained to work with their clients in
individual or group counselling situations and saw those competencies as relevant to
their jobs. They had a rather narrow view of their role, which excluded working with
client personal problems, sexual identity, health and lifestyle issues, or prevention,
which were all areas in which they had received little or no effective training.
For the most part, respondents saw their training as being minimally effective or nonexistent in the areas of: consultation and coordination, research and evaluation,
program or service management, community capacity building, and placement. The
degree to which they saw the competencies in these areas as relevant was varied, likely
depending on the nature of their work.
A detailed summary of the results is being prepared and should be available before the
end of this year.
Next Steps
In order to be effective in today’s world, guidance practitioners need to master the
competencies required to work in new cultural settings and socio-educational contexts
associated with promoting educational, cultural, and social change (Niles, 1993;
Brotherton, 1996). They also will need to work in areas that may not have been
priorities until recently, e.g., preventive guidance, counselling in intercultural,
community capacity building, settings, counselling for diversity, consultation strategies
for different sectors of the school community, and design, development, and evaluation
of guidance programs. Creating the International Competencies for Educational and
Vocational Guidance Practitioners represents an important first step in developing a
professional profile that responds to the challenges and demands of society today. The
next step will be to officially endorse this set of competencies so that appropriate
follow-up actions can be taken.
One particularly important focus for follow-up pertains to the availability of training
that permits practitioners to acquire competencies. This is especially true in countries
where training is less available and in regions of some countries that may have
difficulty accessing training opportunities. The IAEVG Executive Committee has had
extensive discussions with the Centre for Credentialing in Education about ways to
provide training opportunities on an international scale and to create a mechanism for
recognizing that training. These discussions are in a preliminary state, however, there
is willingness by all parties to develop a mechanism that will provide formal recognition
that practitioners have acquired the competencies outlined in this document.
The ultimate goal of developing a framework of competencies such as this is to
increase the quality of service available to client. Being clear about the competencies
needed to provide quality services helps practitioners perform their jobs more
effectively (Company & Echeverría, 1994). A competency framework is also beneficial in
developing initial training programs as well as in-service training, thereby developing a
balance between level of training, required competencies, and professional
performance.
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Qualified Professionals
Training level /
Qualification
+
Professional
competencies
+
Professional
Performance
Figure 2
We consider that a framework that profiles an international set of competencies for
educational and career practitioners, will facilitate their professional development,
thereby enhancing daily practice and delivery of services.
Recommendations
The primary aim of this project was to develop a set of international competencies that
practitioners need in order to provide quality educational and vocational guidance
services. We validated the set of competencies with a large pool of practitioners
working in a variety of different jobs in different countries. Based on the research
described in this report, the project team, supported by the Executive Committee and
the Board of Directors of IAEVG, make the following recommendations.
1. That the General Assembly endorse the competency framework outlined in this
report
2. That the General Assembly authorize the Board of Directors and the Executive
Committee to continue to explore ways to develop:
 meaningful training programs to help practitioners acquire the competencies
 mechanisms for providing recognition of competency attainment
 procedures for implementing the competencies, such as:
 ensuring proper translation (adaptation) of the competencies into
national languages (in order to avoid possible misunderstandings due
to differences in educational and vocational training cultures,
guidance terminology, guidance training, service provision, etc),
 national endorsement of the competencies by professional
associations, government organizations, and other relevant bodies
(acknowledging that some adaptation of the standards may be
necessary in order to address unique national needs),
 meetings with educational and other authorities suggesting that the
competencies become part of guidance training programmes,
 materials to promote the International competencies, e.g., leaflets,
electronic versions on websites, conference presentations, seminars, etc.
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References and Representative Background Sources Consulted
Benedetti, O. (1994). Por un modelo de formación de Orientadores. Revista de
Orientación Educativa y Vocacional, 7, 9-22.
Brotherton, S. J. (1996). Counselor education for the twenty-first century. Wesport:
Bergin & Garvey.
Company, F. & Echeverría, B. (1994). Estructura de empleos y cualificaciones en el
ámbito de la orientación escolar y profesional de jóvenes y adultos en España.
Berlin: CEDEFOP.
Hiebert, B. (1999). Professionalizing Career Development: Canadian Standards and
Guidelines for Career Development. Paper presented to the Annual Conference
AIOSP “International Careers Guidance Conference”, University of Warwick
Hiebert, B. (2000). “Competencies for providing quality Careers Services: a look at
Canadian Standards for Career Development”. Revista Española de Orientación y
Psicopedagogía, 11(19), 5-19.
Niles, F. S. (1993). “Issues in multicultural counselor education. Journal of Multicultural
counseling and development, 21, 14-21.
Repetto, E., Ballesteros, B., & Malik, B. (2000). Tareas y formación de los orientadores
en la Unión Europea. Madrid: UNED
Repetto, E., Malik, B., & Ballesteros, B. (1999). Towards international qualification
standards for educational and vocational counsellors. Workshop presented at
the International Careers Guidance Conference, University of Warwick
Repetto, E. (1992). Perspectivas de la formación de Orientadores. El problema de la
capacitación en una dimensión europea. V Seminario Iberoamericano de
Orientación. Tenerife: AIOEP.
Sanz Oro, R. & Sobrado Fernández, L. (1999). Roles y funciones de los orientadores.
Revista de investigación educativa, 16(2), 25-57.
Sobrado Fernádez, L. (1994). Desarrollo de competencias cognitivas en la formación de
Orientadores Escolares y Profesionales. Educadores, 170, 207-225.
Sobrado Fernádez, L. (1996). Formación y profesionalización de orientadores: Modelos y
procesos. Revista Relieve. nº 2.
Sobrado Fernádez, L. (1996). Servicios de Orientación ós Centros Educativos. Santiago
de Compostela: Edic. Laiovento.
Tennyson, W. W., Miller, G. D., Skovholt, T. G., & Williams, R. C. (1989). Secondary
school Counselors: What do they do? What is important?. School Counselor. 36,
253-259
Watts, A. G., & Van Esbroeck, R. (1998): New Skills for New Futures. Higher Education
Guidance and Counselling Services in the European Union. FEDORA. VUB Press.
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Annex A
International Competencies for
Educational and Vocational Guidance Practitioners
Competency Framework
Core Competencies
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
C6
C7
C8
C9
C10
C11
Demonstrate appropriate ethical behavior and professional conduct in the
fulfillment of roles and responsibilities
Demonstrate advocacy and leadership in advancing clients learning, career
development and personal concerns
Demonstrate awareness and appreciation of clients’ cultural differences to
interact effectively with all populations
Integrate theory and research into practice in guidance, career development,
counselling, and consultation
Skills to design, implement and evaluate guidance and counselling programs and
interventions
Demonstrate awareness of him/her own capacity and limitations
Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues or clients, using the
appropriate level of language
Knowledge of updated information on educational, training, employment trends,
labor market, and social issues
Social and cross-cultural sensitiveness
Skills to cooperate effectively in a team of professionals
Demonstrate knowledge of lifelong career development process
Specialized Competencies
1. Assessment
1.1. Accurately and thoroughly conceptualize and diagnose clients’ needs based on
different assessment tools and techniques
1.2. Use the data derived from assessment appropriately and according to the
situation
1.3. Identify situations requiring referral to specialized services
1.4. Facilitate effective referral by means of initiating contacts between referral
sources and individuals
1.5. Maintain up-to-date listings of referral sources
1.6. Conduct a needs assessment of the clients’ contexts
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2. Educational Guidance
2.1. Demonstrate concern for students’ potential and the skills to facilitate its
achievement
2.2. Guide individuals and groups of students to develop educational plans
2.3. Assist students in their decision making process
2.4. Assist students to improve their self-awareness
2.5. Assist students in their course selection
2.6. Assist students to overcome learning difficulties
2.7. Motivate and help students to take part in international exchange programs
2.8. Consult with parents on their children’s educational progress and development
2.9. Assist teachers to improve teaching methodologies
2.10. Assist teachers to implement guidance within the curriculum:
3. Career Development
3.1. Knowledge of career developmental issues and the dynamics of vocational
behavior
3.2. Demonstrate knowledge of pertinent legal factors and their implications for
career development
3.3. Plan, design and implement lifelong career development programs and
interventions
3.4. Knowledge of decision making and transition models to prepare and plan for
transitional stages: School to work transition, Career shifts, Retirement, Job
dismissing, Downsizing.
3.5. Identify influencing factors (family, friends, educational and financial
opportunities) and biased attitudes (that stereotype others by gender, race,
age and culture) in career decision making
3.6. Assist individuals in setting goals, identifying strategies to reach them, and
continually reassess their goals, values, interest and career decisions
3.7. Knowledge of state and local referral services or agencies for job, financial,
social and personal issues
3.8. Knowledge of career planning materials and computer-based career
information systems, the Internet, and other online resources
3.9. Skills to use these career development resources and techniques
appropriately......
3.10. Skills to use career development resources designed to meet the needs of
specific groups (migrants, ethnic groups and at risk populations).......
3.11. Help clients to build their career and life project:
4. Counselling
4.1. Understand the main factors related to the personal development of clients
and the dynamics of their individual behavior
4.2. Demonstrate empathy, respect and a constructive relationship with the client
4.3. Use individual counselling techniques
4.4. Use group counselling techniques
4.5. Address the needs of at-risk students
4.6. Assist clients in:
4.6.1. Prevention of personal problems
4.6.2. Personality development
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4.6.3. Personal problem solving
4.6.4. Decision making
4.6.5. Sexual identity
4.6.6. Social skills
4.6.7. Health education
4.6.8. Use of leisure time
4.7. Help clients to develop a personal life plan
4.8. Detection and referral of cases to other specialized services:
5. Information Management
5.1. Knowledge of legislation, pertaining to education, training, and work at local,
national and international level
5.2. Knowledge of equivalence of degrees and professional qualifications obtained
in different countries
5.3. Collect, organize, disseminate and provide up-to-date career, educational and
personal/social information on:
5.3.1. Education and training
5.3.2. Occupational information
5.3.3. Employment opportunities
5.3.4. Others (Health, Leisure…) (Specify): ______________________
5.4. Use Information Technologies to provide educational and occupational
information (Data-bases, Computer-based educational and career guidance
programs and the Internet)
5.5. Assist clients to access and use educational and occupational information in a
meaningful way
6. Consultation and Coordination
6.1. Consult with parents, teachers, tutors, social workers, administrators and
other agents to enhance their work with students
6.2. Demonstrate interpersonal skills needed to create and maintain consultation
relationships, goals, and desired behavior change
6.3. Demonstrate skills in working with organizations (universities, business,
municipalities and other institutions)
6.4. Interpret and explain concepts and new information effectively
6.5. Coordinate school and community personnel to bring together resources for
students
6.6. Use an effective referral process for assisting students and others to use
special programs, services, and networks
6.7. Skills to coordinate and stimulate the student’s creativity to built their own
programs (studies and work)
6.8. Skills to build up a good image as a professional
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7. Research and Evaluation
7.1. Knowledge of research methodologies, data gathering and analysis techniques.
7.2. Promote research projects in relation to guidance and counselling
7.3. Use presentation methods to report the outcomes of the research
7.4. Interpret the results of this research
7.5. Integrate the results of this research into the guidance and counselling
practice
7.6. Evaluate guidance programs and interventions, applying up-to date techniques
and program evaluation models
7.7. Keep up-to date with current research findings
8. Program/Service Management
8.1. Identify target populations
8.2. Conduct needs assessment
8.3. Inventory resources relevant to program planning and implementation
8.4. Knowledge about relevant current literature, trends and issues
8.5. Promote community awareness of the programs and services
8.6. Manage (design, implement, supervise) programs and interventions
8.7. Evaluate effectiveness of the interventions
8.8. Use results to effect program enhancement by recommending
institutional/agency improvements
8.9. Skills to organize and manage the educational, counseling, guidance and
placement services
8.10. Manage and supervise personnel
8.11. Promote staff development
9. Community Capacity Building
9.1. Skills to develop relationships with key community partners
9.2. Conduct analysis of human and material resources
9.3. Conduct needs assessment of the community
9.4. Work with the community to effectively use these resources to meet their
needs
9.5. Work with community to develop, implement, and evaluate action plans to
address economic, social, educational & employment goals
9.6. Work with local, national and international resource networks for educational
and vocational guidance (e.g. IAEVG)
10. Placement
10.1. Coach clients in work search strategies
10.2. Use of the Internet in the job search process
10.3. Present work opportunities to clients and facilitate their appropriate job
selection
10.4. Liaison with employers and with education and training providers to obtain
information on the opportunities they offer
10.5. Consult with policy makers
10.6. Follow-up on placement suggestions
10.7. Match individuals to particular vacancies in employment, education or training
10.8. Support clients with employment maintenance
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