Through the South Australian Government's new Industry Skills Program, young people have opportunities to explore industry career pathways and to undertake industry and VET qualifications while still at school. The workshop will describe this new initiative and in particular the Industry Pathways Programs that have been developed in collaboration with industry. It will focus on the vocational education and training arrangments and career opportunities, including those relating to sustainability and greening concepts that are emerging in areas including Electrotechnology, Business Services, Health and Community Services, Automotive, Construction and Primary Industries..
A YEAR OR A CAREER
Ms Narelle Milligan
Private Practitioner, New South Wales
Dilemmas and Rewards for Overseas Teaching Experience of English as a Second Language. Every year thousands of vacancies for TEFL teachers are posted on the internet and, less frequently in the newspapers all over the world. China alone seeks over 50,000 teachers but there are traps for new players including visa difficulties, freedom of movement and living conditions. A teaching contract in some Asian countries can present dilemmas to Australians and New Zealanders who are environmentally aware and initial adjustment has to occur at both macro and micro levels in terms of green energy and recycling as well as everday living in a new culture and language.
The presenter will discuss some of the aspects of “culture shock” drawn from her own experiences and those of her colleagues in relation to employment in Asia, most recently in 2009 in China. The impact of the global recession and the emergence of professional “economic refugees” from other countries but with particular reference to China will be highlighted. Some humorous aspects of recruiting will be covered as well as the impact of work values on decision making; characteristics of flexibility and resilience when faced with personal challenges. Additionally, the dilemmas of being “green” in modernising SE Asian countries will be highlighted.
The workshops will be interactive.
NEW CONVERSATIONS AROUND A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF ALL THINGS. IMPLICATIONS FOR CAREER DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONERS AND THEIR CLIENTS AND OUR COMMUNITIES' INVOLVEMENT WITH "SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY" FOR THE WAY WE THINK AND WORK
Ms Karel Wearne BA DipEd MA (Counselling)
Psychologist, Career Consultant and Executive Coach
Wearne Resource Consultancy
This workshop will provide an opportunity to stimulate a re- engagement with mature reflections and conversations upon some hard questions which re -emerge in the new millennium. This approach will reopen attention and transdisciplinary thinking towards a deeper consciousness of the interdependency of all of our ways of being and doing in our world. Through an interactive facilitated process participants will engage in contributing their perspectives and experiences on the nature of our individual and community “social responsibility” in the ways we work to find meaningful possibilities in our lives on this earth.
1. Mindfully reflective exercises to demonstrate concepts introduced: Eg.
a) What are the factors/ “attractors” that have affected us over the past to think, feel and act differently about the way we live and work? Use a Life Space map to assist in the process. Reflect upon the narratives constructed by ourselves and others to develop a sense of meaning of self in the world and our work in it. Share in small groups.
b) What are the theories / philosophies about the world and the world of work that have influenced you? Name 3-5 main ideas that guide your thinking. How do you demonstrate these concepts in your work? Share in small groups.
2. What do we think are the hard problems facing all of us in this first decade of the new millennium?
As an individual and in our work communities how do we think and act socially responsible? What assists us to make a positive difference and what are the barriers?
3. How are we empowering others to think and act in a socially responsible way towards life and work?
Provide examples of our collective community involvements in shared strategies and processes which impact positively on others and our world? Documentation of these examples for display.
HOLISTIC CAREER CHOICE-MAKING IN YOUNG PEOPLE: DEALING WITH COMPLEXITIES EFFECTIVELY
Mr Col McCowan
Cromach Careers
Three years research was undertaken with 3000, 17 year olds in the final year of secondary education to determine the issues and difficulties they experienced as they were about to choose their post school career/course option(s). The patterns of behaviour didn’t seem to fit some of the traditional models of career decision making and a new understanding of the processes and an example model was developed. Examples of some of the processes students undertake, as well as a number of applications of the model, will be discussed. Participants will get the opportunity to relate the findings to their experiences with their clients and more effective strategies will be proposed.
Research Strand
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES TO THE DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO ASSESSING CAREER INTERESTS
Dr James Athanasou
Private Practitioner
This paper reviews aspects of the history of interest assessment in Australia in the last quarter century. It surveys past approaches and notes that most were based mainly on the use of questionnaires or inventories. The dominance of inventoried interests is not supported by the available evidence. Furthermore the scoring of such measures is questioned. It is not clear that the scores represent real quantities of interest. The relevance of manifest, expressed or tested approaches to interest assessment is highly recommended together with some newer qualitative approaches. Criterion- rather than norm-referenced results are also recommended. The importance of the ipsative assessment of interests is supported and the role for vocational interest assesment as part of a person-fit theory of career development is advocated.
ADAPTABILITY AND OPTIMISM: THE SUSTAINABILITY DIMENSIONS OF THE CAREER FUTURES INVENTORY
Dr Peter McIlveen, A/Prof Lorelle Burton
Uni Of Southern Queensland
Various theories of career development address how individuals flexibly sustain and maintain their careers in context of rapidly changing worlds-of-work. This paper is a report on research into the Career Futures Inventory (CFI; Rottinghaus, Day, & Borgen, 2005). The CFI is a 25-item psychometric scale consisting of three factors: career adaptability, career optimism, and career-related knowledge. It is purported that the adaptability and optimism factors may serve as useful indices of psychological constructs pertaining to flexibly maintaining and sustaining career. The original scale was produced on the basis of a North American sample. For the present study, the psychometric properties of the CFI are reported in terms of an Australian sample of over 1500 participants. The validity, reliability, and factor structure of the CFI are given, along with comparisons with measures of personality and self-efficacy. It is concluded that the CFI is appropriate for Australian purposes and that it may serve as a measure for career research and practice, particularly in relation to determining individuals’ attitudes toward change in their career circumstances.
DREAMING AND CONSCIENCE: ESSENTIAL FOR INDIVIDUALS, THE ENVIRONMENT, AND CAREER PRACTICE
Ms Julie Farthing
Career Dimensions
Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams die,
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams.
For if dreams go,
Life is a barren field
Covered with snow.
Langston Hughes
Whether this is achieved with the aid of specialised tools or solely through meaningful conversations, a key competency of a career development practitioner relates to assisting clients to develop deeper and more meaningful understanding of self in relation to their careers. Dreams are integral to self-understanding, but the terms ‘dream’ and ‘dreaming’ have diverse meanings, and the connotation of these are often negative.
In this paper, ‘dream’ relates to that part of self that is contained within the individual’s internal systems – these are not contingent on external or environmental influences. ‘Conscience’ relates to our context, which is also an essential component of self-understanding. While the external is always less controllable, contexts are becoming less stable, less consistent, and less rigid, and in addition to the social context in which we live, the environment is also a key player. Self-understanding thus has two core elements. The underlying premise is that the ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ selves are like two sides of a coin; one cannot exist without the other, and they must be aligned in order to achieve career satisfaction. ‘Career dreams’ represent the intrapersonal; they are values-driven, existential, and powerful. ‘Conscience’ implies that we see (or should see) ourselves as an integral part of the world context, known and unknown; this links to broader social and environmental issues which both modify and inform the process of dreaming.
This paper aims to broaden contemporary career thinking in the presentation of a model for building self-awareness through the twin lenses of dreaming and conscience. It also examines their role in the career transition process using an action research model.
