Role of career counselling as an employment strategy

A new study report from the Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School and the Catholic University of Leuven reveals that career counselling as an employment strategy is still in its infancy. Among initiatives for an active labour market policy, the Flemish government recently established the right for employees to individual career counselling. Nevertheless, the research concludes that an intensified action plan is needed to develop career counselling as an effective labour market instrument in the region.

Policy background

Employees today are expected to seek out new opportunities to enhance their individual labour market position. In support of these employability efforts, the Flemish government has established a right to career counselling and has therefore set up a network of independent counselling centres. Due to financial support from the European Union, the cost of career counselling has decreased significantly. In Flanders, this type of external, non-company based career counselling is seen as an important part of an active labour market policy.

However, although the individual worker is expected to be more involved in his/her career progress, this does not mean that the employer no longer has a role to play in the career management of staff. The employer’s responsibility is to provide employees with opportunities and instruments to strengthen their individual employability, and company career counselling represents one of these instruments.

Aim and method of research

In support of this policy, the Flemish Minister of Employment, Education and Training (Vlaams Minister van Werk, Onderwijs en Vorming), Frank Vandenbroucke, together with the social partners, commissioned a study on the status of career counselling in today’s Flemish labour market. In particular, the research examined the following aspects:

• employees’ actions in furthering their own career management;

• the role of internal (company-based) career counselling in employees’ career management.

In terms of methodology, the research used a combined approach: it is based on a representative survey of 976 Flemish employees, secondary analysis of the Panel Survey of Organisations (PASO), 75 management interviews and 10 in-depth company case studies. The survey was financed within the policy-oriented research programme VIONA – the Flemish interuniversity research network to monitor trends on the labour market (Vlaams Interuniversitair Onderzoeksnetwerk Arbeidsmarktrapportering).

Career self-management

The research results reveal that, although many companies expect their employees to plan their careers, in practice only a low percentage of workers actually do so (see Table). When employees invest in career management practices, it is mainly in terms of progressing within the present workplace. External career counselling is only sought when a worker’s career seems to be at a dead end within a company or when the future of the company is no longer guaranteed.