The issue of training career counsellors in Australia requires considerable review in respect to theory and practice. This paper describes an internship model of training career counsellors. The model is derived from a current program of workplace training for candidates doing their masters in psychology. The program takes a competency-based…

One of the main challenges in the current world of work is the constant change and adjustment individuals encounter. To deal with such uncertainty, a person often has to give up something less feasible and achievable in order to accomplish career goals and projects that are more practical and obtainable. As a result, compromise becomes an…

An important aim of the vocational educational and training system is to improve the employability and employment outcomes of students. The TAFE Student Outcomes Survey allows an investigation of the factors associated with employability of different individuals. Significantly for policy makers, it provides data on the course of study undertaken…

Underpinning the practice of career counsellors is a range of various theories and perspectives. The concept of self-esteem is a term frequently used by those in the helping professions and often with little regard for its limitations. This article argues that careers counsellors need to keep up-to-date with evolving theories that inform their…

A sample of 231 unemployed adults was surveyed using scales tapping psychological distress, the latent and manifest benefits of employment, and spirituality (connectedness, universality, prayer fulfilment, attendance at worship). It was hypothesised that the latent and manifest benefits would be associated with wellbeing; spirituality would be…

Career development is regarded as a lifespan process; however, the career development of children has received little theoretical and research attention. This article reflects on the breadth and depth of understandings about children's career development from the metatheoretical perspective of the Systems Theory Framework of career development…

The Systems Theory Framework (STF) of career development represents a metatheoretical account of career development that is consistent with the constructivist worldview. Presented as a framework of influences, the STF clearly illustrates the content and process of career development. The STF has provided the stimulus for the development of a…

This paper highlights five challenges to the accepted wisdom in career development theory and practice. It presents the chaos theory of careers and argues that the chaos theory provides a more complete and authentic account of human behaviour. The paper argues that positivism, reductionism and assumptions of linearity are inappropriate for…

The phenomenon of migration makes many careers international, and globalisation has accelerated the process. This paper reports on a program of studies, now labelled "talent flow," conducted in New Zealand with a view to increasing understanding of migration and its relationship to careers. Initial studies considered the phenomenon of…

Collectively, globalisation and flexibility strategies have changed the nature and structure of employment, and as such careers academics, careers practitioners and governments have argued that individuals need to manage their careers in fundamentally new ways to ensure continued employment. We have become concerned that the promise of shared…

This paper draws on subjective quality of life theory to explain findings from three studies of quality of work life. The studies were conducted with 346 regional process workers, metropolitan employment officers and nurses. The results support the adoption of the theory of homeostasis as an explanation for findings on subjective wellbeing at work…

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a judgement-based framework for adult job and career choices. This approach is set out as a perceptual-judgemental-reinforcement approach. Job choice is viewed as cognitive acquisition over time and is epitomised by a learning process. Seven testable assumptions are derived from the model. (Contains 1…

With little or no effort to test underlying assumptions in the South African context, South African career counsellors have traditionally depended on "proven" assessment methods. Career counselling needs to move away from the almost sole use of psychometric tests to an approach that recognises an individual's social and historical…

In Australia, 42 per cent of full-time students work in part-time jobs, and recent research indicates that a substantial majority of these students want to increase their hours of employment. Although research has identified a range of positive and negative outcomes for students, almost all of the studies have been cross-sectional, thereby…

Change, ambiguity and shifting relationships are recurrent themes in contemporary career development. In turn, personal success in the unfolding knowledge economy calls for self-awareness, adaptability and the ability to work with others. A challenge in career coaching is to help people better develop these kinds of skills, and in turn to help…