Orientation to Career Guidance and

Counselling in Developing Countries

William Borgen
Educational and Counselling Psychology
& Special Education
Faculty of Education
University of British Columbia
Bryan Hiebert
Department of Educational Psychology
& Leadership Studies
Faculty of Education
University of Victoria
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 The Need for Career/Life Planning

We guide our boys and girls to some extent

through school, then drop them into this complex
world to sink or swim as the case may be. Yet
there is no part of life where the need for
guidance is more emphatic than in the transition
from school to work - the choice of a vocation,
adequate preparation for it, and the attainment
of efficiency and success. (Frank Parsons)

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 Traditional Assumptions
 There are a series of individual attributes or traits that
draw people to certain occupations.
 These attributes or traits are pivotal to effective and
desired decision-making.
 Occupations that match the vocational interest of
individuals are accessible to them.
 Occupations are stable enough in their characteristics for
assessment instruments that match the traits of
individuals with occupational characteristics are useful
over time.
 Once secured individuals have the capability to stay
involved in desired occupations or career trajectories.
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Counselling and Guidance Within
a Context of Uncertainty

Societal Context

Family

Self-
Personal Career
identity

4
 Societal Contexts

Rapidly Changing Social, Cultural and

Economic Realities

•Poverty/Structural Unemployment
•Violence
•Migration
•HIV/AIDS
•The Education System
•Globalization

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 Some International Examples

 Countries are looking for information and

approaches that address the issues of
individuals and also inform policies to serve the
broader society (Kenya, Nigeria, Bhutan)
 The context in which people are making
occupational, vocational and career decisions is
evolving rapidly and unpredictably (India, Africa,
Eastern Europe/Asia, Argentina, North America)
 Perceived status of occupations is a major issue

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 Revised Assumptions
 Several factors influence choice of occupations or career
paths, including individual attributes or traits, family
perspectives, rapidly evolving cultural influences such as
poverty, addiction, conflict, displacement and
discrimination, along with internationalization and rapid
change in labour market opportunities.
 These factors are differentially important within and
across cultural contexts.
 Occupations of choice may not be accessible.
 Many tasks and processes related to occupations are
unstable.
 People need the skills and attitudes required to
successfully manage rapid and unpredictable changes
that characterize many occupations and career
trajectories.
 Career Development is an emerging professional activity7
Services Related to Career Development
Advice or Advising
  If I give general information regarding external requirements, I am doing
vocational or career advising (Implies general information is sufficient for
the issue presented)
Guidance
 If I make a judgment about what information is being sought and
provided it I am providing vocational or career guidance. (Implies tailored
information is sufficient).
Counselling
 If I explore the other person’s perspective, tentatively offer other
perspective to be considered (including information based on the initial
exploration) and jointly discuss possible action planning, I am providing
vocational or career counselling. (Implies that a counselling process is
needed to consider the utility of different insights, feelings, and
information and the applicability of different possible actions regarding
the issue.)
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 Constructs Central to
Career Development
Occupational
 Occupational refers to an activity that is focused on
considering a particular job.
Vocational
 Vocational refers to a focus on an individual’s talents,
passions and interests in considering areas of work.
Career
 Career refers to broader issues, such life development,
work-adjustment, work-dysfunction, and integration of life
roles with other life roles over time that may or may not
be directly related to work.

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 A Proposed Research/Service Grid

Advising Guidance Counselling

Occupational Occupational Occupational

Occupational
Advising Guidance Counselling

Vocational Vocational Vocational

Vocational
Advising Guidance Counselling

Career Career Career

Career
Advising Guidance Counselling

See: Hiebert, B., & Borgen, W. A. (Eds.), Technical and vocational education
and training in the twenty-first century: New roles and challenges for guidance
and counselling (pp. 13-26). Paris: UNESCO. 10
What students are telling us…

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 Older Adolescents in High School

Problems Identified

 Schooling
  Identity and Self-
Concept
  Family
  Employment

See: Borgen, W. A., & Hiebert, B. (2006). Youth

counselling and career guidance: What adolescents
and young adults are telling us. International Journal
for the Advancement of Counselling, 28, 389-400 . 12
Coping Strategies of Adolescents

 Individual Problem
Solving 

 Disengagement –
distancing, avoidance

 Resignation

 Giving Up

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 The Nature of Assistance Desired

Who – Friends, Family, Professional Helpers

Qualities – Good listeners, trustworthy and honest

– Knowledge about the issues being
discussed
– Experience similar to theirs

What – Counselling, knowledge, advice and

information
– Comfort and reassurance
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 The “High 5” (+1)

A Changing Theme For Career Development

1. Change is constant
2. Focus on the journey
3. Follow your heart
4. Keep learning See: Redekopp, D. E., Day, B.,
5. Access your allies & Robb, M. (1995). The
"High Five" of career
+ development. In B. Hiebert
(Ed.). Exemplary career
6. Believe in yourself development programs and
practices: The best from
Canada. Greensboro, NC:
ERIC/CASS .
15
 The Challenge…

 Career opportunities are a result of planned and

unplanned developmental and environmental events.
 Career decisions evolve over a life time.
 Career development services need to be
differentiated and available across the lifespan.
 A new paradigm is needed to depict how people’s
careers develop.

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 The Need…

 Academics and practitioners will need to

consider the new philosophical underpinnings,
theoretical foundations, knowledge base, and
expanded skill sets needed to embrace the new
paradigm.
 Career practitioners need a broader range of
pre-service and in-service education that
prepares them to offer advice, guidance and
counselling for occupational, vocational and
career related issues.

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Guidance & Counseling Planner
 An alternative metaphor
for career/life planning

See: Westwood, M. W., Amundson, N. E. &

Borgen, W. A. (1994). Starting points:
Finding your route to employment.
Ottawa: Human Resources & social
development Canada.
Borgen, W. A. (1999). Implementing
‘Starting Points’: A follow-up study.
Journal of Employment Counseling, 36,
98 – 114.
Borgen, W. A. (1995).  Starting points: 
Finding your route to employment (B.C.  
Edition).  Victoria/Ottawa:  Assessment,
Counselling and Referral Initiative of  
MOEST and HRDC.

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 Professional Development:
A Multi-Layered Approach
Preparation for career practitioners
 Orientation workshop
• Philosophical underpinnings
• theoretical foundations
• For all professionals
 Stakeholder involvement
• Individual consultation
• Group consultation
 In-depth training for key service providers
• Guidance practitioners
• Counsellors
 Training for trainers
• For capacity building 19
Example from the Field

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 Career Guidance and Counselling
Orientation Workshop:
Implementing a Vision for Your Life
5-day interactive workshop
• foundational career development theory
• contemporary approaches for implementing career
guidance programs in educational settings
• Key resources available
• knowledge and skill practice in appropriate
instructional methods for career education
Designed to help teachers and counsellors
work more effectively
with their school and college communities
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Guidance & Counseling Planner
Day 1: Context
• Preparation, philosophy,
theory
Day 2: Taking Stock
• Tools and resources
Day 3: Providing services
• Communication
& collaboration
Day 4: Building support
• Policy makers, service
providers, clients working
together
Day 5: Consolidation
• Implementing, maintaining,
sustaining 22
 Orientation Workshop Plan
Day 1: Context
 What is career development
• Career-life planning
• Vision for your life
• Foundational theories
 Who are we serving
• Labour market context
• Voices of youth
 Learn about career-life planning
by examining your own career path
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 Orientation Workshop Plan
Day 2: Taking Stock
 Nature of services
• Advising, Guidance, Counseling
• Occupational, Vocational, Career
• Meeting the whole person needs of students
 Nature of training
• Skills needed
• Resources available
 Tools and resources (for services + for training)
 Understanding my own career path
• How will I incorporate this in my job
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 Orientation Workshop Plan
Day 3: Providing services
 Communication and collaboration
• Multiple skills for multiple roles
• Constructs and skills for collaboration
 Basic group process
• Group member roles and norms
• Stages of group development
 Skill practice

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 Group Facilitation Model

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ou ss

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king
ills s

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Initia
Member

Tran
ning
Needs & Group
Roles Design
Plan

Group Goals
& Activities

See: Borgen, W. A., Pollard, D. E., Amundson, N. E., & Westwood, M. J.

(1989). Employment groups: The counselling connection (chapter 3).
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Toronto, ON: Lugus.
 Orientation Workshop Plan
Day 4: Building support
 Policy support
• Infrastructure needed
• Resources needed
• Program planning and evaluation
• Policy makers, service providers, clients working
together
 Demonstrating the value of our work
• Program planning and evaluation
• Evaluation model
• Tools for demonstrating value
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 Outcome Focused Evidence-Based Practice

Quality Improvement

Resources Counsellor Client change

• Skills • Knowledge
• Interventions • Skill
• Programs • Attribute
• impact

See: Baudoin, R., et al.. (2007). Demonstrating value: A draft framework for
evaluating the effectiveness of career development interventions. Canadian
Journal of Counselling, 41, 146-157.
CRWG web site: http://www.ccdf.ca/crwg 28
Outcome-Focused Evidence-Based Practice

Input  Process  Outcome

Intervention
=
Process + Outcome

What will I do? + How is it working?

Professional Practitioner 29
 Orientation Workshop Plan
Day 5: Consolidation, maintaining, & sustaining
 Making it happen
• Pulling it all together
• Action planning & follow up
• Vision for your life
• Foundational theories
 Workshop evaluation

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 Orientation Workshop Evaluation
Before After
Unacceptable Unacceptable
Regarding the Primary Objectives
Acceptable Acceptable
of this workshop, and
knowing what you know now, 0 1 2 3 4 ave 0 1 2 3 4 ave
how would you rate yourself
before the workshop, and how
would you rate yourself now?

1 Clear understanding of basic

6 5 11 3 1 1.5 0 0 0 10 16 3.6
career development theory
2 Knowledge about the factors that
contribute to (or interfere with) 4 10 6 5 1 1.6 0 0 1 6 19 3.6
people’s career development
3 Knowledge regarding basic skills 7 11 3 4 1 1.3 0 0 2 6 18 3.6
used in career-life planning
4 Tools for demonstrating the value
8 5 4 5 1 1.4 0 0 1 5 17 3.3
of careers guidance & counselling
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Awareness of the importance of
5 6 5 6 5 1 1.7 0 0 0 3 20 3.4
career-life planning in TVET
 Evaluation Results

 156 ratings (6 questions times 26 people):

• 84 (54%) ratings were unacceptable before the workshop
• 0 ratings were unacceptable after the workshop
• 6 (4%) ratings were excellent before the workshop
• 108 (69%) ratings were excellent after the workshop

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 Orientation Workshop Evaluation

Unacceptable Acceptable
Generally Speaking, Ave
0 1 2 3 4
1. how useful did you find the workshop? -- -- -- 1 25 4.0
2. how would you rate the workshop facilitation? -- -- -- 1 25 4.0
3. how would you rate the workshop facilities -- -- -- 18 5 3.0
(room, etc.)?
4. how would you rate the food? -- -- -- 14 3 2.7

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 Orientation Workshop Evaluation

For each component of the workshop listed Unacceptable Acceptable

below, please assess how useful Ave
that component was for you. 0 1 2 3 4

1. General Model: Road Map -- -- 1 10 15 3.5

2. Exploring the Context -- -- 2 9 15 3.4
3. Factors Influencing Career Plans -- -- -- 8 18 3.7
4. Personal Career Line -- -- 1 12 13 3.5
5. Clarifying Roles (advising, guidance, counselling) -- -- -- 5 21 3.8
6. Assets and Resources -- -- 3 8 15 3.5
7. Skill Framework for service providers -- -- 2 6 18 3.6
8. Group process strategies -- -- -- 5 16 3.6
9. Skill Practice -- -- -- 9 17 3.7
10. Demonstrating value (evaluation) -- -- -- 8 16 3.7
11. Infrastructure -- -- 3 13 10 3.3
12. Action planning -- -- -- 7 19 343.7
 Final Thoughts
 One major barrier expressed by participants
• lack of infrastructure and resources
• Many schools do not have a career resource centre
 Create the support you need
• Lobby policy makers
• Train your boss to give you the support you need
 Create a mechanism to support follow up action
 Create a capacity building mechanism
• Training for trainers
Lifelong learning & growth needs
Lifelong guidance and counselling
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 Orientation to Career Guidance and
Counselling in Developing Countries
Questions or Comments?

Thank you

William Borgen
borgen@interchange.ubc.ca

Bryan Hiebert
hiebert@ucalgary.ca

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