Career Development Programs

Well-documented changes in the world of work have increased exponentially the importance of career guidance services. The career guidance field has taken up the challenges of renewed training of professionals, invigorated practices in relation to education programs, counselling and information, and engaged in extended and sustained thinking on the responses of the field to the changes. The career guidance field has been expanding the focus of its interventions and stressing the need to examine its development to date and the most appropriate directions for the future. For example, the International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance conducted a conference in 1996 on the changing demands of career guidance and, in 2000, embarked on the development of a new journal. In 1999, a major international symposium held in Canada focused on career development and public policy (Hiebert & Bezanson, 1999), with work ongoing in 2001. New editions of major theoretical texts have been developed (Brown & Brooks, 1996; Osipow & Fitzgerald, 1996) and new texts featuring new theoretical formulations and the interplay between theory and practice also have been published (Patton & McMahon, 1999; Savickas & Walsh, 1996). This chapter will examine the changing context in which career development and career development practice occur. It emphasises the importance of reconceptualising career guidance as lifelong learning if individuals are to construct satisfying life careers for themselves within changing environments. The beginning section of the chapter presents definitions of key terms used throughout the book. Changes in the world of work and implications for career guidance practice are then discussed. Finally, the status of career guidance practice in Australia and other Western countries is explored.