Career Edge 14 (August 2005)

Editorial: Productivity debate underway

A newly-published paper by British career development expert Tony Watts challenges some fundamental assumptions about the provision of career guidance.

Tony Watts is interviewed in this issue of Career Edge about what he sees as its implications for the profession. In his paper, Tony calls on career professionals to consider issues of productivity and accountability as part of current efforts worldwide to expand provision and make career planning a lifelong activity.

The paper argues that in an environment where publicly funded resources are always likely to be limited, it is imperative that available resources are used as efficiently and effectively as possible. His paper also argues that rather than simply counting the number of people who receive career counselling and advice, the profession needs to be able to provide solid evidence of the impact and benefits of its interventions. Once this evidence is collected and analysed, the profession will be able to present a much more convincing case for further government funding.

While some readers may find calls to improve productivity challenging, I believe it is the time for New Zealanders to be debating and discussing these issues.

Fundamental changes underway in both our tertiary system and labour market mean expanding the reach and effectiveness of career services has never been more important.

For example, New Zealand is seeking ways to increase the number of people participating in its labour force, particularly those groups currently under-represented, such as women and older workers. Enhancing the provision of career information, planning and advice is central to this goal.

New Zealand is also looking for ways to increase workplace productivity, not through people working longer hours, but by getting workplaces to become more innovative, working smarter and differently. This means re-evaluating traditional ideas about how careers should be designed and developed, and raising the profile of lifelong learning opportunities.

Meanwhile in the tertiary sector, efforts are underway to improve retention and completion rates. The current cost of tertiary failure is too high both for individuals and for the country. Career advice has a vital role to play in ensuring Kiwis make wiser and better informed study choices.

Career Services is working closely with other government agencies to make progress in all these areas. As a sector that is largely funded by government, we must use resources as wisely as possible if we are to meet these challenges.

This means finding the smartest and most effective ways of working. We must compare different ways of delivering services and examine our productivity as a profession. We must be able to demonstrate the value we are adding. The aim is to find the right balance so that we are delivering the most effective services to the greatest number of New Zealanders possible.

"Productivity" is a very emotive term and I am sure this issue will provoke debate. The aim of this discussion is not to "dumb down" services or remove the human face of career counselling in favour of technology. But it may mean doing things differently and making greater efforts to find out how clients prefer services to be delivered.

I urge all of you to consider these issues and how they might apply to your own situation. This is a great opportunity for the careers profession to make a difference to the lives of many more New Zealanders. For this reason alone, it is time to start talking about "productivity".

Lester Oakes
Chief Executive
Career Services