Signs are good that countries are increasing their investment in broadening access to career support. In doing so there is recognition that guaranteeing access to career services is going to be part of the mix of initiatives for resetting economies over the next few years.
$26 million for online career services in New Zealand
In May the New Zealand government allocated $26 million to progress the transfer of the www.careers.govt.nz to a new online careers advice system for learners and workers to plan and manage their careers throughout their lifetime, and understand their transferable skills[1].
£32m for the National Careers Service in the UK[2]
On July 8th the UK Chancellor announced an extra £32m over two years for the National Careers Service. He said, “We know careers advice works, so we will fund more careers advisers”. The funding will allow a quarter of a million more people to benefit from expert careers advice in their search for jobs. The government will recruit hundreds more careers advisers – meaning close to 270,000 more people will receive bespoke advice to support them into the world of work. There will also be funding for employers (The Kickstart program) to take on young people for short term placements.
Northern Ireland is guaranteeing a careers interview for every school leaver. The service is available online and by phone. Similar services are available for adults.
There is an increased focus on digital but strong usage of telephone for one to one support is still widely used.
Good examples of online and telephone exist in Finland and Scotland Canada (PRIME). CEDEFOP highlights are need to train career development practitioners in digital career service provision.
Strong concern over the impact of recession on youth and new graduates. In the UK there is a call for a career guidance guarantee to provide a career guidance guarantee for all adults and the 800,000 school leavers this year[3]. See also the class of 2020 Guardian article[4].
The Resolution Foundation research[5] shows that, for several years after having left education, employment rates across the cohorts that left education during the financial crisis were lower than for those who left education after it – with non-graduates experiencing the largest and longest scarring effects. Graduate ‘recession leavers’ experienced substantial hits too, but more in terms of being stuck in lower-skilled jobs than being out of work altogether.
The Foundation recommends the establishment of a Future Jobs Fund, and the development of a job guarantee under which public and private sector employers offer temporary paid jobs to unemployed young adults.
Australia
Australia’s largest recruitment website SEEK reports that its billings have improved from minus 70% in April 2020 (compared to April 2019) to minus 40-50% in May 2020 (compared to May2020).
The Australian National Skills Commission report on the state of the labour market[6] notes that Australians worked 181.8 million hours less in monthly hours worked between March and May.
As a clearer picture of the current labour market emerges there is still great uncertainty what the labour market will become in 2021 and what it will look like after September when JobKeeper and Job Seeker support packages ends. The National Careers Institute has a critical role play.
Effective career support is an essential transition support measure. More funding would enable support for Job Keeper and Job Seeker participants as they transition to new arrangements by providing access to helplines, resume checks, improving access to regional labour market information etc. Similar services will also be required for young people leaving school, VET and University.
One Stop Centre’s a success in Finland
The one-stop-centres are co-funded with local authorities and the staff members from different sectors work under one roof. Successful centres link with other sectors and agree on joint goals and areas of co-operation between the sectors. Examples where the service was established first and before inviting other sectors were not as successful.
Since COVID-19, services have been transferred online. An online tool is currently being developed so users can have a safe, confidential working space in which the guidance process can be sequenced.
Canadian Future Skills Centre
The Future Skills Centre have been tasked with exploring new and innovative approaches to skills development, identifying the skills employers will need now and in the future and sharing information to inform future investments and programming. They have just been allocated $15 million for labour market innovations to build resiliency in the face of economic and global shock[7].
Income support
Undoubtedly, most countries will continue some level of income support. There are a range of possibilities including a job guarantee and the German (and now European) short time work initiative. The value of the latter program is that there is some cost sharing arrangements between employers and the government.[8] While in the UK there is strong support emerging for a job guarantee[9].
ICCDPP – UNESCO, ILO, OECD, EC, CEDEFOP, ETF Survey
These 6 international organisations have recently undertaken an international survey to understand how career development services are being utilised in COVID-19 environment.
OECD[10]
The OECD notes that the crisis could provide useful lessons for longer-term change to build greater resilience in the systems that support well-being over time. This includes building social connections and social capital; opening up new ways of working and living; and reinforcing the capacity of public services and social safety nets to react in times of crisis.
Lifelong guidance and COVID-19 in Europe [11]
CEDEFOP has described the system of career guidance in many countries as unstable but there has been a great leap in online learning and guidance delivery.
At present the effectiveness of ICT delivery is dependent on previously available infrastructure and quality of existing systems. Web portals are being adapted for the dissemination of guidance-related information, self-help tools and resources and advice targeted to specific user groups.
There is also an intensification of stakeholder collaboration, cooperation among guidance professionals and with public, private and community actors, including new ones such as healthcare workers and suppliers of digital services and statistics.
Useful initiatives
- The learning in lockdown initiative[12] provides a week of virtual work experience involving 300 schools and thousands of students.
- Minecraft is being used for career learning in Wales
- In the UK the Career Tech Challenge is providing grants of up to £250,000 for innovative tech solutions that can build career adaptability skills and / or motivation to learn for people who are most vulnerable to workforce changes.
More information and other blogs are available at www.tatham.com.au
Contact Peter Tatham at peter@tatham.com.au
[1] https://www.tec.govt.nz/news-and-consultations/budget-2020-significant-investment-in-training-and-education/
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jul/05/sunak-considers-500-vouchers-for-all-uk-adults-to-spend-in-covid-hit-firms
[3] https://adventuresincareerdevelopment.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/open-letter-career-guidance-guarantee-final-30062020.pdf
[4] https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jun/01/im-worried-im-not-going-to-get-a-job-meet-the-corona-class-of-2020
[5] https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/class-of-2020/
[6] https://cica.org.au/wp-content/uploads/NSC-A-Snapshot-in-Time-July-2020.pdf
[7] https://fsc-ccf.ca/call-for-proposals/may-2020/
[8] https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/06/11/na061120-kurzarbeit-germanys-short-time-work-benefit
[9] https://www.fenews.co.uk/fevoices/50893-organisations-mps-and-lords-rally-for-career-guidance-guarantee
[10] http://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/covid-19-protecting-people-and-societies-e5c9de1a/
[11] https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/files/2020_05_27_llg_and_pandemic_cnet_b.pdf
[12] https://www.scapegroup.co.uk/learning-in-lockdown