Thematic Conference Youth-at-risk European Guidance Forum Potsdam, 11.

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Thematic Conference Youth-at-risk European
Guidance ForumPotsdam, 11. 13. May 2006
Dr. Bernhard Jenschke

• System of Career Guidance and Counselling in
  Germany

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Education and Employment Area

• Guidance in
• Education Area
• Schools
• Colleges
• Universities
• Further Education
• Private Sector

• Guidance in
• Employment Area
• Employment Agencies
• Training Institutions
• -Employers Association
• Labour Unions
• Municipalities
• Non-Profit Sector
• Private Sector

Cooperative Career Education and Guidance
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Employment Area Legislation

• Social Code III legal responsibility for Career
  Guidance to the Federal Employment Agency (FEA)
  and its Local Employment Agencies (LEA)
• VG for youth and adults, jobseekers, and special
  target groups
• Placement Services for jobseekers, unemployed
  persons, youths and adults looking for jobs or in
  company training opportunities
• Monopoly of FES Up to 1998

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Provision of Guidance and Counselling

• Clients/Target Groups(LEA)
• School leavers, students, graduates, young people
  entering working life
• School drop-outs, socially disadvantaged
• Migrant workers, young migrants 2nd/3rd
  generation
• Handicapped and disabled
• Unemployed and adults looking for vocational
  reorientation or retraining
• Persons re-entering the labour market (women
  after baby pause etc.)

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Guidance for special target groups-at- risk

• Career Guidance and vocational rehabilitation for
  young disabled
• Career guidance , vocational preparation and
  training schemes for disadvantaged youth
• Career guidance and training schemes for migrants

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Providers of Career Guidance and Counselling
- Employment Area -
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Cooperative Career Education and Guidance
Cooperative activities in Schools and Higher
Education delivered by

• Secondary School
• Basic knowledge about economy/world of work
• Basic career education
• Work shadowing programmes
• Cooperative Projects with local Enterprises

• Employment Agency
• Classes for career education for all students
• Career Information Centre-BIZ
• Career Information System (web based, print
  products)
• Self assessment tools
• Individual counselling in school or labour agency
• Placement Service for training opportunities

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Guidance and Counselling Activities

• Working Methods (LEA)
• Class room lectures (compulsory in secondary
  school)
• Group information sessions / Group counselling
• Individual counselling by personal interviews
• Profiling Action plan for each client
• Psychological testing and support by vocational
  psychologist
• Medical Service in each local employment agency
• Team counselling (together with psychologist,
  teacher etc.)
• Self information (Career Information Centre BIZ)
• Self assessment tools (explorix, jobs and
  interest)
• Job Fairs, Recruiting Events,
• Individual job/training placement
• Individual coaching for job seekers (usually
  outsourced)

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Resources of Guidance and Counselling

• Information Resources (FEA)
• Web career and labour market information system
  by FEA (www.arbeitsagentur.de)
• Internet-Job-Machine
• KURS (database for further training
  opportunities)
• BERUFEnet (database for occupational information)
• Labour Market Statistics
• Access to external professional data bases
• Reports/analyses by the Institute for Labour
  Market Research of the FEA and Federal Training
  Institute BIBB
• Brochures/magazines by FES for different target
  groups

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Recent Changes for Unemployed

• Changes in Vocational Counselling due to new
  Legislation Social Code II (from January 2005)
• Merging of unemployment benefits and social
  assistance for claimants capable of work
• Restrictive rules for suitable job/training
  offers cut of benefits
• Intensified coaching for claimants with multiple
  problems (ratio counsellor client 1 75)
• Case management
• Youth under 25 getting benefits (or their
  families) are entitled to a job or training offer
  within 3 months
• If they refuse suitable work or training
  complete cut of benefits except accommodation and
  heating costs

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Career Guidance Communication - networking
- Shared responsibility and networking for
lifelong guidance -
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Cooperation of Career Guidance in Higher Education
Guidance activities in Higher Education
delivered by

• College/University
• General Students Counselling Service
• Course of Study Counselling Service
• Career Service, including
• Work preparatory and shadowing programmes
• Cooperative Projects with local Enterprises

• Employment Agency
• Specialized Higher Education Team (individual
  guidance and placement service)
• Seminars/Workshops/Lectures (academic labour
  market, self marketing, drop-out etc.)
• Work preparatory and shadowing programmes
• Job Fairs, Recruiting Events
• Career Information System

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Training of Career Counsellors

• No legal regulation (except school counsellors)
• No nationwide standards or guidelines for
  qualification
• Initiatives of commonly shared standards by
  Counsellors Association dvb
• FES University of Applied Sciences Mannheim
  offers a diploma in career counselling
• Some Applied Universities and Universities
  Dresden and Heidelberg started masters
  programmes for Career Counselling

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Standards of Guidance and Counselling delivery

• Standards/Models of Activities (FEA)
• AIOSP Ethical Standards are agreed
• Common curriculum and compendium on counselling
  methods assures counselling competences (RAT)
• Profiling, Action Plan for each Client
• Labour market counselling for Employers
• Quality Management by quantitative indicators on
  integration into labour market
• Surveys on customer satisfaction

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Needs, Tendencies, Directions of Change

• Professional View
• Common standards for professional guidance
  delivery and ethical standards
• Common standards for education and training
• Minimum quality assurance standards
• Research on the effects and outcomes of guidance
  activities
• Networking National Forum
• Meeting future needs of- human resource
  development- lifelong learning, - sustaining
  employability and- avoiding social exclusion

• Organisational View (FES)
• Recent labour market reforms focussing on key
  tasks of FES - placement services, - reducing
  unemployment and- unemployment costs-
  empowering and sanctioning - strategies for
  claimants
• Shift of resources from contribution financed to
  tax financed counselling services
• Decentralisation of responsibility to local
  employment agencies