Lifelong Guidance as a regional policy: networks and partnerships to better share knowledge and skills among professionals.

Romuald NormandResearch Unit Triangle

Ecole Normale Supérieure Lyon, France

Different conceptions of guidance

• a) State’s services : psychologists/advisers, civil servants attached to standardization and republican values, resistance and lobbying within the Ministry of Education

• b) Regional services through network and partnerships (supervision by Regional Independent Authorities after devolution of VET policies)

• (a)State’s Hierarchy, bureaucracy, professional body/ (b)Local networks, providers, stakeholders

• (a, b) Users against Clients, free and neutral service/ (c) Market & privatization

A pilot survey (2006-2010)

•Regional Authority « Rhône-Alpes » : comparative analysis of local practices of guidance

•Determination of conditions to improve professional development and leadership through quality insurance mechanisms

•Improvement of services towards excluded group-targets

•Working group, empirical studies (interviews, statistical survey)

Professionals Strenghts Difficulties

• Relationship between professionals and users

• Capacity to listen and support

• Tehnical mastery• Good professionalism• Positive approach as

adviser• Partnership

• Prescription and return requirements against an adjusted service

• Priority target-groups who are not autonomous and mobile

• Training provision restricted for job seekers and employees

• Mechanistic model/educational or psychological model of guidance

Governance Users

• Conception of guidance far from life long learning issues

• No common vision shared among networks and providers

• Networking not effective : coordination, cooperation, regulation

• No knowledge shared about services and provision : discontinuity and disarticulation

• Lack of professional development

• Funding insufficiently structured and managed

• Eager to access to labour market but social and psychological fragility

• No clear references to position themselves

• Criticims against formalism of procedures and services

• Users suffered lack of coherence and coordination among services and networks in sharing information and providing a regularly support

Questions Recommendations

• How to implement a common procedure for professionnals and users ?

• How to adapt ICTs ?• How to lighten formalism

and to provide quality ? • How to share tools and

make them useful for users ?

• How to better deliver services and information and better coordinate professionnals and networks ?.

• Claryfing the notion of lifelong learning

• Adapting services to target-groups and special needs

• Involving users in developing their capacity

• Improving the system of information (design and contents)

• Making networks more sustainable (funding, regulation, coordination)

• Professional development : knowledge, skills, expertise

• Defining quality standards and assessment

Quality targets

1. Linking quality to the concept of lifelong guidance 2. Active involvement of users through the services and

assessment3. Quality of the information system as a resource for

networks, users and providers4. Professional development focused on collective skills and

capacity building 5. Formalization, development and sustainability of

partnerships 6. Regulation, networking, cooperation on local territories 7. Design of tools and procedures adjusted to professionals

and users8. Capacity to develop assessment and self-assessment

18 Quality indicators as self-assessment framework 1. Delivery of services

1. Service and design focused on the user2. Service respectful of non-discrimination3. Service respectful of diversity4. Impartiality of provision 5. Confidentiality 6. Freedom of choice 7. Voluntary approach8. Customizing, readibility and accessibility9. Free services

2. Policy and planning1. Lifelong learning and employability2. Consultation of stakeholders 3. Involvement of users 4. External evaluation 5. Resources and tools for diversity of users6. Strategic plan 7. Networking 8. Communication 9. Balance between services and resources

Indicators of quality (next)3. Provision for the user

1. Autonomy of persons 2. Adjustment of service to needs3. Several modalities of access to services 4. Taking into account the individual through different dimensions5. Information of users 6. Following of users’ professional career 7. Users are informed about roles and services among networks 8. Users are familiarized with tools 9. Provision support individuals to build their personal project

4. Networking 1. Principles and protocols to work together2. Shared activities of promotion 3. Share activities of training 4. Shared projects 5. Provision of financial resources to support networking6. Shared evaluation and assessment criteria and framework 7. Shared cordination of users 8. Share of information on labour market and training provision 9. Consultation of users to improve services 10. Development of an external and periodical evaluation 11. Accountability