Research into career development initiatives

By Nerissa Smith
Policy & Planning Advisor
Career Services rapuara
November 1999

Review of International Literature

Introduction

Career Services recently contracted ACNielsen, an independent social research company to conduct an investigation into outcomes people have following career intervention. The report by ACNielsen highlight the important role that career guidance has in helping people manage their careers in an ever changing world of work.

The international literature review forms the second half of our overall research into career outcomes. The initial stages of the research fed into the design of the New Zealand research undertaken by ACNielsen, particularly in the decision to focus on broad outcomes from career intervention, including tangible and not so tangible. By career intervention we mean having attended a career guidance session with a career counsellor. The results of this study clearly pointed to the positive benefits of career guidance on individual's work and life options.

The international literature review is a synthesis of the latest in the world of career development at the macro level. That is, what other countries are doing, how they are improving their careers provision, and the increasingly important role career information, advice and guidance is assuming as countries move towards knowledge societies.