Involving the users of guidance services in policy development

1. Involving the users of guidance services in policy development Vivienne Brown Head of Policy and Strategy Careers Scotland Cedefop,Thessaloniki 19-20 November 2007

2. Careers Scotland is an all-age career guidance and development service Our role is to enable our key clients to be fully motivated, informed and empowered to succeed and progress in today’s dynamic labour market • over 1150 staff, 35 centres, website, telephone call-centre • work from 450 schools, 40 further education colleges, countless partners premises • 200,000 callers annually to our centres • over 80,000 new registrants annually to our website • 120,000 school pupils annually of whom 50,000 are leavers

3. Focus on • school–leavers • 16-19 unemployed • adults in transition • universal career guidance and development services for all clients • targeted services for those who need help most – for example • Key Worker support and case management • range of employability programmes • career education and enterprise activities • labour market information • exam results helpline • jobs fairs

4. Policy and Strategy terms • strengthen strategic alliances and partnership working between key national organisations and with local agencies • drive to shape policy development for career guidance services with Scottish Government in a cross-cabinet style • articulate the unique contribution of career guidance within social, economic and educational policy goals • achieve step change and higher profile through infrastructural developments and making connections in key policies and resultant projects

5. Involving clients in policy development and service delivery • the client “voice” is key to shaping a new vision; and key to future organisational success • that with something so personal as career decisions, clients should not be asked to fit into frameworks of service provision, but be empowered to ask for services to meet their needs • that personalisation is a powerful solution to organisational dilemmas, large and small Embracing the “personalisation” agenda – need to acknowledge

6. How can we establish a customer voice using research? • Careers Scotland needs more money? – Impact measurement research • give consumers the right to buy services directly? – Individual Learning Accounts • establish a Citizens Committee? – ‘care’ words research on website • more tailored, personalised services where we are organised to deliver better solutions for those who use our services? – • professional efficacy • using social networks to improve confidence and a positive self-image

7. How can we establish a customer voice through increased personalisation and participation? • more customer friendly interfaces and language – website, call centre, physical layout in centres and staff development to ascertain and respond to client career guidance needs • a differentiated service to enable clients to have more opportunity to say how much they want to “do” for themselves in terms of career planning and job-search • an approach to career guidance which places the individual at the heart and is in control of the career consultation pace and outcomes Actions from research:

8. a Key Worker service to empower those who need advocacy and support to articulate their on-going needs and re-negotiate their progress from our interventions • a case management service for all young unemployed to ensure their needs are jointly monitored at a key transition into work, learning or training opportunities • development of clients “networks” to ensure third party interventions are sound and jointly consistently delivered – no one organisation can achieve this working independently • providing choices to voice aspirations; and be encouraged in self-confidence and self-image • increased participation of the client releases the solution through a personalised approach

9. Research Outcomes:- Effects on policy and higher organisational issues – bringing the personal and societal policy agendas together • improving outcomes – measured in personal terms and in terms of social economic and policy goal terms • balancing client needs and equity of provision within resources management – how would the organisation self-manage if we started with the needs of thousands of users? • more joined up services – education, training, access to opportunities – new Skills Agency in Scotland, placing the individual career guidance needs at the heart

10. Bringing our approach to personalisation to the next stage • analysing different customer journeys • innovation through new approaches so joined–up activity takes place differently for clients • providing different opportunities for clients not to fulfil their “given roles” through our existing frameworks • changes in new Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland also provides an important innovation, accessing vocational as well as academic learning and a new focus on pupil competencies, pace of learning and learning style • BUT – still a joint production of policy producers and consumers

11. Careers Scotland approach to personalisation • incremental more than radical – but with a vision • focus on unlocking potential both of the individual and of our own organisation • seeking more adaptive solutions, better provision of the basics, reliable and timely services – in short doing what we are supposed to do - better

12. And the future? • giving clients more choice, more informed about what they could get and ample opportunities to choose between service support options • empowering clients to be able to choose their service level and support • further research to establish an on-going methodology • creating a more articulate client group will change the supply to a more demand–led model of participation in learning and training, will change culture and stimulate communities and the economy