Vocational Guidance

What Is Vocational Guidance? A vocation is a career or calling and the word is derived from the Latin vocare, which means "to call." Vocational guidance means helping someone find his or her calling or at least a suitable career choice. Vocations or careers can be loosely categorized into areas such as service, technical, mechanical, creative, health and business. Vocational training rather than vocational guidance is available at career colleges and this is usually for entry-level careers. For example, a career college with a health vocational curriculum may offer education and training programs for nurse’s aide and medical assistant careers, while business-oriented vocational schools may have marketing assistant and bookkeeping program offerings. A career college or vocational school differs from regular colleges and universities as the focus isn't on academics, but rather on training students for a specific career. Vocational or career colleges are also sometimes referred to as community colleges or trade schools.
Vocational guidance is often started in high school although some high schools also have vocational training programs. Vocational exploration courses offer students the opportunity to research different career possibilities as well as learn which vocational areas they have aptitude or talent in. For instance, many vocational guidance classes give tests to the students that test their ability with numbers, words, mechanical concepts and many more subjects. Tests designed to measure an individual’s personality traits, intelligence quotient (IQ) as well as his or her main values and interests are administered and analyzed by career counselors. Once career counselors and the students have looked over the test results, career options can be chosen that fit best with each individual. Vocational guidance doesn't stop there as many other considerations must be made when deciding on a career direction. The type and number of years of education must be considered. Salary and working conditions are other important considerations in career selection. The likely demand for the occupation in the next decade or more is a crucial element when choosing a vocation since this affects the likelihood of finding jobs in a certain career field.

Vocational Guidance and Employment Counselling Programme To cater to the Educational and Vocational Guidance needs of the students and job-seekers the Vocational Guidance and Employment Counselling programme as an integral part of National Employment Service was formulated in the year 1956 under the technical guidance of ILO and has been in operation since 1957.
Objective:
The main objective of the Vocational Guidance and Employment Counselling Programme is to render continuous assistance to individuals in preparing to choose, change and adjust occupational life; generate awareness and appreciation of the realities of the Employment Market; collaborate or co-operate with other agencies in the field to stimulate and promote joint efforts to enhance their employability.
Programme:
Directorate General of Employment & Training in the Ministry of Labour is providing the necessary guidance and employment counselling services to the job-seekers and the students through the network of 938 Employment Exchanges functioning under the administrative control of the respective States/Union Territory Governments in general and specialised services by trained personnel through 360 Vocational Guidance Units set up in the District Employment Exchanges and 82 University Employment Information and Guidance Bureaux functioning in the Universities in particular. The programme include rendition of different Vocational Guidance and Employment Counselling Services to the Job-seekers visiting Employment Exchanges and University Employment Information and Guidance Bureaux, on individual and group basis. Individual Guidance Programme consists of discussions of Vocational Plans and Problems of Guidance Seekers at length taking into account their Educational Qualifications, Intelligence, Aptitudes, Interests and Socio-economic background etc. on the one hand and Job Requirements, Employment Market Conditions, Trends etc., on the other. It also consists of providing information about Occupational and Training facilities, Scholarships, Self-Employment Opportunities etc., on individual basis. The Group Guidance Programme consists of group discussions/talks in which information pertaining to Employment Opportunities and Training facilities etc., is rendered to homogeneous groups of applicants. The programme is further supplemented by occupational talks by outside persons/experts such as Recruiting Officers, Personnel Officers of Local Organisations or industries. Each Employment Exchange with a Vocational Guidance Unit and University Employment Information and Guidance Bureaux maintains one Occupational Information Room, wherein information pertaining to Educational and Training facilities, job opportunities, Employment Trends, etc., is displayed in the form of posters, charts, prospectus etc. In addition, the UEIGBx are expected to perform some special functions like organising career conferences/exhibitions/seminars/career campaigns etc. to disseminate occupational information; coaching classes to develop desired level of skills, speed and knowledge to increase their employability by preparing the students for competitive examinations / interviews conducted by various recruiting agencies like UPSC, SSC, LIC, etc.; motivating and assisting the alumni to opt for self employment; setting up of admission time guidance booths ; conducting and organising campus recruitment programmes. Vocational Guidance is a continuous process of assisting the individual, starting from school stage and therefore, forms part of guidance services of educational institutions. For rendering this service in schools specially trained staff known as counsellors and career masters are provided by the educational authorities. A close co-operation between employment service and educational authorities is essential for the success of vocational guidance programme. Therefore, the employment officers are required to maintain effective co-ordination with the Educational Institutions to cater to the guidance needs of the students.

Vocational guidance and training Education and training are the key to making people employable, thereby allowing them to gain access to decent work and to escape poverty. To compete in today's global economy, workers and employers need to be especially well trained in information and communication technology, new forms of business organization, and the workings of the international market. Societies aiming to attain full employment and sustained economic growth therefore need to invest in education and human resources development. By providing basic education, core work skills, and lifelong learning opportunities for their entire working population, countries can help ensure that workers can maintain and improve their employability, resulting in a more skilled and productive workforce. Nevertheless, gaps in education and access to information technology persist between countries and within countries. ILO standards encourage countries to develop sound human resources practices and training policies which are beneficial to all the social partners. Because of the current importance of this topic, in 2004 the International Labour Conference adopted an updated Recommendation concerning Human Resources Development: Education, Training and Lifelong Learning (No. 195).

Warning! The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Vocational Guidance a system of scientifically based measures that help young people choose a vocation, while taking into account individual aptitudes and the needs of the national economy. The system of vocational guidance also helps young people find suitable jobs. In the USSR and in other socialist countries, vocational guidance is part of the system of communist upbringing and a means of rationally distributing manpower resources. It promotes the development of the individual and reveals his potentialities and intensifies the process of training. In the USSR, work in vocational guidance began as early as the 1920’s. Within the system of the People’s Commissariat of Labor of the RSFSR, vocational consultation bureaus were organized in Leningrad, Sverdlovsk, Briansk, Kiev, and Yaroslavl, and an Interdepartmental Coordinating Council for Vocational Recruitment and Consultation was established, as were specialized laboratories and offices. Vocational guidance familiarizes young people with the branches of the national economy, types of vocational training, the national economy’s needs, and job opportunities. It also helps define vocational aims and provides direct assistance in the selection of a vocation and job placement. The most important function of vocational guidance is to interest young people in particular types of work. Vocational selection and adaptation are closely related to vocational guidance. Vocational guidance conforms to the republic and oblast systems for admitting secondary-school students to vocational-technical schools and to higher and specialized secondary educational institutions. The leading role in the vocational guidance of students is played by the secondary general-education school, whose curriculum includes vocational guidance. The curriculum also includes basic subjects, polytechnic subjects, and manual training. Interscholastic vocational training centers give vocational guidance to students in the higher grades, provide basic training in the chosen vocations, and acquaint students with the work performed in industry. These centers—established by the executive committees of city and raion soviets of people’s deputies and with the participation of industrial and agricultural enterprises and state and cooperative organizations—are under the authority of the public education agencies. Students visit industrial enterprises and educational establishments, and individual and group vocational consultations and meetings are held with representatives of various occupations. Studies are made of schoolchildren by means of observations, polls, and questionnaires. Schools are aided in the work of vocational guidance by industry and by vocational-technical, specialized secondary, and higher educational institutions, through open-house days, clubs, and competitions. Also assisting in the work of vocational guidance are specialized establishments, usually existing within the public education system, job-placement commissions for young people, and commissions within the executive committees of soviets of people’s deputies that deal with the affairs of minors. The work of vocational guidance is further aided by public organizations, radio, television, and the press. Materials are published on the theory and practice of vocational guidance. The work of vocational guidance is directed by agencies of public education and vocational-technical education and by agencies concerned with the utilization of manpower resources. Interdepartmental councils on vocational guidance function in the republics, krais, oblasts, cities, and raions. The theory and practice of vocational guidance have also developed extensively in other socialist countries. In the major capitalist countries, vocational guidance concerns itself with the economic and social distribution of the work force in the interests of developing capitalist production and ideological influence on young people. Vocational-guidance facilities in general-education schools conduct studies using a number of methods, including tests, to determine the vocational aptitudes of adolescents. Students are acquainted with various occupations, the labor market, and opportunities for vocational training. Employment and vocational guidance offices are in charge of this work and provide group and individual consultation for students. Vocational counselors receive training in specialized courses and educational institutions. As a rule, the work of vocational guidance is directed by the ministries or departments of labor. Various occupations are described and classified, and regularly published materials provide information about available jobs and long-range employment prospects and advice on suitable positions.
The importance of vocational guidance in schools The present for us is one of special significance. This is an era of changes. New patterns emerge and new ideals are proposed. The era of independence and the attendant changes have radically altered the context in which the school pursues its aims. Change which symbolizes progress demands an urgent reorientation of the attitudes of the students towards jobs. In the process of mopping up the cobwebs of prejudice against blue-collar jobs and dissemination of occupational information, the school has to pay an important role. In the past in the whole complex and complicated field of education there was no aspect more neglected than vocational guidance. Thanks to the dynamism and foresight of the education authorities, the student has ample opportunities to gain sufficient occupational information to equip him to choose a job that is consistent with his aptitude and general ability. The student who leaves school without at least a vague idea of the job that he would take up is apt to fall into a taste of Flux and there is the danger that he may choose the wrong job and so despair. Today. the school leaver would have at least a vague idea of the job he intends taking up. Each year, there is a large number of school-leavers. It is important, therefore, that young citizens should be guided to the right career when they leave school. A youth who plunges blindly into a job for which he is not suited, or for which he has no interest, can very aptly he likened to a round peg in a square hole. No country can afford to have such a state of affairs. It is, thus, of paramount importance that every individual is properly guided in the choice of a career so that he can contribute his maximum to society. About two-thirds of a man's life is spent in work even in these days of automation. And, the choice of a career is certainly a delicate issue for him. Making the wrong choice can land him in a world of endless frustration! Very often, the first job that a school-leaver gets is the one he has to stay at throughout his working career. So, unless he is content with and suited to the job he has, he will never be happy. Vocational guidance is thus important as its fundamental aim is to help the individual choose a career according to his aptitudes. interests and training. The industries are confronted with the problem of shortage of skilled workers. This shortage of trained than-power to meet our industrialization program is a reflection of the inadequacies and short-comings of a past education which was ill-equipped to prepare young school- leavers with the necessary knowledge and skills for employment in industries. This problem, however, is further aggravated by certain values developed from the colonial era when many were groomed for clerical positions and white- collar jobs. The traditional prejudice against blue-collar jobs is still firmly entrenched. The reluctance to train for blue collar jobs means an inadequate number of skilled workers and technicians. Such ingrained negative attitudes towards manual jobs indeed necessitate vocational guidance in schools.