Developmental tasks, vocational development and career adaptability

1. Developmental tasks, vocational development and career adaptability INAP Assuring the Acquisition of Expertise: Apprenticeship in the Modern Economy Beijing, China, 26 – 27 May 2011 Alan Brown and Jenny Bimrose alan.brown@warwick.ac.uk

2. Developmental Life Stages Early adulthood: • ‘getting started in an occupation’ • tentative in relation to vocational development Much VET assumes: • commitment to a sector • appropriate work will follow

3. Global context Fluidity & change: • labour markets; • organisation of work; • occupational knowledge base; • organisational work process knowledge

4. Making their way: Successful life-course transitions Career identity: • Less stable than previously Occupational choice: • more tentative Developmental task: • becoming career adaptable

5. Career Adaptability ‘The capability of an individual to a series of successful transitions where the labour market, organisation of work and underlying occupational and organisational knowledge bases may all be subject to considerable change’. Reference: Bimrose et al., 2011

6. Career Adaptability: 5 ‘C’s Psycho-social competency approach: Control: exert influence Curiosity: broaden horizons Confidence: belief in oneself Concern: positive attitudes Commitment: broad focus Reference: Savickas et al., 2009

7. Research data: patterns of career development • c2000 adults since 2001 • 50 young people (up to age 30) making successful transitions • aerospace; banking; chemicals; ICT; media; sports marketing; health • England, Germany, Norway

8. Career Decision-making • Ability to review and reflect v. opportunistic approaches • Engagement with learning and development pathways • Upskilling, reskilling or transformational shifts in perspective • Key issues: individual proactivity; relational issues; support

9. Results: successful transitions 1 • Importance of challenging work for all • Varying patterns of engagement with learning activities • Personal autonomy and meaning of career • Discussions with others about possible lines of career development • Formal learning often valued • Identification with occupation and / or organisation or skill set recontextualisation

10. Results: successful transitions 2 • Proactive in shaping career and learning pathways but often need support to become more reflective • Anxieties common • Help individuals develop their own career stories: sense of direction • Career options and choices limited by context: easier message learning for personal development: personal networks and meeting new challenges

11. Results: successful transitions 3 • Opportunity structures key, so adaptability more powerful message than employability • ICT: learning and career patterns often individualised • Engineering: strong linkages between learning and careers • Health: complex linkages: vertical and horizontal progression; qualifications important

12. Conclusions: successful transitions Career adaptive: • (proactive) personality; • interactions with others; • engagement with challenging opportunities

13. Conclusions: successful transitions Two groups: • happy / unhappy with current experienced skilled worker status (initial occupational choice) • Focus on career adaptability would be useful