Preface
While this subject benchmark statement has been informed by the Recognition scheme for subject benchmark statements, it has also taken account of the fact that subject benchmark statements that are specific to the higher education (HE) sector in Scotland are handled by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) Scotland and are subject to a separate process and consultation.
Subject benchmark statements provide a means for the academic community to describe the nature and characteristics of programmes in a specific subject. They also represent general expectations about standards for the award of qualifications at a given level and articulate the attributes and capabilities that those possessing such qualifications should be able to demonstrate.
Subject benchmark statements are used for a variety of purposes. Primarily, they are an important external source of reference for higher education institutions (HEIs) when new programmes are being designed and developed in a subject area. They provide general guidance for articulating the learning outcomes associated with specific programmes but are not a specification of a detailed curriculum in the subject. Subject benchmark statements provide for variety and flexibility in the design of programmes and encourage innovation within an agreed overall conceptual framework.
Subject benchmark statements also provide support to HEIs in the pursuit of enhancement-led institutional review (ELIR). They enable the learning outcomes specified for a particular programme to be reviewed and evaluated against agreed general expectations about standards.
Finally, subject benchmark statements may be one of a number of external reference points that are drawn upon for the purposes of ELIR. Reviewers do not use subject benchmark statements as a crude checklist for these purposes; however, they are used in conjunction with the relevant programme specifications, the institution's own internal evaluation documentation, in order to enable reviewers to come to a rounded judgement based on a broad range of evidence.
The subject benchmark statement is subject to future revision that reflects developments in the subject, the experience of HEIs in utilising the statement, and the evolving nature of career services in Scotland.
Ministerial foreword
Our number one priority is growing Scotland's economy. To do that we need to help all Scots contribute as much as they can. We are committed to developing skills to allow people to do this and to prepare for tomorrow's labour market. Learning, at all levels, while not narrowly focused on employability alone, must contribute to a culture of enterprise and actively enable people to improve their quality of life and to take their part in a prosperous and competitive economy.
It is important not to leave anyone out - neither the young, the workforce of tomorrow, nor those already in work, nor those who are older and will remain more active in the workforce than has been the case in past years.
Therefore, it is important that we develop in Scotland our ability to equip people, all people, with the skills of career planning that will allow everyone, throughout their lives, to make complex choices in the world of work and to remain in work for as long as they wish. To this end, we need to make sure we have skilled practitioners able to advise people in career planning and career choices.
There are many organisations operating in the fields of career planning, employability support, lifelong learning and workforce development. In these organisations we need competent, flexible practitioners able to meet the diverse needs of individuals and give them advice and support.
This subject benchmark statement provides a robust framework for the skills and knowledge needed for effective and flexible career planning practitioners. The subject benchmark statement gives clear statements on what is expected of students completing professional level courses. This subject benchmark statement, therefore, will be a useful source of reference for all those involved in career planning.
In Scotland we have invested in Careers Scotland to take the lead in career planning. However, it is my real hope that the subject benchmark statement will be useful not just for those in Scotland but throughout the rest of the United Kingdom and even further afield. The subject benchmark statement is written so that it is useful in a variety of contexts and applicable in many different settings. So I hope that its use is not only limited to Scotland, but that its importance is recognised internationally by all who are involved in career planning.
Nicol Stephen MSP
Deputy First Minister and
Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning
Joint statement from Careers Scotland and QAA Scotland
Careers Scotland and QAA Scotland are delighted to publish this subject benchmark statement for career guidance. The context for the delivery of career guidance services has changed significantly in recent years and practitioners now deliver a wide range of services to diverse client and customer groups. There is widespread recognition that qualifications need to adapt and change to meet the needs of all age career guidance organisations, such as Careers Scotland, or the wider constituency of organisations operating in the field of advice and guidance, employability support, social inclusion and workforce development. This subject benchmark statement has been progressed to support and inform the development of a new postgraduate qualification in career guidance and related fields which will better meet the needs of Scotland's population.
These developments have taken place within the Quality Enhancement Framework (QEF) developed by QAA Scotland in partnership with the Scottish HE sector, Universities Scotland, the Scottish Funding Council, the National Union of Students Scotland (NUS Scotland) and the Higher Education Academy. Among other things, the QEF aims to support the identification, sharing and dissemination of good practice in learning and teaching, and to focus on the continuous enhancement of the student experience. This includes the development of new qualifications and new ways of learning in HE for a student population whose demographics are changing.
The development of the subject benchmark statement supports the enhancement approach in many ways. It addresses the changing needs of students and changing nature of the student population by providing a robust framework for developing future qualifications that produce competent, reflective practitioners delivering needs based services to individuals of any age or status in life. Key principles underpinning the statement were that lifetime career planning should support lifelong learning, and practitioners should be equipped to assist individuals to develop effective career planning skills, with resulting 'career resilience', throughout life.
The subject benchmark statement was produced in association with the UK professional body, the Institute of Career Guidance (ICG). The subject benchmark statement has drawn from existing standards and competency frameworks, both within the UK and internationally, and has been produced after extensive consultation with key stakeholders who have an interest in career guidance in Scotland. The subject benchmark statement has also been established within the context of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF).
The purpose of the subject benchmark statement
The main purpose of the subject benchmark statement is to identify the key knowledge, skills and attitudes expected of students completing professional courses in career guidance and to provide guidelines for learning providers in developing career guidance qualifications in Scotland.
Career planning is defined as the process of making effective and informed career decisions and implementing these decisions successfully. Practitioners need to acquire the knowledge and skills to support clients to develop their own effective career planning skills and strategies that will enable them to cope with change throughout their lives, ie become career resilient. Provision of, and access to, career-related learning (career and enterprise education) and information supports the career planning process.
This subject benchmark statement will ensure that there is a consistent approach to the core content of courses designed to produce effective career guidance practitioners. It is acknowledged that courses may be developed at different levels within the SCQF, for example, Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) Professional Development Awards and that differing levels of engagement or skill development may be required of students. It is also acknowledged that elective and/or contextualised study beyond the core elements will lead to learning programmes with differing emphases.
The subject benchmark statement has been devised for a professional qualification at postgraduate level (SCQF level 11). Students undertaking this learning will be equipped to be effective, reflective practitioners able to drive forward policy and practice in the field of career guidance.
Potential audiences for the subject benchmark statement
- Those involved in designing, approving, accrediting or validating career guidance initial training and continuing professional development.
- Those who teach, assess and examine learners.
- Career guidance practitioners - advisers involved in career planning, employability/inclusion, workforce development and enterprise activities.
- Managers and mentors in employing organisations.
- Students working towards a qualification in career guidance.
- Those who provide opportunities for practice-based learning within career guidance organisations/services.
- Those who are responsible for the quality of career guidance services.
- Those who are responsible for continuing professional development.
- Members of other professions who may have an involvement in career guidance provision.
This subject benchmark statement has been produced following consultation with a wide range of organisations with an interest in career guidance in Scotland. These include Qualification in Career Guidance (QCG) course centres, professional bodies and associations, and potential employing organisations.
Context and vision for career guidance in Scotland
The Scottish Executive has recognised the economic value of career guidance through a variety of strategies and initiatives designed to invest in the workforce of the future, reduce economic inactivity among young people, improve productivity in the adult population and attract fresh talent to Scotland. People and their skills underpin employment, productivity, prosperity and social justice in Scotland.
Demographic changes are set to reduce the number of young people entering the labour market and lead to employers increasingly looking to older workers to fill skill shortage areas. Lifetime career planning in support of lifelong learning is an essential skill for individuals facing complex choices and requiring to develop personal career resilience.
Career guidance practitioners work with individuals of all abilities, ages and stages in life to help them fulfil their potential and access appropriate opportunities. In addition to helping individuals develop effective career planning skills, they can be involved in designing and delivering motivational activities to promote enterprising behaviour and combat the risk of social exclusion. As well as working in educational settings, practitioners are involved in workforce development and community engagement through effective partnership working. Career planning support is increasingly delivered at distance, particularly through e-guidance.
In order to meet these challenges, practitioners need to be highly skilled, knowledgeable, flexible and capable of delivering a wide range of services to a diverse client group. They need to practise ethically and be able to support capacity building in other organisations.
The content of career guidance qualifications needs to reflect the increasingly complex labour and learning markets in which practitioners operate and the existing and emerging skills required to deliver effective and responsive career guidance services to clients.
Features of career guidance qualifications
The professional competence of career guidance practitioners should be based on three inter-related areas:
- knowledge and understanding
- skills and abilities
- professional values and personal commitment.
Figure one: Aspects of professional preparation and development
The significance of placing these aspects of professional preparation within a triangle is to emphasise that they are not simply lists of competencies or outcomes. They are interdependent aspects of the professional preparation of the student. It is the relationship between the three aspects that constitutes a meaningful education and preparation for professional practice. The Benchmark statement has been constructed with this in mind. Programmes should be designed to give attention to each of these and to their interaction.
The subject benchmark statement is based on these key elements, and courses should provide a balance between these elements for the duration of the programme of study.
The linking of theory and practice is critical in the development of effective practitioners both in initial training and continuous professional development. Practice-based learning should be integrated throughout and the interface between academic input and learning in the field designed to be as productive and seamless as possible.
Reflective practice and critical enquiry to use and increase the evidence base will underpin course provision.
Requirements of a professional career guidance qualification
Although the subject benchmark statement is designed for initial training at postgraduate level, it is intended that options for achieving different levels of qualification be made available to individual learners taking into account previous experience, articulation routes and their personal requirements. Elective modules building on the core elements should also be made available to students within the practice-based year and as part of continuing professional development (CPD).
Clear and consistent links between theory and practice and the opportunity to practise and reflect on practical application of theoretical knowledge should be integral to course content/assessment activities. There will also be opportunities:
- to develop critical thinking, including research skills
- for progressive skill development with clients of all abilities, ages and stages in a variety of contexts
- to develop innovative approaches to career guidance with clients
- to develop and practise the skills of reflection and improve own professional practice
- to develop effective approaches to the promotion of career planning
- to develop and implement understanding of effective partnership working
- to develop and implement understanding of professional accountability and impact measurement techniques
- to relate theoretical knowledge and understanding of career guidance to specific work contexts.
Main indicators of acquired learning and effective application in the field
- An integration of theoretical knowledge and understanding with the development of practical application to approaches to career guidance.
- The development of reflective approaches to own practices as career guidance practitioners within an ethical framework.
- The development of research skills and commitment to contribute to the research base within the field of career guidance.
- Confidence and knowledge about the opportunities and strategies for developing more effective career guidance provision.
- Through practice-based assessment and related support systems, confidence to respond to more challenging career guidance issues effectively.
- Through practice-based assessment and support, confidence to acknowledge professional boundaries, manage cases/caseloads and refer appropriately.
Outline of a professional qualification in career guidance
Mandatory elements of a professional career guidance qualification at postgraduate level are:
- ethical and reflective practice
- career guidance theory and policy
- career guidance practice
- career-related learning
- career-related information
- partnership working
- labour and learning markets.
Benchmarking of a professional qualification in career guidance: standards for the award
The standard for the award outlines the key knowledge, skills and attitudes expected of students completing professional career guidance courses. The first column details the general learning focus with the related knowledge and understanding, skills and abilities and values and commitment in the following columns.
1 Ethical and reflective practice
| Learning focus | Knowledge and understanding | Skills and abilities | Values and commitment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethical principles and equal opportunities | Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
|
Students will demonstrate the ability to:
|
Students will demonstrate:
|
| Reflective practice | Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
|
Students will demonstrate the ability to:
|
Students will demonstrate:
|
2 Career guidance theory and policy
| Learning focus | Knowledge and understanding | Skills and abilities | Values and commitment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Career guidance theory and policy | Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
|
Students will demonstrate the ability to:
|
Students will demonstrate:
|
3 Career guidance practice
| Learning focus | Knowledge and understanding | Skills and abilities | Values and commitment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual interventions | Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
|
Students will demonstrate the ability to:
|
Students will demonstrate:
|
| Group work | Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
|
Students will demonstrate the ability to:
|
4 Career-related learning
| Learning focus | Knowledge and understanding | Skills and abilities | Values and commitment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Career-related learning | Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
|
Students will demonstrate the ability to:
|
Students will demonstrate:
|
5 Career-related information
| Learning focus | Knowledge and understanding | Skills and abilities | Values and commitment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Career-related information | Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
|
Students will demonstrate the ability to:
|
Students will demonstrate:
|
6 Partnership working
| Learning focus | Knowledge and understanding | Skills and abilities | Values and commitment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partnership working | Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
|
Students will demonstrate the ability to:
|
Students will demonstrate:
|
7 Labour and learning markets
| Learning focus | Knowledge and understanding | Skills and abilities | Values and commitment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour and learning markets | Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
|
Students will demonstrate the ability to:
|
Students will demonstrate:
|
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