Frequently Asked Questions
- For whom is the College training designed?
- What makes the College training content unique?
- How is the training content structured?
- I’m attracted to at least two of the five Study Stream Options. How can my learning needs be accommodated?
- Tell me more about the Practicum in Part Four
- What sorts of people are enrolled in the College?
- What backgrounds do students have who are not already in career service roles?
- How can I be assured I’m receiving the most up-to-date training?
- Distance learning sounds very impersonal. How can an individual student’s voice be heard?
- From country to country and within large countries like Australia, Canada or the USA, how do you assist individual students with their study issues?
- Why is the term ‘Life-Work Coaching’ used in reference to the Study Stream Option D?
- What job placement advisory service can you realistically provide with students based in different countries?
- Why do people seek trained helpers in career decision making?
1. For whom is the College training designed?
The study content has been designed to benefit:
- those wishing to transfer into the career services delivery profession in its many different forms
- employment placement consultants wanting to add career coaching to their portfolio of skills and revenue-generating services
- school, college and university based career advisers wishing to make the transition into providing career services to young and mature-age adults
- human resources, employee development and learning and development professionals wishing to expand their knowledge base
- case managers for the unemployed
- people in private practice who wish to establish or extend their career-help retail services
- life coaches
- human care therapists wishing to extend their capabilities
- outplacement practitioners
- executive coaches
- performance improvement coaches
- work and life balance trainers and counsellors
Career counselling and career support is a major feature of many work roles. Some examples of job titles are: career adviser, career coach, career development consultant, career trainer, case manager, educational adviser, employment agent, employment assistance provider, employment development officer, employment strategist, executive coach, human resources adviser, information broker (education), intensive assistance counsellor, job developer, life coach, mentor, occupational psychologist, outplacement consultant, rehabilitation provider, resettlement officer, transition assistant specialist, transition broker, vocational guidance officer, vocational psychologist, workforce development officer, worklife counsellor.
2. What makes the College training content unique?
There are at least three reasons:
- Our philosophy about teaching career counselling and career coaching. Students learn how to avoid the problems associated with applying a one-size-fits-all approach, i.e. a single career choice theory, to their skilled helping of others. They are encouraged to become aware of the impact of their own values and beliefs on the career helping process and to apply their developing knowledge of career counselling to the needs of a diverse clientele.
- The training content comprises substantial input from career subject experts of international repute. Their input has been integrated with training content from career service practitioners who individually have no fewer than 20 years’ practical experience in career counselling and coaching. This training content is continually monitored and, where new information or technique becomes available, it is incorporated in the training.
- The College offers five Study Stream options – a facility for a student to focus on one or more specific areas of career services delivery which is not offered by other similar education providers.
3. How is the training content structured?
Study is self-paced and directed by Study Module guides. Each Study Module has a similar structure:
- Learning Objectives
- Tutorial
- Required Reading from Course Textbook
- Additional Readings
- Assignments for Assessment for this Module
- Student Exercises (Optional)
- Extending Your Learning:
- Web Sites for further research on this topic
- Recommended Further Reading
For all five Study Streams, the curriculum content is organised around three cornerstones of learning necessary for career practitioners.
4. I’m attracted to at least two of the four Study Stream options. How can my learning needs be accommodated?
When you have completed the first four subjects, you select one of the five Study Streams. When you have completed Part Two and Part Three Modules of your chosen Study Stream, you have to make another choice. One option is to undertake a Practicum project. The other is to study one of the other Part Two Study Streams and, under the guidance of the Director of Studies, pursue the training content as an alternative Practicum.
5. Tell me more about the Practicum in Part Three
The Learning Objective is to integrate your learning in the previous Study Modules into a major research and evaluation project which will enhance your employability in your current or planned step in providing forms of career services delivery. The Practicum allows you to select a subject area related to career support and development about which you want to learn more. You undertake extensive research from print, web and in-person sources. You then analyse the information and comment in depth about what you have learned. You conclude by indicating how you will apply your new learning in your current or planned role in career service delivery.
6. What sorts of people are enrolled in the College?
More than 300 people have undertaken studies with the college. They are based in 12 countries and all continents other than South America. 70% are female; 90% are aged between 32 and 52; 38% are currently in career services work, with the balance in other occupations preparing to move into career services work or using the College to evaluate whether they wish to; 55% have an undergraduate degree or higher; and the average time to complete by part-time studies is 13.5 months.
7. What backgrounds do students have who are not already in career service roles?
They come from a variety of backgrounds. Career development practitioner is a profession for people who want to contribute to making a difference to other’s lives. Anyone who wishes to leverage their life and working experiences can move into the profession. For example, some of our students are dentists, human resource officers, school librarians and an engineer.
8. How can I be assured I’m receiving the most up-to-date training?
The College Faculty monitors new information, techniques, resources and web sites each working day. Its practice is to delete, amend or extend the content of each Study Module as required. Students can be assured that they will receive the most up-to-date information as they progress through the sequence of Study Modules.
9. Distance learning sounds very impersonal. How can an individual student’s voice be heard?
There are several opportunities for students to provide feedback on the learning content and administrative process of the College. At the conclusion of their studies, students will be asked to complete an evaluation of the material they have completed. Students are encouraged to comment on aspects of the College either through the College Common Room or by means of email to the College Director of Studies. The student evaluations and comments are utilised in the continuing enrichment and enhancement of the learning materials and the administration of the College.
10. From country to country and within large countries like Australia, Canada or the USA, how do you assist individual students with their study issues?
Distance learning assumes the qualities of independence and autonomy on the part of students. By inference, this puts the emphasis on self-management. Students enrolled in the College, however, have access to the Faculty, the Preceptors and other students for assistance and mentoring in a variety of ways.
The virtual Common Room is one of the vehicles for open communication. More personal, one-to-one communication, still in an asynchronous mode, takes place via email. Students may post their email addresses on the College Common Room to encourage more individual interactions between students.
11. Why is the term ‘Life-Work Coaching’ used in reference to the Study Stream Option D?
The term ‘life-work coaching’ is used in preference to ‘career coaching’ or ‘career counselling’. This choice has been made because it is usually a feature of skilled helper interactions with third age clients i.e. 48 years and over, that the issues to be resolved extend beyond regaining employment or advancing one’s current career situation. Not exclusively, but the majority of third age clients seek help from career services providers focused on their second half of life for holistic enhancement, not only as extensions of work.
12. What job placement advisory service can you realistically provide with students based in different countries?
College students are entitled to access this service for assistance when planning an employment transition as follows:
- constructive critique of your résumé and / or job application portfolio
- advice on current demand and supply situation for the different sectors where career service delivery takes place
- introductions to local experts informed on the job situation in your location
- strategic advice about identifying opportunities in your target area
- introductions, if you are not yet a member, to the relevant career association or institute in your country
- advice on further professional development in career practice
- access to graduates of the College for ‘insider information’ concerning achieving your employment objectives
13. Why do people seek trained helpers in career decision making?
Career decisions can be daunting and confusing whatever the life stage of the client. A client may perceive a wide range of options or the existence of very few. Most people struggle with career decision making because:
- They are unaware of the range of their viable career direction options; and
- They want their jobs to satisfy many different needs.
They want to earn a living, to enjoy their work, to have opportunities for new learning, to experience competence and success, to further their career development and provide some sense of financial security for themselves and their significant others. This is a long and incomplete list of critical aspects of career choice. Most people get 'stuck' somewhere along the process of sorting out this confusion. It is at this stage that they seek the help of people trained in helping others make career choices. There are clear indications that the volume of people seeking skilled career help at different stages of their lives is rapidly increasing.