About the project Go!
Career guidance advisors provide guidance and advice to adults and students, on making educational, training and occupational choices and assist people in managing their careers, through career planning and career exploration. They help identify options for future careers, assist beneficiaries in the development of their curriculum and help people reflect on their ambitions, interests and qualifications. Career guidance advisors may provide advice on various career planning issues and make suggestions for lifelong learning if necessary, including study recommendations. They may also assist the individual in the search for a job or provide guidance and advice to prepare a candidate for recognition of prior learning. (https://esco.ec.europa.eu/en/classification/occupation?uri=http://data.europa.eu/esco/isco/C51) According to the report “Investing in Career Guidance,” effective career guidance helps individuals to reach their potential, economies to become more efficient, and societies to become fairer. It is critical for the smooth transition of people as they make choices about education and training and for mobility within the labour market (European Commission, ETF, CEDEFOP, OECD, ILO, UNESCO, 2021). The need for career guidance is greater than ever. Career guidance has benefits for individuals to reach their potential, for economies to increase their efficiency, and for societies to become fairer (European Commission, ETF, CEDEFOP, OECD, ILO, UNESCO, 2021). Career guidance is an essential attribute of skills policies that strive to enable a better balance between the supply of and demand for knowledge and skills in an economy. However, despite the need for career advising, a 2020 survey of policy officials in 93 countries showed that in many countries, career guidance was perceived to be a neglected aspect of national responses to the pandemic, with the most vulnerable often facing the greatest hurdles in accessing adapted provision (European Commission, ETF, CEDEFOP, OECD, ILO, UNESCO, 2021).
Career advice and professional guidance services are for everybody. Young people are facing growing risks of unemployment in turbulent labour markets. Adults are facing radically changing job markets that make upskilling and reskilling an integral part of working life. Technological evolution and the integration of digital technologies make upskilling a demand. Guidance enables upskilling, reskilling, and mobility. In addition to the above, surveys show that there is substantial demand for career guidance from adults, but different people access guidance in inequitable ways, with the most vulnerable being the least supported.
An area where many EU projects are being implemented is that of career advising with emphasis on disadvantaged groups. Several tools, trainings etc. have been developed, often for specific disadvantaged groups, but there is not a onestop shop where one can find all tools.
Target Group
The primary target group of the project is career advisers working or wishing to work with disadvantaged individuals, either as staff of VET providers (especially those dealing with European and co-funded projects or those implementing placement programmes) or as staff of Public Employment Services (PES) and private employment services. These professionals that work with a demanding target group may lack access to significant project results (tools, methodologies, and techniques) or may not be informed on significant projects in the field of career advising that have the potential to upskill them and upgrade the level of services that they provide. Through the project career advisers: – have access to several well evaluated projects in the area of career advising as well as to tools to be used in career advising. – have access to a “community of practice” where they can exchange information with other career advisers, they can suggest edits or improvements to tools etc. Secondarily, the project benefits the members of disadvantaged groups (unemployed individuals, NEETS, migrants, refugees, economically inactive women, prisoners and ex-prisoners etc.) who receive career advising, through the upskilling of career advisers and the upgrade of the services that the latter provide. Better career advising and more targeted guidance to disadvantaged individuals’ future career planning equals to improvement of their employability and facilitation of their inclusion in both the labour market and the society. In other words their human and social capital is improved.
Objective
To develop a one-stop shop that presents projects considered good practices in the area of career advising for disadvantaged groups.
On the same one-stop shop, to present practices and tools using different classifications to make it easy for career advisers to find the tools most applicable to them.
To develop awareness on the one-stop shop for career advisers and disadvantaged groups. This is achieved through workshops in the countries of the consortium (career advisers), through a conference (career advisers and disadvantaged groups), and through dissemination and exploitation activities in other countries.
Through the use of the one-stop shop, to enhance the skills and knowledge of career advisers working with disadvantaged groups, which leads to improved services provided by them.
To facilitate the inclusion of disadvantaged groups in the labour market and the society through the provision of better career guidance services by advisers who use the platform.