Skills & competencies required by Skills & competencies required by career practitioners to develop career practitioners to develop
internet-based practiceinternet-based practice
Lancaster UniversityDepartment of Educational Research Seminar Series
6th June, 2012
Jenny BimroseInstitute for Employment ResearchUniversity of [email protected]
Outline Outline
Research method/findingsFollow-on researchFuture indications?
ICT: Policy ContextICT: Policy Context
‘…young people today want and expect to secure IAG from a range of sources beyond formal
careers advice…’
‘Our IAG offer for young people will exploit a range of digital technologies’
Ref: Department for Children Schools and Families (2009). Quality, Choice & Aspiration: A strategy for young people's information, advice and guidance. London: HM Government. Retrieved 26 October 2009, from http://publications.dcsf.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/IAG-Report-v2.pdf. (DCSF, 2009b, p.13)
ICT for CEIAG: Workforce Capacity?ICT for CEIAG: Workforce Capacity?
‘...the knowledge base of the Career Guidance workforce which is necessary to use ICT
technology can be lacking ... This is not conducive to the direction in which the occupation as a
whole is moving...’
Ref: Cobbett, D., Dodd, F., Miller, S. and Shearer, L. (2009). Skills needs and training supply for career guidance – a gap analysis. Newcastle upon Tyne: Trends Business Research Ltd.
Research questions?Research questions?
Skills & competencies: Which are required to deliver on ICT-based CEIAG?
Workforce capacity:Is there a skills gap?
Evidence-based practice?Evidence-based practice?
Research: 2009/2010 (CfBT)
Literature reviewFieldworkData analysis & write-up
ICT: Use of languageICT: Use of language
ICT: Current usage in CEIAGICT: Current usage in CEIAG
Skills & competencies for ICT-Skills & competencies for ICT-based CEIAGbased CEIAG
Digital SkillsDigital Skills
Digital Skills: Social/PersonalDigital Skills: Social/Personal
Communication
General KnowledgeCreativityCollaborationSelf-Esteem
Parallel processingPersistence
Peer-to-peer learning
Risk-taking
Digital SkillsDigital Skills
Cognitive/PhysicalMulti-tasking
Logical thinkingProblem solvingTrial & error learning
TechnicalHand-eye
coordinationTechnical
confidence
Web-designContent creation
Evidence-based practice?Evidence-based practice?
Fieldwork
Small scale, mixed method empirical study6 sites across England (Connexions)Varied delivery contexts and geographical
locationsData collection: YP, PAs and managers
Data collection: Young PeopleData collection: Young People
•7 focus groups [46 YP]•46% male, 54% female•Years 8 to 13•35-60 minutes•Range of materials used
YP’s experiences of CEIAGYP’s experiences of CEIAG
• Available services: high level of awareness• Participation: high - various methods• Telephone and email: low level of usage• Career information: mixed response• Varied search strategies: deployed• National website [Connexions Direct]: low
level of usage
YP’s aspirations: ICT in guidanceYP’s aspirations: ICT in guidance
Data collection: P.A.s & ManagersData collection: P.A.s & Managers
• Interviews: 11 P.A.s & 6 managers• 18% male, 82% female• Majority qualified [Dip CG, QCG, NVQ
Level 4]• CPD – high levels of participation• Variety of contexts
P.A.s & managers current use of P.A.s & managers current use of ICT in service deliveryICT in service delivery
• Limited• Potential to develop this part of practice
embraced enthusiastically (generally!)• Brakes:
~ technological infrastructure~ resources ~ confidence
Skills & competencies: findingsSkills & competencies: findings
• Majority ‘high’ or ‘medium’ for most essential digital skills• Most support required for skills in web design
and content creation
Overall: workforce well positioned to develop confidence and additional skills to engage effectively in internet-based guidance delivery
Context: shifting paradigms
From this…. To this……
ICT: Policy ContextICT: Policy Context
…..further integration of ICT into careers service delivery is essential for effective delivery of services, a number of key issues need to be
resolved before its successful implementation can be achieved fully. These include CPD support for careers professionals…… ICT specification for the
all-age service to ensure this supports fully integrated provision.
Ref: Careers Profession Task Force Composite Progress Report to Ministers, March 2012
ICT: Policy ContextICT: Policy Context
‘…the existing funding for face-to-face career guidance services for young people has been allowed to vanish without trace, without any
public announcement to this effect. Most existing Connexions career guidance services for young
people have being eroded or dismantled by Local Authority cuts. Schools now have to pay for
services they previously received free of charge’.
Ref: Careers England Policy Commentary 15B (Final Version):The Coalition’s Emerging Policies on Career Guidance (May 2012)
ICT in IAG - Current usage?ICT in IAG - Current usage?
ICT in IAG - ThemesICT in IAG - Themes
Levels of integrationDriversTimelinesEvaluation
Future plansOrganisational
implicationsFuture landscapeWorkforce capacity
Levels of integrationLevels of integrationReactive – ad hoc response to requests Ongoing need (‘not part of initial training’)ICT competence (‘tricky, sticky & leaky’)Contracts – ambiguity [uncertainty +
targets]
‘The more negative experiences CAs have of technology based systems, the more
difficult it is to persuade them to embrace its usage more widely in practice’.
Technological FramesTechnological Frames
Assumptions, expectations & beliefs about ICT that are both informed by, & inform, ideas and assumptions toward ICT, are embedded within the organisational culture
Incongruent, or inaccurate technological
frames are associated with problems during the adoption/ use of new ICT in organisations (Menold, 2009)
Workforce capacityWorkforce capacity
Continuum:
‘ICT not used a lot currently’ - to integral to service deliveryVaried examples of innovative practice, but mainly for information & administrationSeparate strands – little integrationSocial networking – a featureAd hoc development
ICT & IAG: Future skill needs? ICT & IAG: Future skill needs? Contingent on: Emerging & currently diffusing models
of practice (i.e. role of ICT in delivery of services)
Changing characteristics of the various sub-sectors (e.g. public v. private
sector; shape of services, etc.) Shifting nature of the core expertise of
practitioners (i.e. impact of the world-wide web)
ICT: Past, Present & FutureICT: Past, Present & Future
Future indications: UKCESFuture indications: UKCES
‘……to develop a prototype database drawing on existing data sources, with the specific purpose of testing the feasibility in practice of creating a comprehensive repository of careers labour market information (LMI) over the longer term’.
Outcome: advice on the feasibility of developing a careers database of robust LMI, to be opened up for multiple interfaces for a range of users
Future indicationsFuture indications
February – March, 2012
Career database (LMI4U)Feasibility study – open & linked dataHackdayReport for Ministers
Future indicationsFuture indications
‘For high quality, robust LMI to have the maximum impact when used in a variety of career-related contexts, additional support will be needed that goes beyond simple access to data. Thought needs to be given to the ways different data sets need to reflect the particular needs of particular user groups’.
Ref: ‘LMI for All’ Career Database Project - Processes Adapted and Lesson Learned (2012) Unpublished.
Skills & competencies for Skills & competencies for internet-based guidanceinternet-based guidance
Thank you!Reference: Bimrose, J., Barnes, S-A. and Attwell, G. (2010) 'An investigation into the skills needed by Connexions Personal Adviers to develop internet-based guidance.', Reading: CfBT Education Trust, Report of an empirical investigation into the demand from young people for internet-based guidance, together with the readiness of Connexions services to deliver. (Full & Executive Reports are available online.) http://www.cfbt.com/evidenceforeducation/our_research/evidence_for_youth/advice_and_guidance/connexions_personal_advisors.aspx
Bimrose, J., Hughes, D. & Barnes, S-A (2011) 'Integrating new technologies into careers practice: Extending the knowledge base', Wath-upon-Dearne, London: UK Commission for Employment and Skills,http://www.ukces.org.uk/assets/ukces/docs/publications/integrating-new-technololgies-into-careers-practice.pdf