International Association

for Educational and

Vocational Guidance

International Competencies for Educational and Vocational Guidance Practitioners

Approved by the IAEVG Board, 18th December 2018

Preamble

Educational and vocational guidance practitioners assist people across their lifespan with learning and work decisions. Educational and vocational guidance practitioners work in diverse settings such as schools, colleges, universities, public employment services, organisations and in private practice. Educational and vocational guidance practitioners provide services to diverse clientele and specialised populations including students, adults, people from indigenous/first nation backgrounds, people with a disability, and people from migrant and refugee backgrounds.

The purpose of the IAEVG Competency Framework is to make explicit the competencies required in order for educational and vocational guidance practitioners to deliver quality services to clients. The competencies were developed on the basis of an international survey conducted in 2003 and revised in 2018. Recognising the wide variation across countries in professional training for, and the roles and functions carried out by educational and vocational guidance practitioners, the IAEVG Competency Framework serves as a resource for practitioners, policy makers and course providers while respecting their context specific needs and circumstances and their autonomy in developing and implementing their own frameworks.

The IAEVG Competency Framework comprises Core Competencies and Specialized Competencies. The Core Competencies are the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required by educational and vocational guidance practitioners regardless of their work setting or specialization. The Specialized Competencies recognize the diverse nature of educational and vocational guidance work in relation to the client groups, work settings, and training of practitioners and reflect competencies that may be required by some, but not all, educational and vocational guidance practitioners.

IAEVG International Competency Framework


The Core Competencies

The Core Competencies (C) are the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required by educational and vocational guidance practitioners regardless of their work setting or specialization.

Educational and vocational guidance practitioners:

C1

Demonstrate appropriate ethical behaviour and professional conduct in the fulfilment of roles and responsibilities.

C2

Demonstrate advocacy and leadership in advancing clients learning, career development and personal concerns.

C3

Demonstrate awareness and appreciation of clients’ cultural contexts, concerns and strengths to interact effectively with all populations.

C4

Integrate theory and research into practice in guidance, career development, counselling, and consultation.

C5

Demonstrate the skills to design, implement and evaluate guidance and counselling programs and interventions.

C6

Demonstrate awareness of his/her own capacity and limitations.

C7

Communicate effectively with colleagues or clients, using the appropriate level of language.

C8

Demonstrate knowledge of updated information on educational, training, employment trends, labour market, and social issues.

C9

Demonstrate social and cross-cultural sensitiveness.

C10

Demonstrate the skills to cooperate effectively in a team of professionals.

C11

Demonstrate knowledge of lifelong career development process.

C12

Demonstrate skills and knowledge related to effective and appropriate use of technology.


The Specialized Competencies

Specialized Competencies (S) recognize the diverse nature of educational and vocational guidance work in relation to the client groups, work settings, and training of practitioners and reflect competencies that may be required by some, but not all, educational and vocational guidance practitioners.

S1 Assessment:

Analysis of the characteristics and needs of the individual group to whom the program is addressed, and also of the context where they are inserted, including all agents involved. The aim is to integrate and evaluate data from inventories, tests, interviews, scales and other techniques that measure an individual’s abilities, aptitudes, barriers, life roles, interests, personality, values, attitudes, educational achievements, skills and other relevant information. This specialization includes the related but distinct competency of test interpretation, that is, explaining to a client the results of an assessment and their implications.

To demonstrate this Specialized Competency, educational and vocational guidance practitioners:

  • Conceptualize and diagnose clients’ needs accurately and thoroughly based on different assessment tools and techniques
  • Use the data derived from assessment appropriately and according to the situation
  • Identify situations requiring referral to specialized services
  • Facilitate effective referral by means of initiating contacts between referral sources and individuals
  • Maintain up-to-date listings of referral sources
  • Conduct a needs assessment of the clients’ contexts

S2 Educational Guidance:

Assisting individuals to select courses, make educational plans, overcome learning difficulties, and prepare for post-secondary education, training or entry into the workforce. Guidance is often done in large groups, in contrast to counselling which is more often done with individuals or small groups.

To demonstrate this Specialized Competency, educational and vocational guidance practitioners:

  • Demonstrate concern for students’ potential and the skills to facilitate its achievement
  • Guide individuals and groups of students to develop educational plans
  • Assist students in their decision-making process
  • Assist students to improve their self-awareness
  • Assist students in their course selection
  • Assist students to overcome learning difficulties
  • Motivate and help students to take part in international exchange programs
  • Consult with parents on their children’s educational progress and development
  • Assist teachers to improve teaching methodologies
  • Assist teachers to implement guidance within the curriculum

    S3 Career Development:

    Fostering the attitudes, beliefs, and competencies that facilitate mastery of vocational development tasks, the ability to plan and adaptation to work-role transitions over the life-span. It typically uses a developmental model.

    To demonstrate this Specialized Competency, educational and vocational guidance practitioners:

    • Demonstrate knowledge of career development theory
    • Demonstrate ability to apply career development theory in practice
    • Demonstrate knowledge of career developmental issues and the dynamics of vocational behavior
    • Demonstrate knowledge of pertinent legal factors and their implications for career development
    • Plan, design and implement lifelong career development programs and interventions
    • Demonstrate knowledge of decision making and transition models to prepare and plan for transitional stages: School to work transition, Career shifts, Retirement, Job dismissing, Downsizing.
    • Identify influencing factors (family, friends, educational and financial opportunities) and biased attitudes (that stereotype others by gender, race, age and culture) in career decision making
    • Assist individuals in setting goals, identifying strategies to reach them, and continually reassess their goals, values, interest and career decisions
    • Demonstrate knowledge of state and local referral services or agencies for job, financial, social and personal issues
    • Demonstrate knowledge of career planning materials and computer-based career information systems, the Internet, and other online resources
    • Demonstrate skills to use these career development resources and techniques appropriately
    • Demonstrate skills to use career development resources designed to meet the needs of specific groups (e.g., migrants, ethnic groups and at risk populations)
    • Help clients to build their career and life project

    S4 Counselling:

    Prompting self-reflection to clarify self-concepts, identify options, make decisions, and resolve difficulties.

    To demonstrate this Specialized Competency, educational and vocational guidance practitioners:

    • Demonstrate understanding of the main factors related to the personal development of clients and the dynamics of their individual behavior
    • Demonstrate empathy, respect and a constructive relationship with the client
    • Use individual counselling techniques
    • Use group counselling techniques
    • Address the needs of at-risk students
    • Assist clients in:
    • Prevention of personal problems
    • Personality development
    • Personal problem solving
    • Decision making
    • Sexual identity
    • Social skills
    • Health education
    • Use of leisure time
    • Help clients to develop a personal life plan
    • Detect and refer cases to other specialized services

    S5  Information Management:

    Collecting, organizing, maintaining, and disseminating information pertinent to education, training, occupations, and employment opportunities; coaching clients in its effective use.

    To demonstrate this Specialized Competency, educational and vocational guidance practitioners:

    • Demonstrate knowledge of legislation, pertaining to education, training, and work at local, national and international level
    • Demonstrate knowledge of equivalence of degrees and professional qualifications obtained in different countries
    • Collect, organize, disseminate and provide up-to-date career, educational and personal/social information on:
      • Education and training
      • Occupational information
      • Employment opportunities
      • Others (Health, Leisure...)
    • Use Information Technologies to provide educational and occupational information (Data-bases, Computer-based educational and career guidance programs and the Internet)
    • Assist clients to access and use educational and occupational information in a meaningful way

    S6  Consultation and Coordination:

    Providing information, guidance, and professional advice to parents, teachers, school administrators, and employers who wish to facilitate the educational progress and career development of their charges. Organizing and managing school and community personnel to create referral sources for students regarding programs, services and networks.

    To demonstrate this Specialized Competency, educational and vocational guidance practitioners:

    • Consult with parents, teachers, tutors, social workers, administrators and other agents to enhance their work with students
    • Demonstrate interpersonal skills needed to create and maintain consultation relationships, goals, and desired behavior change
    • Demonstrate skills in working with organizations (universities, business, municipalities and other institutions)
    • Interpret and explain concepts and new information effectively
    • Coordinate school and community personnel to bring together resources for students
    • Use an effective referral process for assisting students and others to use special programs, services, and networks
    • Demonstrate skills to coordinate and stimulate the student’s creativity to built their own programs (studies and work)
    • Demonstrate skills to build up a good image as a professional

    S7 Research and Evaluation:

    Studying issues related to guidance and counselling, such as learning processes, vocational behavior and its development, values, etc. Examining the effectiveness of interventions.

    To demonstrate this Specialized Competency, educational and vocational guidance practitioners:

    • Demonstrate knowledge of research methodologies, data gathering and analysis techniques.
    • Promote research projects in relation to guidance and counselling
    • Use presentation methods to report the outcomes of the research
    • Interpret the results of this research
    • Integrate the results of this research into the guidance and counselling practice
    • Evaluate guidance programs and interventions, applying up-to date techniques and program evaluation models
    • Keep up-to date with current research findings

    S8  Program and Service Delivery and Evaluation:

    Designing, implementing, supervising and evaluating interventions to address the needs of a target population.

    To demonstrate this Specialized Competency, educational and vocational guidance practitioners:

    • Identify target populations
    • Conduct needs assessment
    • Inventory resources relevant to program planning and implementation
    • Demonstrate knowledge about relevant current literature, trends and issues
    • Promote community awareness of the programs and services
    • Manage (design, implement, supervise) programs and interventions
    • Evaluate effectiveness of the interventions
    • Use results to effect program enhancement by recommending institutional/agency improvements

     

    S9 Community Capacity Building:

    Encouraging collaboration between community partners to assess human capital and community needs, as well as developing plans to address the economic, social, educational, and employment goals of the community.

    To demonstrate this Specialized Competency, educational and vocational guidance practitioners:

    • Demonstrate skills to develop relationships with key community partners
    • Conduct analysis of human and material resources
    • Conduct needs assessment of the community
    • Work with the community to effectively use these resources to meet their needs
    • Work with community to develop, implement, and evaluate action plans to address economic, social, educational and employment goals
    • Work with local, national and international resource networks for educational and vocational guidance (e.g. IAEVG)

    S10 Placement:

    Supporting individuals in their efforts to obtain occupational positions by teaching job search skills and creating employment opportunities.

    To demonstrate this Specialized Competency, educational and vocational guidance practitioners:

    • Coach clients in work search strategies
    • Use the Internet in the job search process
    • Present work opportunities to clients and facilitate their appropriate job selection
    • Liaise with employers and with education and training providers to obtain information on the opportunities they offer
    • Consult with policy makers
    • Follow-up on placement suggestions
    • Match individuals to particular vacancies in employment, education or training
    • Support clients with employment maintenance

    S11 Administration and management of educational and vocational guidance services: 

    Understanding how educational and vocational guidance services work and the needs of client groups in order to customize services for them and evaluating and reporting outputs, impact and quality of the service.

    To demonstrate this Specialized Competency, educational and vocational guidance practitioners:

    • Manage educational and vocational guidance services
    • Monitor stakeholder and client needs to ensure service responsiveness to change
    • Coordinate communication between the service and its clients and stakeholders
    • Monitor relationships between the service, clients and stakeholders
    • Regularly review and evaluate the service by applying appropriate benchmarks
    • Ensure the service and its employees uphold the ethical standards of the educational and vocational guidance profession
    • Establish and monitor procedures for ensuring privacy of staff, clients, and stakeholders
    • Demonstrate skills to organize and manage the educational, counseling, guidance and placement services
    • Manage and supervise personnel
    • Promote staff development

    S12 Marketing and promotion of career and educational guidance with specific emphasis on skills for social marketing:

    Understanding the potential markets and stakeholders of educational and vocational guidance with a view to promoting it through diverse media channels including social media.

    To demonstrate this Specialized Competency, educational and vocational guidance practitioners:

    • Identify stakeholders of educational and vocational guidance services
    • Develop and distribute stakeholder appropriate marketing and promotion strategies
    • Establish and monitor procedures for ensuring client, employee and stakeholder privacy
    • Review and evaluate marketing and promotion strategies

    S13  Working with immigrants, refugees and geographically displaced persons:

    Recognising the impact of international migration for individuals, families, communities, and countries and understanding the role of educational and vocational guidance in assisting immigrants, refugees and geographically displaced persons to successfully resettle in their destination countries.

    To demonstrate this Specialized Competency, educational and vocational guidance practitioners:

    • Recognise the unique needs of clients, their families and communities
    • Tailor services to meet the unique needs of clients
    • Lobby and educate employers, education authorities and policymakers regarding the needs of immigrants, refugees, and geographically displaced persons
    • Advocate with employers and education authorities regarding
    • Liaise, where appropriate, with community leaders of people with immigrant, refugee and geographically displaced backgrounds


    S14  Policy development and implementation:

    Recognising and understanding the relationship between educational and vocational guidance practice and its contribution towards public policies in education, labour market, and social inclusion, advocating for, developing, and implementing inclusive and culturally grounded educational and vocational guidance policy and practice.
    To demonstrate this Specialized Competency, educational and vocational guidance practitioners:
    • Develop culturally grounded policy frameworks and systems that facilitate the formal implementation of inclusive educational and vocational guidance to strengthen the education-workforce development interface
    • Understand and implement inclusive and culturally grounded services responsive to policy
    • Monitor policy agendas in order to advocate for and provide policy advice on inclusive and culturally grounded educational and vocational guidance services.

     

    The IAEVG is a  non-profit-making association governed by the provisions of the law of Luxembourg


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