Category: Policy Briefs and Commentaries

21

Aug2024
Background Following the recent general election in England, the duly elected Labour Party has a strong focus on skills and improving productivity but is hampered by 13 years rule by a conservative government that had different ideas and goals. The situation is made worse by England’s relatively poor economic growth ... Read More
August 21, 2024John McCarthy

22

Jul2023
ENGLAND: JULY 2023 Career guidance has a century long rich history and tradition of theory and practice innovation in England.  The consistency of such developments over time stands in stark contrast to its value and interest to policy makers and developers which fluctuate constantly in government policies for education, training, and ... Read More
July 22, 2023John McCarthy

24

Jun2022
This succinct and comprehensive Briefing Note draws attention to the importance of career practitioner professionalism in career guidance delivery, to the need to continually redefine practitioner competences and occupational profiles in response to societal and technological changes, and consequently the need for continuing government investment in re-skilling and up-skilling of practitioners ... Read More
June 24, 2022John McCarthy

14

Dec2020

CAREER READY

0  
The OECD has just published a new Working Paper, Career Ready? How schools can better prepare young people for working life in the era of Covid-19.  The paper reviews academic literature that analyses national longitudinal datasets and provides evidence of teenage career-related indicators of better than expected adult employment outcomes.  It ... Read More
December 14, 2020John McCarthy

04

Jun2020
LESSONS LEARNED (OECD) FROM THE 2008 GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS Every crisis is a learning opportunity.So what did we learn from the effects of the last worldwide economic crisis, the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, on the lives and opportunities for young people?The OECD has just published some of the lessons of effective ... Read More
June 4, 2020John McCarthy

13

Mar2020

DREAM JOBS???

0  
TEENAGERS' CAREER ASPIRATIONS (2018) AND THE FUTURE OF WORK The OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) measures the abilities of 15 year old school students to use their reading, mathematics and science knowledge and skills to confront real-life challenges. Its results provide useful insights to governments in participating countries and ... Read More
March 13, 2020John McCarthy

09

Jan2020
Four international organisations, OECD, ILO, UNESCO, and the European Commission, and two agencies (ETF, CEDEFOP) of one of these (European Commission) have just issued a first joint statement encouraging governments to invest in career guidance. The 12-page document describes career guidance, its importance for young people and adults in the present ... Read More
January 9, 2020John McCarthy

26

Feb2019
Dedicar fondos públicos a unos buenos servicios de orientación académica y profesional para los jóvenes reduce el abandono escolar, afirma en entrevista John McCarthy, director del International Centre for Career Development and Public Policy. Lea la entrevista completa.
February 26, 2019John McCarthy

26

Feb2019
This is a very readable and easy to understand overview of trends and data concerning the relationship between education and jobs, looking towards the future. Accompanied by a sample of drawings "Draw the Future" of 20,000 young people scattered across 12 countries in five continents, the publication poses many relevant questions concerning ... Read More
February 26, 2019John McCarthy

11

Sep2018
The OECD has recently published a working paper that examines features of good career guidance practice in assisting young people to make informed career choices. It highlights the essential role and importance of employers in helping the career learning of young people - learning about occupations, the world of work, ... Read More
September 11, 2018John McCarthy

05

Jul2017
Dear Readers Most of you did not have the opportunity to attend the International Symposium in Seoul, Korea, in June 2017. Just to recall the theme and subthemes: Theme: Career Development: At the Crossroads of Relevance and Impact Subtheme 1: Understanding How Work Opportunities are Changing Subtheme 2: Ensuring that the Content and Delivery of Career ... Read More
July 5, 2017John McCarthy

02

Feb2015
CEDEFOP 012015 Newsletter Benefits of Career Guidance This recent Briefing Note prepared by CEDEFOP, January 2015, illustrates my means of case study summaries the economic, social and individual benefits of career guidance in difficult economic times.
February 2, 2015John McCarthy

29

Aug2011
This 2011 report examines the current state of careers services for young people in ENGLAND. It describes some of significant negative effects at local and educational institutional levels of recent changes in government policy concerning such services and of government funding cutbacks for those services. It raises implications for government, ... Read More
August 29, 2011Tibor Kovacs

04

May2009
Funded by CfBT Education Trust, this research examined the impact on career guidance provision for young people of new arrangements for budget and management responsibilities by all local authorities in England since such changes came into effect in April 2008. The authors concluded that there is a need for a stronger ... Read More
May 4, 2009Tibor Kovacs

05

Feb2009
This Report was presented by Deputy Guégot to the French National Assembly in December 2008. It examined: problems in initial and continuing training supply: quality, transparency, funding, governance inequalities for young people and adults in accessing training difficulties in career guidance provision to support youth and adult participation in training. It presents 16 propositions ... Read More
February 5, 2009Tibor Kovacs

23

Jan2009
AFPA is the state institution in France charged with the vocational training of adults. It is unique in Europe and beyond in that it provides a professional career guidance service to trainees prior to course entry, during training and at exit. AFPA's course completion and qualifications rates are very impressive ... Read More
January 23, 2009Tibor Kovacs

27

Oct2008
This is a revised version of the four page summary document published by the British Columbia Career and Workforce Development Alliance. It calls on the career and employment services sector in that province to take an interest in demonstrating the impact of careers services, programmes and interventions. The publication strongly advocates the use ... Read More
October 27, 2008Tibor Kovacs

18

Dec2007
This 4 page briefing document published by the British Columbia Career and Workforce Development Alliance calls on the career and employment services sector in that province to take an interest in demonstrating the impact of careers services, programmes and interventions. It strongly advocates the use of the Canadian Research Work ... Read More
December 18, 2007Tibor Kovacs

15

Oct2007
This Report covers the first two years' work of the National Guidance Forum of Ireland that was established in 2004. It explains the background and work methods of the Forum and provides an overview of relevant research that informed its deliberations and conclusions/recommendations. The Report sets out:  a framework of the knowledge, ... Read More
October 15, 2007Tibor Kovacs