Making the Transition to Re-Employment: Social Networks ...socialnetworkaudit.com/articles/Making the Transition.pdfpre-test/post-test design. Apositive cor- ... Barrett and Cragg

Canadian Journal of Career Development/Revue canadienne de developpement de carriéreVolume 6, Number 1, 2007

Abstract

This study focused on the role ofsocial networks in the transition fromsocial assistance to employment. Thestudy consisted of a field experiment thatwas built into the training program thatagencies normally deliver to persons onsocial assistance as part of the OntarioWorks ‘work-for-welfare’ program.Participants were randomly assigned toa control or experimental group and thesample consisted of 92 in the controlgroup and 40 in the experimental group.For the experimental group, a supple-mentary treatment, a ‘job search man-agement system’ was added to the pro-gram that social assistance recipientsnormally receive. A Social Network JobSearch Scale (SNJSS) was created andserved as the dependent variable in apre-test/post-test design. A positive cor-relation between strength of an individ-ual’s network and re-employment wasfound. Understanding the value of socialnetworks is important not only for re-entering the labour market but also forobtaining employment that is above theminimum wage.

A social assistance recipient’sreturn to the workforce is a complex,multifaceted process. Theory andresearch in this area has focused on thedevelopment of interventions such astraining programs that assist people inmaking the transition to re-employment(e.g., AuClaire, 1978; Blumenberg,2000; Van Ryn & Vinokur, 1992).While this research is important to thedevelopment of our understanding ofthis transition, it is limited by its inat-tention to factors related to a recipient’sactual utilization of their social net-works. Recently, researchers havefocused much more directly on enhanc-ing our understanding of social assis-tance recipient’s self-efficacy and theirown ability to remove themselves fromstate dependence through existing re-

employment interventions (e.g., Cheng,1995; Friedman, 1999; Kerlin, 1993).This research, though relatively imma-ture as a field of inquiry, promises toadd significantly to theories in this area.

Many attempts have been made toreintegrate the social assistance popula-tion into the mainstream economy, andparticularly government-sponsored‘employment programs’. These pro-grams have increased in number overthe last decade, due in part to the lowemployment rates experienced in theearly 1980s (Statistics Canada, 2003). Amore recent example of a governmentprogram is Ontario Works, initiated in1996 by the Ontario Ministry ofCommunity and Social Services.

The purpose of the mandatoryOntario Works ‘work-for-welfare’ pro-gram was to force those individualsreceiving assistance to actively searchfor employment. The stated objectivesof the Ontario government were three-fold: first, to ensure that social assis-tance recipients took responsibility forlooking for employment and becomingself-sufficient; second, to provide aneffective transition to employment; andthird, to make welfare fair for peoplewho require help and for the taxpayerswho pay the cost (Ministry ofCommunity and Social Services, 1997).

The purpose of this study was toexamine the relationship between socialnetworks and re-entry into the labourmarket by participants in the OntarioWorks employment-training program.By examining a social assistance recipi-ent’s social network, we stand to learnmuch about how they confront and dealwith re-employment. Such data can beinstrumental in developing practicalapplications for assisting people makingthis transition.

The research questions for thisstudy were as follows:

1. Is there a negative relationship

between the strength of social net-works and the length of time anindividual is on social assistance?

2. Do those participants who havebecome re-employed have strongernetworks than those who have not?

3. Has the treatment in this studystrengthened the social assistancerecipient’s social network?

4. Are those social assistance recipi-ents who become re-employedupon completion of the employ-ment-training program been onsocial assistance less time thanthose who do not find employ-ment?

Theoretical Framework

Social network theory was used toexplain the efficient movement towardsre-employment. By utilizing contactswithin social networks and learning thenecessary skills for networking, it wasanticipated that the opportunity for re-employment will increase. However,not all networks are of equal benefit infacilitating a return to the workforce.Diverse networks, it was expected, willhelp the social assistance recipient toidentify contacts and supports, whichmay help to decrease the time it takes tomove towards employment.

Figure 1 highlights the conceptualframework this article will use. At thebeginning stages of receiving socialassistance (A), social networks (B) areusually at their fullest capacity andmost likely to be of greatest benefit inthe transition back to the labour force.With increased time on social assis-tance, social networks shrink and, it isassumed, will be less useful. If employ-ment training is required, it is mostlikely to be effective when social assis-tance is first received. Training pro-grams, it is expected, will assist instrengthening social networks, whichassist reintegration to the labour force.

Making the Transition to Re-Employment:Social Networks and Their Impact on

Social Assistance RecipientsJohn Paul Hatala

Louisiana State University

If no interventions are introduced andtime elapses (E), social circles begin toshrink and the length of time it will takefor re-employment increases.

Social networks andre-employment

Social Network Ties

Research dealing with social net-works has involved the identification ofboth ‘weak’ and ‘strong’ ties(Granovetter, 1973; Granovetter, 1982).Weak ties have been identified asacquaintances and socially distant;strong ties are close, such as family andfriends. Granovetter (1973) conductedempirical studies testing his hypotheseson “the strength of weak ties”, arguingthat those individuals with fewer ‘weakties’ are less likely to be exposed toemployment opportunities than thosewith many.

The study of weak ties has yieldedspecific observations among marginal-ized populations. Poorly educated indi-viduals are more likely to use strongties for jobs compared to those whowere well educated (Ericksen &Yancey, 1980). A number of studiesindicate that marginalized populationsrely more on strong ties than do others,making access to quality employmentopportunities less likely (Granovetter,1982).

If weak ties are in fact the best pos-sibility for a social assistance recipientto find employment, how can govern-ment-funded employment training pro-grams expand social networks amongstmarginalized populations? One strategyin increasing the probability of re-employment is a program that helps

social assistance recipients to cultivateweak ties. By comparison, a highly con-centrated network of strong ties frag-ments poor communities and weakensopportunities for a broader range ofcontacts (Auslander & Litwin, 1988;Granovetter, 1982).

Members of low-income communi-ties often rely on strong ties for mone-tary and social support. Ultimately,poverty places additional strains onsocial ties and makes it difficult to usethese as resources to finding employ-ment. Social assistance recipients lackweak ties and their strong ties maybecome strained if too many demandsare placed upon them. For example, sin-gle mothers who have obtained low-wage jobs are forced to utilize theirstrong ties for child support and areoften unable to repay the debt (Garber,1999). Without that support, however,they may have a high absentee rate atwork and eventually lose their jobs(Hanson & Pratt, 1995; Oliker, 1995).

Causes of Social Isolation and itsEffect on Re-employment Over Time

Although the majority of studies onthe stability of social networks overtime have dealt with mainstream popu-lations, it may be possible to extrapo-late from those findings to marginalizedpopulations. If utilizing existing con-tacts represents links to possibleemployment opportunities, then build-ing constructive social networks is avital resource for social assistancerecipients. If people stay on socialassistance for longer periods of time,there is reason to believe that social net-works deteriorate (Garber, 1999).

Social network analysis has

attempted to address the question ofnetwork changes over time (Feld, 1997;Morgan, Neal & Carder, 1996; Suitor &Keeton, 1997; Wellman, Wong, Tindall& Nazer, 1997). It has been demonstrat-ed that supportive ties are the most like-ly to persist and that frequent contactbetween network members is also asso-ciated with the persistence of relation-ships (Feld, 1997). However, the per-sistence of relationships among theunemployed can diminish over time dueto feelings of isolation and depression(Amundson & Borgen, 1987).

Tilly (1968) found that involve-ment in group activities is related tochange, whether personally or for socie-ty as a whole. Those who sit at homeand are not involved in groups have adifficult time bringing about personalchange. Extrapolating from thisresearch, it might be expected that asocial assistance recipient’s participa-tion in extra-curricular activity wouldbe an effective means for expandingand maintaining social networks.Increased contacts are likely to correlatewith identifying employment opportuni-ties. If social assistance recipients arenot encouraged to get involved in thecommunity by either volunteering withcharities or through work placements,the research on social networks sug-gests that the chances of remaining onwelfare for longer periods of time dra-matically increase. In that regard,shrinking social networks might beviewed as an intervening variablebetween the degree of communityinvolvement and time on social assis-tance. More active community partici-pation should lead to enhanced socialnetworks that in turn reduce the time on

Making the Transition to Re-employment29


Figure 1 – Conceptual Framework

2

TimeA C E

Re-employment

Soci

alN

etw

orks

BD

Best potential for re-employment

= Best potential for re-employment



social assistance because the networksgenerate job contacts. In addition, theneed to make contacts outside an indi-vidual’s social network is critical ifmarginalized populations are to accessjob-related information. Putnam (2002)indicated that participation is down forunions, churches, and political parties.This is of concern as these forms ofsocial capital are especially importantfor empowering less educated, lessaffluent portions of the population.Putnam found more social networkingamong the affluent than among theworking classes. If marginalized popu-lations continue to remain within theirsocial networks, opportunities forreceiving information that can benefittheir upward mobility will be missed.

While the existing research doesnot test this relationship directly, thereis some evidence that the probability ofexiting from social assistance decreaseswith more time in that role. This evi-dence comes from the research ofBarrett and Cragg (1998), who exam-ined welfare data in Canada between1990 and 1992. That study found initialwelfare spells are relatively short inCanada. For second and subsequentwelfare spells, time on welfare increas-es (Barrett & Cragg, 1998). Recurrentshort-term use is the most common pat-tern of welfare participation both inCanada and the United States (Bane &Ellwood, 1983; Barrett & Cragg, 1998;Gritz & MaCurdy, 1992). Moreover, theBarrett and Cragg study (1998) showssome relationship between the amountof time on social assistance and theprobability of exit. Employable singlemen with no children have an exit prob-ability at one month of 28 percent, attwo months of 29 percent and at threemonths of 25 percent. Unemployablesingle women with one dependent childhave an exit probability of 16 percent atone month, 15 percent at two monthsand 13 percent at three months (Barrett& Cragg, 1998). Although the relation-ship between time on social assistanceand the probability of exit is not strong,the trend is apparent. The longer anindividual remains on social assistance,the probability of exiting the systemdecreases.

Barrett and Cragg (1998) proposedtwo explanations for this finding. First,there may be a true duration dependen-

cy, whereby the experience of being onwelfare changes the recipient’s behav-iour. Barrett and Cragg (1998) speculatethat welfare spell duration is associatedwith human capital atrophy, changedpatterns of employer screening, or adepressed desire to work. The secondexplanation may have been a statisticalartifact, reflecting the effects of unmea-sured individual characteristics or ‘pop-ulation heterogeneity’. Barrett andCragg (1998) go on to explain:

For example, consider a populationcomposed of two types of individuals,the highly motivated and the less moti-vated. The highly motivated are morelikely to exit welfare early, leavingbehind a population of recipients com-posed of an increasing proportion ofindividuals with low motivation. Thenature of the welfare populationchanges with spell duration, and if thecharacteristic (motivation) is not con-trolled for, negative duration depend-ence will be observed in the aggregatehazard rate even in the absence of trueduration dependence. (p. 174)

Although initial welfare spells havebeen generally short, statistics showthat there is a high level of recidivismrates among participants (Barrett &Cragg, 1998). Fifty-five percent of peo-ple leaving welfare return to the systemwithin the first year. For example,although single men without childrentend to have very short welfare spells,they also experience a very high rate ofreturn (Barrett & Cragg, 1998). Eventhough long-term continuous welfareparticipation may not be characteristicof the typical social assistance recipient,long-term sporadic use is very common(Barrett & Cragg, 1998). However, thelonger an individual remains off wel-fare, and the more work experience andhuman capital they acquire, the lesslikely they are to return.

The Barrett and Cragg (1998) studydoes not deal with the impact of socialnetworks on the probability of exitingfrom social assistance. However,research by Garber (1999) using multi-ple logistic regression models doesrelate to social networks. She foundseven variables to be significant, four ofwhich measured levels of social isola-tion. These were whether the respon-dent owns her own home, the numberof years she has lived in the neighbor-hood, whether her household has aworking automobile, and how manyneighbors rely on public assistance.

(Other significant variables were therespondent’s total number of years ofschool, whether she was married, aswell as the number of hours she workedper week.) Garber also found that theproportion of neighbors receiving pub-lic assistance led to increased social iso-lation. The larger the proportion, thegreater the likelihood of increasedpoverty.

A Social Network Theory Approachto Employment-training Programs

A social network theory approachto employment-training programs(Auslander & Litwin, 1988, 1991;Smith, 1989; Specht, 1986) suggeststhat social networks establish norms forbehaviour within a training group,including accelerated job-search activi-ty. Social networks may provide infor-mation and opportunity that are relevantto becoming re-employed by supplyingadditional contacts. According to theo-ry, social networks (as they apply tosocial assistance recipients) may onlybe helpful if they reach beyond the par-ticipant’s world, particularly as it relatesto generating employment opportuni-ties. This becomes critical in determin-ing the time it will take to movetowards re-employment.

On the basis of this conceptualiza-tion, employment program interventionsmust address existing social networksof participants and seek ways to expandthem. If receiving social assistance isnormative and socially rewarded withina social network, employment programinterventions will fail unless the normsinitiated within the network are modi-fied (Friedkin, 2001). If, however, net-works do not provide contacts neces-sary to find employment, they must beexpanded. A social network analysissuggests that employment programinterventions should seek to changesocial norms that are detrimental to jobsearch behaviour. They should also cap-italize on existing social network normsthat are favourable to creating positivejob-seeking behaviour. The social net-work approach also suggests that evalu-ating employment programs shouldfocus on a participant’s social networkprior to and after the intervention anddetermine whether network changes arestable over time.

The research suggests that social



network enhancement should be animportant objective of any training pro-gram for social assistance recipients.Social network theory can provide acontext for understanding the dynamicsassociated with the transition towardsre-employment and the elementsinvolved in making that process moreeffective.

According to social network theory,networks provide support and contactsthat are critical to employment opportu-nities. This theory has important impli-cations for employment-training. Iftraining programs involve introducingsocial assistance recipients to networkknowledge, the task of practitioners ismore focused than the diversity andfragmentation that characterize currentpractice. Training programs mustaccount for the differences in networkresources among the marginalized pop-ulations, and program delivery must beadjusted to provide participants with theknowledge to develop social networksthat are useful.

Method

The research questions were testedthrough a field experiment in which asupplementary treatment, a job searchmanagement system, was added to theprogram for social assistance recipientsnormally undertaken by participatingagencies through the Ontario Worksprogram. A pre-test/post-test design wasused for the primary measure of thestudy, the Social Network Survey(SNS), which determined the impact ofthe treatment on the social networkingbehaviour of the participants. A discus-sion of the treatment, the sample, meas-ures and data analysis follows.

Treatment

The treatment for this study was ajob search management system,designed by the investigator, which wasadministered in conjunction with theexisting curriculum of the employment-training program. The system wasdesigned to help participants to workthrough systematically the necessarysteps to become employed. A centralfeature of the system was the ‘jobsearch board’ that enables both a partic-ipant and facilitator to monitor jobsearch activity and the number of con-tacts made during a defined period. The

system encourages facilitators to stressthe importance of the number of con-tacts made by participants and allowsthem to rate the significance of eachencounter to determine the value of job-related information that may be provid-ed by the new contact.

Social network audits were per-formed on a regular basis to ensure thatparticipants were attempting to makecontacts that could assist them in theirjob search. The results of a social net-work audit allowed the facilitator todetermine the number of contacts eachparticipant was making. If there was aneed to increase the number of contacts,interventions were implemented. Forexample, role-playing techniques wereintroduced to practice the necessaryrapport-building skills and scripts weredeveloped to assist participants in intro-ducing themselves in networking situa-tions.

For each employment opportunity(contact) identified by a participant, a‘t-card’ was filled out with the companyname, name of contact, position title,job description and next step recorded.There are six columns to the job board: • Column 1: is ‘opportunity’ and

includes possible leads for employ-ment and the specific contact;

• Column 2: is ‘applied’ and includesall opportunities for which the par-ticipant has actually submitted arésumé or completed an applica-tion;

• Column 3: is ‘set interview’ andrepresents job interviews that havebeen set but not yet attended;

• Column 4: is ‘interview’ andincludes all interviews that haveactually been attended;

• Column 5: is ‘verbal job offer’ andrepresents actual job offers to theparticipant, and

• Column 6: is ‘job’ and signals thatthe participant has actually startedemployment.Job board reviews were conducted

individually and as a group to deter-mine the status of the participant’s jobsearch activity and the number of con-tacts developed. The job search man-agement system is based on the princi-ple of assisting individuals to movefrom step-to-step within a normal job-hiring cycle. Using the job search boardprovides a visual representation of the

job search process and assists partici-pants in monitoring their job searchprogress. The job board allows partici-pants and facilitators to track job searchactivity and identifies any correctiveactions that may be necessary for mak-ing the transition to re-employment.The job board highlights whom the par-ticipants are connecting with and howthey are utilizing these contacts.

Sample

For the study, local employmentagencies in a large urban centre inSouthern Ontario, which were offeringOntario Works employment programs,provided access to participants whowere asked to volunteer for theresearch. Of the social assistance recipi-ents asked to participate in the study, 8did not volunteer (5.7%) giving a totalsample size of 132. The agencies indi-cated that those individuals that chosenot to participate were representative ofclients. After the social assistance recip-ients had agreed to participate in thestudy, the agencies were randomlyassigned to the control (n = 92) orexperimental group (n = 40). The rea-son for the lower number of respon-dents in the experimental group wasdue to the time and resources availableto the investigator to provide train-the-trainer sessions for workshop facilita-tors. While both members of the controland experimental group received theemployment program of the agency inwhich they were enrolled, participantsin the experimental group also receivedthe treatment. The study employed apre-post correlation design and all par-ticipants completed a survey twice,immediately before the program beganand immediately following. For theentire sample, the age ranged from 20-64 years, with 66% male and 34%female. Fifty-seven percent of the sam-ple were single males and never mar-ried; 56% did not have any children.This pattern is similar to that found in astudy in British Columbia (Barrett andCragg, 1998) and another commis-sioned by Toronto Social Services(2001). As for race, 54% were listed asa visible minority, 33% as Caucasianand 14% as Aboriginal. English wasthe most common language spoken, fol-lowed by French. Most respondents hadcompleted high school but had not



achieved a post-secondary school cre-dential, although 19% had completed aBachelors degree, 6% obtained a mas-ters degree and 1% a doctoral degree.Two to three was the average years ofexperience in the workplace. The medi-an time on social assistance was 0 to 6months (31%) with the majority ofrespondents (62%) having a previouswelfare spell. This is at odds with previ-ous studies in the United States(Ellwood, 1986; Gritz and MaCurdy,1992), which identified the medianspell on welfare as two years and a 40%return subsequently. However, studiesin Canada (Barrett and Cragg, 1998)concur that welfare spells normally endwithin six months but have a high levelof recidivism, with 25% of recipientsreturning to welfare with in 3 monthsand 50% within a year. In Barrett andCragg’s study (1998), 30% collectedwelfare prior to the research; however,that information was not collected inthis study.

Measures

The principal measurement devicewas the Social Network Job SearchScale – (SNJSS) designed and tested bythe investigator. The instrument, basedon existing social network surveys (e.g.,Chin, 1993; Granovetter, 1972: Porter,1998) and adapted to the social assis-tance population, measured the strengthof a social assistance recipient’s socialnetwork. The instrument was pilot test-ed with fellow students and social assis-tance recipients known to the investiga-tor. In addition to the SNJSS items,sociodemographic information (e.g.,gender, age category, marital status)was collected to enable comparisonswith prior research (e.g., Leik andChalkley, 1991; Suitor and Keaton,1993). Surveys were administered onthe first day of the program (Base Line)and upon completion of the training(Post-Test).

Social Network Strength

A major component to this researchwas identifying the relationshipbetween the strength of a social assis-tance recipient’s social network and thetransition towards re-employment. Thestrength of a social assistance recipi-ent’s social network was determinedusing the following variables:

Number of contacts identified:Respondents were asked to identify (byfirst name) up to 10 of the most impor-tant persons in their life. Each of thenames was coded as a contact. If thesame name appeared on the second sur-vey, it was coded and compared to thefirst survey for ranking.

Number of contacts identified asfamily or friend: For each of the namesidentified, the respondent was requiredto indicate whether the contact was afamily member or friend and theirresponses were coded accordingly.

Number of contacts who wouldprovide financial support: As well asreporting the most important persons intheir life, respondents were alsorequired to state whether the individuallisted would provide financial support.This was coded as ‘1’ for yes and ‘2’for no.

Number of contacts who wouldprovide emotional support: Contactswho would provide emotional supportwere coded as ‘1’ for yes and ‘2’ for no.

Number of contacts who wouldprovide child-care: Those respondentswho indicated that they had childrenwere asked if the contacts listed wouldprovide child-care. This was coded as‘1’ for yes and ‘2’ for no.

Number of contacts who wouldprovide job leads: Contacts listed whowere in a position to provide job leadsto the respondent were coded as yes or1, and others were coded as no or ‘2’.

Number of contacts who werepresently collecting welfare: Contactslisted who were also collecting welfarewere coded as yes or 1, and others werecoded as no or ‘2’.

Number of contacts who held simi-lar positions the respondents was inter-ested in: Those contacts that held aposition that the respondent was pursu-ing were coded as yes or 1, and otherswere coded as no or ‘2’.

Number of job-related discussionwith family members:

Respondents were required to indi-cate how many job-related discussionsthey had with family on a weekly basis.

Number of job-related discussionwith friends:

Respondents were required to indi-cate how many job-related discussionsthey had with friends on a weekly basis.

Social Network Strength Formula

A formula was developed based onthe above variables to determine thestrength of the respondent’s social net-work (SNJSS). Points were accumulat-ed for the number of people identifiedas part of the respondent’s networkalong with the number of contacts iden-tified as friends, those providing finan-cial, emotional, job leads or who held asimilar position, and the number of job-related discussions they had withfriends and family. It is assumed thatnetwork members who could providejob-related information and support arevaluable to the social assistance recipi-ent’s transition into the labour market.Points were subtracted if the respondentindicated that the contact was a familymember (strong tie) or collected wel-fare. The rationale for subtracting thesescores was so that the purpose of theemployment-training program was togrow their networks with members whocould provide relevant information orresources. Also, if the respondents net-work consisted of members who werealso on social assistance, the opportuni-ty for job-related information waspotentially limited and of no value tothe participant. Subsequently, negativepoints were given for those variablesthat would not add value to the socialassistance recipient’s network.Therefore, the formula reads:

STRENGTH = (# of contacts +friends + financial support + emotionalsupport + job leads + similar position+discussions with family/friends) – (fami-ly + contacts on social assistance)

This formula was developed basedon social network research that hasdescribed the components of a strongsocial network and which provides job-related information to include a combi-nation of the above stated variables(e.g., Granovetter, 1973; Ooka &Wellman, 2003; Strathdee & Hughes,2002; Wilkinson & Robinson, 1997).

FINDINGS

Scoring the Social Network JobSearch Scale

The scores for the variable SNJSSfor the pre-test ranged from 2.00 to51.00 points. The mean strength scorefor the pre-test (n = 132) was 22.94with a standard deviation of 12.20.



Post-test strength scores (n = 44) rangedfrom 5.00 to 55.00 with a mean strengthscore of 27.39 and a standard deviationof 11.63. An increase was noted inmean strength scores from pre- to post-test. This may have been due to the par-ticipant’s exposure to training and otherindividuals they may have come in con-tact with during their job search inter-vention. For the pre-test, the meanlength of time on social assistance was1.71. The range of time on social assis-tance was from ‘0 to 6 months’ (a valueof 0.25 was used in the analyses) toover seven years (8.50). The standarddeviation was 2.25. The mean socialnetwork strength score was 22.94 witha range of 2.00 to 51.00 and a standarddeviation of 12.20.

Q1 Is there a negative relationshipbetween the strength of social networksand the length of time an individual ison social assistance?

Using the pre-test data for theentire sample (control and experimentalgroups combined), correlation coeffi-cients were computed for the length oftime on social assistance and thestrength of social networks. Using theBonferroni approach to control for TypeI error across the correlation, a p-valueof less than .05 (05/10 = .005) wasrequired for significance. The results ofthe correlational analyses for time onsocial assistance and social networkstrength were not statistically signifi-cant (r = -.01).

Q2 Do those participants who havebecome re-employed have stronger net-works than those who have not?

To evaluate the second researchquestion, an independent-samples t-testwas used to compare social networkstrength for those participants in thestudy who secured employment andthose who had not. The sample avail-able to answer this question was verysmall, as only 7 respondents in theexperimental group and 3 in the control

group indicated that they had securedsome form of employment. To answerthis question, these 10 respondents werecompared to those remaining on socialassistance—58.8% for the experimentalgroup and 74.1% for the control group,or 68.2 % of the total sample. The post-test measure of social network strengthwas used. The t-test was significant, t(42) = -2.06, p < .05, thereby support-ing individuals with stronger networksare more likely to secure employment.Respondents who became re-employed(M = 20.80, SD = 9.85) had highersocial network strength scores thanthose who remained on social assistance(M = 13.82, SD = 9.31). Although thereare differing interpretations possible forthis finding, one is that stronger net-works increase the chances for becom-ing re-employed.

Another indicator of social networkstrength was the number of people iden-tified as part of a network. This canserve as an activity indicator for thenumber of people the participant is incontact with during a training interven-tion. Those participants who became re-employed had a higher average numberof people in their network (M=8.30)than those who were unable to get a jobduring the study (M=5.85), t (42) = -2.30, p < .05. Network size, in this con-text, probably is associated with a widerrange of contacts for receiving job-related information.

The results also revealed the num-ber of new members added to the net-work since the start of the program. Therespondents who became re-employedaveraged nearly five new members intheir social network (M=4.90), whilethose who did not become re-employedaveraged fewer than three (M=2.97), t(42) = -2.22, p < .05. The theory pre-sented in this paper suggests that build-ing new ties with contacts to the jobmarket is critical to increasing the flowof job-related information. However,this study did not ask specificallywhether the new members who wereadded to the networks between the pre-

and post-tests assisted with the jobsearch.

Q3 Has the treatment in this studystrengthened the social assistancerecipient’s social network?

A one-way analysis of covariance(ANCOVA) was conducted with controland experimental groups as the inde-pendent variable. The dependent vari-able was the post-test social networkstrength scores and the covariate wasthe pre-test social network strengthscores. A preliminary analysis evaluat-ing the homogeneity-of-slopes assump-tion indicated that the relationshipbetween the covariate and the depend-ent variable did not differ significantlyas a function of the independent vari-able, F (1, 40) = 1.42, p = .240, partial‹2 = .03. The ANCOVA was significant,F (1, 41) = 4.91, p < .05. The strengthof the relationship between the controland experimental group factor anddependent variables was fairly strong,as assessed by a partial ‹ 2, with thegroup factor representing 11% of thevariance of the dependent variable thesocial network strength scores.

The means of the social networkstrength scores adjusted for initial dif-ferences were ordered as expected. Theexperimental group had the largestadjusted mean (M=31.53) with the con-trol group having the smaller adjustedmean (M=25.52). Through the treat-ment, the number of contacts a partici-pant makes during a training interven-tion was monitored, and if networkgrowth did not occur, corrective actionswere taken to increase the exposure tojob-search resources.

The experimental group was morelikely to add new members to theirsocial networks than the control group(Table 1). The average number of newmembers for the experimental group(M=4.19) was nearly double that of thecontrol group (M=2.69), t (42) = 2.03,p < .05. However, adding new membersalone does not increase the strength of

Table 1 – New Members to Network

Group Total (n) Mean Std. Deviation Strength Mean Control 27 2.69 2.49 2.58 Experimental 17 4.19 2.96 2.75



social networks. Although new mem-bers to both groups increased, the sig-nificant difference between the numberof new members added by the experi-mental and control groups suggest thatthe treatment might have strengthenedthe participants’ social networks.

Q4 Are those social assistancerecipients who become re-employedupon completion of the employment-training program been on social assis-tance less time than those who do notfind employment?

To evaluate the fourth researchquestion, an independent-samples t-testwas used to compare the length of timeon social assistance for those partici-pants in the study who secured employ-ment and those who had not. The testwas significant, t (17) = 2.42, p < .05,which supports that the length of time aparticipant is on assistance impacts theirability to find employment.Respondents who did not become re-employed had been on social assistancelonger (M = 2.13, SD = 1.25) than thosewho found employment (M = 1.22, SD= 0.91). This finding could be interpret-ed as meaning that the length of time onsocial assistance has a negative impacton the probability of becoming re-employed.

In addition to the length of time onsocial assistance, the number of previ-ous employment training programs that

a respondent participated in was relatedto re-employment. Respondents whofound employment (Table 2) had partic-ipated in fewer training programs(M=0.40) than those who did notbecome employed (M = 1.06), t (41) =2.23, p < .05. The number of trainingprograms is associated with the length

of time on social assistance, with thosewho are on social assistance longerbeing more likely to participate in alarger number of training programs.Although the length of time on socialassistance did not have a significantrelationship to the strength of socialnetwork score (research question 1), itdoes appear to be related to the likeli-hood of re-employment. These findingswill be explored in greater detail in theDiscussion section that follows.

Adding Network Members

Respondents were asked if theirgroup of friends had changed since theyfirst started to receive social assistance.There was a significant correlationbetween social network strength andchange of friends for the experimentalgroup (r = .81, p < .01); however, therewas not a significant correlation for thecontrol group (r = .07). This findingmay indicate that new contacts werebeing added in the experimental group,but not the control group.

In addition to identifying newmember growth, the respondent net-

works were carefully analyzed to deter-mine whether original network mem-bers who could continue to provide job-related information were maintained(Table 3). If a social network representsa critical link to re-employment, it isimportant that members maintained inthe network during an employment

training intervention be able to providejob search resources. There was no sig-nificant difference between the experi-mental group (M=3.53) and the controlgroup (M=2.74), although the differ-ence was in the expected direction.

An additional indicator of socialnetwork strength is the number offriends identified as part of a network(Table 4). This serves as an indicatorfor the number of weak ties the partici-pant is in contact with during a trainingintervention and were only included ifthe frequency of contact was not morethat once a month. The average numberof friends in a network was significant-ly higher for those who found employ-ment (M=5.80) than those who wereunable to get a job during the study(M=3.71), t (42) = -2.27, p < .05. Thisfinding could be interpreted as meaningthat the number of weak ties a socialassistance recipient is in contact withduring an employment-training programincreases the likelihood of access tojob-related information.

Table 2 – Number of Previous Training Programs

# of Training Programs Std. Deviation Got Job 0.40 0.70 No Job 1.06 1.06

Table 3 – Original Network Members

Group Total (n) Mean Std. Deviation Control 27 2.74 2.19 Experimental 17 3.53 1.84

Table 4 – Friends in Social Network

Friends in Network Std. Deviation Got Job 5.80 2.81 No Job 3.71 2.49



DISCUSSION AND APPLICATIONFOR PRACTICE

Overview

This study has analyzed the impactof employment-training programs uponthe social networks for social assistancerecipients in their transition towards re-employment. A Social Network JobSearch Scale (SNJSS) was developed,which included variables that assessedan individual’s ability to gather job-related information. One purpose of thisstudy was to determine whetheremployment training, and particularlythe treatment that was introduced on topof the normal employment training pro-gram, strengthened social networkswith contacts who could provide infor-mation about the job market. Theresults indicate network strength andaccess to contacts with job-relatedinformation to be positively related tothe probability of re-employment.

Implications for Employment-Training Programs

The study demonstrated that higherscores on the SNJSS were positivelyrelated to the probability for re-employ-ment. Employment training programsprovide an excellent opportunity to net-work with others in similar circum-stances. However, the contacts naturallyoccurring to social assistance recipientsare likely to be others of the samesocial strata, and therefore, the opportu-nity for new and relevant job-relatedinformation may be limited(Granovetter, 1973; Smith 1999;Wilkinson & Robinson, 1997).Therefore, an intervention such as thatused in this study that assists partici-pants to utilize the information arisingthrough their networks may be needed.The treatment in this study, a job searchmanagement system, was designed tohelp the experimental group participantsto work through systematically the nec-essary steps to become employed.Without this intervention, the respon-dents in the control group did not expe-rience a growth in network value,whereas the experimental group wassuccessful at increasing their SNJSSscores. This network growth might havebeen due to the job search facilitator’sability to monitor the number of con-tacts the participants were making

throughout the employment program.This is a point that could be explored infollow-up research.

Placement rates in employment forthe Ontario Works employment trainingprograms are generally low (City ofToronto, 2001) due to a number of dif-ferent factors including labour marketconditions, psychosocial issues, andlimited skills of the participants. Thelength of time on social assistance wasthought to be a factor in the strength ofa social assistance recipient’s network,as indicated in Question 1. However,the results indicated that there was not asignificant correlation between thesetwo variables. This could be attributedto two factors: first, the sample for thisstudy had not been on social assistancefor a long period of time (average 1 to 2years); and second, the size of the sam-ple was relatively small (N = 132).Future studies should use a larger sam-ple and a greater range of time on assis-tance to determine whether the lengthof time on social assistance is positivelyrelated to SNJSS scores.

As indicated in question 2, therewas a statistically significant relation-ship between re-employment andstrength of social network score—thatis, those who were re-employed hadhigher scores than those who were not.Although this significant relationshipdoes not speak to a causal relationship,these data could be interpreted as mean-ing that network strength increased theprobability of finding job-related infor-mation. Those with lower scores on theSNJSS networks may not have had thesocial resources to access the ‘hidden’job market that comes about from con-tacts and may have resorted to more tra-ditional job-search methods such asthrough newspaper ads. The ‘hidden jobmarket’ refers to unadvertised jobopportunities; in order to access them itis necessary to have active networks.Social isolation becomes a major barrierto re-employment for social assistancerecipients who have been on welfare foran extended period of time (Barrett &Cragg, 1998; Boisjoly, Harris &Duncan, 1998; Leahy, Buss & Quane,1995). Agencies delivering employ-ment-training programs need to addresssocial isolation by developing curricu-lum that promotes the monitoring andmaintenance of contacts that are added

to a participant’s network.For the large majority of the sam-

ple who did not make the transition tothe labour market by the end of thestudy, the lack of success in strengthen-ing their networks became evident afterthe post-test. The increased SNJSSscores for the experimental group indi-cate it could be useful to have a pro-gram that encourages participants toexpand their networks with contactsthat could provide relevant job-relatedinformation. The treatment allowedfacilitators to monitor and measure thenumber of contacts each participant wasmaking throughout the program. If thefacilitator noticed that the participant’sactivity was not focused aroundattempts to make relevant new contacts,corrective actions were suggested. Themost common approach to job-searchtraining by the agencies was to monitorthe number of employment opportuni-ties identified by the participant throughtraditional methods and not focus onsources of job-related information fromtheir networks. However, the treatmentin this study encouraged facilitators tostress the importance of the number ofcontacts made by participants and ratedthe significance of each encounter todetermine the value of job-related infor-mation provided by the new contact.

As part of the treatment, social net-work audits were performed on a regu-lar basis to ensure that participants wereattempting to make contacts that couldassist them in their job search. Theresults of the social network auditallowed the facilitator to determine thenumber of contacts each participant wasmaking. If there was a need to increasethe number of contacts, interventionswere implemented. For example, role-playing techniques were developed topractice the necessary rapport-buildingskills and a script was developed toassist participants to introduce them-selves in networking situations. Inmany employment-training programs,facilitators take for granted that partici-pants are able to develop rapport withpotential contacts in order to soliciteither job-related information or refer-rals. After a lengthy period on socialassistance, research indicates that socialskills tend to erode due to isolation(Smith, 1999; Strathdee & Hughes,2002; Wilkinson & Robinson, 1997).



The inability to generate new contactsmay be caused by low self-esteem,depression, and lack of either motiva-tion or self-efficacy (Eden & Aviram,1993).

Strengthening Social Networks

The treatment not only provided ameasurement and monitoring tool forthe job-search facilitator but also direct-ly increased the number of contactswho provided job-related information.Traditional job-search programs mustgo beyond simply introducing network-ing skills and techniques that assist par-ticipants in making contacts, but intro-duce ways to monitor the number ofcontacts they make, the value of eachcontact, and whether new contacts arein a position to provide job-relatedinformation. By further determining thevalue of a social network, job searchfacilitators can utilize this informationto increase the probability of employ-ment.

In this study, over 50% of therespondents had participated in a previ-ous training program, and of those,25.8% had participated in more thantwo or more programs. Those respon-dents who became re-employed weremore likely to be participating in theirfirst training program than the othergroup members. If employment agen-cies are going to increase the chances oftheir participants making the transitiontowards re-employment, they mustaddress this issue and understand thatmultiple program participation mayaffect the responsiveness to the inter-vention. Necessary actions must betaken to address possible reasons forlack of success in previous programs.

Referrals to employment opportu-nities are the strongest link to re-enter-ing the labour market. Studies haveindicated that those individuals that arereferred to job opportunities were morelikely to be hired than those who werenot referred (Fernandez & Weinberg,1997; Newman and Lennon, 1995). It iscommon for employers to use the socialnetworks of their employees when theyare interested in hiring someone(Livingston, 2002); similarly potentialemployees tend to use their friends togather job-related information. Usingthese ties to hire new employeesreduces information costs and most

likely increases the quality of newlyhired employees (Livingston, 2002).This evidence supports the notion thatthrough strengthening a social networkwith contacts that provide job-relatedinformation, the chances of re-employ-ment are increased.

Future Research

A number of limitations of thisstudy lead to ideas for future research.A larger sample could be used to deter-mine the effects of the job-search man-agement system treatment across abroader range of participants. As well, amore comprehensive follow-up needs tobe conducted to determine the stabilityof the networks.

The present study provides someevidence of the importance of socialnetworks in increasing the probabilityof re-employment, as identified in priorresearch. A careful examination of thetreatment yields practical insight intothe nature and interplay of social net-works and how programs and socialassistance recipients can utilize them.Although the treatment has been testedon a small sample, there is reason tobelieve that it may have more generaluse. Other populations such as employ-ment insurance recipients and laid-offworkers can utilize the job search man-agement system in their attempts to re-enter the labour market.

The network strength increasesfrom pre- to post-test was substantialfor the experimental group. However, itis necessary to perform longitudinalstudies that track participants and theirsocial networks over longer periods oftime. This will add to the understandingof social networks and to developinginterventions for adding new contacts tothem. In order for individuals to re-enter the labour market, adding helpfulcontacts is of importance especially ifthe goal is to increase job-related infor-mation. The lack of meaningful con-tacts within social networks amongstthe marginalized segments of the popu-lation may exacerbate economicinequalities and further marginalizethem from the rest of society becauselow-income populated communities areless likely to be connected to economicopportunities (Wilson, 1996).

Implications for Practice

The ability of employment trainingprograms to aid social assistance recipi-ents in transition towards re-employ-ment is important. If administrators andprogram planners are to be successful infacilitating this transition, it is notenough to measure social networkstrength; it is also necessary to developpractical applications in order to addrelevant contacts to them. The treatmentin this study provided participants witha job search management tool that notonly managed the number of contactsthey made during their job search butalso monitored the value of each con-tact. The effectiveness of employmenttraining varies depending on the num-ber of previous training programs.Government needs to take this into con-sideration when creating new policiesfor social assistance and develop pro-grams that address social networks andthe impact they have in the transitionback into the labour market. Whenimplementing employment training it isimportant that these considerations areat the forefront, otherwise the interven-tion will not match the needs of the par-ticipants and may cause more harm thangood.

Conclusion

Four major findings from this studyhave emerged and offer some insightinto the transition towards re-employ-ment. First, although the length of timeon social assistance was not correlatedto the strength of an individual’s net-work, it was found that the length oftime on social assistance is positivelyassociated with the number of previoustraining programs. Widespread trainingprogram recidivism minimizes theimpact of an intervention. It is likelythat participation in multiple trainingprograms is associated with ongoingbarriers to re-employment and thereforea lack of readiness to receive career-related information (Robbins & Tucker,1986). The social assistance recipientthen becomes entrenched in the systemwith minimal likelihood of benefit fromtraining programs. Further research isrequired to determine the long-termeffect on social assistance recipientsparticipating in more than one program.

Second, those participants in thestudy who became re-employed demon-



strated stronger networks than thosewho did not find employment. Addingcontacts to a social assistance recipi-ent’s network during a training inter-vention could provide job-related infor-mation that increases the chances ofthem re-entering the labour market.Third, the treatment introduced to theexperimental group was successful forincreasing the SJNSS scores. IncreasedSJNSS scores may represent access tojob-related information, which in turn,may provide additional job opportuni-ties not found in more traditional jobsearch methods. Although this sequencewas not proved in this study, it could betested in subsequent research. Fourth,social assistance recipients who are onwelfare for a longer period of time areless likely to become re-employed.

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CERIC, Canada’s voice on career education, counselling and research brings you:

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Abstract

In October 2006, a think tank com-posed of career development educatorsfrom across Canada was held to facili-tate an in-depth discussion of careerdevelopment education in Canada.Think tank participants deliberated oneducational requirements for careerpractitioners, curriculum content ofcareer development programs, and theprofessional identity of the careerdevelopment field. This paper outlinesthe summaries of these discussions,reviews relevant research, and posesquestions for further reflection.

Introduction

Could we develop a model forcareer development education that sug-gests specific educational requirementsfor those fulfilling different roles withinthe field? What kinds of enhancementscould be made to career developmentcurriculum to ensure that practitionersmeet the needs of today’s clients? Caneducation play a role in enhancing theprofessional identity of the field? Theseare questions that participants of the“Advancement of Career CounsellorEducation in Canada” think tankattempted to answer.

The “Advancement of CareerCounsellor Education in Canada”research project was conceived in orderto begin a process designed to articulatethe educational background that theprofession believes is necessary forentry into, or advancement within, thefield. The first phase of this projectinvolved the production of theDirectory of Career Counselling/CareerDevelopment Education Programs inCanada, available online at ContactPoint athttp://www.contactpoint.ca/resources/Directory_of_Education_Programs_2006.pdf. The second phase entailed survey-

ing Canadian career practitioners togain a better understanding of the careerpaths and educational backgrounds ofcurrent practitioners. Over 1,100 careerpractitioners responded to the survey,and its results are also published in thisissue of the Canadian Journal ofCareer Development. The third andfinal phase of the research project, thethink tank, gathered career developmenteducators from universities, colleges,and private training institutions fromacross Canada to facilitate an in-depthdiscussion of career development edu-cation in Canada (for a list of think tankparticipants, please refer to AppendixA). This paper outlines the summariesof these discussions and presents asso-ciated research. It is our sincere hopethat these deliberations, indeed, thisresearch project as a whole, willstrengthen the field of career develop-ment in Canada and ultimately enhancethe quality of career development serv-ices for the benefit of all Canadians.

A Model for Career DevelopmentEducation in Canada

The Importance of Developing anEducational Model

In most professions, it is clear whattype of education is necessary to fulfilldifferent roles at different levels. Forexample, within the field of nursing, anurse practitioner is an independentcare provider with the broadest scope ofpractice relative to other types of nurseswho, in addition to a nursing diplomaor degree, holds one to two years ofpost-graduate training. In contrast, apractical nurse works under the direc-tion of a registered nurse or doctor andhas one to two years of college educa-tion. This type of clarity ineducation/occupational scope does notexist within the field of career develop-

ment in Canada. There is currentlymuch diversity in the training and quali-fications of practitioners in the field;furthermore, the training and educationprograms that do exist do not typicallylead to clearly defined occupationalroles.

In the absence of similar education-al guidelines, it has been possible (eveneasy in some cases) for those with nocareer-specific education to practice inthe field. Without such career-specificeducation,

many career guidance practitionersreceive no thorough grounding in thebasic theories of career guidance, littlesystematic exposure to the social andeconomic contexts and purposes ofcareer guidance, and no systematicapplied training in the techniques thatform the basis of its practice(Organisation for Economic Co-opera-tion and Development, 2004, p. 99).

An educational model has thepotential to draw attention to the impor-tance of career-specific education andto ultimately increase the level of train-ing required of career practitioners.

Unlike other countries, Canadadoes not lack training opportunities forcareer practitioners – in fact, there arecurrently 37 programs offered by 28learning institutions in Canada thateither focus entirely on career develop-ment or have a significant career devel-opment component. Further, several ofthese programs are offered online andare thus very accessible. What is atissue, though, is that these programsvary significantly in terms of entryrequirements, length, curriculum con-tent, hours of required practicum place-ment, and nature of completion docu-ment (that is, certificate, diploma,degree, etcetera). Thus, one still has toask: What type and level of education isrequired to enter the field of careerdevelopment? What type of functions isan entry level practitioner qualified to

Deliberations on the Futureof Career Development

Education in CanadaRebecca Burwell, BASc, MEdSharon Kalbfleisch, BA, MSW

Career Development Education in Canada41


do? What type of education is requiredto advance within the field of careerdevelopment, and how do the occupa-tional roles of these advanced practi-tioners differ from those of entry levelpractitioners? The development of aneducational model offers the opportuni-ty to answer these questions.

The development of an educationalmodel is also ultimately in the bestinterest of our clients. Currently, thearray of job titles and qualifications ofpractitioners within the field makes itvery difficult for consumers to knowwhere to go or what to expect whenthey seek employment-related assis-tance. In a study designed to determinethe extent to which major career theo-ries and research inform the work ofcareer practitioners with varied qualifi-cations, Brown found that

although many clients present withclarified expectations and needs forservices, the service options availableto clients and the definition of careercounseling will largely depend on thetraining level of the career counselingprofessional. Consequently, a clearerdescription and distinction of thosewho provide services and the types ofservices available is needed to assistthe consumer in the appropriate identi-fication and attainment of his/her goals(2002, p. 125).

The development of a model couldalso serve to enhance the field’s profes-sional identity. Sunny Hansen, in arecent analysis of the career counsellingprofession’s strengths, weaknesses,opportunities, and threats, states that

one of the threats that seems importantto me is what I call the ‘deprofession-alization’ of career counseling. Itseems that increasingly, in some sec-tors, it has become an ‘anyone can doit’ profession, a view that actuallydiminishes the profession (2003, p.47).

An educational model would cer-tainly go a long way towards reassuringthe public and related professionals thatthe field of career development is aserious one requiring specific trainingand preparation.

An educational model that outlinesthe scope of practice at each level willalso make it easier for practitioners tobe cognizant of, and to adhere to, theboundaries of their level of training. Ofparticular importance in the field is theextent to which a career practitioner canor should provide personal counsellingto their clients. That “career counsellors

are frequently challenged to work witha career dilemma that encompasses arange of diverse issues and factors intheir clients’ personal lives” (Chen,2001, p. 524) has been well studied andis an accepted premise within the field.Many would agree, however, that per-sonal counselling requires a higherdegree of training than is offered bysome of the existing programs, typicallyat least a master’s degree. This is notalways what happens in the field, how-ever. In Brown’s research, he found thatboth licensed psychologists/counsellorsand non-licensed counsellors indicatedthat they do, in fact, address both per-sonal and career issues in their workwith career clients (2002). This is prob-lematic given that some practitionersclearly do not have the level of trainingneeded to be working with clients onsuch personal issues, but a model thatoutlines appropriate roles at each levelof education will clarify the boundariesand make it easier for practitioners toknow where to draw the line withclients and when to refer them on.

Another benefit of developing sucha model is that it will provide a bench-mark to see how programs at differentlevels connect to one another and there-by give us the opportunity to buildbridges between certificate, diploma,undergraduate, and graduate programs.This will clarify how practitioners canadvance within the field. Since therewill very likely be both college and uni-versity programs within the field overthe long term, an educational modelwill allow us to begin forming relation-ships that make sense between andamong programs. The planned modelwill also be beneficial for any new pro-grams being developed with respect tounderstanding how they can best fit intothe current schema.

Finally, an educational model couldhelp set the groundwork for certifica-tion requirements within the field.While the advantages and disadvantagesof certification are beyond the scope ofthis research, it does seem obvious thata clearly articulated model could assistin the processes of certification that arebeginning to take place in numerousprovinces.

The Challenges of Developing anEducation Model

Developing an educational modelbroad enough to incorporate the widedifferences that currently exist in careerdevelopment education across Canadais no small challenge. First, though thefield is only in its adolescence, there arefully 37 programs that have either a sig-nificant or an entire career developmentfocus. As stated earlier, however, theseprograms vary significantly; there areno less than seven different types ofcompletion documents representedamongst these 37 programs: certificatesof accomplishment, certificates, diplo-mas, undergraduate degrees, master’sdegrees, doctorates, and post-master’scertificates. While most of these pro-grams are strong in their own right andoffer a valuable curriculum, it is thelack of similarity among many of theprograms that makes it difficult to inte-grate them into a model.

Regional differences in careerdevelopment education pose a secondchallenge to the development of amodel. The differences between Québecand the rest of Canada pose a particularcomplexity, in that Québec is the onlyprovince to regulate the profession:

To be licensed as a career counsellorby the College, candidates must meetthe requirements set out in the regula-tions adopted under the ProfessionalCode of Québec, which state that onemust have a master’s degree in careerguidance and counselling (Turcotte,2005, p. 7).

It should be noted, however, thatnot all career development work is reg-ulated in Québec: “The two other majoroccupations in the field of career devel-opment are employment counsellorsand career information specialists.These two occupations do not have spe-cific educational and occupationalrequirements and are not regulated”(Turcotte, 2005, p. 7). In any case, thisis clearly a very different picture fromthe rest of Canada, and once again,poses a challenge to the development ofa nationwide model.

A third challenge involves the mul-titude of sectors in which career devel-opment work is carried out. “Schoolcounselors, community college and uni-versity career counselors and academicadvisers, employment counselors, coun-selors in employee assistance programs,rehabilitation counselors, counseling



and clinical psychologists, and otherhelping professionals all provide careercounseling in organizations and privatepractice, although with different pur-poses and intensity. These persons dif-fer in training and knowledge aboutcareer counseling and in the approachesto career counseling that they use”(Herr, 2003, p. 11). The question is,how do we deal with these differentnotions of what type and level of train-ing is appropriate for practitioners inthese different sectors? Currently thereare educational guidelines or standardsfor some (for example, guidance staff insecondary schools) but not for others(for example, practitioners in communi-ty agencies). It may be necessary forthe model to evolve over time in orderto encompass each of these sectors.

A fourth challenge is presented bythe varying amount of career-specificcurriculum within each of the existingprograms. Dagley and Salter found inthe United States that;

special nondegree training programsfor career development facilitators adda much needed emphasis in careerdevelopment theory and research, butlittle in supervised counseling, where-as typical counselor preparation degreeprograms provide excellent supervisedcounseling training but little-to-nocareer development instruction orcareer counseling supervision (2004,p. 102).

This is not universally the case inCanada, but it is true that the certificateand diploma programs in most caseshave more career-specific content thanthe graduate level programs in coun-selling psychology (except in Québec,where undergraduate and graduate pro-grams are career-specific). Once again,then, this poses a challenge in develop-ing a model. How do we devise amodel that incorporates, on the onehand, programs that are entirely gearedto career development with those thatare geared more specifically towardscounselling on the other?

A final challenge will be to form acollaborative, rather than a competitive,approach to future discussions amongsteducators. A culture of competition hashistorically existed amongst universitiesand colleges in Canada, as all vie fortop students, faculty, and staff as wellas for rankings and research dollars.Fortunately, more recent initiatives havedemonstrated a new trend towards col-

laboration, such as the Campus AlbertaApplied Psychology: CounsellingInitiative, a partnership between theUniversity of Lethbridge, the Universityof Calgary, and Athabasca University.This type of initiative demonstrates awill and an ability to work together,which bodes well for increased sharingand connections among career develop-ment programs and for the developmentof an educational model, even in thisculture of institutional competition.

Presenting a Model for CareerDevelopment Education in Canada

In spite of the inherent challengesinvolved in the development of an edu-cational model, members of the thinktank were able to formulate a draftmodel for career development educa-tion. While the model requires furtherelaboration (a working group has beenstruck to continue its development), itdoes begin to classify the differenttypes/levels of services provided bycareer practitioners. It also suggestseducational requirements for each typeof service.

Although differentiated roles with-in the field of career development havenever been clearly defined, the notionthat there are multiple roles within thefield, rather than one singular role, isnot new. Herr has argued that “careercounseling can be seen as a continuumof interventions rather than a singularprocess” (2003, p. 11). Furbish alsosuggests that career services encompassa range of activities and differentiatesbetween services that are job, occupa-tion, or career related. He defines jobissues as those that provide “assistancewith the development of employmentseeking skills such as CV writing, find-ing job openings and interviewingskills,” occupational issues as those thatcall for “assisting clients to examinetheir preferences and investigate occu-pations that will satisfy those prefer-ences,” and career issues as those that“are concerned with the holistic integra-tion of work within one’s other liferoles and adjusting to transitions withinwork-life patterns” (2003, pp. 3–4).

The draft educational modeldevised at the think tank sessions (seeFigure 1) also recognizes the notion thatthere are multiple and distinct roleswithin the field. Based on previous

work done by Borgen and Hiebert(2006, 2002), the model suggests thatservices carried out by career practition-ers can be broken into three types:advising, guidance, and counselling.Each has a different objective andserves a different function. Advising isfocussed primarily on the problem athand, and involves the provision ofgeneral, “non-personalized” informationregarding a particular topic or focus.For example, describing different stylesof résumés to a client would be consid-ered advising, as would helping clientsaccess career information or makingthem aware of other career services thatare available. Guidance is broader inscope and involves the provision ofinformation or psychoeducational serv-ices more directly tailored to the client’sneeds than the advisory function.Guidance requires the practitioner tofirst gather information about the client,often through an interview or other kindof assessment, thereby increasing thelikelihood that services obtained arecongruent with the client’s uniqueneeds. A practitioner who explains to aclient how the results of an interestassessment might influence her occupa-tional choice would be providing guid-ance. Counselling moves beyond infor-mation provision to broader issues andcould include the;

application of career counseling tostress reduction; anger management;integrating and resolving conflictbetween career and other life roles;helping persons reconstruct andreframe past experiences; learningways to reduce their indecisiveness;assisting in modifying irrational careerbeliefs; addressing underlying issuesthat lead to work dysfunctions, includ-ing unresolved issues in the familydrama being played out in the work-place; providing opportunities for dis-placed persons to vent their anger andtheir feelings about personal concerns;job loss; and the loss or diffusion ofpersonal identity (Herr, 2003, p. 11).

Refer to Borgen & Hiebert (2006,2002) and Hiebert & Borgen (2002) formore information regarding the distinc-tion between advising, guidance, andcounselling.

This model demonstrates the pro-portional amount of time that practition-ers with different credentials wouldspend offering the three different typesof services: advising, offering guidance,or counselling. The use of such graphicsto demonstrate the intensity of variousroles is based on previous work done bythink tank participant Kris Magnusson(Magnusson, Day, & Redekopp, 1993;Magnusson, 1992). The model suggeststhat a Level 1 practitioner, who wouldfulfill primarily an advisory function(and minor roles in guidance and coun-selling), would require a career-specificcollege or university certificate. A Level2 practitioner, whose function would beprimarily the provision of guidance (butwho would also fill some advising andcounselling functions), would requireeither a career-specific diploma orundergraduate degree (though the latterexists only in Québec at the presenttime) or a non career-specific diplomaor undergraduate degree plus a career-specific certificate or diploma. A Level3 practitioner might perform a minoradvising role, but his or her main func-tions would be either guidance andcounselling, or designing and coordinat-ing career services. Typically, thesetypes of roles would require a master’sdegree, post-master’s certificate, or doc-toral degree in counselling psychologyor a related field.

Worthy of discussion is the largercounselling role at Level 3. It is becom-ing increasingly commonplace to expectthat those performing a counselling rolehave at least a master’s degree in thecounselling field. For example, in most

American states, counselling is a regu-lated occupation requiring one to hold aminimum of a master’s degree in coun-selling or a related field, plus a definedamount of supervised practice in thefield. In Canada, there is no govern-mentally regulated credentialing of theprofession, but the CanadianCounselling Association awards their‘Canadian Certified Counsellor’ desig-nation only to those holding an appro-priate master’s degree in counsellingthat includes a compulsory practicum.The draft model presented here reflectsthe notion that a higher level of educa-tion is indeed required to perform coun-selling functions.

Members of the think tank agreedthat job titles should be created andused consistently to represent the threedifferent levels presented in the model.While there is not yet consensus onwhat these titles should be, it was sug-gested that a Level 1 practitioner couldbe termed a Career Advisor, a Level 2practitioner a Career Practitioner, and aLevel 3 practitioner a CareerCounsellor. An umbrella term todescribe each of these types of roleswithin the field of career developmentmust also be determined. This paper,and many others in the field, consistent-ly uses the term Career Practitioner torefer to those performing any type ofrole within the field of career develop-ment. Naturally, if the CareerPractitioner title becomes the standardterm used to denote Level 2 practition-ers, we will need to devise a newumbrella title term.

One of the benefits of this draft

model is that it incorporates all pro-grams at all levels as they currentlyexist. It recognizes that each fills a spe-cific need and does not put any programin jeopardy of being lost or deemedirrelevant. Another benefit is that itacknowledges that some roles withinthe field do not require in-depth coun-sellor training – a benefit given that theexisting non-degree programs tend tohave less counselling-specific curricu-lum and fewer supervised practicumhours.

A potential drawback of the modelis that it could ultimately lead to moreexpensive service delivery, a risk inher-ent in any initiative that moves towardsprofessionalization (OECD, 2004).Several think tank participants voicedconcern that this model could indeed beignored or rejected by primary fundersconcerned about service delivery costs.Communicating the benefits of this edu-cational model to all stakeholders in thefield will thus become an important taskfor the educators group.

Next Steps for the Model

While the draft model presented inthis paper has made great strides indefining occupational roles and corre-sponding educational requirements, wemust remember that this is only its pre-liminary form; elaboration in severalareas will further clarify and enhancethe model. For example, the specificcurriculum to be covered at each levelneeds to be determined, as does thenumber of hours of required, supervisedpracticum for each level.



Figure 1: Draft model for career development education. The shaded areas represent the proportional amount of time service providers withdiffering types of education would spend providing the three principal types of service.

T

As mentioned earlier, communica-tion of the model to members of thefield is also important and needs to beconsidered along with further refine-ments. How to communicate the modeland with whom will both be importantquestions to consider. One approachwould be to let the logic and value ofthe model speak for itself, rather thantrying to fervently impose it on thefield. The model’s inherent logic andsimplicity bodes well for its potential tohave an important future impact on thefield of career development in Canada.

As the field continues to grow andmature, it is possible that we will beginto see the development of educationalspecializations within the field. Thepossibilities for such specializations arenumerous, but one might specialize inworking with new Canadians, for exam-ple, or in working with individualsdiagnosed with a mental illness.Similarly, the need for career develop-ment training for linked professions, forexample, social workers or humanresources professionals, is also begin-ning to be recognized and may start tobe developed some time in the future.How or if such specialization and train-ing for linked professions becomesincorporated into this model will needto be determined. One approach wouldbe to link specializations and trainingfor linked professions to the model,rather than actually embedding themwithin it.

Canadian Career DevelopmentCurriculum

Reflections on the Current Situation

The first phase of this researchproject involved the development of theDirectory of Career Counselling/CareerDevelopment Education Programs inCanada. While gathering data abouttheir programs from directors and coor-dinators in order to compile the directo-ry, additional inquiries were made aboutthe type of curriculum each covered.Most programs contain at least somecommon content, including but not lim-ited to career development theories,interviewing skills, group facilitationskills, career assessment, ethics, andworking with diverse populations.

Beyond this, there are some signifi-cant differences depending on whetherthe program is non-degree or degree

granting. For example, career informa-tion, work trends, and work search tech-niques tend to be covered more often inthe non-degree programs, whereasdegree programs tend to expand theircoverage of general counselling theo-ries. When the career development edu-cation model (described in the sectionabove) is more fully developed, it willbe important to link different types ofcurriculum with the different programtypes/levels.

Another area of divergence was inthe number of practicum hours requiredby programs; they ranged from nopracticum requirement to as many as770 hours. Shorter practicum require-ments were connected for the most partwith the certificate programs, whilegreater practicum requirements tendedto be associated with diploma, under-graduate, and master’s programs. If stu-dents enrolled in the certificate pro-grams are already working in the fieldof career development, they have a nat-ural venue where theory and practicecan come together. However, for thosenot working in the field and/or whohave no career development experience,providing an appropriate mechanism forthem to connect theory and practicepresents a serious challenge. Since thepracticum is an ideal way to help stu-dents link theory and practice, furtherdiscussion by educators of what consti-tutes a practicum and how manypracticum hours should be required isimportant.

An equally important aspect ofhelping students relate theory to prac-tice is effective, career-specific supervi-sion. McMahon identified the lack ofimportance paid to supervision and therelatively few professional articles writ-ten about supervision in the careercounselling literature as long ago as2003. Without supervision, especiallyfor a student or a beginning practitioner,it is challenging to put theoreticalknowledge into practice. This lack ofsupervision may also suggest to thetrainee that career work is neither com-plex nor difficult enough to requiresupervision, a fundamentally incorrectassumption/perspective. It should alsobe noted that inadequate supervisionbecomes even more serious as the scopeof career development practice expands.

The Importance of Expanding theCurriculum

In addition to working on a drafteducational model, the think tankincluded discussions on what curricu-lum should be taught at the various lev-els of practice and how to effectivelyincorporate new concepts and ideas.Curriculum issues included the follow-ing questions: How should personalcounselling and career counselling bereconciled in career education pro-grams? How, and to what extent shouldcybercounselling content be incorporat-ed into the curriculum? Finally, howshould career counselling knowledgeand skills best be provided to allied pro-fessional programs? These issues arediscussed later in this paper.

The area given the most attentionand that would require the greatest cur-riculum changes concerned the develop-ment of competencies that wouldexpand the focus of career developmenteducation beyond providing services tothe individual; these changes wouldhelp career practitioners address broad-er issues related to organizational andsocietal influences. Many of the careerchallenges individuals face are not theresult of individual shortcomings, butrather arise from known deficiencies insystems and/or policies. To effectivelyaddress big picture problems, a practi-tioner needs such knowledge and skillsas advocacy, social planning and socialpolicy, social action, and communitydevelopment. Through inaction or alack of attention to macro issues, careerpractitioners can in fact become a partof the problem. Arthur summarizesthese points succinctly: “Career practi-tioners need to consider how their workinadvertently supports the status quoand be prepared to address social forcesthat pose as systemic barriers to peo-ple’s growth and development” (2005,p. 41).

An example from public policyhelps to illustrate how this expansion ofthe work of the career practitioner canbetter serve clients. In most countries,career development has been the objectof public policy. Nonetheless, careerpractitioners have not usually beeninvolved in the creation of public poli-cy. Thus, the profession is delegated tocarrying out the notions and policies ofthe government in power without hav-



ing much affect on them. This lack ofdirect involvement leads to policies thatcan adversely impact the delivery ofwho gets service, how they access thatservice, and what services are provided(Herr, 2003). When working with immi-grants, the counsellor is often obliged tohelp individuals deal with the con-straints imposed by immigration policyor professional certification bodies.These constraints at minimum appear tobe fundamentally unfair, and they are,in fact, often inequitable. This is clearlyan area where the direct experience ofcareer practitioners could very positive-ly affect public policy; it could poten-tially have an important, long-termimpact on the conditions of employ-ment for many immigrants and refugeeswhile also making more effective use ofthe national talent pool.

Interestingly, the founder of thefield of vocational psychology, FrankParsons, was committed to socialchange, social justice, and social action.Dr. King Davis defines social justice asfollows:

Social justice is a basic value anddesired goal in democratic societiesand includes equitable and fair accessto the societal institutions, laws,resources, opportunities, without arbi-trary limitations based on observed, orinterpretations of, difference in age,color, culture, physical or mental dis-ability, education, gender, income, lan-guage, national origin, race, religion,or sexual orientation (2004, p. 236).

Parsons demonstrated in his writings aconcern for the marginalized and lessfortunate in society (O’Brien, 2001).Until recently, however, both the theoryand practice of career counselling havebeen developed primarily to assist thosewho live in relative affluence. Thosewho are less fortunate and who need towork simply to meet their basic needsof shelter and housing have been large-ly neglected (Whiston, 2003).

There has recently been renewedinterest in returning to the roots ofcareer counselling as they were estab-lished by Parsons. This calls for a moreexpansive conceptualization of careertheory and practice in order to helpclients deal with issues like poverty,discrimination, and oppression. Forexample, Guichard (2003) discussedcareer counselling’s evolving goals andcalled for career practitioners to create anew context for research and practice,

one that would attend to the broadercontext of human development in orderto meet the needs of the human commu-nity without neglecting the individual inthe process.

In related work, Hansen argues thatit is no longer enough to match peopleto jobs. She calls for a more holisticapproach to career counselling thatrequires various life roles and other lifedimensions to be taken into account. “Aweakness of career counselor educationprograms is the reluctance or inabilityto see career counselors as changeagents who can help not only individu-als to change, but systems to change aswell” (2003, p. 45). She recommendsthat training programs expand the cur-riculum to include related life roles aswell as work roles, and that organiza-tional career development be built intotraining programs. She recognizes thatworking to meet the needs of a diversepopulation is an important first step butgoes on to say that “the work has justbegun” (Hansen, 2003, p. 45). She evi-dently believes that expanding the cur-riculum to include the counsellor’s roleas an advocate and an agent of changepresents a challenge.

In keeping with career practitionersworking with a broader conceptualiza-tion, there has been a developing com-mitment to working with multiculturalpopulations in a way that recognizesand is sensitive to cultural differences.The number of journal articles address-ing culturally competent careeer coun-selling continues to increase. This inter-est and concern with cultural differ-ences has been extended to an evenbroader perspective to encompass diver-sity that includes gender, age, sexualorientation, socioeconomic status, socialclass, ability, and religion. In fact, ourcurriculum research indicates that diver-sity is covered in all of the programssurveyed in some way, and that a full43 percent devote an entire course todiversity issues.

Arthur, however, goes well beyondcalling for cultural sensitivity and com-petence in career counselling, advocat-ing that perspectives on social justice beincorporated into the roles and interven-tion methods of career practitioners.She also calls for career practitioners todevelop the competencies needed tobring about institutional change and to

carry out social action roles and sys-temic interventions. In fact, she hasdeveloped 17 competencies that wouldafford career practitioners the skills tosupport social justice interventions. Shestates that “ultimately, the linkagebetween social justice and career devel-opment needs to inform curriculumdesign for career practitioners” (Arthur,2005, p. 143).

A review of social work educationmay provide insights into how suchsocial justice competencies could bebuilt into the education of career practi-tioners. Social work is a values-basedprofession. All education for the profes-sion promotes the development andadvancement of knowledge and skillsthat further clients’ well-being and pro-motes social and economic justice.Within this overarching framework, thecurriculum is divided into “micro” and“macro” practice. Micro practiceinvolves interventions aimed at prob-lems confronting individuals, families,and small groups; macro practice, onthe other hand, concerns social workinterventions designed to bring aboutchange in organizations and communi-ties. In most social work programs, astudent chooses to concentrate on eithermicro or macro practice, but must alsotake some courses from the other area.

The social work educationapproach may not be a complete modelfor the field of career development. Itdoes, however, provide some guidanceas to how we might strive to meet twogeneral objectives. The first is to buildin the values associated with social jus-tice as a part of the foundation of thecareer development profession and itseducational aims. The second is to buildinto the curriculum the development ofsome general skills and awarenessregarding macro issues for all membersof the profession and perhaps allowsome to develop specialized skills inthis area.

Roadblocks to Incorporating MacroIssues into the Curriculum

As with any proposed change, therewill be uncertainty and some reluc-tance. What is proposed will requiresignificant adjustments to a program’scurriculum, and this will only happen ifeducators are convinced of the valueand importance of the changes and thus



motivated to incorporate them into theprogram of study. The motivation andeducation of educators are particularlyimportant since each program’s curricu-lum is typically very full, and there aremany competing interests regardingwhat might be included. Further, phaseone of this research project revealedthat little attention is currently paid tomacro issues in the programs, possiblybecause many of the educators them-selves are graduates of individuallyfocussed educational programs that donot naturally lend themselves to amacro viewpoint. Hiebert, McCarthy,and Repetto make a related point:“Career counsellor education primarilystems from a psychological background(versus a career development, adulttransition, or labour market back-ground), and does not address thediverse career paths and complex labourmarket that clients encounter” (2001, p.1). It will be essential to find mecha-nisms that will keep educators at alllevels informed about, and involved in,the evolution of the curriculum.

Practitioners and educators willalso need to be convinced of the worthof expanding the curriculum and profes-sion into new and less familiar areas ofpractice. In part because of their educa-tional backgrounds, and especially inthe early years of work, most practition-ers are focussed on helping the individ-ual and are not invested in learning howto change large systems and how thosesystems impinge on their client’s lives.In later years, practitioners often devel-op a frustration with “the system,” butthey have not, for the most part, devel-oped nor practiced the skills to effectchange within it. In a survey of practi-tioners conducted in the second phaseof this research project, macro skillslike lobbying government, addressingsocial justice issues, advocating forclients, program promotion, manage-ment, and administration were all con-sistently rated less important than skillsrelated to direct client work. If practi-tioners were to realize that career prac-titioners could and should influencesocial and political systems and couldsee a way to help their profession dothat, the value they see in their workcould change substantially (especiallyin later years) and provide strong sup-port for the curriculum changes we pro-

pose. Effectively instituting these pro-posed changes will require a program ofcontinuing education for practitioners.

One further roadblock is the lack ofquality resource materials on macroissues, including social and economicjustice, which can be readily utilized ina classroom or practice setting. Thisdearth makes it much more difficult foreducators to experiment with incorpo-rating these ideas or to adopt recom-mended curriculum changes. The devel-opment of effective educationalresources must be a key aspect of animplementation strategy. As is outlinedbelow, a newly formed educationalgroup is beginning to develop educa-tional resources, some of which empha-size social justice and macro-levelissues.

Next Steps for the Curriculum

There was considerable supportand enthusiasm at the think tank for theevolution of program curriculumtowards providing theoretical and prac-tical content on the ideas and values ofsocial and economic justice and on thedevelopment of the skills required topromote social change. It is importantto note that we are at the very begin-ning of this endeavour; it is no smalltask to evolve a curriculum (or curricu-lum guidelines) on a national level,given the requisite acceptance of thestakeholders of the development of anew lens and an expanded set of com-petencies. However, if we as educatorswere able to incorporate social justicecompetencies into the curriculum on anationwide level, Canada would clearlybecome a leader on the internationalstage.

The extent to which the variousaspects of macro practice should beincluded at each level of training in themodel discussed above will need care-ful consideration and discussion. Forexample, it would seem plausible thatpractitioners involved primarily inadvising would need only a generalawareness of macro practice issues andtheir importance as part of the careerdevelopment environment. This aware-ness could perhaps be acquired from awell-designed course or module. On theother hand, practitioners primarilyinvolved in counselling would beexpected, from a macro perspective, to

be able to engage in social planning ini-tiatives, demonstrate advocacy skillswith individuals or systems, and con-tribute to the designing of social policyas it relates to the world of work. A per-son would need to have at least onecourse, and perhaps more, that dealswith macro theory and practice in orderto work in the macro arena.

As noted earlier, a number of othercurriculum questions and challengesarose that were not discussed in thedepth they deserve owing to time con-straints. One issue concerned the inter-face between career counselling andpersonal counselling. Career coun-selling cannot be neatly separated fromthe counselling that affects the otheraspects of the client’s life. Because oftheir particular education, some coun-sellors are able to deal with many of themajor issues in clients’ lives, includingcareer issues, personal issues, and evensome associated with mental health.Others will not be able to work withthese broader issues and problemsbecause they lack the required educa-tion, but at a minimum, career practi-tioners should have the knowledge torecognize personal problems and, whennecessary, effectively refer clients toappropriate professionals. This interfacewill become clearer as the model devel-ops and as the roles of various careerprofessionals are more completelydefined.

Cybercounselling, another curricu-lum issue addressed by the members ofthe think tank, currently receives littlecoverage in the training programs wereviewed. Although there has beenskepticism of cybercounselling, espe-cially as it relates to ethics, many careerpractitioners are clearly innovating andengaging in the practice of distanceadvising/counselling. Cybercounsellingpresents numerous complexities forcareer education, for example: Whatnew or different competencies are need-ed to act effectively from a distance?Can these competencies fit within exist-ing programs? To what extent shouldstudents generally be trained in theseareas? Do we need a distance careerdevelopment specialization? Thesecomplicated questions require muchmore discussion.

Yet another issue was how careereducation can best interface with the



curriculum of related professions likesocial work, human resources, andvocational rehabilitation. These practi-tioners work with clients whose pre-senting problems are, for the most part,not directly work related. However,since work is so central to most peo-ple’s well-being and can cause so muchdistress, work and career issues areoften major contributing aspects of aclient’s problems. Thus, some knowl-edge of career development theory andcareer counselling techniques, as wellas awareness of the possibility andimportance of referral when careerissues are paramount, would benefitrelated professionals and help them helptheir clients. We need to consider howimportant this is to the field, andwhether it is possible to raise awarenesswithin our educational institutions sothat there is a role for career educationprograms to provide service courses inallied programs.

A preliminary step has been takensince the think tank, namely the estab-lishment of a group of educators inter-ested in developing written materials oncurrent issues and advances in the fieldof career development in Canada. Theexact form this publication will take isstill under discussion, but social justiceand social justice competencies as theypertain to career development will be amajor focus. It is our hope that thiswork will lead to the development of anintroductory text providing students andfaculty with details and overviews ofmacro issues and a few more badlyneeded resource materials treatingadvancements and best practices inCanada. The development of these andother resource materials would helpimmensely to address pedagogicalissues while easing the process of cur-riculum adjustment.

Professional Identity anthe Role of Education

Career development educators, likeothers involved in the field of careerdevelopment, are concerned with thefield’s professional identity. That theservices provided by career practition-ers receive little visibility and are notgenerally well understood or sought outby the general public is a commonlyfelt frustration for those working in thisfield. A 2006 CERIC survey conducted

by Ipsos Reid found that when seekingcareer planning assistance, a majority ofCanadians seek the help ofrelatives/friends/neighbours (68%), co-workers/associates (67%), or newspa-pers (67%) rather than the services of acareer specialist (47%). That moreCanadians would seek career assistancefrom a friend or relative over a careerpractitioner offers some proof that“career counseling’s identity statusresembles that of a client who lacksvocational identity and clearly articulat-ed goals” (Niles, 2003, p. 73).

Of particular concern to educatorswith respect to professional identity isthe number of titles being used withinthe field to describe this work. In thesurvey carried out as phase two of thisresearch project, respondents wereasked to indicate their job title.Significantly, a full 37% of respondentsdid not fit into one of 13 common jobtitles used in the field. (This issue doesnot carry over to Québec, where 69% ofrespondents fit into just one job title:conseiller d’orientation). This diversityof titles is also seen in the names ofcareer development education programsacross the country. While some programtitles use the term “career practitioner,”others use “career counsellor,” ‘careermanagement professional,” “careerfacilitator,” or “career developmentcoach.” Clearly this unrestrained use oftitles in the workplace and in our pro-gram descriptions needs to beaddressed, and educators can play apositive role through further develop-ment and communication of the educa-tion model outlined in the first sectionof this paper. This model has the poten-tial to begin a process of making titlesmore descriptive, consistent, and mean-ingful, both to those in the field and tothe general public.

While raising the professional iden-tity of the field is no small task, andfurther, is one that will most certainlyrequire a multi-faceted effort on the partof practitioners, employers, associa-tions, and government alike, it is theeducators’ hope and belief that bothincreasing the profile of career develop-ment specific education (through thedraft model presented earlier in thispaper) and enhancing its curriculumwill serve an important function in thisregard. Indeed, McCarthy (2001) does

suggest that training has a dominanteffect in establishing a professionalidentity.

Conclusion

As was outlined earlier, thisresearch project was conceived in orderto begin a process designed to articulatethe educational background that theprofession believes is necessary forentry into, or advancement within, thefield of career development. This paperdeveloped out of the third phase of theproject; bringing together educatorsfrom across Canada to a think tank inorder to discuss these educational andprofessional issues. Although subsets ofthis group meet with some regularityfor other purposes, this was the firstmeeting of career educators that includ-ed representatives from French- andEnglish-speaking Canada, from univer-sities and colleges, and from the privatesector. Informal reports from partici-pants suggest that these discussions setthe stage for some significant progresstowards developing an innovative andcomprehensive framework for the edu-cation of career practitioners in Canada.

The development of an educationalmodel has the potential to be a majorstep forward for the field. It has thepotential to define exactly what educa-tion is required to enter the field ofcareer development, how one couldadvance within the field, and how theoccupational roles of the entry-levelperson differ from those of an advancedpractitioner. This clarity of definitionalone would help draw attention to theimportance of career-specific educationand the services that career practitionershave to offer. A well-developed modelwould also offer consumers more clari-ty to help them access the type andscope of service they require. This workis far from complete, but we hope thatthe energy and enthusiasm this projecthas generated will provide impetus tomove the model forward.

The think tank brought to lightmany important discussions on curricu-lum that were as valuable as the discus-sion of the model. With representativesfrom all educational sectors, the delib-erations afforded a rich dialogue onhow the curriculum could evolve andexpand. One area requiring significanteffort is the inclusion into the curricu-



lum of a social justice lens and macropractice competencies. The develop-ment of an appropriate curriculum andits adaptation into current Canadiancareer education programs wouldadvance the field and make internation-al leaders of Canadian career educationprograms. This challenge is indeeddaunting, but it is also tenable. Therewas a spirit of co-operation among theparticipants at the think tank that webelieve will support the initiative’s for-ward momentum.

We would like to thank the educa-tors who attended the think tank fortheir enthusiastic support of thisresearch project and for the tremendouscontributions that set the stage for morediscussion and forward movement. Wewould also like to express our thanks toCERIC for their professional and finan-cial support of this endeavour.

Appendix AThink Tank Participants

Nancy Arthur University of CalgaryRobert Baudouin Université de

MonctonMarie-Denyse Boivin Université LavalBruno Bourassa Université LavalMildred Cahill Memorial UniversityDeborah Day Acadia UniversityEdwidge Desjardins Université du Québec

à MontréalCarmen Forrest First Nations

UniversityMarcelle Gingras Université de

SherbrookeBryan Hiebert University of CalgaryKon Li Kwantlen University

CollegeKris Magnusson University of

LethbridgeGreg Morrow George Brown

CollegeNathalie Perreault OrientActionGeoff Peruniak Athabasca UniversityDeirdre Pickerell Life Strategies Inc.Natalee Popadiuk Simon Fraser

UniversityBlythe Shepard University of VictoriaRob Straby Conestoga CollegeBeverley Walters Bow Valley College

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Furbish, D. S. (2003, October).Considerations about the profes-sionalisation of New Zealandcareer practice. Presentation con-ducted at the Third BiennialConference of the CareerPractitioners Association of NewZealand, Auckland, New Zealand.

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Abstract

The Dalhousie University CareerCounselling Internship Programme wasestablished in 1987 to provide specialisttraining in Career Counselling. TheInternship is a full-time, 10 month,post- master’s programme of supervisedwork and study. Of the 24 participantswho have completed the Internship, 13were School Counsellors on leave fromtheir School Boards and 11 wereProfessional Counsellors, SocialWorkers, and Psychologists who camewithout institutional sponsorship. Thisarticle describes the major componentsof the Internship the: history; purpose;admission process; programme goals;objectives; and program content. Thisarticle also critically reviews evalua-tions of the Internship, the impact thetraining has had on the Interns’ personaldevelopment and professional practice,and the reciprocal benefits.

History

The 1980s brought a time of eco-nomic recession and rapid advances ininformation technology. Problems peo-ple had looking for work, and the bur-geoning of career options related tocomputer science, were concerns whichwere frequently addressed in the media.There was also a strong media emphasiswhich questioned the value of post-sec-ondary education and its application towork. Perhaps because of the pressuresthese changes created, and the attentiongiven to them by the media, there was asignificant increase in the demand forcareer counselling services at DalhousieUniversity (Dal News, 1987, p.1-2).Despite this demand, there was a scarci-ty of counsellors with career coun-selling expertise and a growing aware-ness that there were no opportunities forthis specialty training available in NovaScotia. Indeed, in spite of the need forcareer counselling training, the few uni-versities in Canada which provided

graduate course work in counsellinglimited their offerings to introductorytheoretical courses and did not offerapplied career counselling courses.

In 1987, with the endorsement ofthe provincial Education and SocialServices Ministers, the CounsellingFoundation of Canada supported thecreation of the Dalhousie UniversityCareer Counselling InternshipProgramme. This full-time, ten-monthprogramme of work and study is theonly continuing education career coun-selling opportunity available to counsel-lors in Nova Scotia, and it is the onlyprogram of its kind in Canada.

Purpose

Building on the basic training pro-vided by graduate programs with cours-es in counselling and career develop-ment, the Dalhousie University CareerCounselling Internship Programme pro-vides advanced training and supervisiondesigned to support the development ofa career counselling specialty. As theInterns learn how to enhance theirknowledge and skills, they work withthe career counselling staff and clientsof Dalhousie University.

Participants

Over the last 19 years, a total of 24Interns completed the InternshipProgramme. Thirteen of the Internswere School Counsellors (MEd.Counselling) who had been awardededucational leaves from their SchoolBoards. The remaining interns, whocame without institutional support,included: 3 (MSc.) Clinical andEducational Psychologists; 4 (MSW)Social Workers; and 4 (MEd.Counselling) Professional Counsellors.In addition, the programme has accom-modated graduate level career coun-selling practicum students and under-graduate level volunteer CareerInformation Assistants who, on occa-

sion, learn under the supervision of theInterns.

Admission and Selection of Interns

Requirements

Applicants who are selected for theInternship are experienced professionalswith a minimum of a Master’s degree inCounselling, Psychology or SocialWork. Applicants must also demonstratean interest in and capacity for independ-ent study, and typically have a historyof professional leadership. Priority isgiven to applicants who have a combi-nation of experience, motivation andexpertise in counselling.

Application Procedure

The Internship application proce-dure is a competitive process for thecandidates. The candidates must submita letter of intent and a resume, and beprepared to discuss their appliedresearch interests during a selectioninterview. The applicant must also iden-tify referees who can discuss the qualityof their work, ethical behavior, coun-selling skills, interest in the area ofcareer development and their suitabilityfor the Internship. Applicants who areSchool Counsellors must also apply fora ten-month educational leave fromtheir School Board.

Selection Process

During the interview, applicants arequestioned about their counsellingstyles, theoretical orientation, comfortlevel with training and supervision,knowledge of both the theory and prac-tice of career counselling, (especiallythe issues that impact on career choiceand development), and their personaland professional goals and expectationsof the programme. The selection criteriaare designed to assess the candidates’counselling expertise, motivation,enthusiasm, professional presentation,

Best Practices: The Dalhousie UniversityCareer Counselling Internship Programmet

Jeanette HungDalhousie University

and suitability. Also closely examinedis their preparedness to put themselvesin the role of a student: to have theirskills closely examined; to have theirindividual caseloads closely monitored;to be willing to risk being vulnerableunder observation while demonstratingnew skills and advanced techniques; tobe motivated to conduct research; aswell as to examine, at length, the com-plexity of counselling as it relates tocareer development.

Goals and Objectives

The Internship is designed to guidethe Intern’s examination of the field ofcareer choice and development, as wellas to provide opportunities for in-depthstudy in areas of personal interest.Clearly defined goals and objectives arepresented as modules which include:the theoretical context for counselling;individual career counselling; psycho-logical testing; the role of career infor-mation with special emphasis on the on-site Frank G. Lawson CareerInformation Center; portfolio develop-ment; and employment counselling. Theapplied research project and the aca-demic advising module objectives andtimelines are created based on the needsof each Intern and the communities theyserve. Special modules are also avail-able (as time, interest, and resourcespermit), for learning how to deliverpeer counselling and mentoring pro-gramming. These modules are oftenworked on simultaneously, but the crite-ria for measuring the mastery of thesegoals are stated sequentially as learningobjectives. This allows the Interns tohave a concrete sense of the InternshipProgramme’s timing and pacing, as wellas an awareness of their individualprogress.

Firmly grounded in classic and cur-rent career development theory, modelsand practices, these modules outline thesystematic examination of career devel-opment theories and career counsellingpractices. As the goals of the Internshipand those of each Intern are integratedwith priorities, objectives and timelinesthe emphasis of the programme contentis negotiated and tailored to the Intern’spersonal and professional needs.

Programme Content

Theoretical Context

The areas of study imbedded in theInternship include the examination ofcareer development theories and theirimpact on career counselling researchand practice. Having already been intro-duced to these theories in their graduateprograms, Interns are expected to applythese theories to their caseloads andresearch projects. They are expected toinitiate daily discussions and weeklyseminars designed to reveal and extendtheir ability to apply theoretical knowl-edge to their counselling practice andresearch projects.

The strong academic focus of theInternship was recognized by DalhousieUniversity’s former School ofEducation. Before Dalhousie’s Schoolof Education was closed, Interns couldalso simultaneously enroll in theEducational Psychology program andreceive graduate level course credit forthe readings, project, and practicumcomponents of the Internship.

Career Counselling

The intensive supervised coun-selling experience is an integral dailycomponent of the Internship. In spite ofthe language typically used to describecareer issues, research and practicalexperience reveals the very personalconcerns that people bring to careercounselling. Interns quickly learn thatcareer counselling interventions mustalso address a number of commonclient concerns including: self-confi-dence, self-esteem, anxiety, depression,learning disabilities, mental health, aswell as issues related to sexual orienta-tion, family and multicultural issues.Interns must also be prepared to workeffectively with a variety of populationsand special issues. Frequent topics ofstudy and discussion include those thatare unique to women, men and dualcareers as well as those concerns thatparents and children bring to careersissues. Through readings, discussionsand consultations with local experts,Interns deepen their understanding ofcomplex nature of career issues as wellas their ability to design interventionswhich address these concerns.

The training model of supervisiontypically flows on a cycle of: assigned

readings and discussions; observation ofsupervisor with clients and debriefing;supervisor observation of Intern anddebriefing; independent work supportedwith supervisor on-call; and, finally, on-going case and practice issues consulta-tion.

Psychological testing

Psychological testing and assess-ment is an important component of acareer counselling practice. It is under-stood that Interns have already studiedthe fundamentals of test constructionand surveyed a variety of assessmentsin their graduate programs. In thecourse of the Internship they are expect-ed to be able to independently adminis-ter, interpret, analyze and critique avariety of instruments and interven-tions. The assessments most commonlyused during their Internship include theStrong Interest Inventory (SII) and theMyers Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI).Other forms of assessment are alsostudied, critiqued and utilized withclients such as Card Sorts and Self-Report checklists.

Career Information

With the unique availability of anon-site Career Information Specialistand the substantive Frank G. LawsonCareer Information Centre, Interns candevelop expertise in print and webbased career information management.As clients, faculty and staff demand ahigh level of career counselling profi-ciency, the Interns conduct intenseresearch, consultation and study of theLawson Career Information Centremodel of service delivery. They maythen return to their own institutions anddevelop or enhance their own careerinformation centers, and become betterprepared to act as consultants for theircolleagues.

Career Portfolio

The career portfolio design anddevelopment module is addressedthrough readings, consultation, work-shops and the construction of a personalcareer portfolio. Interns are expected toreflect upon their own career develop-ment issues and the portfolio is used asthe vehicle to examine and extend theirown professional development goals.

Dalhousie University Career Counselling Internship51


Employment counselling

Special issues and strategies inemployment counselling are also exam-ined. This field is studied in response toclient needs in caseloads that can rangefrom a young person having just gradu-ated from high school, to a mature stu-dent returning to higher learning, to agraduate student completing a Ph.D.program. Interns examine the most cur-rent employment practices as well asthe psychological barriers that clientsexperience as they progress in theirsearch for meaningful employment.Each Intern is expected to systematical-ly design interventions to help clientscope with the pressures of presentingoneself as a professional, as well ashow to deal with the special issues thatcome with success, rejection or loss.

Applied research

The applied research project is pri-marily designed to meet the needs ofthe Interns’ clients and colleagues attheir sponsoring institutions. WhenInterns enter the programme withoutinstitutional sponsorship, their projectsare most often designed to help them tofoster expertise in the particular areasthey would like to serve.Simultaneously, Interns initiate a com-plementary independent study, consist-ing of a literature review and consulta-tion with experts in the field. The proj-ects the Interns have conducted are asvaried as their interests and have rangedfrom piloting career infusion in juniorand senior high schools, examining nar-rative therapy and how it is applied tocareer counselling, surveying educa-tional opportunities in Nova Scotia, sur-veying Nova Scotia GuidanceCounsellors about their practices, anddesigning and piloting interventions forspecial populations.

Professional Development

In addition to the professionaldevelopment that is an on-going com-ponent of the Internship, learningopportunities also occur in meetingswhich are designed to share informationand to promote the skill development ofall Counselling Centre staff. Expertiseis acquired as Interns learn how to serveidentified career development needswithin a variety of professions through

consultations with university faculty,departments and professional pro-grammes as well as responding, onoccasion, to requests from localschools. Interns are also encouraged toattend local career development work-shops, as these become available, and toparticipate at national conferences.

Evaluation

A key component of the Internshipis the intense individual supervisionprovided for each candidate. To qualifyfor a Certificate of Completion, Internsenroll from September until the end ofJune and are assessed as having suc-cessfully passed only when they havemet the goals and objectives of eachmodule of the Internship. The criteriaupon which the Intern is evaluatedencompasses professional competence(including therapeutic knowledge,skills, ethical and professional behavior,case conceptualization and interventionskills, professional knowledge andjudgment, and standards of practice)and personal growth and development(including critical self-analysis, self-directedness, independence, motivationand enthusiasm).

Daily on-going verbal feedbackconstitutes a substantial portion of theIntern’s evaluation. This assessment,which occurs immediately after directsupervision and consultation, allows forrepertoire development, direct teachingand targeted skill enhancement. Toensure that the Intern’s progressremains within the negotiated timelines,written evaluations of the Intern andtheir progress within each module areconducted mid-term by the supervisor.

In addition, whenever Interns con-duct career development workshops forstudents, written evaluative feedback isimmediately requested from workshopparticipants. These surveys reveal clientratings, on a Likert Scale, of theIntern’s ability to present new ideas,approaches and useful strategies, theskillfulness of the presentation, whetherthe workshop was worth the client’stime and whether the workshop goalswere met. Workshop participants arealso asked to comment on what theyliked most, and least, as well as to listany recommendations they might haveto improve the workshop.

The Interns also receive feedback

from their individual clients throughanonymous client satisfaction surveys.These surveys are conducted twice ayear, once mid-fall and once mid-win-ter. Every Counselling Centre clientscheduled with an appointment over anapproximate three week period, is askedto comment on a number of dimensionsincluding: helpfulness of the coun-selling, any positive, negative or prob-lematic aspects of the experience withthe counsellor, whether the client wouldrefer a friend who had a problem to thiscounsellor, and the impact the coun-selling has had on academic productivi-ty or performance, as well as any sug-gestions for improvement.

To ensure that the needs of theInterns are being met by the pro-gramme, mid-term written evaluationsare conducted by each Intern. TheIntern’s written evaluations of theInternship Programme assesses, on aLikert Scale and with an open endedquestions, the goals and objectives, vol-ume and variety of practice issues, skillbuilding opportunities, opportunities forconsultation and feedback, applicationof theory to practice, innovativeapproaches as well as the contributionmade to the Intern’s personal and pro-fessional growth and development.

The quality of the supervision dur-ing the Internship is also evaluated bythe Intern’s written mid-term assess-ment. Interns address, through open-ended questions, the supervisor’s abili-ty to convey counselling strategies, giveconstructive feedback, the quality ofand time made available for consulta-tion, how well personal reflection isfacilitated and how well the Intern isaided in remaining goal directed. Inaddition, at year’s end, Interns alsowrite a reflective paper that details theimpact the training and supervision hashad on their personal and professionaldevelopment. Interns have, on occasion,published newsletter articles describingtheir experiences. (Cochrane (2005),Reid (2002), Gates (1991), Wentworth& Burley (1988), MacRae (1987).)

Impact

It is difficult to fully quantify theimpact that the career counselling train-ing has had on the Interns and on thosethey serve and influence. As there is avast array of clients, schools, agencies,



and institutions represented by ourInterns, no tools exist which couldeffectively measure, in numbers alone,the impact of the training on profession-al practice. To be as fully descriptive aspossible, impressive qualitative data hasbeen gathered from committee reviews,Intern evaluations and programme sur-veys.

Four sources of evaluation wereexamined and used to review the impactof the Internship Programme:University Committee Review (McKee,1990); feedback from two professionalassociation award review committees(CCACC, 2001), (AACUSS, 2001); ananalysis of evaluations submitted byInterns during their training (1987-2004), and most importantly, data froma recent survey of all former Interns(Hung, 2006). All sources of the datapoint to the reciprocal benefits forDalhousie University, the Interns them-selves and the communities they serve,and to the profession of career coun-selling.

Benefits to Dalhousie University

In 1990 a Review Committeereported “that Dalhousie University’scareer counselling and career informa-tion activities benefited very substan-tially from the presence of the careerinterns” (McKee, 1990, p.3). Havingserved thousands of students throughtheir individual counselling, groupwork, innovative programming, andoutreach activities, the Interns havemade an important contribution to thecareer development of DalhousieUniversity students.

An unanticipated impact was thatmany of the Interns who were SchoolCounsellors on educational leaveswould be sought out by their formerstudents. The Interns were then in theunique situation of helping their formerhigh school students with the transitionto Dalhousie University. EverySeptember the enthusiasm and energyof the Interns’ former students, oftenwith their parents in tow, has had animmediate and noticeable impact on theCounselling Center. In describing thebenefits of the Internship, Hung (1999)stated in an article “The Interns con-tribute positively to the career develop-ment of our students, the comprehen-siveness of our service, and to the

atmosphere of our University” (p.3).Similarly, in describing the

Internship, Hayashi (2001) wrote “theuniversity receives as much benefit as itprovides through the internship pro-gramme. Dalhousie University benefitsdirectly and significantly by the hoursand hours of direct Career Counsellingthe interns provide to our students asthey train. In a time of staff shortages,this is an important benefit whichimpacts the quality of student life bysignificantly increasing access to CareerCounselling” (personal communicationto Atlantic Association of College andUniversity Student Services, May,2001).

Benefits to Interns and CommunitiesServed

The 1990 University ReviewCommittee who reviewed the pro-gramme content also interviewed allInterns trained to that date and theiremployers, as well as small sample ofstudent volunteers. The committeenoted that the “Interns were unanimousin their endorsement of the programmeand the benefits for them in terms oftheir own professional development”(McKee, 1990, p.2-4). The committeealso noted that there was evidence ofimproved services to the communitiesthe Interns subsequently served (severalspecific applications ranging from inno-vative programs for women in correc-tions, to establishing career counsellingprogramming in a high school, to thecreation of Career Information Centres).Recognition has also been given to theInterns and the Internship Programmethrough awards which have, in part,acknowledged the internship as “world-class…with …the ripple effect of train-ing high quality career developmentprofessionals who offer their services inmany counselling sectors” (CanadianCounselling Association, 2001). Thetraining was also acknowledged as“compelling and unique…resulting inimproved career counselling and devel-opment service delivery in thisprovince” (Atlantic Association ofCollege and University StudentServices, 2001).

Equally important is the profoundimpact the training program has had onthe skills and knowledge of the CareerCounselling Interns. After their year of

intense study of career developmentresearch, models, issues and practicesand the supervised counselling of stu-dents from Dalhousie University, theUniversity of King’s College and theNova Scotia College of Art and Design,Interns have reported that they are ableto integrate what they have learned intotheir own practice and have developednew strategies and interventions fortheir own populations.

Former Interns presently serve thecareer needs of a wide range of clien-tele, from the most advantaged to themost disadvantaged. The Interns report-ed that since completing the Internshipthey have implemented many new pro-grams and have became more careercounselling focused. This has had animpact not only on schools and commu-nity agencies in large cities, but also onthose located in small towns and vil-lages throughout Nova Scotia. ManyInterns provide direct service to theirclients in school and community agen-cies. Others have gone on to work inhighly placed administrative positions,positively influencing career develop-ment programming as well as providingsupervision and support to other coun-sellors. The influence of our Interns canbe seen throughout local universitiesand community services, as well as insome unanticipated areas across Canadaand around the world.

Interns reported that the Internshipenhanced their skills and better pre-pared them to create career develop-ment materials and programmes tailoredto the needs of their clients. They haveworked with the most experienced jobseekers and with those new to Canada.In addition to providing quality careerand employment counselling and careerinformation resources for their mostgifted clients, their work has been asvaried as providing programming whichhas transformed the lives of youth-at-risk, unemployed single moms, andhomeless adults. Their innovations haveranged from creating the first virtualCareer Information Center in a highschool to training street youth workersin six Latin American countries, to cre-ating the first career development pro-gramming for women at a university inAbu Dhabi.

The combination of the academicand practical education the Interns



experienced as well as their exposure tosuch a vast array of clients with diversebackgrounds, ages, cultures and goals,prepared them to work with many dif-ferent client issues and populations. Asthe impact of the Internship began tohave an effect nationally and interna-tionally, we learned that our Internshave supported the marginalized vic-tims of crime, abuse, neglect and pover-ty and, through their career conversa-tions, have brought hope to those whowere in despair.

Interns have described how the fullyear of study and practice has changedthem professionally and personally. Arecurring theme in their feedback is theprofound impact the Internship has hadon their counselling skills and on theirpreparedness to develop strategies andinterventions to assist clients with thepsychological, emotional, physical,spiritual, cultural, and familial realms oftheir clients’ lives. In addition, themesand patterns also emerged in their feed-back about how the internship affectedthem personally. Clearly, all of theInterns have found that the Internshipwas an important part of their profes-sional growth and development.Collectively their feedback has revealedthat:

• They rated the Internship as beingthe best professional developmentopportunity available in NovaScotia.

• They tremendously appreciated theprofessionalism, dedication, knowl-edge and commitment to the high-est standards of practice in profes-sional supervision.

• They valued the emphasis and timewhich was made for their learning,research and client consultations,and appreciate that these wereclearly a priority for the supervisor.

• They valued the atmosphere whichfostered professional growth anddevelopment, in a supportive andcollaborative learning environment,tailored to the Intern’s individualneeds.

• They felt inspired and motivatedwhile they studied, observed, dis-cussed and practiced career coun-selling.

• Their self-confidence increasedwhile observing an improvement oftheir counselling skills and in their

practical as well as theoreticalknowledge as they received sup-portive, respectful, frank and openfeedback.

• They successfully developed theirown approach to career coun-selling, well grounded in research.

• They valued the practical experi-ences, exposure to high standardsof practice and the opportunities towork with diverse populations.

• They appreciated the opportunity toexamine the psychological modelof Career Counselling Services,and the opportunity to use andadapt it to their own client popula-tions.

• They appreciated the unanticipatedspin-offs and impact on their jobs,careers and professional writingsand responsibilities.

Limitations and benefits

An important element of any coun-sellor education training is the ability toevaluate its

impact. Future research is neededto address limitations in evaluation andcreate guidelines that would assistsupervisors of internships to build datacollection into their programs. In a timeof cutbacks in education, lack of fund-ing for an Internship is also a severelimitation. There is a daunting list ofpossible challenges including the strongone-on-one teaching emphasis of theInternship combined with the adminis-trative issues of space, resources formarketing, selection, supervision, train-ing, evaluation, consultation, on-goingsupportive contact, and issues related tothe training sites’ own need to stay cur-rent and as a model for the Interns .

With the support of the CounsellingFoundation of Canada, however, thelimitations are greatly outweighed bythe benefits of increased service to thestudents served by Dalhousie UniversityCounselling Centre. In addition, anec-dotal evidence has clearly revealed thatthe specialty training in career coun-selling has allowed former Interns todevelop and enhance career servicespractices and make extraordinary con-tributions to a number of publicschools, universities and communityagencies locally, nationally and interna-tionally. The impact the Interns have onthe profession of career counseling can

be seen as they create innovative pro-gramming, publish papers and articles,present at conferences and work onnumerous provincial and national com-mittees and professional associations.Their tireless passion for educating,leading and promoting excellence inpractice will continue through theirmodeling of the best practices in thefield of career choice and development.

Summary

The Dalhousie University CareerCounselling Internship Programme is afull-time program of work and studydesigned to foster the development of acareer counselling specialty. TheInternship Programme is grounded incareer development theory, models,research, and practices and has beenevaluated as having a profound impacton the Interns’ personal and profession-al growth and development. As theInterns learn how to improve their prac-tices, reciprocal benefits occur: to theDalhousie University CounsellingCenter with thousands of hours ofincreased service to clients; personaland professional benefits for staff whowork in an environment which placessignificant emphasis on professionallearning, growth and development; tothe atmosphere of the university whichresponds to the enthusiasm of theInterns; to the Interns’ own client popu-lations with improved and expandedservice delivery; and to the professionwhich is permeated with their multiplecontributions.

After nearly two decades of experi-ence with this well established model, itis time for other universities, and coun-selling centers, as well as ProvincialDepartments of Education, to follow thepioneering lead of the CounsellingFoundation of Canada and provide sup-port to allow this programme to beavailable in every province and territoryin Canada.

Acknowledgement

Dalhousie University gratefullyacknowledges that the DalhousieUniversity Career CounsellingInternship Programme is made possiblethrough grant support from theCounselling Foundation of Canada.





References

Atlantic Association of College &University Student Services. Awardof Excellence in Student ServicesPresentation. Awarded at theAACUSS Conference, Halifax, NS(June 5, 2001).

Canadian Counselling Association(2001). Counsellor PractitionerAward Presentation. Awarded at theInternational ConferenceCelebrating Excellence in CareerDevelopment and Counselling,Vancouver, BC (March 7, 2001).

Cochrane, T. (2006). A unique opportu-nity awaits counsellors atDalhousie University. Manuscriptsubmitted for publication.

Gates, M. (1991, July). Student supportservices at university. Nova ScotiaSchool Counsellors AssociationBulletin, 18(3), 2.

Hung, J. (2006). Survey of CareerCounselling Interns. Unpublishedreport to the CounsellingFoundation of Canada. DalhousieUniversity, Halifax, Nova Scotia,Canada.

Hung, J. (1999, March). DalhousieCareer Counselling InternshipProgramme. Career DevelopmentChapter Bulletin, 3.

Internship program set up: Career coun-selling in demand. (1987,September 16). Dal News,18(1), 1-2.

MacRae, E. (1987, November 25).Guidance Counsellors: Any plansfor next year? The Teacher, 26(6), 3.

McKee, E. (1990). Report of the evalu-ation of the Dalhousie CareerCounselling Internship Programme.Unpublished Report. DalhousieUniversity, Halifax, Nova Scotia,Canada.

Reid, C. (2002). What is it like to beinvolved in the DalhousieUniversity Internship Program?Nova Scotia School CounsellorsAssociation Bulletin, 21(1),3.

Wentworth, A. and Burley, C. (1988,October 26).Career Counselling:Dal internship available. TheTeacher, 27(4), 5.

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Documents

Making the Transition to Re-Employment: Social Networks ...socialnetworkaudit.com/articles/Making the Transition.pdfpre-test/post-test design. Apositive cor- ... Barrett and Cragg