Skills & competencies required by Skills & competencies required by career practitioners to develop career practitioners to develop

internet-based practiceinternet-based practice

Lancaster UniversityDepartment of Educational Research Seminar Series

6th June, 2012

Jenny BimroseInstitute for Employment ResearchUniversity of Warwickjenny.bimrose@warwick.ac.uk

Outline Outline

Research method/findingsFollow-on researchFuture indications?

ICT: Policy ContextICT: Policy Context

‘…young people today want and expect to secure IAG from a range of sources beyond formal

careers advice…’

‘Our IAG offer for young people will exploit a range of digital technologies’

Ref: Department for Children Schools and Families (2009). Quality, Choice & Aspiration: A strategy for young people's information, advice and guidance. London: HM Government. Retrieved 26 October 2009, from http://publications.dcsf.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/IAG-Report-v2.pdf. (DCSF, 2009b, p.13)

 

ICT for CEIAG: Workforce Capacity?ICT for CEIAG: Workforce Capacity?

‘...the knowledge base of the Career Guidance workforce which is necessary to use ICT

technology can be lacking ... This is not conducive to the direction in which the occupation as a

whole is moving...’

Ref: Cobbett, D., Dodd, F., Miller, S. and Shearer, L. (2009). Skills needs and training supply for career guidance – a gap analysis. Newcastle upon Tyne: Trends Business Research Ltd.

Research questions?Research questions?

Skills & competencies: Which are required to deliver on ICT-based CEIAG?

Workforce capacity:Is there a skills gap?

Evidence-based practice?Evidence-based practice?

Research: 2009/2010 (CfBT)

Literature reviewFieldworkData analysis & write-up

ICT: Use of languageICT: Use of language

ICT: Current usage in CEIAGICT: Current usage in CEIAG

Skills & competencies for ICT-Skills & competencies for ICT-based CEIAGbased CEIAG

Digital SkillsDigital Skills

Digital Skills: Social/PersonalDigital Skills: Social/Personal

Communication

General KnowledgeCreativityCollaborationSelf-Esteem

Parallel processingPersistence

Peer-to-peer learning

Risk-taking

Digital SkillsDigital Skills

Cognitive/PhysicalMulti-tasking

Logical thinkingProblem solvingTrial & error learning

TechnicalHand-eye

coordinationTechnical

confidence

Web-designContent creation

Evidence-based practice?Evidence-based practice?

Fieldwork

Small scale, mixed method empirical study6 sites across England (Connexions)Varied delivery contexts and geographical

locationsData collection: YP, PAs and managers

Data collection: Young PeopleData collection: Young People

•7 focus groups [46 YP]•46% male, 54% female•Years 8 to 13•35-60 minutes•Range of materials used

YP’s experiences of CEIAGYP’s experiences of CEIAG

• Available services: high level of awareness• Participation: high - various methods• Telephone and email: low level of usage• Career information: mixed response• Varied search strategies: deployed• National website [Connexions Direct]: low

level of usage

YP’s aspirations: ICT in guidanceYP’s aspirations: ICT in guidance

Data collection: P.A.s & ManagersData collection: P.A.s & Managers

• Interviews: 11 P.A.s & 6 managers• 18% male, 82% female• Majority qualified [Dip CG, QCG, NVQ

Level 4]• CPD – high levels of participation• Variety of contexts

P.A.s & managers current use of P.A.s & managers current use of ICT in service deliveryICT in service delivery

• Limited• Potential to develop this part of practice

embraced enthusiastically (generally!)• Brakes:

~ technological infrastructure~ resources ~ confidence

Skills & competencies: findingsSkills & competencies: findings

• Majority ‘high’ or ‘medium’ for most essential digital skills• Most support required for skills in web design

and content creation

Overall: workforce well positioned to develop confidence and additional skills to engage effectively in internet-based guidance delivery

Context: shifting paradigms

From this…. To this……

ICT: Policy ContextICT: Policy Context

…..further integration of ICT into careers service delivery is essential for effective delivery of services, a number of key issues need to be

resolved before its successful implementation can be achieved fully. These include CPD support for careers professionals…… ICT specification for the

all-age service to ensure this supports fully integrated provision.

Ref: Careers Profession Task Force Composite Progress Report to Ministers, March 2012

ICT: Policy ContextICT: Policy Context

‘…the existing funding for face-to-face career guidance services for young people has been allowed to vanish without trace, without any

public announcement to this effect. Most existing Connexions career guidance services for young

people have being eroded or dismantled by Local Authority cuts. Schools now have to pay for

services they previously received free of charge’.

Ref: Careers England Policy Commentary 15B (Final Version):The Coalition’s Emerging Policies on Career Guidance (May 2012)

ICT in IAG - Current usage?ICT in IAG - Current usage?

ICT in IAG - ThemesICT in IAG - Themes

Levels of integrationDriversTimelinesEvaluation

Future plansOrganisational

implicationsFuture landscapeWorkforce capacity

Levels of integrationLevels of integrationReactive – ad hoc response to requests Ongoing need (‘not part of initial training’)ICT competence (‘tricky, sticky & leaky’)Contracts – ambiguity [uncertainty +

targets]

‘The more negative experiences CAs have of technology based systems, the more

difficult it is to persuade them to embrace its usage more widely in practice’.

Technological FramesTechnological Frames

Assumptions, expectations & beliefs about ICT that are both informed by, & inform, ideas and assumptions toward ICT, are embedded within the organisational culture

Incongruent, or inaccurate technological

frames are associated with problems during the adoption/ use of new ICT in organisations (Menold, 2009)

Workforce capacityWorkforce capacity

Continuum:

‘ICT not used a lot currently’ - to integral to service deliveryVaried examples of innovative practice, but mainly for information & administrationSeparate strands – little integrationSocial networking – a featureAd hoc development

ICT & IAG: Future skill needs? ICT & IAG: Future skill needs? Contingent on: Emerging & currently diffusing models

of practice (i.e. role of ICT in delivery of services)

Changing characteristics of the various sub-sectors (e.g. public v. private

sector; shape of services, etc.) Shifting nature of the core expertise of

practitioners (i.e. impact of the world-wide web)

ICT: Past, Present & FutureICT: Past, Present & Future

Future indications: UKCESFuture indications: UKCES

‘……to develop a prototype database drawing on existing data sources, with the specific purpose of testing the feasibility in practice of creating a comprehensive repository of careers labour market information (LMI) over the longer term’.

Outcome: advice on the feasibility of developing a careers database of robust LMI, to be opened up for multiple interfaces for a range of users

Future indicationsFuture indications

February – March, 2012

Career database (LMI4U)Feasibility study – open & linked dataHackdayReport for Ministers

Future indicationsFuture indications

‘For high quality, robust LMI to have the maximum impact when used in a variety of career-related contexts, additional support will be needed that goes beyond simple access to data. Thought needs to be given to the ways different data sets need to reflect the particular needs of particular user groups’.

Ref: ‘LMI for All’ Career Database Project - Processes Adapted and Lesson Learned (2012) Unpublished.

Skills & competencies for Skills & competencies for internet-based guidanceinternet-based guidance

Thank you!Reference: Bimrose, J., Barnes, S-A. and Attwell, G. (2010) 'An investigation into the skills needed by Connexions Personal Adviers to develop internet-based guidance.', Reading: CfBT Education Trust, Report of an empirical investigation into the demand from young people for internet-based guidance, together with the readiness of Connexions services to deliver. (Full & Executive Reports are available online.) http://www.cfbt.com/evidenceforeducation/our_research/evidence_for_youth/advice_and_guidance/connexions_personal_advisors.aspx

Bimrose, J., Hughes, D. & Barnes, S-A (2011) 'Integrating new technologies into careers practice: Extending the knowledge base', Wath-upon-Dearne, London: UK Commission for Employment and Skills,http://www.ukces.org.uk/assets/ukces/docs/publications/integrating-new-technololgies-into-careers-practice.pdf