Jenny Bimrose

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• Reykjavik,
• Iceland
• 12th November, 2007
• Jenny Bimrose
• Jenny.bimrose_at_warwick.ac.uk

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• Changing concept of career
• the evolving sequence of
• a persons work
• experiences over time.
• Ref Arthur, M.B., Hall, D.T. Lawrence, B.S.
  (1989) Handbook of Career Theory, Cambridge,
  Cambridge University Press.

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• Demanding policy context
• Resources
• Political priorities
• Delivery models
• Accountability

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• Increasing accountability
• immediate outcomes
• intermediate outcomes
• longer-term outcomes for the individual
• longer-term outcomes for the economy

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• Research - potential to
• illuminate whats currently happening
• tackle emerging issues new insights
• provide an evidence-base for practice

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• Aim
• To use a longitudinal (5 year), qualitative
• case study approach to investigate the nature
• of effective guidance

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• Four key questions
• From whose point-of-view is effective defined?
• Whose account counts?
• How is effectiveness defined?
• How is guidance defined?

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• CLIENT

GUIDANCE INTERVIEW
PRACTITIONER
EXPERT WITNESS
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• Primacy of the
• USER VOICE
• together with the
• Practitioner Perspective

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• Data sources (50 case studies)
• digital recordings of the guidance interviews
• open-ended, semi-structured questionnaires
• baseline data on delivery contexts,
  practitioners and clients

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• Delivery contexts
• Higher Education (18 )
• Further Education (16 )
• Adult guidance organisations
• Voluntary, charity sector
• Private sector

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• Headlines (2003-2004)
• 49 of 50 clients found their interview useful
• high levels of agreement found re perceptions of
  useful guidance
• outcomes of guidance defined broadly, in
• terms of the process of the interview access
  to expertise

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Useful guidance Promoting positive outcomes
for clients pointed me in the right
direction. I didnt know where to start. Now I
have a plan! Gave me direction and a stepping
stone.
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Useful guidance Providing access to
networks, knowledge information I was
unsure where to look for vacancies helped in
giving me a comprehensive listing of where night
vacancies are advertised.
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Useful guidance Encouraging constructive
change in clients Came away feeling far more
positive about my future than I had in
years. The thinking outside the box thing
againbetter perspective.
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Useful guidance Providing clients with a
positive experience being able to speak to
someone who will listen. And will try to
help Very much needed after being at home
with children for 10 years
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• Headlines (2004-2005)
• low attrition rate45 clients
• 87 (n39)guidance still useful
• 11 (n5)less sure of its value
• one client guidance no value

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• Headlines (2005-2006)
• low attrition rate continued 80 (n36)
• 72 (n26)guidance still useful
• 14 (n5)less sure of its value
• 14 (n5)couldnt remember
• the negative client recognised some aspects
  useful

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• Useful guidance recurrent themes
• provides access to specialist information
• insights, focus, confirmatory confusion
  reduction
• motivates
• increases self-confidence
• structures opportunities for reflection

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Client 1 .she wanted me to say what was good
about myself and what I could do and what I
couldnt dosort of what I wanted out of a
job..and she came up with exactly, I think,
what I had thought I would quite like to doshe
came up with the same conclusions as I did, so
you sort of feel a bit of reassurance..
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Client 2 I was going through a bit of time when I
thought what am I actually doing? itmade me
realise that the only kind of person that can
help me is really myself..Ive kind of realised
that Im growing up a bit and Ive got to start
seriously thinking about where Im going in life.
It sounds quite deep. Its kind ofI kind of sat
down and thought, Yeah, this is what Ive got to
do
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Client 3 . .it hasnt led to anything, but
thats nothing to do with the advice I was given.
It was just through our own personal
circumstancesmy partner being made redundant..
its definitely helped me. It has helped me a
lot actually in confidence-wise as well.
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• Model of
• guidance-in-action
• building a working alliance
• exploration of potential
• identification of options strategies
• ending follow-through

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• Key findings practice
• challenge the dominant, quantitative evaluation
  culture
• emphasise the need to develop measures of
  distance travelled
• matching approaches dominate, little evidence of
  new approaches

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• Career decision-
• making styles
• evaluative
• strategic
• aspirational
• opportunistic

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• Key findings career decision-making
• Complex
• Multi-dimensional
• Often implemented over
• an extended time frame
• Not always rational

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• I think its nice if you dont plan too much,
• because then youre open
• to suggestions and
• things like that.

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• Conclusions
• Multiple constraints shape practice
• New thinking approaches difficult to
• implement
• Scope for exercising judgements about clients
  best interests limited

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• Implications for practice?
• Need to place less emphasis on planning
• Demonstrate more tolerance of un-decidedness
• Develop a more vivid sense of context

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• IAG Practice
• Evidence that clients value IAG and find it
  useful
• Much good practice exists (it could be better!)
• Policy challenges ahead?
• Frameworks resources exist

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• Opportunities for review reflection are
  essential
• Responsibility of all practitioners to engage in
  their own CPD
• Key challenge can employers protect the time
  for employees to do this in
• practice?

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• Links to reports
• Bimrose, J., Barnes, S.A., Hughes, D. and Orton,
  M.(2004). What is Effective Guidance? Evidence
  from Longitudinal Case Studies in England.
  DfES/Warwick Institute for Employment Research.
  Retrieved on October 26, 2005, Institute for
  Employment Research website
• http//www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/publication
  s/bydate/egr2004.pdf
• Bimrose, J., Barnes, S.A. Hughes, D.(2005).
  Effective Guidance One Year On Evidence from
  Longitudinal Case Studies in England.
  DfES/Warwick Institute for Employment Research.
  Retrieved on January 6, 2006, Institute for
  Employment Research website http//www2.warwick.a
  c.uk/fac/soc/ier/publications/bydate/2005/egreport
  oct05.pdf
• Bimrose, J., Barnes, S-A. and Hughes, D. (2006).
  Developing career trajectories in England the
  role of effective guidance. Coventry Warwick
  Institute for Employment Research, University of
  Warwick. Retrieved on March 16, 2006, Institute
  for Employment Research website
• http//www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/publication
  s/bydate/egreportnov06.pdf
• Fourth due autumn, 2007

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• Thank you
• for your attention!