LIFELONG GUIDANCE: POLICY AND SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

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LIFELONG GUIDANCE POLICY AND SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

• Presentation at Dialog Beratung-Lifelong Guidance
• BIFEB Workshop in Strobl, Austria, 29 October
  2007 by
• Dr John McCarthy, Director
• International Centre for Career Development and
  Public Policy
• jmc_at_iccdpp.org

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KEY FEATURES OF A LIFELONG GUIDANCE SYSTEM (OECD
2004)

• Transparency, ease of lifelong access, and
  addressing client diversity
• Attention to key transition points
• Flexibility and innovation in delivery
• Regular review and planning processes
• Access to individual guidance, when and where
  needed
• Promotes development of career management skills

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KEY FEATURES OF A LIFELONG GUIDANCE SYSTEM (OECD
2004)

• Opportunities to investigate and test learning
  and work options
• Access to independent guidance
• Access to comprehensive and integrated
  educational, occupational and labour market
  information
• Involvement of relevant stakeholders

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KEY FEATURES OF A LIFELONG GUIDANCE SYSTEM (EU
2004)

• Citizen centred features (relationship of
  citizens to the services including role in
  quality assurance)
• Policy dvelopment features (integral part of
  education, employment and other policies cross
  coordination stakeholder participation)
• System coordination features (complementarity,
  cooperation, coordination, networks at different
  levels, stakeholder involvement, central
  arrangements for devolved administrations)

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KEY FEATURES OF A LIFELONG GUIDANCE SYSTEM (EU
2004)

• Targeting within universal provision
• Review features (support for evidence based
  policy development research and experimental
  guidance programmes)
• International features (Europe and beyond
  centres for policy/data collection and sharing)

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QUESTIONS ON KEY FEATURES

• Operational?
• How?
• Evident to users/potential users?
• Operationalisation monitored?
• Country strengths?
• Areas for development?
• Benefit from EU cooperation?

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CASE STUDY NATIONAL GUIDANCE FORUM, IRELAND
(2004-7)

•  assembly of all relevant actors 
• Terms of Reference
• Explore access to quality guidance services
• Identify collaborative action
• Agree recommendations in collaboration with
  stakeholders

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CASE STUDY NATIONAL GUIDANCE FORUM, IRELAND
(2004-7)

• Objectives
• Ensure guidance becomes a central part of public
  policy and planning
• Develop, communicate and implement meaningful
  models of guidance
• Harness the richness of existing resources
• Move from fragmented to cohesive provision

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CASE STUDY NATIONAL GUIDANCE FORUM, IRELAND
(2004-7)

• MEMBERSHIP
• Ministries education, employment
• Social partners
• National guidance agencies
• Education management
• Parents
• Guidance practitioners
• Trainers of guidance practitioners
• Consumers
• SECRETARIAT National Centre for Guidance in
  Education
• FUNDING Both ministries

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CASE STUDY NATIONAL GUIDANCE FORUM, IRELAND
(2004-7)

• ACTIONS OF THE FORUM-external
• Collaboration with Expert Group on Future Skills
  Needs
• Participation in EU Joint Actions pilot project
• Proposal for the establishment of a National
  Learning Telephone Helpline
• Submission re funding for guidance for the
  National Development Plan 2007-13

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CASE STUDY NATIONAL GUIDANCE FORUM, IRELAND
(2004-7)

• ACTIONS OF THE FORUM-internal
• Scoping Report to describe current service
  provision, to identify gaps, and make
  recommendations
• Public Consultation Exercise to research public
  perceptions and experience of guidance
• Quality Assurance of Guidance Services to
  develop a framework for quality assurance and
  evaluation of services
• Competency Frameworks for citizens of all ages
  to manage their learning and work for guidance
  practitioners in the education and employment
  sectors
• Coherent Framework of Organisational Structures
  to deliver a coordinated and comprehensive
  lifelong guidance service

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CASE STUDY NATIONAL GUIDANCE FORUM, IRELAND
(2004-7)

• COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK FOR CITIZENS
• Canadian Blueprint for Life/Work Designs
• Age specific knowledge, skills and competencies
  (0 to 6 years, 6 to 12 years, 12 to 16 years, 16
  to 19 years, Adulthood)
• Outcomes emotional, social, learning, and career
  development
• Methods school, further education, and higher
  education curriculum experiential learning
  specialist guidance help and programmes

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CASE STUDY NATIONAL GUIDANCE FORUM, IRELAND
(2004-7)

• COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK FOR GUIDANCE PRACTITIONERS
• Knowledge and practice of vocational, educational
  and personal/social guidance
• Labour market education and training
• Counselling
• Information and resource management
• Professional practice

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CASE STUDY NATIONAL GUIDANCE FORUM, IRELAND
(2004-7)

• COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK FOR GUIDANCE PRACTITIONERS
• Fits within Irish National Framework of
  Qualifications (also EQF)
• Basis for training programmes for guidance
  practitioners
• Modular allowing for learner progression
• Mobility allowing mobility across guidance roles
  and sectors in a lifelong learning guidance
  service

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CASE STUDY NATIONAL GUIDANCE FORUM, IRELAND
(2004-7)

• QUALITY ASSURANCE FRAMEWORK
• CODE OF PRINCIPLES FOR GUIDANCE SERVICES
• EXAMPLES OF GUIDANCE ACTIVITIES
• ARRANGEMENTS FOR INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL EVALUATION
  OF GUIDANCE SERVICES

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CASE STUDY NATIONAL GUIDANCE FORUM, IRELAND
(2004-7)

• STRUCTURES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF LIFELONG
  GUIDANCE PROVISION
• National, local and provider levels
• Criteria to ensure  joined-up  delivery of the
  lifelong guidance framework at each level

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CASE STUDY NATIONAL GUIDANCE FORUM, IRELAND
(2004-7)

• CRITERIA for NATIONAL LEVEL STRUCTURE
• Clear legal basis and mandate
• Reports to a lead ministry
• Has executive capacity, staff, budget
• Broad based advisory mechanism to guide it
• Promotes  joined-up  policy making and service
  delivery
• National Guidance Agency
• National Guidance Forum

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CASE STUDY NATIONAL GUIDANCE FORUM, IRELAND
(2004-7)

• CRITERIA FOR LOCAL LEVEL STRUCTURE
• Clear legal basis
• Executive capacity, staff and budget
• Integrates existing service provision and
  delivery
• Links with national schema
• Supported by relevant government ministries and
  agencies
• Gives local stakeholders a voice through a Local
  Guidance Forum
• Local Guidance Coordination Board
  (County/municipality level)

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CASE STUDY NATIONAL GUIDANCE FORUM, IRELAND
(2004-7)

• CRITERIA FOR PROVIDER UNIT LEVEL
• Use existing management structures
• Lifelong guidance policy reflected in
  oragnisational planning
• Has the capacity to meet requirements of national
  quality and competency frameworks
• Provides a voice to stakeholders on provision,
  delivery and policy

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CASE STUDY NATIONAL GUIDANCE FORUM, IRELAND
(2004-7)

• CRITERIA COMMON TO ALL LEVELS
• Optimise the use of existing structures at
  national level
• Use existing providers to deliver the enhanced
  service
• Ensure that structures are lean and focus only on
  their precise objectives

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REFERENCES

• Career Guidance and Public Policy Bridging the
  Gap. OECD, 2004
• Verbesserung der Politik und Systeme der
  lebensbegleitenden Bildungs- und Berufsberatung.
  CEDEFOP, 2005
• Guidance for Life An Integrated Framework for
  Lifelong Guidance in Ireland. National Guidance
  Forum Ireland, 2007
• http//www.iccdpp.org/Resources/ArticlesRepository
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