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Jackson, C.; And OthersManaging Careers in 2000 and Beyond. Report 304.Careers Research and Advisory Centre, Cambridge(England).; Sussex Univ., Brighton (England). Inst.

for Employment Studies.ISBN-1-85184-230-69685p.; Study supported by the IES Co-operativeResearch Programme.BEBC Distribution, 15 Albion Close, Parkstone, PooleBH12 3LL, England, United Kingdom.Reports Research/Terical (143)

MF01/PC04 Plus Postage.Adult Education; Business Cycles; *CareerDevelopment; Career Education; *Career Guidance;Counseling Techniques; Demography; Economic Change;Educational Policy; *Education Work Relationship;*Employer Employee Relationship; EmploymentOpportunities; *Employment Patterns; *EmploymentPractices; Foreign Countries; Futures (of Society);Labor Force Development; Lifelong Learning;Organizational Development; Public Policy; Seminars;Technological Advancement; Trend AnalysisEmployer Role; *United Kingdom

Between March 1994 and March 1996, 31 academics,managers, and consultants attended 8 seminars to reviewcurrent/future trends in careers in the United Kingdom and considerhow those trends can best be managed. It was determined that changesin the economy, technology, business culture, the population, andemployment patterns are radically affecting the nature of careers andwill result in an older, better-educated, and better vocationallyqualified labor force that will contain more women, more individualswho work for small employers, and more self-employed individuals.Although job opportunities will continue to expand at professional,managerial, and technical levels, many other new jobs will be parttime, low paid, and of low status. The changes in employment and theorganization of work will have far-reaching consequences fororganizations, labor markets, and individuals and have created anurgent need for the following: assistance (including career guidanceand access to lifelong learning) for individuals; integration ofeducational and vocational qualifications and accreditation systemsto cover all forms of learning; individual learning accounts;attention to "intermediary" organizations between individuals andemployers; and opportunities for individuals to use periods ofunemployment to develop skills. (Ninety footnotes are included.Appended is background information about the seminar series.) (MN)

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MANAGING CAREERS IN2000 AND BEYOND

Other titles from I ES:

Strategies for Career Development: Promise, Practice andPretenceW Hirsh, C JacksonIES Report 305, 1996. ISBN 1-85184-231-4

Careers in Organisations: Issues for the FutureW Hirsh, C Jackson, C JacksonIES Report 287, 1995. ISBN 1-85184-213-6

Personal Development Plans: Case Studies of PracticeP Tamkin, L Barber, W HirshIES Report 280, 1995. ISBN 1-85184-206-3

Development Centres: Assessing or Developing People?C Jackson, J YeatesIES Report 261, 1993. ISBN 1-85184-185-7

Careers Counselling in Organisations: the Way ForwardC JacksonIES Report 198, 1990. ISBN 1-85184-106-7

A catalogue of these and over 100 other titles is available from lES.

the INSTITUTEfor I EMPLOYMENT

I STUDIES

Managing Careersin 2000

and Beyond

C JacksonJ ArnoldN NicholsonA G Watts

IIREPORT 304

Published by:

THE INSTITUTE FOR EMPLOYMENT STUDIESMantel! BuildingUniversity of SussexBrighton BN1 9121:UK

Tel. + 4 (0) 1273 686751Fax + 44 (0) 1273 690430

Copyright © 1996 The Institute for Employment Studies

No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in anv form by any meansgraphic, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, taping or

information storage or retrieval systems without prior permission in writingfrom the Institute for Employment Studies.

British Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record tor this publication i:; available trom the British I .ibrary

ISBN 1-85184-230-6

Printed in Great Britain by Micmgen UK I .td

The Institute for Employment Studies

The Institute for Employment Studies is an independent,international centre of research and consultancy in humanresource issues. It has close working contacts with employers inthe manufacturing, service and public sectors, governmentdepartments, agencies, professional and employee bodies, andfoundations. Since it was established 25 years ago the Institutehas been a focus of knowledge and practical experience inemployment and training policy, the operation of labourmarkets and human resource planning and development. IES isa not-for-profit organisation which has a multidisciplinary staffof over 60. 1E+ expertise is available to all organisations throughresearch, consultancy, training and publications.

1ES aims to help bring about sustainable improvements inemployment policy and human resource management. IESachieves this by increasing the understanding and improvingthe practice of key decision makers in policy bodies andemploying organisations.

Careers Research and Advisory Centre

CRAC is a registered educational charity and independentdevelopment agency founded in 1964. CRAC's vision is to see aworld where people make career decisions wisely and developtheir capabilities throughout their working lives. Throughnational conferences, leo !ling and development programmes,consultancy services and learning materials, CRAC providesexpert inputs and support to a wide variety of organisations inbusiness, education and government. CRAC is a sponsor of theNational Institute for Careers Education and Counselling(NICEC) which operates as a network organisation supportedtrom CRAC offices in Cambridge. CRAC's policy of workingjointly with others helps multiply the spread ol ideas,connections and good practice.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the contributions frorn participantsand visiting speakers to the seminar series and to the Economicand Social Research Council for their financial support.

6

All"

Contents

Preface ix

Executive Summary 1

I. The Changing Nature of Careers 7

Defining careersThe meaning of careers 8The forces for change 9Key points 14

2. What Is Happening to Change Careers? 15

Demographic and labour market trends 15Education and qualifications 17Changing patterns of employment 19Unemployment 21

The implications for careers 21Key points 24

3. What Will Careers Become? 25

Apoca I ypse now?Qualities of experience in work and employment 27Career expectations 29The Changing Employment ContextKey points

4. How Should Employers Be Managing the New Kindsof Careers? 33

The new career environment 33The learning and e ei..pment imperative 34From training to t areer development 35A structure for career development 36Uncertainties about roles and responsibilities 38The need fiir a strategy

vii

Future directions 40

Key points 43

5. Individuals What Should They Be Told aboutCareers? 45

Setting the scene 45

Endpoints 46

Tactics 48

Key points 52

6. Implications for Education and Training 54

Introduction 54Towards lifelong learning 55

A national qualifications framework 57The changing role of schools 59

Key points 60

7. Implications for Career Guidance 61

Introduction 61

Career guidance within education 67

Career guidance within employment 63Independent career guidance 64

Towards a strategy 66

Key points 67

Appendix The ESRC Careers 2000 Seminar Series 68

Hi

viii

Preface

This report is aimed at policy-makers in industry, commerce,government and education, and also at individuals who wish tomanage their careers as effectively as possible. It describes someof the current far-reaching chcnges in organisations, labourmarkets and working lives. These changes add up to afundamental shift in the nature of careers as experienced bvindividuals and offered by organisations. There are majorconsequences for how careers should be conceived andmanaged, and for the quality of lives in a society that is beingtransformed by these changes. These consequences embrace not(mly employing organisations, but also government, educationand social policy. Conclusions are drawn about what can bedone by those who can influence or facilitate the careers ofother people, from national, local, organisational andinterpersonal levels of analysis. Implications for managing one'sown career are also discussed.

The report results from the meetings of a group consisting of 31people a mix of academics, managers and consultantsconvened by Dr John Arnold of Loughborough UniversityBusiness School, with funding from the Economic and SocialResearch Council. The group met eight times between March1994 and March 19%. (More detailed information about theseminar series is given in Appendix 1.)

The seminar series aimed:

to review what is happening, and what will happen, to careersas we enter the 21st century

to consider how ind ivid oak and organisations might bestmanage careers in the light of current and future trends.

In this report we set out to provide a detailed analysis of thesechanges and their implications tor careers. Broader issues of

,

I 1.

public policy are discussed in a second report'. Here we focusprimarily on the consequences for those directly affected bythese changes employers, education and training providers,individuals, and providers of career guidance. For practicalreasons, we restrict our discussion to the UK, although many ofthe issues discussed in the report apply to other developedcountries since many of the changes in careers are a direct resultof the globalisation of business activity.

The first three chapters of the report review the changes thathave been taking place in careers by examining:

the far-reaching changes in the structure of employmentopportunities and how these are forcing us to revise what wemean by a career (Chapter 1)

demographic and labour market trends and changes in theeducation system, employment patterns and levels ofunemployment (Chapter 2)

h"ow these two set of factors will affect the types of career thatwill exist in the future (Chapter 3).

The second half of the report presents what we see as some ofthe implications for the key stakeholder groups employers(Chapter 4), individuals (Chapter 5), education and trainingproviders (Chapter 6), and career guidance services (Chapter 7).In particular, all these groups are taking on new roles andresponsibilities which need to be recognised and supported.

We have set out key points at the end of chapters. TheExecut c Summary draws these together and presents ourmain reLommendations.

It is evident that the changes we have described in the nature ofcareers have considerable social implications and need widerdiscussion. Our intention is that the analysis presented in thisreport will stimulate and inform what we believe to be a vitallyimportant area ot public debate.

(in pre-,,..). fillakt% I I mdon:

010.,

Executive Summary

Everyone has a career, not just those dwindling sections of thecommunity with orderly and progressive sequences of workexperience. The well-being and productivity of all potentiallyeconomically active members of society depends on therecognition and servicing of these career needs and ink rests.

Careers, as the lifetime experience of individuals, and aspathways through occupations and organisations, are in a stateof profound change. The change stems from a wide range ofrevolutionury forces, affecting labour markets, employmentstructures, organisational practice and educational provision.These developments pose a major challenge to policy andpractice, which this report summarises. In brief, it is clear thatmajor reform is needed of the information, *resourcing andguidance provision made by various institutions. Importantinnovations are required to meet the needs of individuals,employers and society into the 2Ist century.

These conclusions are the outcome of an ESRC initiativebringing together, for an extended series of workshops andseminars, leading scholars and practitioners in the field. Ouraim in this report is to provide a state-of-the-art perspective oncurrent knowledge about careers, and a state-of-the-nation reviewof trends in practice and support for career development. Therecommendations we draw from this are aimed at policy-makers in industry, commerce, government and education, andalso at individuals who wish to manage their careers aseffectively as possible.

The changes

The nature of careers are being radically affected by:

Managing (*drools in 2000 and Beyond 1

economic changes displacing large numbers of employees fromold to new forms of employment, frequently leading toreduced employment status for those whose skills areobsolete and who are unable to adapt to new businesses

new technology resulting in the automation of formerly labourintensive processes, improved communication andinformation, and the growth of new kinds of organisation,occupations and jobs

changes in business culture ranging from privatisation, withresultant pressures for new forms of regulation, to changesin organisational practices, such as the refocusing aroundcore business activities. These have raised awareness ofcorporate culture as I source of strength, resourcefulnessand flexibility.

The labour force

Many characteristics of the UK labour force as we enter the 2Istcentury will be different as a result of demographic andemployment trends.

The workforce will be older, better educated and possess morevocationally relevant qualifications.

The number of women in the labour force will continue toincrease, although about half will work part-time.

More people will work for small employers and be self-employed.

Job opportunities will continue to expand at professional,managerial and technical levels.

M_any other new jobs will be part time, low paid and of lowstatus.

Unemployment at present levels is projected to continue for theforeseeable future.

The consequences

The changes taking place in employment and how work isorganised will have far-reaching consequences for:

organisations including employers, education and trainingproviders, career guidance agencies, trade unkms,

1 4Institute for I mplovment Studies

professional associations, and the voluntary sector (egcharities, community groups), amongst others.

labour markets which will also be affected by demographictrends and changes in education and employment patterns.

the working lives of individuals and their roles as parents,family members, members of communities and citizens.

The net effect of these changes is a widening diversity of careerpatterns and experiences. Many groups will have morefragmented and mobile careers, and as a result, perceptions ofcareer insecurity are likely to continue to spread across thelabour force. A major feature of the future labour market is thatthere will be more and different sorts of transition taking place(es from employed to unemployed, from full time to part time,from employed to self-employed, between occupations andsectors, and so on). A key issue is how best to support andfacilitate these transitions.

Conclusions

Our conclusions are that there is an urgent need for:

assistance for individuals to manage career transitions, throughthe development of national policies for lifelong access toguidance, in order to support lifelong career developmentfor all

information at a national level about employment trends andfactors affecting careers, and at a local level to supportindividuals within particular locations and market segmerts

integration of educational and vocational qualifications andaccreditation systems to cover all forms of learning

individual learning accounts as a means of encouragingindividuals, employers and government to invest in learning

attention to the role of 'intermediary' organisations betweenindividuals and employers: professional organisations, tradeunions, 'deployers' (eg employment agencies), and networksof various kinds

periods of unemployment to be used for skill development withmore opportunities for education, training and work experience.

The,,e lead to MOP' specific recommendations that are targetedat specitic groups,

managing ( areeis 2000 and Beyond

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

Employers need to:

Rebuild commitment. Think more carefully about therelationship they really want with those who will work foror with them into the next century.

See work as development. For those who will be with theorganisation for some time, investment in development willbe crucial. This will not just be through education andtraining, but also through encouraging people to take onwork tasks and projects which will be developmental forthem and the organisation.

Maximise flexibility. Greater use of temporary workers andsubcontracting buy some forms of flexibility; but promotingthe free flow of skills inside the company may offer greaterrewards. This means ensuring that skills can flow via openinternal information about all vacancies, appointing on skillrather than age, and achieving flexibility of movementbetween different forms of employment contract (full time topart time and back, employment to self-employment andback, etc.).

Assist individual career choices by providing support systemsto enable people to become aware of their career potentialand to manage their own careers.

Make business information easier to access so that individualscan make informed choices.

Evaluate their career and development initiatives.

Recognise experience and skills gained outside paid work (egin the voluntary sector or as a carer).

Equip managers to deal more confidently with the careerdevelopment issues of their people.

Develop networks of exchange for enhanced mobility anddevelopment across organisational boundaries.

Individuals need to:Acquire relevant information. Accumulate information about

the changing structure of employment and takeopportunities to appraise their own abilities, interests,knowledge and experience.

Invest in development by spending time acquiring skills andknowledge, making job choices with development in mind,

Institute tor I rnployment Studies

considering future skill requirements and planning relevanttraining, and developing business and self-management skills.

Develop career management skills through knowing what theywant and can do, being aware of opportunities that mightmeet their needs, and through developing and implementinga career action plan.

Develop an awaieness of their own values so that they candecide what career 'success' means to them.

Participate in appropriate networks at work, throughprofessional associations and socially. Seek out mentors whocan offer career and personal support.

Education and training providers need to:

Encourage lifelong learning by supporting and co-operatingwith business, community and other education and trainingorganisations.

Establish a 'culture of relevance', where learners can see howtheir learning relates to their lives.

Ensure that all aspects of learning include a learning-how-to-learn component to provide a lifelong basis for accomplishingnew transitions.

Adopt an inclusive approach to teaching that ensures no-one isexcluded from participating in learning and developmentactivities.

Raise expectations about what individuals, schools and collegescan aspire to achieve.

Career guidance providers need to:

Integrate guidance in education and employment so that it isseen as a core activity and resourced appropriately.

Provide access to impartial and neutral guidance services.

Promote innovation and experimentation in service delivery,tor example by setting up Career Action Centres, developingopen learning materials and making better use of informationtechnology (eg the Internet).

Develop explicit quality standards for difterent forms ofguidance provision, and evaluate services against them.

Manoging towers in 2000 and lievond'1

6

Wider implications

There is a need for a major public debate about how new formsof support for careers and for learning and developmentactivities might be funded. This means serious consideration ofthe extent to which initiatives in this area should he regarded aspart of the economic infrastructure, of a society preparing for the21st century or to what extent they are seen as the responsibilityof individuals and employers.

It is also important to recognise that the profound changes tocareers have wider implications that threaten social cohesion.Ways of making paid work available to everyone (eg'workfare'), including paying for forms of work that are not'paid for' at present (eg chld-rearing), should also beconsidered. The value to society of work outside the formaleconomy should be recognised in any debate of these issues.

Further research

Priority areas for further research include:

developing greater understanding of the impact on careers andskill development, of employment and labour market trends

establishing the most effective methods for delivering labourmarket and employment information to employers andindividuals at local and national levels

developing and evaluating innovative career guidance service'sfor adults

evaluating the effectiveness of career developMent interventionsin education and employment

measuring the social and economic impact of career guidance.

lb institute tor l.mployment Studies

1. The Changing Nature of Careers

Defining careers

Before We can say anything meaningful about the changingnature of careers, it is necessary to consider what the concept of'career' means. It is a troublesome term, for several reasons.

In the sense in which young people are often encouraged tothink about it, by educators, fiction, the media, careers advisersand others, a career is something which is chosen or aspiredtowards a lifetime course of cumulative occupationalexperience. This view, though faithful to the term'setymological origins (from the old French for a 'carriageway'5,has unfortunate consequences. It identifies large segments ofthe population as ineligible to have careers the unemployed,students, domestic labourers or child carers, people withinterrupted or radically changing occupational status, unskilledand casualised labour, migrants, and others who, whethervoluntarily or involuntarily, fail to conform to the idealisedimage of occupational and professional development. In thissense careers have always been largely a white male middle-class prerogative. When the media proclaim 'the death ofcareers', it is this group that has been bereaved.

However, there are powerful reasons for using the term 'career'more widely. First, there are practical considerations. Whateversoothsayers about the future of careers may assert, individualmen and women remain passionately interested in their careers

that is, in their personal development through workexperience over the course of their lifetime. People are moreconcerned about their skills, competencies, future roles, and

(ed.) ( Oxionf Pretwitaru of Emlish I tymology.0\ ford: Clarendon l'reNN.

Managing Caroors in 2000 and lirvond 7

opportunities for self-determination than they are about mostother areas of their work experience. At the same time,employing organisations are aware of this fact, and profoundlyperplexed by the issue it raises how to providedevelopmental incentives to people when familiar structutes ofhierarchical advancement are rapidly transforming and, in somecases, dissolving. In short, the importance of having a sense ofmeaningful career development is becoming more rather thanless important'.

Secondly, the definitional problem has been recognised andaddressed by scholarship in the area. The traditional concepts ofcareer choice and invariant career developmental stages, whichhad focused research on steady state phenomena, have beenreplaced by new paradigms which recognise that careers crossorganisational, temporal and functional boundaries. Forexample, 'boundaryless careers' include liaison roles,contracted-out relationships, portfolio competencies and thelike. Indeed, it has long been clear that popular connotations ofthe meaning of 'career' are inadequate and restrict the study ofwhat actually happens in people's working lives. Moreinclusive definitions have therefore been proposed, such as 'theepokoiv sequence of a person's work experience over time'.

The meaning of careers

The significance of the concept of career is that it represents akev intersection of human biography with economic and socialstructure. Careers as defined ab(we, ht)wever apparentlyincoherent or varied in content, are in a vital sense thepossession of the individual. There may be little apparentrhyme or reason to the sequence of work experiences a personhas had, but they contribute to an integrated personal identity

8

that is, the sense that individuals make of their history and

See N ( I LI% ), I he new omteNd. ftIr career..' in Warr I' 13(ed), 1 lie ['sir( hologu cl IXol (.Ith edition). I larm .k-kworth:Penguin.

Arthur NI It, I hit I I and I awrenee It 1q(1-1), "(..enerating new

directiorr. in career theory: the ca,,e (or a trawsdkcipIinar\approach, in Arthur M It, I fall I) I ind I .awrence 13 (eds),

landbooA of Career Theore. Cambridge: Cambridge L. niversitv Press.

;?.toi I mplovinen1

7-7

the skills, attitudes and beliefs they have acquired. This is whatcan be called the subjective career1.

The counterpart to this, the objective career, is the patterns ofpositions and work experiences which occur in society. It isapparent that, although individuals try to exercise choice andcontrol over these, they are 'bounded choices' bounded bywhat sociologists call 'opportunity structures'. These are theavailability of positions in society, and the probability that fromany one position a person can move to another. One writer` hasdescribed organisational structures as 'climbing frames' theshape of the organisation means that only certain positions arepossible, and only certain moves are likely. Society in this sensecan be considered a complex and changing set of interconnectedclimbing frames. What kinds of career objectives people canhave are constrained by the norms, rules, entry criteria andconventional practices which prevail at any particular point intime.

It is important that we understand what is happening to careersbecause:

a) they tell us what kind of labour force is being created bycurrent practices and experiences, ie the identities ofindividuals (attitudes, skills etc.) that are being forged by careerexperience;

b) they tell us what kinds of demands we are making uponhuman adaptability through the structures we are creating ininstitutions, professions, and organisations.

The forces for change

It is clear as we move towards the 2Ist century that we are in anera of unprecedented changes, at both global and local levels,which have the capacity to transform the nature and structureof careers. Indeed, this transformation is the major stimulusbehind this report. The transforming forces are well known, butit is convenient to review their likely significance for careers.

2

ol lin A, 'I he changing nature of career,, and 'What will careersbecome:". Paper,. Ct ml rihuted t the ESA. (...areer, 2000 Seminar.

;un, I I ( I '48u), Careers mid Coq/orate Cuitures, Chstord: Blackwell.

Managing ( direr, in 2000 and Revthicl

The global economy

A complex mix of trends is occurring. There are shifts ofeconomic activity the world moving in and out of recession.Some economists1 see these as cycles or 'long waves' ofeconomic change, caused by innovation, diffusion andassimilation of technologies which transform the nature of workand organisation in society. Whether or not one accepts thelong-wave theory, the effects of changes in economic activityfeed directly through to employment. Career insecurity isheightened during times of recession and high unemployment.

There is the globalisation of business activity and competition.This takes various forms. The instant transmission ofinformation globally, the increasing internationalisation ofgoods and services, and the rise of new centres of production inthe developing world, most notably in the 'tiger' economies ofthe Asia-Pacific region, are changing employment patterns. Oneeffect in the UK and Western Europe has been to increasecompetitive pressures to a level which uncouples employmentfrom growth. Part of the price Western economies are having topay for their social and welfare policies is a level of 'structural'unemployment which 20 years ago would have been consideredpolitically unsustainable. Economic growth is c:osely linkedwith companies' ability to increase productivity against aconstant or diminishing cost base. In other words,unemployment and associated job insecurity look increasinglylike long-term features of the domestic economic landscape.Another effect of these developments is a shift in empkwmentpatterns across sectors (described in more detail in Chapter 2).Briefly, this amounts to a shift from traditional extractive andmanufacturing industry (primary and secondary sectors) asthey become uncompetitive in the face of lower labour costsand diffusion of new technologies, towards co-ordinative andservice activities (tertiary and quaternary sectors). The effect oncareers is the displacement of large numbers of employees fromold to new forms of employment, bequeathing reducedemployment status for those whose skills are obsolete and whoare unable to adapt to new businesses.

, koak A (I 1rq4), long cvd,,,, and long s,ving,,'!puma of f.cortonni 28, 477-488.

I () In'Aitutv for I mplovnlvIlt Studie,,

New technologies

Technological innovation is a major engine of thesetransformations. The visible effects in the last decade alone aredramatic, and the pace and extension of change continue toaccelerate. Effects are several. First, automation of formerlylabour-intensive processes is displacing people and their skills.This has been most visible in manufacturing the modern carplant or textile plant looks quite unlike its forebear of 20 yearsago, especially in the vastly reduced numbers of workers visibleon the factory floor. Now the same trend is spreading to a widevariety of service and office jobs, where a single computer keystroke can invoke an expert system which reproduces the workfornwrly done by accounts clerks, loss adjusters, editorialassistants and numerous other information workers.

Second, these innovations are also changing the structure ofemployment in other ways. The availability of high computingpower at low cost is reducing the entry costs for smallbusinesses into the formerly secure market citadels of largecorporations, such as publishing, investment analysis anddesign. The effect on careers is a growth in new kinds oforganisations, occuptions and jobs, and a withering away ofmany old forms. Ct.rporate structures are not disappearingunder this onslaught, ,ince there remain, and will continue tobe, businesses where economies of scale still apply, for examplein banking, aerospace and utilities. The net effect is thereforethat we are entering an era of unparalleled diversity ofoccupations and organisations, and far more complex andchangeable patterns of employment.

The third major impact is in the area of communications andcontrol of work processes and consumerism. Customers canscan, select and purchase goods and services without visitingshowrooms, retail branches and offices: for example, a

consultancy rep. 11 recently predicted the halving of thenumber of bank branches in the UK within the decade.Conversely, through fax, modem and other remotecommunications media, employees can transact business, holdmeetings and make decisions without setting foot in their placeof employment. Yet there remain various vital functions which

Report from Deloitte Touche 1 ohmatsu International, reported inthe I inancial lune

Managing (*moor,. in 20(R) and Beyond 11

t

cannot he, or which people prefer not to be, conducted remotelymostly activities requiring or benefiting from face-to-face

contact. Thus employment patterns are least affected by newtechnology in various areas of personal service, such ashairdressing, consultancy services, home maintenance and thelike. Again, therefore, one can conclude that the impact of newtechnology is to increase the diversity of kinds of work ratherthan effect a simple or uniform transformation.

Another effect of these developments is to make easier themonitoring and control of dispersed operations, encouragingthe growth of network-structured organisations, even at theglobal level, where small branches can be monitored, servicedand controlled from a small information-rich head office. Aparallel effect is increased ease of outsourcing variousoperations. There is less need to maintain internal functions athigh overhead cost when there are low-cost newcomers whocan offer concentrated specialist provision (eg design, training,accounting).

Culture

There are also a variety of political, organisational and value-based changes affecting the structure of employment.

First are a series of changes in the role of the state in the conductof business. This is most visible in two areas: ownership andregulation. In many areas the state is withdrawing fromownership responsibility for large sectors of economic activity(privatisation), or changing the basis for activity (internalmarkets, decentralised management and employment). Changesin regulation are accompanying these developments. Whereessential public services are placed upon a commercial footing,new external regulatory regimes are introduced to protectpublic interest and quality. At the same time, deregulation isopening up formerly protected areas of economic activity tonew sources of competition (eg transportation, telecommuni-cations). Regulatim is also bxoming more complex anddemanding, in response to external imperatives, such as therequirements of membership of the European Union, globalagreements for en\ ironmental stewardship, and protectimagainst organised crime, intormation disclosure and irresponsibledecision-making (eg in finance).

12 lnslitute tor I mployment

Second are various organisational changes a mix of rationalresponses to new economic circumstances, and trends andfashions in enterprise management. Pressures for costreduction, the increased availability of centralised informationmanagement and control, and the growth of external specialistsuppliers, are responsible for some distinctive trends. These are,in particular, downsizing and delayering of organisationalstructures, and the outsourcing of non-essential functions.Managerial fashion is visible in these developments in the formof a switch from the 1980s growth of company diversification ofgoods and services to the 1990s refocusing of organisationsaround their 'core competencies' a trend first voiced in theslogan 'stick to the knitting'i. This also involves an increasedawareness of the importance of 'corporate culture' as a source ofstrength, resourcefulness and flexibility.

It has become a commonplace organisational rhetoric that 'ourhuman resources are our most valuable asset'. Companies havebecome aware that a motivated and co-operative workforcemay be the critical differentiating factor between them and theircompetitors, and that the 'tacit knowledge', the uncodifiedexpertise locked up inside their employees' hands and brains,may have more irreplaceable value than their more visiblecapital assets. The search for ways of realising the full value ofemployee potential has introduced so-called Japanesemanagement methods such as teamworking and continuousimprovement, coupled with older Western ideas aboutemployee 'empowerment' and involvement in local decision-making about operational processes.

Another key element in these trends is an increased emphasisupon performance management as an aid to cost reduction,business focus, and strategic human resources development.Performance-related pay, sophisticated assessment techniques,and new sets of organisation-specific performance criteriaindividual 'competencies' are being widely deployed forthese purposes. These devekipments are highly significant foremployees, since they often represent a shift of the goal-postsfrom the criteria on which their effectiveness has beenpreviously appraised, towards new behaviours tor which they

Praha lad K, and I tame] G I ( I'4110), '1 he core competence ot thewrporation; liar t'ard Neorezr, 68, 71-i-Li I Ako, I 'eter F .1

and Waterman R I I (1,)82), I,, Smell Of Lleellence. NtlyI Iarpor and Row.

Managing ( oleo, in 2000 and Beyond 1

Key points

may have neither the training, experience or supports. At thesame time, the restructuring of the personnel function as aresult of the decentralisation of business activity has oftenmeant that organisational support for career management hasbeen reduced.

Third are changes in the prevailing values and lifestyle of thelabour force. The transformation of work has also meant atransformation in many areas outside employment recreationand leisure, household labour and maintenance, access toinformation, and so on. This has blurred many previously firmboundaries: between work and non-work, across multiple roles,cmd in use of time. We shall discuss some of these in the nextchapter. Less immediately obvious, thoughlre changes in whatpeople want or expect of their work and careers. This too weshall discuss shortly. Here it may be remarked that just asactivity boundaries are changing, so are people's interests andallegiances away from a simple dichotomy of work andleisure, towards more multiple and ambiguous engagementsand relationships, including a partial dissolution of both thenuclear and the extended family. It can be argued that peoplewant both more and less from their work and careers: more inthe sense of a growing need for self-control and readiness toassert their rights of self-determination; less in the sense ofreduced expectations that an organisation either can or willsatisfy their career interests.

Careers are not dead, but undergoing transformation a broadconception of the career is necessary and of increasingimportance.

Enormous and varied forces for change are affecting the natureof careers:

a) economic -- changes displacing individuals

b) technology and information creating volatility,roles and new forms of control

new

c) culture altering forms of regulati. and changing theorganisation and nature of work.

The net effect ot these changes is a widening diversity of careerpatterns and eperiences.

Institute toi I mplovment Studies

.10

2. What is Happening to Change Careers?

Understanding the factors that influence how the labour marketis changing is important for developing insights into whatfactors will shape careers in the future. In this chapter webriefly review some of the main developments taking place inthe labour market. Wes examine demographic trends, changestaking place in the education system, employment patterns andlevels of unemployment.

Both the characteristics of the labour force and the pattern ofemployment opportunities have altered and will continue toevolve in the future. To evaluate what is happening to careerswe need to understand these changes.

Demographic and labour market trends

Five to ten years ago it was commonplace to talk about thedemographic timebomb and the implications that the reducednumber of young people entering the labour market waspredicted to have in the 1990s. In practice, because of therecession and some of the other changes that were reviewed inthe previous chapter, few employers have experienced thepredicted recruitment difficulties. However, the UK does havean ageing population and consequently an ageing labour force,such that by 2001 34 per cent of the labour force will be over 451.Over the period 1993 to 2006, in a labour force that will contain30.1 million by 2006, there will be a rise of 2.4 million in thenumber of people aged 35 to 54 and a decline of 1.6 million inthe' number of people' under 35.2

2

Central Statinstical Office (lw3), Social 'I-rends, No. 23. London: I I MS0

Hlison N (I1)5), .abour force projections for countries and regionsin the United Kingdom: ILN5-2006'. Emploipaeitt GaLette, 103, 303-314.

Managing Careers in 2000 and Beyond 154-%

However. the chaoging age structure of the UK population isnot uniform across all social groups. For example, the agestructure of the ethnic minority population is very differentfrom that of the white population: one in five of the whitepopulation is aged under 16, compared to one in three ot theethnic minority population'. Consequently, people from ethnicminorities will make up an increasing proportion of the newentrants to the labour force among the younger age groups.

The future size and shape of the labour force is a simultaneousresult of these kinds of demographic changes and levels ofeconomic activity that is, the proportion of the population ofworking age who are working or seeking work.

The increase in women's participation in the labour market willcontinue to produce some of the most significant changes in theoverall structure of the labour force. Women accounted for 37per cent of the UK labour force in 1971, 44 per cent in 1994, andare projected to make up nearly 46 per cent by 2006 whenwomen are predicted to have an economic activity rate of 75 percent'. However, nearly half (46 per cent) of women currently

work part timel.

Much of this increase in women's participation in the labourmarket has been driven by a transformation in the workingpatterns of women with children4. In 1994, 64 per cent ofmothers with children under 16 were economically active,compared to 55 per cent in 1984. The number of womenreturning to work while their children are still young has alsobeen increasing. Fifty-two per cent of women with childrenunder five were working in 1994 compared to 37 per cent in1984. Women are also having their children later, which means

2

4

16

Central Slatistical Office (1,-193), op. en.

Ellison R (1,4,45), op. Cit.

Employment Gazette, I. )ecem tier 1(045.

Court C, (1(.)Q5), Women and the I Munn- Market: Two !Wade:, of Chameand Contmunu. !FS Report 204. Brighton: lm.titute for EmploymentStudies.

Sly l (10(4), 'Mothers in the labour market,' Emphmment Ga:etle,102, 483-502.

2Institute for I mployment Studies

that more have considerable work experience before they havechildren'.

Changing demography and the decline of both the extendedand nuclear family are having a far-reaching impact on thedomestic circumstances of the labOur force. In 1991 about aquarter of all UK households were single person households,twice the proportion in 1961; bv 2001 one in ten of ailhouseholds will consist of a man under pension age livingalone-. At the same time, one in five of families with dependentchildren are now lone parentsl. The employment rate for loneparents is much lower than that for parents with partners,especially for those with young children. In 1990, 41 per cent oflone mothers were in employment compared to 61 per cent ofmothers with partners. The participation rate of lone mothershas remained static and may even have declined in recent years4.

Despite the decision to raise the retirement age for women, thelong term trend has been for people to retire earlier. In 1971four out of five men aged 60 to 64 were economically active.However, in 1995 this figure had declint.d to about one-halftrend that is not expected to reve-ese. A similar decline has beenfound in the economic activity raie of men aged 55 to 59.

Education and qualifications

One of the major long term changes in the population has beenthe rising level of educational attainment, with the proportionof the UK population obtaining at least some educationalqualifications rising from about a third to two thirds between1971 and 19926. Higher education has also expanded rapidly.The proportion of 18 to 19 vear olds entering higher education(the age participation index) increased from 13 per cent in 1981

4

Central Statistical Office (19%), Social .1 reniL, No. 2b. London: I IMS0

Central Statistical Office (1993), op. cit.

Rquilat Tren&:, 71, Spring 1993.

General 1 liniselnild Survey 1992 (1994). [(radon: 11MSO.

k, Butcher S ar...-1 Melville I) (199), 'British labour forceprojection,,: 19'45-2006: Linploymen1 Gir.ette, 103, 153-1(17.

General UM/Nei/o/d Si/ ivey 1992 (Iqq4). London: I IN ISO. General1 loumdudd Survey 1971 (1'473). I .ondon: II MSO.

Managing Careers in 2000 and Bovond 17;(.)(.0

to 23 per cent in 1991 and is projected to rise to 31 per cent by1997. Part of the expansion in higher education is a result ofincreasing participation among mature students. The proportionof undergraduate students aged 21 and over has risen from 23per cent in 1981 to 30 per cent in 1991. Older students alsoaccount for a growing proportion of postgraduate students,increasing from 36 per cent in 1981 to 45 per cent in 19911.

Staying-on rates (the percentage of young people remaining ineducation after the age of 16) have also risen. In 1981, half of all16 to 18 year olds were participating in education, a figurewhich had risen to 65 per cent by 1992' and is projected tocontinue to grow. For 16 year olds, the rate of participation ineducation is expected to increase from 76 per cent in 1992 to 84per cent in 1997. Only 7 per cent of young people enteredemployment directly from school in 19933.

Although historically women have lagged behind men in termsof qualifications, the gap is narrowing, and the proportion ofyoung women aged 20 to 29 with educational and vocationalqualifications is currently the same as for men (86 per cent).Girls outperform boys at GCSE, with 48 per cent gaining five ormore GCSEs at Grades A to C compared to 39 per cent of boys4.Women now account for almost half of all home full-timeuniversity students, up from 43 per cent in 1981.

The number of first degree graduates is expected to rise to204,000 by 1997, an increase of 65 per cent since 1989. However,the increase in first degrees has not been uniform acrossdisciplines. For example, the number of first degree graduatesin engineering and technology is only yxpected to increase by48 per cent over the period 1989 to 1997.

4

18

Department for Education (1993), 'Student numbers in highereducation (;reat Britain 1981/2 to I991/2/

7/1)3.

Department for Education 0994), 'Education statistic,, for theUnited Kingdom,' Statistical Bulletin 1/9,1.

tallow. lyric. Sureey,I993.

Central Statistical Office (19%), op. cit.

Department tor Education 009.11, The Gocermnolt., Expenditureplans 1993-94 to 1995-90. .ondon: I IMSO.

Institute for Lmployment Studios

In spite of these changes, comparisons with our internationalcompetitors are not flattering. Sixty-three per cent of the UKworkforce has no degree or intermediate level vocationalqualifications. This compares with just 26 per cent of the Germanworkforce, 38 per cent of Dutch and 53 per cent of Frenchworkers'. In 1994, less than half (43 per cent) of all 16 year oldschool leavers obtained five or more GCSEs at Grades A to C.

In response to the UK's comparatively low levels of educationalattainment, there has been a drive to increase the proportion ofpeople with vocational qualifications. The new approach aimsto encourage individuals to take responsibility for their ownskill development and to be able to transfer their knowledgeand skills from one employer to another. The main frameworksfor these developments are National Vocational Qualifications(NVQs), Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs) and GeneralNational Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs). These new sets ofqualifications are designed to run in parallel with moreestablished academic qualifications.

Other initiatives to encourage vocational training include theManagement Charter Initiative (MCI), which has developedcompetences and standards for supervisory, first line andmiddle managers, and Investors in People (lil'), which waslaunched in 1991. liP aims to encourage employers to adopt amore systematic approach to training and development byaligning the training and development needs of employees withthe needs of the business. At the end of November 1995, 2,500employers were recognised as Investors in People and 17,500were publicly committed to becoming recognised. Between themthese employers employ approximately 4.5 million people2.

Changing patterns of employment

Three factors characterise the changes that are taking place inthe structure of employment opportunities. First, there is therelatively long term and continuing shift in the proportion ofemployment in different sectors of the economy. Second, there

-,t-nither... A and Rohi ry,on P ), Vcuoint CoinpulNory Schooling: aNumerical Picture. London: Council tor Industry and HigherFducatitm.

Investors in People UK.

Managing Careers in 2000 and Beyond 19

has been a significant growth in the proportion of employmentprovided in small firms and of self-employment. Third, therehas been rapid growth in the number of part-time jobs.

Much of this change is explained by the growth of the servicesector, which includes large numbers of small employers andincreasingly requires part-time workers (over 90 per cent ofpart-time jobs are in the service sector). Women make up 83 percent of all part-time workers and as already noted 46 percent of women in employment work part time. It is important torecognise that most part-timers (73 per cent) do not want full-time jobs, although a quarter of men who work part time do sobecause they cannot find a full-time. job'.

Firms employing less than 20 people created over a millionadditional jobs between 1985 and 1989 and a further 350,000jobs between 1989 and 1991. In 1993, over six million peoplewere employed in organisations with less than 20 employees.Growth in self-employment has taken place at a faster rate inthe UK than in any other EC country2. By 1993 there were 3.2million self-employed people representing 12.5 per cent ot theemployed population. Although men make up three quarters ofthe self-employed, self-emploment has been growing fasteramong women than men'.

20

The numbers employed in manual, clerical and secretarial workare expected to decline over the next decade (the latter largelyas a result of the impact f0. new technology). Growth willcontinue in managerial and professional occupations. It is

anticipated that there will be an additional 1.7 millionmanagerial, professional and technical jobs created between 1991and 2000. 4

2

4

Naylor K ( 1w4), 'Part-time working in Great Britain anhistorical analysis,' Employment Ga:efte, 102, 473-484.

Meager N, Kaiser M and Dietrich 11 (1492), Self-Employmen1 iii tlwUnited Kingdom and Gertnany. Report of a comparative stud%funded 1.1% the Anglo-German Foundation for the Studs ofIndustrial Socie(y.

Meager N, Cintrt G and Moralee 1 (ILN4), Self-Employment and 11w

14+tribution of Income. IMS Report 270. Brighton: Institute 01Manpower Studies.

Labour Market and Skill I rend, 19q/9.1 (11(-3). I ondon: Skills andEnterprise Network.

3,? Institute tor 1 mployment StudieN

Unemployment

For the past twenty years, the UK along with many of the otherindustrialised countries has experienced high levels ofunemployment. UK unemployment rose from under onemillion in the early 1970s to about three million in 1986. Itreached a subsequent peak of nearly 3 million again in 1992 andhas since fallen to 2.3 million in mid-1995. Unemployment is notexpected to fall dramatically during the 1990s.

Unemployment in the UK is predominantly a malephenomenon: an overall unemployment rate of 8.3 per centdisguises a rate of 11.2 per cent for men and 4.3 per cent forwomen. Unemployment rates are highest among the young andtend to correlate with low levels of educational attainment. In1992, nearly one in five males and one in seven females under1(4 were unemployed'. However, the majority of long termunemployed people are relatively old.

Unemployment rates are higher among ethnic minorities thanamong whites. The Pakistani/Bangladeshi group has the highestrate at 28 per cent of the economically active population-. Peoplewith disabilities also have much higher rates of unemployment.

There are also historic differences in regional unemploymentrates in the UK, with higher levels associated with formercentres of heavy industry as elsewhere in Europe and NorthAmerica. The North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland,in particular, have had higher unemployment rates. In future,differences at sub-regional level between towns may be moreimportant than regional differences, which are expected toconverge .

The implications for careers

These changes have implications for individuak, employers andsociety as a whole. We consider each in turn.

Central Statistical Office (19q3), op. cit.

SR E 'Ethnic groups and the labour market: analvsc trom thespring 1'4'44 l.abour Force Survey,' Linplonment Gazette, 103, 251-2(12.

Wilharns M l(1t43), An /Whist, of Regional I abour Market 1 rend:,Brighton: Instituk of Manpower Studie.,

Managing Careers in 2000 and Beyond 21

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

For individuals

Changes in the pattern of employment opportunities areprimarily the result of the changes in the structure ofemployment (see Chapter 1). An increasing proportion of alljobs will be with small to medium sized employers and morepeople will be self-employed. The number of part-time jobs willalso increase. The continued expansion of job opportunities atmanagerial and professional levels (including more part-timejob opportunities at these levels) will benefit those witheducational and professional qualifications and women inparticular. Gaining educational or vocational qualifications will,therefore, remain a good investment.

One implication is that with more frequent job transitions allindividuals will have to acquire the skills for personal careermanagement: that is, job-search, networking and related skills(see Chapter 5). As more people become self-employed or workfor small businesses, business management skills will alsobecome more important for a greater proportion of the labourforce.

The situation of those marginalised by the labour market, suchas the long term unemployed, people with disabilities, thosewith few qualifications and young people from ethnic minoritybackgrounds, requires serious consideration. This grouping alsoincludes many people working in declining employmentsectors, such as manufacturing, Yho may lose their jobs as thesesectors continue to contract.

Older and experienced workers will need retraining. Olderworkers and those who become unemployed when they aredisplaced from employment will have to respond to thedemands placed on them to adapt, retrain and cope withchange. Their need for support during this process must berecognised.

Young people with tew qualifications may be discouraged fromentering the labour market if the only jobs available to them arelow paid and of limited duration. However, even the most wellqualified, such as graduates, will have to consider a wider rangeof career options than in the past.

If men continue to make up a disproporti(mate number ot theunemployed, there may be pressure on them to redefine their

Institute tor I mpkivment Studies

traditional roles. However, many couples and families findreversing traditional roles difficult.

For employers

Many of the new jobs being created in the service sector arepart-time with low pay and status. Employers have been able toattract women into these jobs because they offer theopportunity to combine work roles with domestic, childcareand, with an increasingly elderly population, eldercareresponsibilities. In the future, women with equal, and oftenbetter, educational qualifications than men will demand moreopportunities for career progression and greater flexibility inworking arrangements. As a result, emphwers are likely tocome under increased pressure to make better provision forchildcare and to adopt more 'family-friendly' employmentpractices. Couples, where both partners work, are likely torequire employers to be more flexible in their requirements forgeographical mobility.

Employers will also have to be more flexible' in terms ofemploying and training older workers. This will require asignificant culture change for many employers who have beenreluctant to employ older workers in the past and even morereluctant to consider them as suitable recipients of training anddevelopment opportunities.

Employers can look forward to young people being bettereducationally qualified than previously, but will have to learnto recruit from an increasingly diverse graduate population andcope with shortages in some subject areas (eg engineering,science subjects).

For society

Although levels of educational attainment have improved andnew forms ot delivering vocational qualifications are beingdeveloped, if we are serious about becoming a high skill, highvalue-added economy, much more attention must be paid todeveloping mechanisms that reward skill development andencourage both individuals and employers to invest in thefuture employability of the workforce (see Chapter (1). Ways otproviding access to career support throughout people's workinglives will also be required.

Malhiging Carom. in 2000 and Beyond 23

Key points

2.1

The funding of retirement and the long-term cost of lookingafter an increasingly elderly population will also haveconsiderable consequences for society as a whole. It may be cost-effective for care of the elderly to be done by their families inthe community. But many people may be reluctant to give uptheir own paid employment, particularly if this incurs long-term financial liabilities for their own old age.

Other implications for society of the changes taking place in thelabour market are concerned with maintaining social cohesionand social equity. The exclusion of some groups from the labourmarket because of low level or obsolete skills, creates socialtensions. Even those who are more successful in the labourmarket are likely to be making more job transitions, withconsequent risks for their ability to enter into long-termfinancial arrangements, such as mortgages and pensions.

The workforce of the future will be older as a result of populationchanges. It will be better educated and possess more vocationallyrelevant qualifications. The number of women and people fromethnic minorities in the labour force will continue to increase.

More people in future will work for smaller employers and beself-employed. As a result people will be making more job andcareer transitions and will need to acquire the necessary skillsfor personal career management.

Many new jobs will be part-time and of low status in the servicesector. There will be an expansion of job opportunities atprofessional, managerial and technical levels. Unemployment isprojected to continue at present levels for the foreseeable future.

Employers need to learn to manage the new more flexibleworkforce and to adapt to employing more older workers.

Members of households need to be flexible in adoptingcomplementary and, perhaps, non-traditional roles.

Society needs to respond to the threat to social cohesion andsocial equity that the changes taking place in the labour marketportend.

More standardised information is needed at a national level onemployment trends and factors affecting careers.

A major programme of research is needed to shed light ondeveloping employment trends and their implications.

3 6Institute toi I mployment Studies

3. What Will Careers Become?

Apocalypse now?

lt has become fashionable to proclaim not only the death ofcareers but the death of 'jobs' as we know them'. Undoubtedlythe world of work has been changing at a great pace throughthe developments we have described. Charles Handy haseloquently portrayed the landscape of this new world` in termsof changes in the structure of employment and their effects onindividuals. Two sets of his observations are worthy of furthercomment.

First, he describes a number of new organisational forms, suchas the 'clover leaf' and 'donut', which amount to what an earlierwriter foresaw in the 'flexible firm' organisations wherethere are growing divisions between 'core' employees whoenjoy rights of full participation, and other semi-casualised (espart-tinle) and servicing (es outsourced and collateral)components. This new segmentation of the labour force isincreasing; but at the same time traditional forms remain, andwill continue to exist for the foreseeable future. The major blue-chip companies of the economy may be restructuring in manyof the ways described, but most are still predominantly devotedto the strategy of hiring their managerial staff at early career-entry level and developing them as tailored organisationalassets via internal human resource systems. For example, fast-track management development routes, which require long-

Bridges W (1945), lob±hift. london. Nicholas Breakv.

I land y Li8ti he Age ()ft larea..on. I ondon: I lutchinson.

Atkinson .1 and Nteager N (1986), Chatiging Wvaing Pattern.:Cotnyame., Achieve Stability h) Alect en, Neob, I ondon: NationalEconomic Development Office.

Managing Careers in 2000 and Beyond 25"c3

term employment relationships, have undiminished popularity,and external recruitment to middle management positionsremains comparatively rare (mainly to import technicalspecialists and, occasionally, top executives).

Although large corporate employers are the reference model formuch writing about careers, they represent only a modestportion of the extant labour market. In the UK, and elsewhere inthe industrialised world, small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) account for a large portion of total employment. Indeed,this has been true for a very long time and is becoming more so,as we saw in Chapter 2. It is also true that the idealised corporatemodel of continuous managerial career development has neverfitted the experience of large numbers of employees. Across thespectrum of management employment, mobility between firmsand often quite different functions has been commonplace'.

This brings us to Handy's second set of observations, about thechanging pattern of career experience. One element is ehat hecalls the 'portfolio' career, in which individuals seek strategicjob moves and developmental experiences to compilemarketable and refreshed skill profiles which keep pace withthe rapid changes in roles and job demands. Another element ofnote is that for many people the aggregate volume of workingtime has been reduced through shortened weekly hours, annualdays and career-length years. Both these elements are visible,but again it needs to be emphasised that what we are seeing is amuch greater diversity of career experience than a straightswitch from a 'traditional' to a 'post-modern' scenario. Someindividuals are compiling portfolios of experience in a self-determined way; others are doing so more haphazardly, drivenby company shake-outs and closures or by dual-career familyconstraints; while others ren lain locked into fairly stableemployment conditions. It is also true that aggregate lifelonghours of work are reducing, but the trend is not even across thelabour force. For the decreasing proportion of 'core' employees,the pace and duration of work has been intensifying, while tormany others, more casualised relationships and reduceddemand prevail. This latter experience is very much associatedwith the increasing numbers of women in the labour force, the

Nit-hokon \ and West M A I lamp.) iul Job t hank%

Cambridge: (ambridge Lniver.ity Ako, K

'Ftteck ot changing economic condition,. tm managerialchange,. and career,' I;rritsh fourual of Ahmagettion, 6, I g8..1

26 Instilule tot 1.nyk)ymen1 Studies

3S

need for mid-career re-equipment through education, and awidening multiplicity of other work and non-work involvements(eg it is quite common today to find indiyiduais holding morethan one part-time job).

In short, it has never been safe to make simple generalisationsabout what is happening to careers in terms of which patternsare 'normal', and today it is nigh impossible. However, we areable to identify how patterns typically differ by demographic,occupational and sectoral classes. For example, more fragmentedand mobile careers are especially characteristic of women,technical specialists, and people in small and medium-sizedenterprises and in personal service organisations.

The question to be raised here is whether what people seek andderive from employment is changing. This question is importantin the present context since it relates to (a) whether we arewitnessing changes in the kinds of career choices people make,and (b) what kinds of reactions can be anticipated to alteredstructures and conditions of employment.

Qualities of experience in work and employment

First, it can be asserted that people's requirements of work haveremained constant, as witnessed by the unchanging qualities ofsocial life and enduring truths about human needs. The formerconsist of explicit and implicit employment contracts, involvinga trade of contributions and inducements. These remain thepredominant operating model in most economic systems,though there are increasing numbers of organisations where anon-calculative contract operates, such as voluntary and not-for-profit organisations (though even in these, implicitcontractual relations can be discerned). We :hall enlarge uponthe topic of contractual relations shortly.

The second assertion about enduring human characteristics isrepresented within psychology as a debate about the nature andstructure of human needs. There is general agreement that thesebroadly centre on universal needs to protect and enhance one'ssecure physical existence, relationships with others, andeffectively adaptable identity functioning'. At the same time,

Alderfor ( q72), Exi:tence, Relatedne,, and t;rozellt: Human Need,it: Organi,iitional Setting,. NOW York: lice

Managing Careers in 2000 and 27

individuals differ widely in the emphasis and value they placeupon each of these domains. These are variations on constanthuman themes.

One of the most well-documented explorations of what peoplederive from work was Marie lahoda's in-depth ernpiricalanalysis of what were the evident deprivations of highunemployment in an Austrian village of the 193051. She claimedthat work, or more accurately employment, vas for many aunique source of time structure, social contact beyond thefamily, personal goal achievement, identity enhancement andmeaningful activity. Other writers have enlarged this analysis,especially by understanding the irreplaceable economic value ofpaid employment to life quality-. It has also been pointed outthat deeper psychological needs are fed by work experience,such as the containment of anxiety and the reworking of earlierunresolved family relationships'.

Work, ot course, is not synonymous with paid employment. Forincreasing numbers of people, meaningful 'work' thrivesoutside traditional structures of employment. This has longbeen recognised within the women's movement and indiscussions of the tasks, skill utilisation and gratifications ofhousehold management and labour. The growth of casualisedemployment relations and the enrichment of activity,association and choice outside the traditional structures alsosuggest that people are able to satisfy enduring needs in manyways other than through employment. Nevertheless, thefinancial imperative of paid work remains an overridinglimitation on the capacity of these alternatives to substitute foremployment, lob insecurity will therefore continue to act as acorrosive influence on the quality ot lite of individuals and their

2

lahoda M, I.a/arsfeld P I and leisel I I (P472), Alarienthal: the.5(k-iv-a/1hy (!( an linentploued (.ornmunitu. I ondon: I avistock (firstpublished l)33).

Fryer D .1 (ed.) (1')142), 'Marienthal and beyond: 20th centuryresearch on unemployment and mental health.' Special issue oftonrnal (4-Occupational and ( )rNam,ational hg, 2.17-3'38. Seealso, Warr P It (148;"), Work. Unemployment and Mental HealthOxtord: Oxford Lniversitv Press.

Sec Sonnenberg I ). 'I he psychological meaning ot work'. Papercontributed to the I SRC Careers 20(1) Seminar.

28 Institute tot I mplovinent Studies

' t)

Career expectations

However broadly we try to define careers, the idea of'progression' remains of critical importance. Even casualisedand waged staff without expectations of significant statusdevelopment look forward to enhancements of their standard ofliving, their social and recreational involvements, and theirchildren's life chances. In this respect, the rapidly changingnature of work offers both an opportunity and a threat. Theopportunity is continued skill enhancement and, where'empowerment' strategies are genuinely being applied, a chancefor a more meaningful stake in local decision-making (thoughunfortunately there is more rhetoric than reality inorganisations' development of these strategies). The threat isobsolescence: it is the youngest and smartest to whom re-skilling opportunities mainly fall; for the rest, prematureobsolescence with little expectation of alternatives is often morelikely.

This threat increasingly hangs over other groups for whomcareer development has traditionally meant some expectation ofstatus progression. It has always been a 'ature of careerdevelopment that ascendancy from the shop floor to theboardroom has been the achieved dream of a very smallminority, though a lure to many. For the majority, thepyramidal structure of employment inevitably means that early-career status progression is followed, sometimes rapidly, by a'plateau'. Progression thereafter consists either of skillenhancement and role evolution within the organisation, or oflateral movement and career change. Current developments inthe structure of employment shortened hierarchies,decentralised operations, federated structures and the likemean that plateaux are arriving earlier and more unpredictablyto more people, and that job insecurity is spreading through theranks of those who formerly felt themselves to be reasonablyimmune, most notably middle managers.

A major consequence of this has been rising concern andawareness of the need for 'career defence', ic to protect oneselfagainst the threats of redundancy, stagnation and obsolescence.Some respond by acceding to pressures to work harder in orderto gain favour with an employer. Others ad()pt moreautonomous or self-oriented strategies. Later, we shall bediscussing the changing role of qualifications in careerdevelopment (see Chapter 6), but here it may be noted that the

tvlanaging Caroms in 2000 and lioymul 29

'

growth of attempts to standardise and recognise skill setsthrough National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (NVQ5and SVQs) and the Management Charter Initiative (MCI) are animplicit recognition of the widening need for career defence.People are increasingly aware of the need not just to armthemselves with marketable skills, but for these to be accreditedadditions to curricula vitae, and portable and visiblerecognitions of ability and attainment.

The changing employment contract

We noted earlier the uneven development of organisations'responses to the new conditions by introducing new systemsand structures. A central theme to be considered is the changingexplicit and implicit contracts that are being created. Formalcontracts have rarely involved solid commitments to lifelongcdreer development, as large numbers of redundant employeescan testify; and in areas where they did exist (eg in academiaand other professions) they are increasingly being replaced byless binding arrangements. At the same time, there is a growthof new fixed-term contracts, annualised hours and otherarrangements which enshrine temporary or transactional deals.

But for most employees it is less the.fornurl contract which haschanged than the psychological contract the informal mutualexpectations of employees and employers'. There are severalelements to this. First are unstated but strongly-felt reducedexpectations of security and advancement, to which employees'psychological response is a shift from traditional commitmentand loyalty to the employing organisation, towards much moreprovisional and calculative orientations. Second, the response oforganisations involves a new rhetoric: that of career 'self-management'. Many employers are communicating theexpectation that their staff will, via appraisal and other reviewprocesses, take a more active and self-determining role inspecifying their developmental needs and aspirations. Thehuman resource function is expected to shift its role frompaternalistic career management, le making assessments andplacement decisions from a centralised service function,

I lerriot l', 'What will careers become, or what will become ofcareers?' and I W, 'What will careers become?'. Contributionsto the F.SRC Careers 2000 Seminar. See also I (erriot I andl'emberton C I (NS), New I WI!, Chichcster Wiley.

.30 Institute tor I mpkiyment slodies

4

towards a more facilitative role. The new deal that isincreasingly spoken of is a substitution of 'employability' for'job security', ie the employer will offer opportunities for careerdefence through skill and experience accumulation. Theproblem here is that the rhetoric is running well ahead of thereality and is failing to satisfy employee aspirations and needs,for three reasons.

First, organisa ns are not supplying, or cannot supply, the'facilitative' mechanisms to support self-management. Newdecentralised and delayered structures often make it difficult toopen up the pathways employees might desire. For example,where businesses have decentralised operating units as profit orcost centres, local management often tend to restrict themobility of those they consider to be assets and not to open upopportunities for transferred people who, because of thenecessary learning curve, could be viewed as costs. Mentoringsystems are supposed to act as correctives to such rigidities,though their use is uneven, and mentors often lack the legitimatepower to sponsor the moves desired by those they mentor.

Second, performance management systems (such as performance-related pay) often create pressures contrary to the developmentinterests of the individual, ic to perform rather than to learn.

Third, mixed messages are sent when highly paternalistic fast-track systems, and management development programmes for afavoured few, coexist alongside the rhetoric of self-management.If employees are to be re-socialised to new expectations aboutcareer management, organisations will have to look closely andself-critically at the mix of practices they operate.

The net result of these developments, as some writers haveobserved', is a widening gap between two main kinds ofpsychological contract. The first is 'relational' contracts for thefavoured few, in which security and advancement continue tobe the inducements for loyalty and commitment to theorganisation. The second is 'transactional' contracts for themany, in which specific obligations are required in exchange forparticular benefits, material or personal added-value outcomes.

lerriot and Pemberton (19'45), op. cit. Soc ako, N('wo,cou I) NI(1)95), Psuchohwical Coptracb ui OrpillISta1011:, London: Sage.

Managing Careers in 2000 and Beyond

.1"

Key points

In summary, therefore, the future of careers is towards a moremobile, uncertain and divided workforce. So far, there are fewgrounds for optimism that employers have fully appreciatedwhat this climate implies for reform of their own practices.Indeed, paradoxically, the new structures which are emergingseem likely to limit severely their capacity to deliver accordingto their rhetoric or to meet the needs of employees. Thissuggests an expanded role for existing guidance agencies, andindeed the foundation of new guidance agencies, to supplyinformation, skill enhancement and advisory resources toenable people to achieve a higher measure of self-determinationand effectiveness in their career development (see Chapter 7).

The old corporate and professional career models are becomingless relevant to many people but will continue to survive insome areas.

More fragmented and mobile careers will be the experience ofmany groups.

job insecurity will continue to spread across the labour force,with many negative consequences.

Changing structures of employment are creating a need for'career defence', especially for managers and professionals.

An increasing mix of implicit career contracts is becomingvisible and these need to be made more explicit by employers.

The new emphasis upon 'self-managed' career development isunder-resourced and unsupported.

More resources are needed for outplacement and job-seekingskills among groups especially vulnerable to displacement.

32 Institute for linployment Studies

,4 4

4. How Should Employers be Managing theNew Kinds of Careers?

The new career environment

The rapid and continuing changes taking place in manyorganisations have created uncertainty about the role of theemployer with respect to careers. In the past, the managementof careers was a significant activity for many people working inpersonnel departments of large employers, but the changes inthe global economy, in technology and culture, described inearlier chapters of this report, have led to the decline of many ofthese systems. On the other hand, only a few small or medium-sized employers ever consciously managed the careers of theiremployees. In large companies and many public sectororganisations, decentralisation and restructuring have tended tolead to confusion as to who is responsible for careers, and evendoubt as to whether careers still exist.

However, we have already noted the significance of the conceptof a career to individuals (see Chapter 1). It is also important torecognise that for employers the career has been the means 01producing high level and specialist skills albeit for a smallminority of their employees. In the future, one major challengefor employers is going to be how to formulate and deliverst:.ategies that will harness the potential and develop the skillsof all their employees. Such an approach must be predicatedfirstly on a clear understanding of the role of learning anddevelopment activities for the individual and the organisation,and secondly, on an ability to devise and implementappropriate strategies for career development.

Managing Cal 000, in 2000 and Beyond tALt t 33

The learning and development imperative

Several commentators have noted that, if the UK is to maintainits present standard of living, it must become a high skilleconomy. While some progress has been made in improvinglevels of educational achievement in the UK, our education andtraining system is still front-end loaded, in that the majority ofeducation and training activity takes place before young peopleenter the labour force. Although it is desirable for young peopleentering the labour market to be better educated than in thepast, as they will make up a declining proportion of the labourmarket in future, employers must realise that there is an urgentneed to train and develop those people who are already in thelabour market, regardless of their age or career stage.

Unfortunately the need for the UK and UK businesses to investfurther in learning and development is not about maintainingour pre-erninence in this area: instead, it reflects an urgent needto catch up with our international competitors. The UK remainsnear the bottom of the skills league ranking 21st amongstindustrialised countries' and it has become commonplace tocriticise the training performance of UK companies. However,there has always been a wide diversity of practice, with a smallminority of employers having good records (although even inthese companies training activity has often been restricted tokey groups of employees).

Nor is investment in learning and development just aboutincreasing individuals' future employability, although thisremains an important benefit. More significant is therecognition that organisations' ability to innovate faster thantheir competitors is likely to underpin future business success.This is one of the reasons why there is such interest in theconcept of the learning organisation.

Changes in the workplace that we have already identifiednew technology, and the fact that much work now involveshandling information also put a premium on learning. Thefact that managerial and professional occupations, which by

World Economic Forum League -I able, cited in Davies II (Itst4),'Making it happen: the role of employers in supporting lifelongcareer development,' in PriimotiiiN I ifeh»iN Career PeoehPpment.

ambridge: Careers Research and Advisory Centre.

Institute tor linployment Studies

definition require higher levels of educational and vocationalqualifications, are one of the main areas of employment growthalso supports this argument.

From training to career development

There have been a number of initiatives, such as liP, theManagement Charter Initiative, NVQs and SVQs (see Chapter2), to improve the quality and amount of training anddevelopment in UK employing organisations. These have setout to encourage employers to offer training, and individuals totake greater responsibility for their own skill development.

One danger with these initiatives is that they appear as afragmented set of independen activities lacking focus anddirection. To think in terms of c.ffeer development, rather thantraining, may be helpful for employers and individuals intoday's more flexible labour markets'. This implies a number ofprinciples about how development and training should beorganised so that:

most development takes place in the workplace rather than onexternal training courses

development activities are best delivered by work colleaguesand line managers

development focuses on future job skills as much as skills forthe current job

training and development activities for individuals andorganisations have a clear purpose, order of priority and senseof direction

training and development proactively anticipates futureorganisational requirements

genuine equality of opportunity is achieved by opening upoptions for learning and development to all employees.

It is apparent that career development underpins peopleprocesses in organisations and is directly relevant to the issue ofcoping with future uncertainty. The fact- that many job moves

Davies I I (Iqq4), (T. di.

2 Nicholson N and West M A (1'488), op. cit.

Managing (-meets in 2000 and Beyond IS

are into newly created jobs also supports this view. Access tocareer development opportunities for employees in smallorganisations will be particularly important in the futurebecause more people will be working for small employers.

A structure for career development

Operating in a turbulent business environment both internallyand externally, many organisations have lost track of thereasons why they should be concerned about careerdevelopment. In the past, when career development wasrestricted to people judged to be of high potential and of longterm value to the organisation, career development processeswere used to ensure that these people acquired the range ofhigh level and specialist skills and experiences needed tooccupy senior positions.

While new processes will be required if career development isto be extended to all the people who work for the organisation,there is a need to be clear about the underlying purposes ofcareer development activities. There are five purposes for suchactivities that apply equally to the individual and theorganisation':

I. Assessment activities to provide the individual andorganisation with the opportunity to learn about the individual'sstrengths, weaknesses, interests, etc.

Career options activities to assist individuals' and theirmanagers' understanding of current and future career and joboptions.

3. Action planning planning of specific, concrete, time-basedlearning activities by individuals and organisations.

4. Skill development activities to promote or deliver skilldevelopment.

5. Vacancy filling activities designed to manage the internallabour market in line with business needs and organisationalculture.

I lirsh W, Jackson C and Jackson C (I 995), Calver OrgauNitimb:1tte, fir the Future. IFS Report 27. Brighton: Inqitute forEmployment Studies.

36 Institute tor I mployment Studios

1-1L;)y,

Figure 4.1 : The core functions of career development1

careerplanning «)urses

careerworkshops

career«mnselling

mentorhig

l'DPs

self-helppackages appraisal

360 degree

developmentcentres

learningcen tres

edu( ation& training networking

secondments

job maps

competences

informationinterviews

vacanc y system

lateral moves

su«.ession

Organisations can use a variety of processes to deliver theseobjectives (see Figure 4.1). The activities are designed tosupport career development, although their successfulimplementation in a particular organisation may not bestraightforward, since their effectiveness requires a favourablecultural context which supports negotiation between theindividual and the employer. However, the methods fordesigning and structuring career development activities arewell understood-. The range and extent of activities that arerequired by small organisations are less than those required bylarge organisations. In small organisations, some careerdevelopment activities may have to be resourced externally, butothers can be successfully handled informally if there is asufficiently high level of trust and openness. Some Training andEnterprise Councils (TECs) have pioneered services for smallemployers, although lack of long-term funding has frequentlyhindered the development of these activities.

2

lirsh W and lacks(In C ( qq(1), Sti.ategre .for Career Neeehqnnent:Promise, Practice and Pretence. IES Report 305. Brighton: Institute forEmployment Studies.

See, for example, Jackson C (ILm0), Career Counselling in Organisanous. IMS Report I 98. Brighton: Institute for Manpower Studies.

Managing Careers in 2(X)0 and Beyond 374 9

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

It is important to stress that the purpose of carrying out careerdevelopment activities is to enable an organisation to be moreproactive in the future: it is one element of a strategy to makean organisation more resilient. However, it is often difficult tostart to put such a strategy in place when an organisation isundergoing radical change such as restructuring or downsizing.

One of the drivers for developing this new type of strategy forcareers is a cultural change in employee expectations. Thisimplies a need for more dialogue between individuals andemployers about career issues, with openness a key value in itsconduct. For instance, it is becoming the norm for vacancies inoganisations to be advertised internally. This approachreplaces traditional appointment processes which were oftensecretive and paid uneven regard to individual wishes.

Uncertainties about roles and responsibilities

38

As organisations have delayered and decentralised there hasbeen a trend to pass greater responsibility fo- personnelprocesses to line managers. While line managers welcome someaspects of this new responsibility (eg the right to appoint peopleto jobs), in other areas this responsibility frequently createstensions between short-term business pressures and long-termdevelopment considerations. Some aspects of performancemanagement (eg performance-related pay) expose the dilemmasthat managers commonly face. The pressure to get the job doneand to meet performance targets with ever fewer people, forexample, often means that managers are unable to offer ordeliver development opportunities. Moreover, many otherwiseskilled and effective managers lack the time or resources todevelop key coaching skills.

Similarly, if the performance appraisal process is being usedprimarily to gather evidence about individuals' performance todetermine their pay, it is unlikely to provide an opportunity todiscuss development. Some organisations have establishedseparate processes to review development needs.

Unfortunately, in many organisations employees fear that toexpress development needs is a sign of wea kne,..!, rather than ofstrength. This often means that the people whose development

In,,titute tor I mpkwment Studios

needs are greatest receive the least attention1. Organisationsmust also recognise that it takes time to establish levels of trustbetween an individual and their manager, and between anindividual and an organisation. Some aspects of personal careerplans are never likely to be discussed.

One, perhaps unanticipated, consequence of the delayering ofmany organisations' management is that it is no longerstraightforward for subordinates to move into their managers'jobs. Often it is necessary to experience several job roles at Onelevel in an organisation before moving up the managementhierarchy. Even for individuals who are unlikely to progresstheir careers in this way, the main way of gaining widerexperience is to change jobs at the same level. Facilitating lateraland cross-functional job moves is one of the most difficultactivities for organisations to achieve in the current climate.They rec,uire considerable organisadonal and managerialsupport. 'Even with such support they may involve considerablerisk both to the individual and to the organisation.

The need for a strategy

There are several reasons why organisations need to have astrategy for career development. First of all, organisations needa strategy to enable them and their employees to manage thechanges taking place in the business environment. Second, theyneed a strategy to restore the confidence of those employeeswho have survived corporate downsizing and restructuring.Third, organisations need a strategy to achieve a greater degreeof coherence in their policies. Finally, a strategy is required totake an organisation from a situation where policy and practiceare fragmented between different parts of an organisation anddiscrepant between different groups of individuals, to onewhere there is a coherent framework for career development.

It is important to recognise that even when organisations haveno formally articulated strategy for career development, theyalmost certainly have an implicit view of many of the keyelements of such a strategy. These cover such elements as howpeople are valued, the ownership and ways of managing

lackson C and Yeates I (14(43), Rye lopment (entre: AssseN,ing orl)cocloping Peolde? I NIS Report 261. 13righttin: Institute of NIanpowerStudies.

Managing Cal eers hi 2000 aiul Beyond 39r;t.)

careers, the skills that are valued, and the type of career pathsthat exist in the organisation. Making these elements explicitand examining their relevance to future business needs is acritical step in developing a strategy for career development.

Implementation

It will be more difficult to implement a successful careerdevelopment strategy in an organisation that is changingrapidly. Yet for many organisations this is the present andcontinuing reality. A second difficulty is that investing in careerdevelopment is something that may only pav off in the mediumor long term.

Almost by definition, a successful strategy for careerdevelopment is something that evolves over time. It is built upby the development of an integrated set of initiatives that aim tosatisfy various objectives. However, the actual mix of activitiesis likely to be organisation-specific. It will need to reflect thestructure of employment opportunities in the organisation andto address key employee concerns, such as might have beenidentified through an employee attitude survey. A strategy isonly likely to be successful if there is:

I. stability and continuity This means keeping initiatives inplace long enough for them to become embedded inorganisational practice and for employees to understand themfully.

2. quality of implementation Attempting to do a few thingswell is better than attempting to deliver too many initiativesand being unable to give them the support they require.

3. co-ordination If different activities use common frameworksthey will enhance and support each other and the output fromone process can be used as the input to another.

4. evaluation A critical weakness of much activity in this area isthe lack of evaluation.

Future directions

harlier, we saw that competitive pressures and other forces arechanging organisations as contexts for careers. We havedescribed the effects as limiting career opportunities for largesections ot the workforce, including many managers. Some ot

Institute tot I inploymenl Studies

the most important of these effects are on mobility. Mobility is akey concept in career management, since it is through exposureto jobs of differing kinds that some of the most important careerdevelopment takes place. Specific effects on mobility to be seencurrently include *.educed opportunities for movement up thehierarchy, because of delayering and zero growth, and reducedlateral mobility, through more segmented business arrangements(eg cost and profit centres, network structures and the like). Atthe same time, there has been a decline in the old centralisedpaternalistic human resources functions, which used to brokermuch career mobility. It is increasingly common to findstripped out personnel functions at the centre, with bread-and-butter elements for training and recruitment decentralised tooperational divisions and under the control of line managers,and with specialised services (eg psychological testing, jobevaluation) outsourced to consultancies. The language of careerdevelopment in organisations has changed to accompany thesedevelopments. Employees are increasingly exhorted to 'managetheir own careers'.

The problem this creates is that organisations rarely equipindividuals to do this. In order to manage your own careerwithin an organisation you need:

to know what you want and can do

to be aware of the' full range of opportunities which might meetyour developmental needs

a medium through which communication and exchange aboutmobility can take' place

facilitating systems and resources to support your mobility.

Job-posting systems open advertising of job opportunitieswithin a firm are a step in the right direction, and are beingadopted by many organisations, but they need importantsupplements to create the necessary dynamism and mobility ofa potential-fulfilling career system. Thew require':

individuals to have positive beliefs about developmentpossibilities and the' will to pursue them

information about the real requirements and developmentalopportunities of positions

management systems which encourage and foster internal

Managing ( avers in 2000 and Beyond 5 3 41

's

In some organisations, this is achieved; for example, onecomputer firm has introduced 'person-posting', self-advertise-ment on the internal network, as a counterpart to the usual job-posting, to encourage a really mobile internal labour market.However, all too often management systems allow local needsto dominate the career system. Individuals may apply for jobsin other parts of the organisation, but if they are valued humanresources, they are clurT, on to by their increasingly hard-pressed managers. In these circumstances, job posting servesonly to enlarge short-lists for jobs, without serving to open upgenuinely new career paths.

Organisational career systems of the 2Ist century are going tohave to make much more strenuous efforts to open up theirinternal structures as genuine labour markets, by more usefuland free-flowing information, more managerial dedication tocreating new lateral pathways between divisions and functions,and more resources to encourage and equip individuals to thinkla tera I ly abou t developmental opportunities. In forma tiontechnology can be put to new use in mediating this kind oftransfer of information and people'.

However, it is also true that the single organisation, especiallythe small or medium sized firm, cannot satisfy the careerdevelopment needs and aspirations of all its people. Specialistprofessionals have always known this and have built theircareers as much between as within organisations, eg by mo\ ingemployers every few years. This phenomenon, the 'hobosyndrome' as it has been called2, has increased among othersections of the workforce in response to the decline in

opportunities within organisations. Rather than leave thisprocess to chance, or to be restricted to the most outwardlymobile and motivated employees, companies should rethinkhow they might benefit from and manage the process of inter-organisational mobility for a wide range of employees. Onerecent move in this direction is the establishment of commercial

LIt .0 Nicholson !s. (111%), arcei is stems in crisis: t hange andopportunity in the intormatitm a Atm (q. NhmaNcinentLaveutwe (in press).

2 Judge .1 A and Watanabe S (1,N;), 'Is the past a prologue7 A test otlhiselli's hobo syndrome,' Journal (!f. AhmaNement, 21, 211- 22q.

42 liiti1ute toi I iipluvin'nI Studiesr

Career Action Centres', such as have been founded in SiliconValley to provide expert career services (eg outplacement andcounselling) for consortia of subscribing companies. One canimagine how such a collective local resource could be put towider and more imaginative use, allowing companies to developinter-organisational mobility and developmental strategies, egbrokering sabbaticals, swaps, and other means to expand thecareer possibilities of individuals, whilst at the same timeenriching the human resources of participating organisations. Insome traditional sectors informal arrangements of this kindhave long existed, for example in the training programmes ofsome geographically clustered textile firms in the UK. But suchthinking remains alien to the bulk of business, wherecompetitive advantage is taken to mean the firm operating as anautonomous entity rather than as part of a community ofcommon interest. In other words, it will require bold andimaginative leadership for companies to move in this direction:to see their interests as lying beyond their boundaries incommunities of shared interests within a sector or region. TECscould have a creative role to play here.

Otherwise, it will only be proactive and self-interestedindividuals who exploit such possibilities. The Internet, forexample, is likely to prove an increasingly-used medium forthis purpose among managerial and professional groups.Employers would do well to recognise this and take an activeand responsible role in establishing creative inter-organisationalcareer development strategies, not just to satisfy employees butfor the sake of their own business needs.

Key points

Employers are often uncertain about how to develop andmanage the careers of their employees.

There is an urgent need for UK employers to invest in trainingand development activities.

Career development provides a context and framework forthinking about learning and development in an uncertainbusiness environment.

Waterman N 1-1, Waterman B A and (ollard B A (1Y4,1), 'Towards acareer resilient workforce, Harvard Mishit's:, Recww, July-August,87-o5.

tvianaging Careeis in 2000 and Beyond 43

Uncertainties about roles and responsibilities, frequentlybrought about by organisational restructuring, as well as bytensions between different processes, undermine successfulcareer development.

A strategy for career development provides a framework forlearning and development activities and is necessary to achievecoherence in policies.

Companies need to match the rhetoric of self-management withmore effective support for career development processes andincreased opportunities for mobility across internal barriers.

Portability needs to be made a more explicit and valuedcriterion in what is made available to individuals in skilldevelopment and reward packages.

Access to career development is just as important to employeesof small organisations as to those of large organisations.

The provision of services such as Career Action Centres bYexternal providers, eg TECs, is one possible route forsupporting career development for employees in the expandingsmall business sector and for encouraging inter-organisationalmobility.

4.1 institute tor I niplovnienl Studies

5. Individuals What Should They be ToldAbout Careers?

Setting the scene

The overall message for individuals is simple but notnecessarily so easy to implement effectively. In highlycompetitive markets for businesses, it is ever more importantfor individuals to compete effectively in the labour market. Thismeans identifying and acquiring skills and knowledge that arerequired in the labour market now and in the future. It meansknowing one's own preferences and limits, and perhapspushing back those limits and overcoming weaknesses. Itmeans understanding what is happening in the world of work,and knowing how one's own attributes compare with those ofother people. It means publicising and presenting oneselfeffectively on paper, in person and electronically, to a variety ofaudiences in formal and informal situations.

The !heti in the title of this chapter can be taken to refer toanyone. However, some people are in a much better positionthan others to manage their own careers. Some individualshave, or are able to develop, the required skills much morereadily than others. Some people are much more in demand inthe labour market and have a much wider range of choice.Proposing that self-management of careers is relevant to peoplein disadvantaged labour-market positions may seem surprising,perhaps because being in that position leads one simply to takewhat one can get. Yet even here there is ,,cope for using careermanagement skills, albeit within a constrained environment.

Regarding being tell, many counsellors who adopt non-directive technioues would be reluctant to tell clients what todo, for the good reasons that generalisations do not necessarilyapply to any given individual and that telling people does not

Managing Careers in 2000 and I3eyond 45

Endpoints

encourage them to take responsibility for finding out andcoping themselves'. However, people do need to be givenspecific information and guidance about labour market realities:a person has a better chance of managing something if theyhave accurate information than if they do not.

A dominant theme in career choice has been the common-senseproposition that people are best-advised to choose work whichfits their skills, interests and values. The realism of this view forpeople in a weak labour market position has been challenged

2,

yet remains influential. It suffers from being too readilyconstrued as a once-for-all matching of a static self to a staticoccupational world. Many observers have noted the inflexibilityof this way of thinking. People change and so do occupations.The same occupation might be pursued rather differently indifferent organisations, and by different individuals.

But more fundamental is the point that a match between selfand occupation is no longer the only desirable goal for anindividual. Maintaining one's employability and obtainingwork which extends rather than reflects one's occupational andpersonal identity are also important. So in making choices ofoccupations and jobs, people need to pay more attention thanhitherto to whether the occupation/job will require skills thatare likely to be in demand in the future labour market. Theywill need to think not only 'is this me?', but also 'could this beme, and will it serve my longer-term interests if I try to developin this way?'.

46

There are also other new factors in the equation. Individualsneed to consider the implications 01 being a 'core' member of anorganisation or on the 'periphery' where one's services may bedemanded intermittently and unpredictably. This choice, if it

exists for a person, involves their preferred lifestyle and sets of

Egan G (1)9(1), The Skilled 1 lelper 14th Edition). Pacific Grove,( alifornia: Brot ks/Cole.

homa,. l j (11.4314), 'Blue collar careers: meaning and choice in aworld of constraints.' In Arthur M R, I fall I) 1 and Lawrence 13 S(eds), Handbook of Career Vinyl. y. Cambridge: Cambridge University

56 Institute tor Linpkwinent Studie,,

values embodied in what have been termed career anchors'. Akey point is that neither core nor peripheral workers have thesecurity that some employees once believed their organisationswould provide. Individuals must therefore be prepared to copewith changes in employer, location, home, and type or style ofwork. This means developing skills of managing transitions andsettling in quickly to new environments. It may mean learninghow to establish good relationships in an environment withoutbecoming so immersed that moving out becomes traumatic.

Individuals need to know that being a core member of anorganisation may require willingness to learn many differentkinds of work over a period of time, including some which onewould not necessarily have chosen. It will mean more team-working, and perhaps the co-ordination of bought-in specialistsrather than being the specialist oneself. It may also meangeographical relocation for the sake of the organisation. Sobeing a core member of an organisation is not a return to whatsome might see as the good old days it requires flexibility,tolerance of uncertainty, and willingness to learn new skills.

The alternative, of having specialist skills and knowledge whichone sells to an organisation for a limited period, is alreadycommon in some industries computing and publishing, forexample. For individuals it means devoting considerable timeto finding and bidding for work, and the continual updating ofone's skills in the light of technological change and marketrequirements. It means frequent re-adjustment to differentorganisational practices, limited colleague relationships, andperhaps more attention to pension and other arrangements toachieve financial security.

How does one know whether one's choice of occupation or jobhas been successful? So-called 'objective' indicators likehierarchical status and salary are becoming more difficult touse. De layering, ou tsourcing and increasing ambiguity of careerpaths in organisations mean that one's status may beambiguous and/or difficult to change. Although the movetowards individual contracts has been limited`, it is increasing,

Schein E Career nchor:: Ihm.acering lout Real(Revised edition) I.ondon: Pfeiffer.

Storey I (1902), L>coelainnents in the Management nf Human Resources.Oxford: Blackwell.

Managing Careers in 2000 and Beyond 4759

Tactics

so it becomes harder to know how one's salary compares withothers'. Individuals therefore need to be active in deciding whatcareer success means to them. Put another way, the subjectivecareert is becoming more significant relative to the objectivecareer (see Chapter 1). So not only must individuals deal withmore complexity in career choices: they must also know theirown values and situation well enough to evaluate whether theirchoices have been successful.

So how can individuals maximise their chances of achieving theendpoints described in the previous chapter? Self-managementskills are vital, and no amount of technical updating cancompensate for their absence. They need greater attention incareer guidance work and from individuals in managing theirOwn careers-. Some of these skills have already been mentioned.Others we shall discuss shortly. Broadly, they include self-assessment and self-awareness, organisational analysis andnetworking, negotiating skills, scanning the labour market andworking under different forms of contract.

Tactics in general

Although it was argued above that the match between self andoccupation is no longer the critical objective, it is nonethelessthe case that careful analysis of one's values, interests, skills andlimitations is still crucial to managing a new career. Individualsneed not only self-knowledge, but also to be able to monitorchange in their self-identity over time.

Being able to tolerate or even welcome uncertainty is alsouseful, though simply telling people this is hardly likely toachieve the desired result. Flexibility is important, and not justfor younger people. Older people cannot assume that they have'made it' to calm waters where navigation is easy or safe.

olltti A (ILI) C). What will carver, Iteoune! Paper contributed to theESRC Careers 200(i Seminar.

Kidd I 1\1 and Killeen I (1992), 'Are the effects of careers guidanceworth having? Changes in practice and outcomes, Iournal ofchTurational and Orgarmational P!,.richrrloga, 65, 214-234.

48 Institute for I mployment Studies

A recognition that the nature of work is heavily influenced byglobal technological and economic changes outside one'scontrol needs to be combined with, a sense that within thoseconstraints one has to exert what control one can. Furthermore,it is necessary to monitor carefully the changes one cannotinfluence rather than ignore them entirely. This does notnecessarily require a careful reading of economic and othergurus: keeping a watch on the kind of jobs that are availableand monitoring the relevant professional or trade press areobvious strategies. Individuals also need to explore what newinformation networks are becoming available (eg the Internet).

Global trends are just that global. They have a general effectwhich may be evaded by some individuals. So, for example,although manufacturing industry in the UK employs fewerpeople than it did, many people are still employed in the sector,and people continue to enter it. As careers advisers have longknown, one should evaluate one's chances of moving againstthe tide rather than automatically drifting with it.

As vell as finding out about the global environment,individuals can usefully find out about their more immediateenvironment and perhaps even influence it. A useful checklistfor finding out about jobs can be expressed as a hierarchy ofcareer learning activities' encompassing:

noticing who does what

seeing how work roles depend on each other

appreciating how roles vary between places and times

using 'public' classifications of types of job alongside personalones

appreciating different points-of-view on work, role and self

choosing between influences, knowing which one wants toaccept and which to reject

estimating probabilities of outcomes arising from certainactions.

This illustrates the important point that finding information isonly the first step. As in any learning, thinking must be brought

I .aw 13 (1(405)1 career hmaang theory? Paper presented to the ESRCCareers 2000 Seminar.

Managing Camels in 2000 and Beyond 49

tit

to bear on the information obtained. The thinking involvesrecognising that there is more than one way of interpretinginformation, and that individuals need to arrive at their owninterpretation, reflecting as much as possible their objectivecircumstances and personal values.

It is important for individuals to recogoise that their skilldevelopment and employability can be enhanced throughactivities that might be classed as leisure. Periods outside paidwork, enforced or voluntary, may be times when individualscan develop their range of technical and interpersonal skills,and also their contacts. Recreational and leisure groups mayalso enable individuals to derive a sense of belonging andcontinuity, and thus reduce anxiety, to an extent which is moredifficult to achieve in the workplace than it used to bet.However, it is the case that the negative financial andpsychological consequences of unemployment in practice oftenseverely limit such opportunities2.

There is considerable concern in the UK about the low level ofqualifications possessed by its workforce. Furthermore, doubtsare expressed about whether the work required to obtaineducational qualifications is sufficiently closely geared to therequirements of the workplace. The development of competence-based qualifications in the form of NVQs and SVQs (seeChapter 6) reflects these concerns, and gives many people achance to document the activities they can perform competentlyin their work role. Although NVQs and SVQs have beencriticised on various grounds, individuals, particularly those withfew educational qualjfications, can benefit from obtaining them.They provide some evidence to prospective employers that theperson can be expected to perform adequately if taken on.

50

But paper qualifications, even those based on behaviour atwork, are only part of the story. Most job-search manualsemphasise the importance of personal contacts and social skillsin getting work, since many jobs are never advertised to thegeneral public. Some recent theoretical analyses of careers have

2

Sonnenberg I) (11-m5), 1 lu iNychnlogwal meaning nt Paperpresented to the FSRC Careers 2000 Seminar.

Winefield A II (19'45), 'Unemployment: its psychological costs, inC(loper C I. and Robertson I I (eds), International Re° lew ofIndustrial and Chgayi:nthwul Psychology, Vol . 1 0. Chichester: Wiley.

6')institute for I mpkwmont Studios

made a similar point, referring to the significance of a person's'reputation'i. The common term for keeping oneself known bypeople who might help to develop you or help you get work is'networking'. Networking involves letting people know inculturally acceptable ways that you are competent, conscientious,seeking new knowledge/skills, and, perhaps, that you areavailable for work. It also means encouraging those people tofeel that they would like to help you either now or when theyget the chance. The people are not necessarily senior, nor are theynecessarily in the organisation one might be working for at thetime. In some cases, networking is most effective via formal orinformal professional associations; for others, it is conferences; forothers again, it may be via local friends and leisure groups. Thekey is to know who one wants to reach and for what purpose.

Tactics in organisations

As has been pointed out`, some organisations are relying moreon self-development on the part of employees because the paceof change makes it ever more difficult to provide well-structured career paths and development. The increasedemphasis on self-development is a nlajor culture change,implying as it does that everyone can develop and progress.The adjustment may be as great for individuals as for wholeorganisations. Individuals are well-advised to take the initiativein planning their training and development rather than waitingfor it to be offered. The trend towards competence-based analysesof jobs and indeed whole organisations may help to provide astructure for reviewing one's current position and futurepossibilities.

Individuals need to identify what kinds of work are available intheir organisation now, and what is likely to be available in thefuture. Nobody will have a precise answer, but observation andqueStioning of others in the organisation, together with anystated business plan are likely to be helpful. Opportunities for

2

Arthur M 13 (1994), '1 he boundarvless career: a new perspective tororganiiational enquiry,' louriml I I. OisaIrLatilwal Beluroh»., 15, 295-314-1,

lirsh W, lackson C and Jackson C11995), op. ot.

1.awler E E (1994), 'From job-based to competency-based organi/a-tions,' louriml of Orsani:Ational Hehavior, 15, 3-1.5.

Managing Carvers in 2000 and Beyond 51

6 qj

self-analysis and development, such as personal developmentplanning, development centres and career workshops, can beuseful even if the individual is sceptical about their employingorganisation's motives for offering them and effectiveness inrunning them. Self-initiated actions like seeking a mentor, if aformal mentoring scheme is absent, are also likely to enhanceone's development'.

We have seen in Chapter 3 how for many employees the'psychological contract' has been broken in recent years. Herriotand Pemberton` make a case for individuals and organisationsnegotiating what expectations each will have of the other in thejoining-up process, and for periodic review of whether thebargain is being kept, with the possibility of renegotiation at alater date. Probably negotiation about substantial issues is onlypossible for people with fairly highly sought-after skills and/orexperience, but the point is well made that recruitment shouldbe a negotiation if anv subsequent employment relationship isto be mutually satisfactory.

Effective negotiation by individuals requires good informationof the kind discussed above about self and the world of work,including the organisation one aspires to work for, and how itsmembers might view one's strengths and weaknesses. It alsorequires good negotiation skills1.

Key points

The trend is clearly towards increased demand on people to beproactive in looking after their own careers using their ownresourcefulness.

This requires continuous information-gathering and analysis,self-assessment, planning ahead for the next few years, andsocial skills including negotiation and self-presentation.

Individuals need to be aware of the changing nature ot theemployment relationship and adopt appropriate strategies for'career defence' that enhance their employability.

lackson C (1",t3), 'Mentoring: choices for individuals andorgani/ations: Interuational Journal of Career Mamtsement, S, 10-1h.

Flerriot and Pemberton (1495), (T. cit.

Pruitt l) t; (1481), NeNotration neliactor. I .ondon: Academic

liistitide tor I Inploymilit Studios6 ,1

Individuals should be encouraged to support each other vianetworks and self-help groups.

Individuals need to consider all their activities in terms of thework-related skills and experiences they are developing, and beon the look out for skill development opportunities in theirday-to-day work.

Individuals need to be alert to opportunities to obtain furthereducation and training.

Individuals need access to more localised information aboutemployment trends and work opportunities within particularlocations and market segments.

Managing Caroms in 2000 and Beyond 536

6. Implications for Education and Training

Introduction

Everyone has an interest in the effectiveness of schools, collegesand places of training. Consequently we all have a viewconcerning what they should do. Learning syterns are,therefore, noisy and besieged systems expected to respond to awide range of (at times contradictory) pressures. They areexpected to introduce young people to the cultures andtechnologies of our society and to develop in students thelearning required to function and thrive in it. In particular, wewant places of learning to help students develop the attitudesand behaviours required for their likely futures in the

workplace', although we should ecognise that this is only onepurpose of education. l.earning systems are also expected tosort out those destined for 'careers' (in the traditional sense)from those destined for jobs largely on the basis ofexaminations and other assessments'.

5-1

During the industrial era formal education has largely precededemployment. As the demands of the workplace have grown, ithas done so for longer periods of time: the minimum school-leaving age has been progressively raised, further and highereducation have expanded, and the age of entry to the workplacehas been increasing. But the dominant rnodel of education hascontinued to be essentially one of 'front-loading'. The relativelystable nature of work organisations has meant that anysubsequent work-related learning has been largely provided

Induqt in Education ( l (48(), 1 I mvioyabthht

.ondon: Ind u%trv in Education.

A%hton N and Field I ) ( u7n), 1-0(m.c: Worker.. I .ondon:

I lutchinson. Ako, Dore 'Me I hphuna I )L,eit,e. London:Allen and Unwin.

In,,tiltitc, to; I motayment Studie%

within such organisations, without any need for formalaccreditation.

Now, however, the new models of work are calling thesemodels of learning into question. If individuals move muchmore regularly between different jobs and differentorganisations, learning needs to be lifelong. Moreover, it needsto be supported and accredited in ways which promoteportability making experience gained in one work settinguseful in another. This could mean a more significant role forformal educational institutions. Such institutions need,however, to operate more flexibly, if they are to be capable ofassuming this new role. Expectations of schools need to be re-cast: their key task now becomes less concerned with 'sorting'and more with providing the foundations for lifelong learning.

Towards lifelong learning

The need for lifelong learning is now widely recognised. Thepace of technological change means that the 'shelf-life' of workskills and knowledge is getting ever shorter. More frequentmovement between jobs as well as between employment andother work settings requires regular learning of newcompetences. More and more work requires 'multi-skilling': awider and more flexible range of skills.

At national level, it has been influentially argued that if Britainis to compete successfully in world markets, and to survive andflourish as a high-wage economy, it needs to become muchmore of a high-skill economy than it is at present. To achievethis, a 'skills revolution' is needed, the key to which is to motivateand empower all individuals to develop their knowledge andskills throughout their working livesl. A set of National Targetsfor Education and Training has been adopted by a variety ofbodies, with Government support, to provide a framework forthe action that is needed-.

2

Confederation ot l3riLih Indu,ary (1)/4t4), Towant, a Skill, Revolution.ondon:Clfl.

National Adykory Council for Education and .1 raining 1 argct.,ILm5), Report on Progre lowariL. the National I argeh.. Imndon:

NACETT.

Managing Careers in 2000 and Beyond 55

This analysis is not universally accepted. Some argue thatlifelong learning is important only for the new work elitenotably those termed by Robert Reich the 'symbolic analysts'i.Such commentators predict a growing gulf between this groupand a low-skilled underclass fluctuating between insecurerepetitive work and unemployment. The implications of thisscenario for social-security systems and for social harmony aredaunting. We need a universal model for lifelong learning maderelevant to work in all its settings. This will make it possible foreveryone to contribute to and share in both economic prosperityand social improvement.

Lifelong learning does not necessarily mean lifelong education.It embraces training, as well as more informal learning in theworkplace and outside it. The education system has, however, apotentially important role to play, providing formal opportunitiesfor learning which are detached from the narrow immediateconcerns of the workplace. Arguably, such forms of learning arelikely to become more important as the pace of technologicalchange accelerates and the rate of job mobility grows.

If the education system is to play a central role in lifelonglearning, it needs to be more flexible than in the past. Adulteducation needs to be viewed as a core provision for all, not asan 'optional extra' for some a peripheral adjunct to theeducation of children and young people. Course structures needto be adapted to make it easier for individuals to move in andout of the educational system, and to design their own learningpathways, drawing from provision in different institutionswhere appropriate. In short, educational institutions need to beremodelled so that they can offer resources for individuals touse as and when they have particular needs which suchinstitutions are able to meet.

Technology is likely to be a powerful change-agent in thisrespect. The traditional emphasis on class attendance as a.

requirement of educational provision is outdated. Learningpackages (kvised by teachers can now be used in the home, inthe workplace, in community centres, and elsewhere. The valueadded by more direct forms of learner support 'weds to be morepersonal and more interactive: in one-t()-one or sma psituations. Such support tor learning-to-learn activities %vill be

-5()

N ( lUi ) I lim Wotk of Vat/oti,. I ondon:!,inion and Lchw,tcr.

66Institut(' tot I mployment Studit,

particularly important for individuals who have not engaged informal education for some time (a group which should rapidlydiminish in size).

Transmitting information is less important than deepeningunderstanding. The emerging roles of the teacher within themore flexible structures of lifelong learning are accordinglyfourfold. The first is as a learning designer with 'products'ranging from books and videos to programme-learningpackages, multi-media learning kits, and various forms ofexperiential and experience-based learning. The second is as alearning co-ordinator, linking human and material resources toobjectives and methods so that they meet the needs andreadiness of the learners. The third is as a learning consultant,helping the learners to overcome learning blockages and toengage at a deeper level with the meaning and purpose of whatthey are learning. The fourth is as a learning assessff, evaluatingand accrediting the individual's learning, regardless of whereand how it has been obtained.

A national qualifications framework

The role of accreditation within the new models of learningrequired by the new models of work is critical. If individualsare to move more regularly between different workorganisations, their learning must be accredited in a way whichmakes it portable.

This means accreditation not only of formal learning, but also ofinformal learning, including learning in the workplace.Individuals who are responsible for their own careerdevelopment need to be assured that at the end of any workcontract, they will be mons, not less, able to find work.Accordingly, they are increasingly going to demand that thelearning they have acquired in the course of the contract isaccredited, so its value is recognised by other possibleemployers, clients and customers.

The main framework currently being developed for suchaccreditation is the 1.tructure of National and ScottishVocational Qualifications (NIVQs and SVQs). It is competence-based; the process by which the individual reaches thiscompetence is not defined. The framework is designed to becomprehensive, covering all work-related learning, and to

Managing Careers in 2000 and Beyond 6 9 57

facilitate movement between as well as within particularoccupations .

The system of NVQs and SVQs is in many respects animportant move in the right direction. Its competence-basedapproach is, however, widely criticised for not paying sufficientattention to underpinning knowledge and theory. Yet it isimportant that learners not only know how to do things, butunderstand why they do them and how they achieve theireffects. Such deeper levels of understanding are essential to theresponsible and transferable use of personal competence. This isparticularly important at higher occupational levels, where thedevelopment of NVQs and SVQs is still at an early stage-.

Meanwhile, the post-compulsory education system is increas-ingly developing credit accumulation and transfer systems(CATS) which are designed to enable students to move moreeasily between different courses and institutions. The pace ofsuch development is still uneven, with different credit 'tariff'systems being used by different institutions, and with someinstitutions more concerned with intra- than inter-institutional

In principle, the roles of NVQs and SVQs, and of CATS, arecomplementary. The criticisms of NVQs and SVQs forneglecting knowledge and theory are the converse of criticismsof educational courses accredited in CATS schemes forneglecting skills (in particular, transferable core skills). Effectivelearning experiences are likely to need to encompass attentionto knowledge, theory and skills, though in varying balance: allneed to be accredited. The new model of career requires anintegrated qualifications framework in which the respectivestrengths of NVQs, SVQs and CATS systems are sustained, theirlimitations ameliorated, and their connections strengthened.

Sec Jessup Ci (1991), c)utconte:.: and the Emerging Model ofEducation and Training. I ondon:

2 National Council for Vocational Qualifications 09'45), Vr:qou.lor

lugher Leoel Vocatimmt ?ualifkathm:, I .ondon: NCVQ.

Robertson 1/ (191)4), ( liooittg lit Clumgc. London: Higher EducationQuality Council,

58 Institute for linployment Studiesfstr

=o1A.

The changing role of schools

The concept of lifelong learning transforms the role of schools.Hitherto their programmes have been dominated by the publicexaminations taken at the ages of 16 and 18, linked to thedominance of their 'sorting' function. This has tended toproduce a narrowly instrumental approach to learning, focusedon the 'exchange value' of examination certificates rather thanthe 'use value' of the learning itself'.

Within a lifelong learning system, by contrast, the key role ofthe school is to foster young people's motivation, and to developth,..ir skills for learning how to learn. This requires very differentcurriculum models, with weaker emphasis on the boundariesbetween traditional school subjects, more emphasis on theinteraction between understanding and action, and more use ofcommunity resources. More attention should be paid to theindividual's experience of learning, as expressed in such modelsas the four-stage learning cycle- concrete experience,reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation, and activeexperimentation.

One of the implications of this is that relationships betweenlearning and work need to be established more strongly at anearlier stage. Education has a long-standing tradition ofprotecting young people from child labour. The boundariesbetween education and the world of work have, as aconsequence, been sharply marked and tightly patrolled. Thishas begun to change, and needs to change further. Experience-based learning in workplaces and other forms of education-business partnership enrich the learning process, and helpyoung people to engage in the interactions between learningand work which are the essence of lifelong learning.

The RSA' has suggested that lifelong learning should be viewedas comprising three overlapping stages: .foundation (up to age16), instilling the habit of learning; prmation (ages 14 to 21),

2

Saunders M (1993), 'I'VE! and the National Curriculum: cultureclash between use and exchange value,' Vuabtatron it, Reearch andI ilmatton, 7, 107-115.

Kolb I) A (1984), Experiential learning. Englewood Clitts, Newersey: Prentice-I fall.

Ball C (1991), I earninN Pays. 1 ondon: Royal Society of Arts.

Managing Careers in 2000 and Beyond 59

I.

Key points

developing workplace readiness; and continuation (age 18-0,based on independent learning. It proposes that the foundationstage should be funded largely by the state in the traditionalway; the formation stage by the state through learning creditsor vouchers; and the continuation stage largely by theindividual or employer. The last is unlikely to be sufficient in aflexible labour market. In our view there is a role for the state inall three stages. For the third stage, the concept of individuallearning accounts .with contributions in varying balancesfrom the individual, the employer and the state seems apromising way forward'.

If individuals move more regularly aid rapidly betweendifferent jobs, different organisations and different worksettings, learning needs to be lifelong. It also needs to besupported and accredited in ways which promote portability.

If educational institutions are to play a central role in ".felonglearning, they need to operate in flexible ways. Informationtechnology is likely to be an important agent of change in thisrespect.

An integrated national qualifications framework is needed,beginning in secondary education, which covers education andtraining, knowledge and skills, and provides for lifelongindividual progression.

A key role of compulsory schooling is to lav the foundations forlifelong learning.

ornmi,o,ion on Sticial Justice (19q4), StrateNw!, .foi-

Ntatninal Reneu,d. I.ontion: Vintage.

In,,Iitote for I nipkwment Sludk,

7. Implications for Career Guidance

Introduction

If individuals are to secure progression in their learning andwork, career guidance is crucial. A massive increase is neededboth in the quantity and quality of such guidance.

Within the industrial era, the role of career guidance has beenvery limited. The destiny of individuals within both theeducation system and the employment system has beendetermined largely by selection processes. Career guidance hasbeen a limited switch mechanism to fine-tune the passage fromone system to the other. That is why career guidance serviceshave been so heavily concentrated around the transition fromfull-time education to employment. In practice, the two systemshave usually been so well synchronised that it has not had toomuch to do. It has been a limited, marginal and low-statusactivity.

Now, however, its role is moving centre-stage. If individualsare to take responsibility for their career development, careerguidance is critical, in three respects:

in helping individuals to clarify and articulate their aims andaspirations

in ensuring that their decisions are informed in relation to theneeds of the labour market

in empowering individuals in their negotiations with employersand other purchasers of their services.

C(mcentrating guidance resources a t t he entry-point toemployment is no longer adequate. Careers are now based noton single decision points, but on a long series of iterative

Managing Careers in 2000 and Beyond '7 3

decisions made throughout people's lives. Guidance needs to beavailable at all these decision points.

This means that a national strategy is required for lifelongaccess to guidance in support of lifelong career development,for all'. No single agency can deliver what is needed. A three-pronged strategy is required so that:

1. guidance is an integral part of all educational provision

2. guidance is an integral part of all employment provision

3. continuous access is provided to independent guidance from aneutral base.

All three need to be supported by strong and clear qualitystandards-,.

Career guidance within education

The concept of career guidance as an integral part of educationhas two facets. The first is the role of compulsory schooling inlaying the foundations for lifelong career development. Thisattaches particular importance to careers education within thecurriculum, designed to develop competence in career self-management: the skills, knowledge and attitudes which willenable young people to make and implement career decisionsimmediately and in the future. This has traditionally been amarginal part of a curriculum dominated bY academic subjects.It now needs to be viewed as the core of a new curriculum forpreparing students for lifelong learning.

The second facet is that, within but also beyond compulsoryschooling, all educational provision should provide regularopportunities for students to relate what they are learning totheir future career development. This has implications for thecurriculum itself. It also requires tutorial support, and specialistguidance services within the institution. The importance

VVatts A G (1994), Lifelong Career fleoelopinent: 'toward', a NationalStrategy for Career:, Education and Giodame. ambridge: CareersResearch and Advkorv Centre.

2 Ilawthorn R (1995), First StenN: a Quality Standanl, I minemn* fin.Guidance Acros!. All Sector:, I Amdon: RSA/National AdvisoryCouncil for Careers and Fducational Guidance.

62 Ilislituk for linpkwinent Studies

7,i

attached to these services is likely to grow as course structuresbecome more flexible, with the development of modularcourses and systems of credit accumulation and transfer. Theprominence given to guidance within the funding, audit andinspection procedures adopted by the Further EducationFunding Council is welcome in this respect; the parallelprocedures of the Higher Education Funding Councils need tobe reviewed in the same light.

It is important that guidance services set up to help studentswith learning choices should not become detached from thoseconcerned with work choices: the essence of effective guidanceis the relationship between learning and work. This does notimply that leaming should always be narrowly vocational ininspiration: 'work' can be unpaid, which embraces what is oftenreferred to as 'learning for its own sake'. For many people,however, links between learning and earning are vital.Guidance services need to be linked within educationalinstitutions to stronger and more creative forms of partnershipwith employers, particularly small and medium-sizedemployers which are providing an increasing proportion ofemployment opportunities (see Chapter 2).

A particularly significant development within education is thegrowing practice of encouraging students to engage in regularrecording of achievement and action planning. Students in anincreasing number of institutions are being asked, every fewmonths, to review their learning experiences, inside and outsidethe formal curriculum, and to define the skills and competencesacquired; they are also being asked to review their long-termgoals, their short-term learning objectives, and ways ofachieving these objectives. This is of value in its own right; italso helps to develop and support the skills of reviewing and ofplanning which are crucial to career self-management.

Career guidance within employment

Within employment, too, individuals are increasingly beinggiven opportunities to review their progress and their futureplans either within appraisal systems, or through parallelsystems ot development reviews. In addition, a growingnumber of organisations are introducing other systems tosupport career selt-management: career planning workshops,assessment centres, career resource centres, mentoring systems,

Managing Careers in 2000 ond Beyond 63

and the like. These have been discussed in Chapter 4. They needto be regarded as an integral part of a national guidance strategy.

Independent career guidance

The potential advantages of embedding career guidance withineducation and employment are two-fold. First, such organisationshave more continuous contacts with individuals based withinthem, and so are able to deliver more substantial and sustainedsupport than any external service can do. Second, they are in astronger position to influence the opportunities they offer inresponse to individuals' needs and demands, as revealedthrough the guidance process. In adult education, for example,it is now widely recognised that an important role of guidanceis providing feedback on learners' needs which are not beingmet by existing provision'. This can be applied in other areastoo. Guidance can thus not only help individuals to choosebetween the opportunities already available, but also encourageproviders to develop new opportunities to meet individuals'preferences and requirements.

But guidance within education and within employment alsoshare common limitations. First, they do not cover everyone:many people spend significant parts of their lives outsideeducation and employment structures because they areunemployed, for example, or engaged in child-rearing. Second,guidance services within organisations do not always have asufficiently broad view of opportunities outside thatorganisation. Third, the organisation can have a vested interestin the outcomes of the individual's decision, which can make itdifficult to provide guidance that is genuinely impartial.Schools with sixth-forms, for instance, are rewarded financiallyif their students stay on beyond the age of 16: some are temptedto bias their guidance in favour of their own offerings at theexpense of the opportunities available elsewhere. Employers,too, may be reluctant to encourage valued employees to exploreopportunities in other organisations, and employees themselvesmay be fearful that, if they are seen to be seeking guidance,their commitment to their employer may be judged to havewea kened.

64

Oakehott (19g0), Liftwational Guidance and Curriculum c'hange.ondon: Further Hucation [nit/Unit tor the Development of

Adult Continuing Education.

lmlitule kg I mployment Studios

1131.

For these reasons, mdix iduals need access to a broader andmore Impartial perspective which a neutral career guidanceservice can bring. Some will be able to gain sufficient help andsupport from friends and relatives. Many, however, will needaccess to a professional service, with professional counsellingskills and access to high-quality information.

For young people (plus some adults involved in furthereducation), free access to such a service the Careers Service

is assured by statute. The Careers Service has traditionallybeen a low-status operation, run by Local EducationAuthorities. Under legislation passed in 1994, contracts to runthe service in specified localities have been offered oncompetitive tender. It is too early to determine whether this willproduce a higher-quality and more innovative service, or resultin lowering of professional standards and fragmentation ofprofessional collaboration.

For most adults, however, there is no such provision. Insteadthere is a patchwork of public guidance services, mostly withoutany continuity of funding, plus an Employment Service inwhich guidance is confusingly linked to punitive tests of benefitentitlement for the unemployed. There is also a private sectorlimited to certain market niches (particularly outplacementcounselling funded by employers).

The most urgent policy need is a national strategy for guidancefor adults. One approach which appears to be attractinggrowing support is based on a two-stage model'. The.foundationprovision would be available free of charge to all. It wouldcomprise open-access information centres in every sizeabletown and city, supported by brief 'diagnostic guidance'interventions designed to identify guidance needs for whichfurther provision might be needed. This enhanced provisioncounselling interviews, psychological testing, etc. would beavailable from a range of accredited providers within both thepublic and private sectors, and would be costed: those able topay would be expected to do so, perhaps from their individuallearning accounts (see Chapter 6); public funding would be

Watt', A ( ; (1""4), A Strategy for I Vodoping Carver. Guidance Serrricc,pr Adult:, Cambridge: Careers Research and Advisory Centre.Also, National Advisory Council for Careers and EducationalGuidance (19%), CoIbultabon Papel on Ii Nattomil titrateNy .fiw AdultGuidancc. I .ondon: RSA.

Managing Careers in 2000 and Beyond 7 " 65

targeted at groups where the ability to pay was low and/or thepublic interest in take-up was high (notably the unemployed,women returners, and the low-waged).

Towards a strategy

To bring together these various strands of guidance provisionwithin a coherent strategic framework, strong co-ordinatingstructures are needed. At national level, the new NationalAdvisory Council for Careers and Educational Guidance is apromising development, bringing together as it does the majoremployer organisations, education and training organisations,consumer organisations, and guidance professional organisations,with observers from the r2levant government departments.Strategic frameworks for lifelong access to guidance are alsoneeded at regional and local levels. Training and EnterpriseCouncils and equivalent agencies potentially have a central roleto play in developing such strategies.

The changing concept of career has considerable implicationsnot only for the structure of guidance delivery, but also for itsprocesses. Many of the existing theories used in guidancepractice are based on outdated industrial-era models of career:the new models have implications for research and training,and require much closer and more collaborative relationshipsbetween theorists and practitioners'. Urgent consideration alsoneeds to be given, for example, to the opportunities for globalaccess to information and contacts offered by the Internet, andits relationship to face-to-face guidance services. Further, it

seems likely that there will be a growing need tor stronger linksbetween career guidance and financial guidance.

Key points

If individuals are to take responsibility for their own careerdevelopment, career guidance is critical. It needs to be availablethroughout life.

A national strategy is required for lifelong access to guidance insupport of lifelong career development, for all.

C ollin A (Iwo), 'Re-thinking the relationship between theory andpractice: practitioners as map-readers, map-makers or Ia.,/players?' flrnisli journal of Guithince and t-olnu.ellmx, 24, 67-8l.

Institute tor l.mployment Studies

This should include guidance as an integral part of all goodeducation and all good employment.

In addition, individuals need access to the broader and moreimpartial perspective which a neutral career guidance servicecan bring. Such a service is currently only universally availableto young people.

A policy is needed for access to impartial and neutral careerguidance for adults. This should include a mix of public andprivate provision.

Managing Careers in 20(R) and livvond ()7

AppendixThe ESRC Careers 2000 Seminar Series

This appendix provides background information on the seminarseries, outlines the process b) which this report was written,identifies members of the seminar group, and lists the papersand presentations that were made at the seminars.

Each seminar lasted a full day, and normally consisted of shortpapers and/or presentations made by members of the groupand invited guests, with discussion. Some of the papers werepresented and responded to by someone other than theirauthor.

Early in its existence, the group decided to produce a report foipolicv-makers and individuals. It is important to emphasise thatthis report results from the efforts of all memb- the group,not only those listed as authors.

It was agreed that the task of writing the report would bedelegated to a small team, but that all group members shouldbe able to contribute ideas for any part of the report. Volunteersagreed to co-ordinate contributions from group members for eachsection of the report and group members sent notes to theappropriate co-ordinator. These notes weiv reviewed by thewhole group. The authors made use of the material contributedby members where appropriate, but were not confined to it.Successive drafts of the report were considered at the seminarsand many of the suggestions made were incorporated in thereport.

Below are listed the tolloN ing:

I. the convenor of the 'seminar series and report author,.

68 Institute tor I mployment Studies

o

2. the co-ordinators of material for each section of this report, andthose who contributed material

3. the members of the group

4. the papers and presentations made to the group, with authorsand presenters named.

This illustrates how many people have contributed to thisreport directly or indirectly. A collection of papers presented tothe group is available from Dr John Arnold.

Seminar Convenor

Dr John Arnold, Loughborough University Business School

Report Authors

Dr Charles Jackson, Institute fm Employment Studies, Brighton(Report Co-ordinator)

Dr John Arnold, Loughborough University Business School

Professor Nigel Nicholson, London Business School

Tony Watts, OBE, Director, National Institute for CareersEducation and Counselling, Cambridge

Co-ordinators and Contributors of Material for thisReport

The Challging Naillre of CarCerSCarole Pemberton (Co-ordinator), Peter Herriot, Anne Segall,Audrey Collin, Jenny Kidd

i.abour Market Trot( ls What t las Been Happening to OrangeCareers?Julie Storey (Co-ordinator), John Arnold, Wendy Hirsh

What Wi II Careers Recome?Audrey Collin (Co-ordinator), Malcolm Ballantine, PeterHerriot, Wendy Hirsh

I hnv L iuj 'loin 'r B, Managing the New Kinds of- Careers?Anne Segall (Co-ordinator), David Cannon, Wendy HiNb,

Managing Career', in 2000 and BeyondS

7()

Valmai Bowden, Rob Stick land, Peter Herriot, CarolePemberton, Audrey Collin, Noe leen Doherty, Andrew Hill

individuals What Should Theu be Told About Careers?Jenny Kidd (Co-ordinator), Peter Herriot, Rob Stick land, AnneSegall

Education/Training Providers Implications of Changes in CareersMalcolm Ballantine (Co-ordinator), John Arnold, Audrey Collin

Careers Guidance Providers implications of Changes in CareersTony Watts (Co-ordinator), Audrey Collin, Peter Hawkins,Jenny Kidd, David Sonnenberg

Group Members

Dr John Arnold, Loughborough University Business SchoolBen Ball, Director of Career Development Unit, University of

SussexMalcolm Ballantine, Independent Consultant, Watford, HertsValmai Bowden, Manchester School of Management, UMIST

Dr David Cannon, London Business SchoolDr Audrey Collin, Department of Human Resource Management,

De Montfort UniversityNoeleen Doherty, Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield

UniversityMike Haffenden, Independent Consultant, WokinghamDr Peter Hawkins, Centre for Continuing Education, University

of LiverpoolProfessor Peter Herriot, Institute for Empkwment Studies, Brighton

Andrew Hill, Department of Management, University of KeeleDr Wendy Hirsh, institute for Emplovnwnt Studies, BrightonDr Charles Jackson, Institute for Employment Studies, BrightonCarole Jackson, Independent Consultant, LondonProfessor Anne Jones, klead ot Continuing I'd ucat ion, Brunel

University

Dr Jenny Kidd, Department ot Orgaiiiiationa I Psychology,Birkbeck College

liitiliile itt I plOVI 1 WIl t Sitnlie,

John Killeen, School of Health and Human Sciences, Universityof Hertfordshire; Senior Fellow, NICEC, Cambridge

Dr Bill Law, Senior Fellow, N10EC, Cambridge

Julie Maddrell, University College SalfordAlan Manie, Director of Human Resources Development, Air

Products plcAndrew Mayo, Independent Consultant, St AlbansDavid McGill, Management Development Manager, BP

Chemicals

Professor Nigel Nicholson, London Business School

Carole Pemberton, Sundridge Park Management Centre, BromleyAnne Segall, Independent Consultant, TeddingtonDavid Sonnenberg, Independent Consultant, I nndonRob Stick land, Independent Consultant, Peterborough

Julie Storey, Department of Human Resource Management,De Montfort University

Jonathan Suzman, Independent Consultant, Midhurst,W Sussex

Tony Watts, OBE, Director, NICEC, Cambridge

Dr Barbara White, Department of Psychology, University ofLiverpool

Papers and Presentations to the Group

Dezwlopments in the British Labour Market Vision and Reality.Ewart Keep, Industrial Relations Research Unit, University ofWarwick

Thenws in Career DePelopment in Organisations Insights fromRecent IMS Workshops. Wendy Hirsh and Charles Jackson

How Can Organisations and Individuals Best (,o About Retkfiningtht' Psychological Contract? Peter Flerriot (Presented anddiscussed by David McGill)

A Career Learning Theory? bill I ,aw (Presented and discussed byAudrey Collin)

S rkjManaging Calms in 20(R) and Beyond 71

.o

Acorns and Oak Trees A Strategy JO,. Self-Development inOrganisations. Rob Stick land

The Changing Context of Careers. Anne Jones

Career Counselling A Suitable Case.for Research? Ben Ball(Presented and discussed by Malcolm Ballantine)

Career Development Interventions. Anne Segall (Presented anddiscussed by Rob Stickland)

A Career Theory-Based Approach to Corporate ManagementDevelopment. Professor John Burgoyne, Department ofManagement Learning, University of Lancaster

The Importance of the Neurological Basis of Learning to LearningInterventions. Seminar led by David Bradshaw, Sheffield

The Psychological Meaning of lAfork. David Sonnenberg (Presentedand discussed by David Cannon)

The Value of Work. Jonathan Suzman

ruture Research on Careers. Adrian Alsop, Economic and SocialResearch Council

Government Policies on Lifetinie Ixarning: Will They Help to SustainSatisfactory Careers? Jim Smith, Department for Education andEmployment

Stepping Outside the lob Box. Robin Linnecar. KPMG

Lifilong Learning.for Lifelong Working. Bert Clough, TUC

72 Instituto tor I noloymont Studios(I

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