Lesson Structure:  Careers Counselling BPS202

There are 10 lessons:

1.    Introduction …Scope & Nature of the Industry

• Definitions: career, careers counselling, counselling
• Broad employment options
• Services offered in the employment industry
• Assumptions about career counselling practices
• Cross cultural careers counselling

2.    Nature of Careers …What is a career, what makes it successful?

• Introduction
• Elements of career building and job seeking
• Factors contributing to career success
• Realistic expectations
• Range of options
• Persistence
• Case study

3.    Careers Advice Resources …Brochures, Publications, Web Sites

• Employer considerations: qualifications, experience,personality, age, adaptability, productivity, etc
• Case study

4.    Career Services ….Where can people get help (Social Services, Work Experience, Education)

• Career counselling services
• Careers and vocational guidance
• Vocational planning
• Setting goals
• Job seeking supportJob seeking strategies
• Other services

5.    Developing Counselling Skills

• Key areas for career counselling
• Helping clients focus on reality
• Helping clients identify opportunities
• Helping clients consider all elements
• Overcoming resistance from clients
• Listening skills
• Questioning skills
• Problem solving skills
• Essential reality checks
• Improving clients predictive ability

6.    Conducting a Counselling Session

• Why people come to a career counsellor
• Strategies to develop trust
• A career counselling session
• Individuals who know the job they want
• Psychometric testing for individuals still choosing a career
• Types of psychological tests that may be used
• Referring people elsewhere

7.    Counselling Students and School Leavers (with little work experience)

• Understanding youth
• Career counselling for adolescents
• Assisting indecisive teenagers
• Career counselling for students
• Giving advice on study
• Choosing a course
• Workshops for students
• Workshops for university students
• Resources for counselling students

8.    Counselling Adults (inexperienced or facing career change)

• Identifying adult needs The training program
• Advice and support during job hunting
• Course of action
• Career changing
• Easiest paths to career change
• Challenging path to career change
• Starting a business
• Case study
• Writing a business plan

9.    Job Prospecting

•  Ways of finding work
•  Supporting clients decisions
•  Prospecting for work
•  Tips on getting a job
•  Writing resumes (CV’s)
•  Preparing for a job interview

10.    Nurturing and growing a career once it has started

•  Getting a job is only the first step in a career
•  Self management for business people
•  Marketing and pricing
•  Case study
•  Advising clients about career advancement

Please Note:   At the end of each lesson, there is an assignment that you submit to your Tutor for grading and tailored feedback. It is then returned to you with relevant suggestions, comments, and, if necessary, extra reading if required.

Learning Goals: Careers Counselling BPS202

• Identification of people and organisations which offer career advice or support and the services they offer
• Improved ability to distinguish successful from unsuccessful careers, and to prepare for anticipated changes in the workplace.
• Skills that will enhance your ability to guide others in the establishment or development of a career.
• Ability to plan and execute an effective Counselling Session
• Understanding and strategies for dealing with the needs of inexperienced young people.
• Identifying and meeting the needs of inexperienced adults or those facing career change.
• Understanding of how and where to find employment in the job market.
• Appreciation of the need to nurture and grow a career and plan for change.

Set Tasks and Practice

• Undertake research into the scope and nature of employment services and service providers in your region or locality;
• Research a career area to identify the kind of work involved, requirements, who offers it, trends etc.;
• Role play a counselling session to practice and evaluate your skills in helping a client with a issue;
• Conduct research to improve your understanding of what careers counselling entails.
• Plan a careers counselling session, including the session goal, timeframe, and anticipated issues;
• Discuss career concerns with young people who are leaving or have recently left secondary school;
• Discuss with adults their experiences of career change;
• Plan strategies to assist young and adult clients deal with common and important identified issues.
• What is Involved in Careers Counselling?

WHAT IS CAREER COUNSELLING

Careers Counselling – This is a mainly verbal process, where the counsellor and client are in a collaborative and dynamic relationship, focussing on identifying and acting on the goals of the client.  The counsellor uses their repertoire of techniques and processes, to help the client come to an understanding of the options available.

Career – This is the interaction of work roles and the other life roles the person has over their life span. This includes paid and unpaid work. People create career patterns as they make decisions about education, work, family and other life roles.

Careers Counselling involves more than just finding work for people.

Among other things, Careers Counselling may involve helping people:
•    identify the best job for their skills and interests
•    find any job to meet their personal and financial needs
•    find a better or more appropriate job for their situation
•    achieve job satisfaction through appropriate choices
•    plan and cope with career changes
•    better adapt to the workplace
•    improve their potential for advancement in the workplace
•    identify new career possibilities when circumstances change.

To be able to assist a client in each or any of these processes, a Careers Counsellor must be aware of:
•    the diverse nature of employment opportunities
•    the requirements for success in different types of jobs
•    reasons that people hire and fire employees
•    workplace conditions including contract law, industrial relations systems, health and safety issues, ethics  – useful contacts among employers, government departments, funding bodies, professional associations, industry experts, etc
•    factors that hinder or promote a person’s job-seeking effectiveness
•    trends in the local job market.

A good Careers Counsellor must be impartial and objective.

BROAD EMPLOYMENT OPTIONS

Employment generally falls into three broad categories:
1.    Self Employment (e.g. Running your own business)
2.    Contract Employment (e.g. Working for someone else as a contractor)
3.    Employee (Working for one or more others as an employee).

The differences between contractor, businessperson and employee may vary from country to country, and even within a country. Differences can even vary over time (e.g. A contractor today has different rights and obligations than they did in the past, under some legal systems).

The nature and conditions of employment can also vary from one industry or discipline, to another. A Careers Counsellor needs to stay up to date with changes, and needs to be well aware of the current situation in any jurisdiction where they operate.

If you are not aware of these definitions and rules within your location, it would be useful to find out about them as soon as possible.

Services Offered in the Employment Industry

General Employment Agencies – These agencies collate information on individuals and match those individuals up with appropriate jobs.

Specialist Agents (e.g. Theatrical Agent, Writers Agent, I.T. Agent) – These individuals are well connected and very knowledgeable about a particular industry. Therefore, they can provide specialised guidance to job seekers in that industry.

Resume Writers – These individuals prepare professional-looking resumes for job-seekers either as part of a career support program or for a fee. It is important to note that different resume writers prepare different styles of resume.

School Careers Counsellor – Ideally, these are counsellors trained to provide job-seeking assistance and career counselling to young people before they leave school. In reality, many are simply teachers who have agreed to take on this role.

Job Advertisers – Professional or government job advertisers promote existing positions, sometimes for a fee to the employer. Some advertisers will also charge job-seekers a fee, to be paid after employment commences.

Private Careers Counsellors – These trained counsellors provide individualised counselling and career guidance to clients who pay fees as agreed upon. Workers in this area may be counsellors who specialise in career counselling, or may counsel exclusively in the employment area.

Business Consultant – Any person with business experience and skills may offer a consulting service that is particularly aimed at people wishing to begin small businesses, or to improve or expand existing businesses.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Here is a list of the most often asked FAQ’s.

General

Q. Why should I enrol with the Academy for Distance Learning?
A. Here at ADL, our students are our priority – we treat everyone as a unique individual.

Q. Do I need to buy text books?
A. No, as each module has been written by highly qualified industry professionals. The content of the material is presented in such a way that text books are not required. However, if you require additional reading your tutor will be able to supply a list.

Q. What happens if I have to stop studying for a while? (eg. become sick, go on holidays, have a baby, move house, etc)
A. It’s OK to take a break and start up your study at a later point in time. Just let us know.

Q. Is there an age limit?
A. There is no maximum age limit. We do however, have a minimum age limit of 18 years. Below that age parental consent would be required.

Q. Are your courses up-to date?
A. Our courses are revised and updated on a rotation system.

Q. Do you have a Cancellation policy?
A. Yes. We have a cancellation policy that is fair and equitable. For further details please click here.

Q. Will I have any opportunity to engage with other students?
A. We have a Student Community group based on facebook! If you don’t have a facebook account already, you could make one just for talking with fellow students on the group.

Enrolment

Q. When can I enrol/start?
A. You may enrol and start at any time of the year – it’s all self- paced.

Q. Can I study from anywhere in the world?
A. Our courses are available to anyone, anywhere in the world from the comfort of your own home. The course content is relevant to any country, culture or economy.

Q. How long do I have to complete the course?
A. You complete the course at any time that is convenient for you.

Q. Completing a 100 hour module – how long will it take?
A. For some students a 100 hour module will take approximately to 3- 6 months to complete. Others take less time and some even longer.

Assessment

Q. Assessment – how does it work?
A. For each 100 hour module you are assessed by assignments (at the end of each lesson) and a final one and a half hour exam (or you may elect to complete a Project, instead of sitting the exam) – the choice is yours – you sit for the exam in your own location.

Q. I don’t cope well with exams – what can I do?
A. You may elect to undertake a Project (set by your tutor) instead of sitting the exam. Projects are completed from your home and can usually take a couple of weeks to complete.

Q. If my assignment is not up to standard is there an opportunity to resubmit my work?
A. Yes –

Q. How many assignments do I need to complete for each module?
A. At the end of each lesson, there is an assignment – so if a course has say, 10 lessons, there would be 10 assignments.

Q. I am having difficulty attending workshops/industry meetings, what can be done?
A. If your course requires attendance at workshops, conferences, or industry meetings; alternative arrangements can be made in your country.

Qualifications

Q. Can I customize my diploma/higher qualification?

A. Not all educational institution’s certificates /diplomas meet everyone’s needs. The opportunity to Design Your Own Diploma at the Academy (subject to our approval) is an added bonus, not found at other colleges. You choose modules that you think will help you in achieving your goal.

Q. What do I get when I complete the course? Will I receive a transcript?
A. At the completion of all courses and providing all assignments and exam requirements have been met, you will receive your Award and a Transcript.

Tutors

Q. Our tutors – who are they?
A. We appoint Tutors and require that they must be currently active in their industry, with at least 5 years’ experience in their chosen profession.

Q. Can I contact my tutor at any time?
A. Yes – you have unlimited access to your tutor via email through our Online Classroom. You can always leave a message with ADL requesting your tutor to contact you. You decide on how much or how little contact you wish to have.

Q. Practical work – How is this done?
A. To find out more about this part of the course please visit the section on How Our Courses Work here.