Marinka Kuijpers

Career Competencies for the Modern Career.

Career development gains new meaning in the context of employability demands in a knowledge economy. In this context, increased mobility, a dynamic work environment, and an increased level of career support from employers are seen as characteristics of a modern career. All of these characteristics put emphasis on individual and self-management in career development. This article presents the results of an empirical study that addressed the general question as to which competencies employees need to possess to realize career self-management. In a survey of 1,579 employees (51% response) in 16 Dutch companies, 6 career factors and competencies of career self-management prove to be relevant for career development: career development ability, reflection on capacities, reflection on motives, work exploration, career control, and networking. Among the explanatory variables that are considered, mobility perspective and career support at work and private life appear to be associated most strongly (statistical significance at .01) with career competencies.

Learning for now or later? Career competencies among students in higher vocational education in the Netherlands

This article focuses on the question: which aspects of a learning environment, aimed at fostering career learning, correspond with the development of career competencies among university students in the Netherlands? A questionnaire-based study was carried out among 4820 students and 371 career counsellors in 11 universities. Four career competencies were identified: career reflection (reflective behaviour), work exploration (exploring behaviour), career action (proactive behaviour) and networking (interactive behaviour). The results show that the existence of these competencies among students in higher vocational education correlates with a learning environment that is characterized by a practice-based and inquiry-based curriculum, which offers students the opportunity to engage in a career dialogue. The existence of a career dialogue, in which students can discuss the personal and societal relevance of the real-life problems they encounter, and the experiences they have, proves to be essential. Without a dialogue the learning potential of a practice- and inquiry-based curriculum is limited.

What are vocational training conversations about? Analysis of vocational training conversations in Dutch vocational education from a career learning perspective

Research evidence shows that a career dialogue is a central part of any powerful learning environment for career learning. In vocational education and training, there are three important parties in this dialogue: the student, the teacher and the mentor from practice. In this paper the communication between these parties is investigated in secondary vocational training in the Netherlands. Results suggest that the potential of the dialogue (or trialogue, as it concerns three parties) is hardly utilised: the communication between student, teacher and mentor from practice is not dialogical and only discusses the most successful way to a degree, but not to a career.

Exploring the links between interdependence, team learning and a shared understanding among team members: the case of teachers facing an educational innovation

Teams are increasingly regarded as the building blocks of organizations, for teams of employees are better able to deal with complex problems and ever-changing demands than individual employees. The effectiveness of teams depends, to a large extent, on team members learning together and developing a shared understanding of the complex problems they face. As a way to meet the call for more research on conditions that foster team learning, we conducted a multiple case study in which three teacher teams participated. The data showed links between teachers’ goal interdependence, their engagement in team learning activities, like observing each other and preparing lessons together, and a shared understanding of the educational innovation they had to implement. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Testing times: careers market policies and practices in England and the Netherlands

Careers work is a very political business. Since the early 1990s, successive governments in England and the Netherlands have persistently challenged those working in the careers sector to demonstrate the educational, social and economic value and impact of their work. In this context, the marketisation of career guidance policies and practices has expanded, with a growing assumption that market-based goods and services ensure greater responsiveness to consumer choice and offer better and/or more innovative services for lower prices. In this article, we do not intend to give a comparison of trends in England and the Netherlands. We only examine the impact of market principles applied to career guidance provision in both countries. Findings indicate such provision for young people is on a steady decline. Lessons learned from these two nations indicate that a market for quality career services does not exist in schools and colleges. As a result, marketisation and privatisation of career services have led to an impoverished and fragmented supply of services. Greater attention by governments in career guidance policies for young people (and adults) is necessary to reduce the widening gap between ‘the haves and have nots’ in society. Failure to reduce labour market mismatch through new forms of careers dialogue is not only damaging and costly for individuals, families and employers, but for the taxpayer too.

Can training teachers stimulate career learning conversations? Analysis of vocational training conversations in Dutch secondary vocational education

In present-day society students are no longer expected to learn for stable employment, but for lifelong employability. This implies a major shift in educational approach. Previous research has shown which characteristics of learning environments correlate with students’ competences to self-direct their careers, but until now this had not inspired intervention studies. Following a baseline measure (reported in Winters et al. 2009), we studied vocational training conversations during the transition to competence-based education in the Netherlands and more specifically before and after a specific teacher training. Results show a significant shift in the organisation of career learning conversations as a result of the teacher training, but also highlight the difficulty of actual behavioural change in educational reform.

Towards a strong career learning environment: results from a Dutch longitudinal study

ABSTRACT To prepare students for the flexible labour market of nowadays, schools are increasingly acknowledging their responsibility to guide students in their career development. The project ‘Career Orientation and Guidance in Secondary Vocational Education’ was developed to encourage Dutch schools to initiate and/or continue the creation of a strong career learning environment for their students. Central in this learning environment is a dialogue with the students, where meaning is attached to concrete experiences with work. This longitudinal study is designed to gain theoretical and practical insight into the influence of the project. Results show that, although the school’s vision on career orientation and guidance is clear to the teachers, it is not supported by all of them. It appears that the renewed vision is imposed on the teachers, and this absence of a shared and widely supported vision appears to withhold the teachers and the project managers to engage in collective action.