The National Career Development Guidelines is one of several initiatives that has supported the expansion of state-level career development capacity and comprehensive, competency-based career guidance programs in various local program settings. This initiative, sponsored by the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (NOICC), has…

Some experts were asked to summarize what they knew about career development in five short messages. What resulted is the "High Five" of career development: 1) Change is constant; 2) Follow your heart; 3) Focus on the journey; 4) Stay learning; and 5) Be an ally. Each of these messages is briefly described in this digest. Change, in the…

Rapid and escalating changes in labor market and post-secondary educational opportunities challenge adolescents to meet their personal and career needs. A recent study found that young people left high school unprepared for current career realities and that both the career and personal areas of the lives were in a state of change and uncertainty.…

This digest examines the meanings of career development which have evolved since the 1950s; discusses the diversity of programs, tools and techniques in career development today; and explores future trends in the field. It discusses expanding populations and settings for career development, examines career development in the schools and with…

The centric model of career counseling was developed for use in employment counseling and takes into account psychological, social, and economic factors. Four developmental phases are used to describe movement within the centric model. The initial phase, readiness, establishes the working alliance between the counselor and the client. Clients must…

Since 80% of school leavers drop out with a "C" or higher grade average, poor performance is seldom the issue. This digest outlines a program that uses a comprehensive life-career focus to address youths' continuing learning needs. The program was developed to provide high-school-aged youth the skills, knowledge, and motivation necessary…

The need for a collaborative effort between school and family in the area of career guidance is considered in this digest. Issues relevant to this effort are discussed, including family determinants of children's career development, stages of children's career development, counselor guidelines for starting parent programs, and counselor…

Some intervention programs have responded to the magnitude of the difficulties that career transitions present for adults. This digest examines one program which aims to improve the career adaptability of adults seeking employment. The interventional procedures outlined here are intended to accelerate vocational development by helping people…

Career education is moving away from addressing careers as a single choice in time, or as one unit or course in a curriculum. This digest discusses the infusion of skills (research, thinking, questioning) into the regular school curriculum and describes one such infusion program. Research indicates that instilling these skills into education…

Adults experience cyclical periods of stability and transition throughout life. The conflict between role cycles may spur career change. Personality differences between voluntary changers and nonchangers have been identified in research. Career changes may be triggered by factors ranging from the anticipated (marriage, empty nest) to the…

The need for lifelong career development in Canada is becoming increasingly evident as more people switch jobs. To meet this need, it has been suggested that counseling services for adults should be organized in a three-tiered structure. Such a structure would ensure that individuals have access to a counselor in accordance with their level of…

Professional evaluation of career counseling programs is becoming increasingly important as funding becomes more limited and accountability more pervasive. This digest describes a Canadian approach used by an outside team to evaluate seven small career counseling programs. Evaluators addressed two basic goals: appraise the effectiveness and…

The advance of science and technology, the rise of mass consumerism, the deterioration of families, and other factors have enormous implications for career counseling. This digest outlines a constructivist career counseling perspective. This perspective is based on the following concepts: there are multiple realities and no single "God's…

Career counselors continually evaluate their work. Unfortunately, the evidence used to gauge success often is usually not considered valuative, is not documented, and cannot be used to back up claims of successful counseling. This digest outlines a new approach to evaluation. Since client-need determines counseling intervention, evaluation models…

Generations of rural people have relied on resource industries for their livelihoods. This digest examines how modern technologies allow career counselors to serve this population. In distance career counseling, four factors must be considered: (1) community characteristics, such as the informal hiring practices seen in many rural communities; (2)…