Developmental tasks,
vocational development and
career adaptability
INAP
Assuring the Acquisition of Expertise:
Apprenticeship in the Modern Economy
Beijing, China,
26 – 27 May 2011
Alan Brown and Jenny Bimrose
alan.brown@warwick.ac.uk
Developmental Life Stages
Early adulthood:
 ‘getting started in an occupation’
 tentative in relation to vocational
development
Much VET assumes:
 commitment to a sector
 appropriate work will follow
Global context
Fluidity & change:
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labour markets;
organisation of work;
occupational knowledge base;
organisational work process knowledge
Making their way:
Successful life-course transitions
Career identity:
 Less stable than previously
Occupational choice:
 more tentative
Developmental task:
 becoming career adaptable
Career Adaptability
‘The capability of an individual to
a series of successful transitions
where the labour market,
organisation of work and underlying
occupational and organisational
knowledge bases may all be subject
to considerable change’.
Reference: Bimrose et al., 2011
Career Adaptability: 5 ‘C’s
Psycho-social competency approach:
Control:
Curiosity:
Confidence:
Concern:
Commitment:
exert influence
broaden horizons
belief in oneself
positive attitudes
broad focus
Reference: Savickas et al., 2009
Research data: patterns of career
development
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c2000 adults since 2001
50 young people (up to age 30)
making successful transitions
aerospace; banking; chemicals; ICT;
media; sports marketing; health
England, Germany, Norway
Career Decision-making
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Ability to review and reflect v.
opportunistic approaches
Engagement with learning and
development pathways
Upskilling, reskilling or
transformational shifts in perspective
Key issues: individual proactivity;
relational issues; support
Results: successful transitions 1
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Importance of challenging work for all
Varying patterns of engagement with
learning activities
Personal autonomy and meaning of
career
Discussions with others about possible
lines of career development
Formal learning often valued
Identification with occupation and / or
organisation or skill set
recontextualisation
Results: successful transitions 2
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Proactive in shaping career and
learning pathways but often need
support to become more reflective
Anxieties common
Help individuals develop their own
career stories: sense of direction
Career options and choices limited by
context: easier message learning for
personal development: personal
networks and meeting new challenges
Results: successful transitions 3
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Opportunity structures key, so
adaptability more powerful message
than employability
ICT: learning and career patterns
often individualised
Engineering: strong linkages between
learning and careers
Health: complex linkages: vertical and
horizontal progression; qualifications
important
Conclusions: successful transitions
Career adaptive:

(proactive) personality;
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interactions with others;

engagement with challenging
opportunities
Conclusions: successful transitions
Two groups:
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happy / unhappy with current
experienced skilled worker status
(initial occupational choice)
Focus on career adaptability would
be useful