Rwanda Career Guidance and Kuder’s Involvement Presented by Mr. Phil Harrington, President and CEO, Kuder

And Dr. Theophile Muhayimana, Lecturer & Dean, Faculty (College) of Education University of Kibungo

NATIONWIDE SYSTEM OF CAREER GUIDANCE

• In 2012, we began conversations with Rwanda leaders to support the Republic’s goals for a nationwide system of career guidance.

• Our approach highlighted three important concepts:— Building comprehensive talent pipelines to support

bridging education to economic development through evidence-based career guidance.

— Bringing together stakeholders for a national summit.— Providing hope for the future for youth and adults.

Much of our early conversations are being realized today!

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

In 2013, MINEDUC released an RFP with the purpose to:“enable targeting human resource needs for the national development in an effort to lead to a knowledge based society. To-date, students have not been given adequate support or guided to make their choices for their future careers. Rather, they rely on parents, other students, own initiatives, and hence a need to develop a system of guiding children. The need to establish career guidance systems that are school based, will ensure sustainability of career guidance, its ownership, and continuity.”

SUPPORT FOR REFORM INITIATIVES

• Kuder was selected to:— evaluate the career needs of Rwandans, — provide scalable training and professional development, and — develop an online system as part of Rwanda’s reform initiatives.

• Reform initiatives included: — bring about improvements to skilled human capital, — streamline the pathways from education to careers, and — ultimately form a workforce equipped to compete in a today’s competitive global economy.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

• Began a three-phase approach:— Phase I – Pilot Program— Phase II – Expansion of the Pilot— Phase III – Country-wide Talent Pipeline

• MINEDUC awarded the contract to Kuder for pilot program (Phase I) featuring:

— Needs Analysis & Evaluation— Professional Development & Training— Comprehensive Career Planning System

NEEDS ANALYSIS & EVALUATION

OBJECTIVEConduct a formal needs analysis and evaluation of key stakeholders’ awareness, acceptance, and application of program initiatives. The Kuder’s Community Career Needs Assessment, customized and localized for Rwanda, provides qualitative and quantitative data on current conditions and creates a roadmap for program development, implementation, and expansion.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING

OBJECTIVETailor the Kuder Career Advisor Training® (CAT) program for Rwanda to equip teachers with the essential knowledge and skills for delivering career planning services and the best support for students as they make career plans.

COMPREHENSIVE CAREER PLANNING SYSTEM

OBJECTIVEDesign, develop, and maintain an online system for career guidance for Rwanda based on the Kuder Career Planning System® – at the center of which will be reliable career assessments and national-level databases that will deliver information and resources on occupations, education options, and employers.

About the Rwanda Career Needs Assessment

WHAT IS THE RCNA?

Kuder’s Career Needs Assessment, customized for Rwanda, is a comprehensive evaluation of key stakeholders’

awareness, acceptance, and application of career guidance program initiatives.

RCNA IMPLEMENTATION & SURVEYS

• Four stakeholder groups surveyed:— Secondary School Students— Parents— Teachers and School Administrators— Community Partners (e.g., Employers)

SURVEYED PARTICIPANTS

Respondent Group Number

Secondary School Students 779

Parents 54

Teachers and School 111

Community Partners 21

Total: 965

SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Nyagatare4% Bugesera

10%

Nyanasheke13%

Rubavu4%

Musanze6%

Gicumbi4%Huye

14%

Ruhango18%

Nyarugenge14%

Kicukiro13%

DISTRICT

Young Men57%

Young Women

43%

GENDER

PARENTS EDUCATIONAL EXPECTATIONS

Bachelor's Degree 8%

Master's Degree 6%

Ph.D. 86%

RCNA SURVEYS & RESULTS

• Each survey contained 23-25 items mapped to four key areas:

— Career Development

— School-Based Learning

— Work-Based Learning

— Connecting Links

Students, Parents, Teachers, and Community Partners all indicated a high level of need across all the areas.

RCNA CONCLUSIONS

Based on the results from the four needs assessments, it is clear that students have high levels of need in all the areas assessed.

• It was recommended that:— Kuder’s career guidance resources be localized to Rwanda to address these students’ needs. — A comprehensive system of career guidance be implemented to ensure high levels of students’

use of Kuder assessments, resources, and supports for long-term success.

About the Kuder Career Advisor

Training Program

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING

To best provide the depth of services to career planners of all ages, Kuder recommends that educators and others working with students become

well-versed in the essential knowledge and skills of career advising and the career planning system.

The foundation of a career guidance system.

ABOUT KUDER CAREER ADVISOR TRAINING

• The Kuder Career Advisor Training (CAT) program offers the latest evidence-based strategies, trends, and best practices.

• Our Essentials course, which was localized for Rwanda’s use, is authored by world-renowned career guidance expert, Dr. JoAnn Harris-Bowlsbey.

• Four career development competency areas are addressed in the course to cover specific learning objectives.

CAREER GUIDANCE THEORY Demonstrate knowledge of the theories of Drs. Donald

E. Super and John L. Holland. Apply theories to work with students/clients. Organize career fairs, postsecondary majors,

occupational information, job descriptions, and other materials by Holland codes.

Competency & Learning Objectives1

A PERSONAL TOUCH FOR CAREER GUIDANCE

Conduct an effective intake interview with individuals in target populations.

Prepare and follow up with students/clients to make effective use of an online career planning system.

Recognize special needs of various groups and adapt services accordingly.

Competency & Learning Objectives2

UNDERSTANDING THE RWANDA CAREER PLANNING SYSTEM

Define the role of technology-based systems in delivering career planning services.

Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the Rwanda Career Planning System, powered by Kuder® content.

Demonstrate the capability to follow through with system users.

Competency & Learning Objectives3

PLANNING AS A TOOL FOR CAREER GUIDANCE

Understand and participate in program development efforts and assist with implementing assigned parts of that process.

Assist in the collection of evaluative data about the results or acceptance of a program of services.

Provide constructive feedback to management about needed services or improvement of existing services.

Competency & Learning Objectives4

PILOT PROGRAM TRAINING OUTCOMES

• 3.5 days of training took place to educate teachers as Career Advisors.

• 4 sessions for a total of 93 participants in 30 districts were conducted in 2014:

— South-Huye; 8 districts represented.— West-Karongi; 6 districts represented.— North-Musanze; 8 districts represented.— East-Rwamagana; 8 districts represented.

• An additional 72 teachers were trained in 2017

CONGRATULATIONS

165Certified Career

Advisors are trained in Rwanda