Call for clear policy on guidance services

The career guidance services offered in Malta, to both students and adults, suffer from the lack of a clear policy to steer them, according to a new report.

If the services are to come up to the standards that are being striven for internationally, the Education Ministry must provide clear leadership, says the author of the study, Ronald Sultana.

He argues that the authorities should consider guidance as a top priority as many of the country's economic goals could be reached more easily if the services are delivered effectively.

His conclusions have been acknowledged by Education Minister Louis Galea, who in a recent seminar presenting the study said there was a "dire necessity" to develop a national policy on career and vocational guidance.

Dr Galea said Prof. Sultana's report, together with Malta's 35 years of experience of the field, provided a good basis for reviewing the system.

Lifelong Guidance and the European Challenge - Issues for Malta is a comprehensive analysis of the current state of guidance services and where they should be heading in the light of developments in the field overseas. The report was published by Euroguidance Malta, the local centre of a European Union network that provides guidance resources and information on vocational training throughout Europe.

Prof. Sultana defines guidance as the information and advice offered to young people and adults in terms of their choice of pathways in and through education, training and work.

In Malta, career guidance of students and adults, once shared by two ministries, now falls completely under the Education Ministry, after the Employment and Training Corporation was placed within its portfolio in 2003.

In schools, the service is provided through guidance teachers assigned to secondary schools. In post-secondary institutions, counsellors cater for the whole range of personal, educational and vocational needs of students. In the labour market, a "limited vocational guidance service" is provided by the ETC, which mainly targets the unemployed, women returning to work and individuals with special needs.

International bodies such as the World Bank and OECD have all suggested that governments should invest in guidance in order to promote lifelong learning, address labour market issues and help attain social equity and inclusion, says Prof. Sultana's report. However, "the field often suffers from an inadequate articulation of a common vision across different sectors, with its potential greatly reduced due to fragmentation. Malta is a case in point".

There is as yet no comprehensive formal or legal document outlining the government's key policy objectives for guidance and counselling. This, says Prof. Sultana, means that targets are largely absent, as are measures to attain them and monitor progress in achieving them.

He says that most of the directions now being adopted in the education sector demand "a diversification and intensification" of guidance and counselling services: "The making of appropriate choices is pivotal to reducing the phenomenon of early school leaving and the maintenance of motivation to remain within formal education.

"Educational guidance and professional support is increasingly required if the goal of catering for individual learning needs is to be fulfilled. Students and workers are likely to want improved access to information and to guidance as government opens up further education and training pathways for all young people and adults."

Prof. Sultana notes that guidance initiatives, particularly in the education sector, are trailing behind what is happening across Europe, despite the national curriculum emphasising the importance of school-to-work links.

In getting the education-work link right, he says, it is important that guidance staff are knowledgeable about the world of work, the opportunities existing in the labour market, and economic trends. However, guidance staff tend to have limited awareness of these areas. Although they do engage in a wide range of activities aimed at bridging the worlds of school and work, they have been criticised by ETC personnel as not sufficiently knowledgeable about the labour market and therefore badly placed to provide information and advice. Similar criticism has been made by the Federation of Industry.

Identifying other weaknesses of the system, Prof. Sultana calls for a more careful and systematic response to the pre- and in-service training needs of guidance staff.

He also criticises the fact that there is no information system yet available to support guidance staff in helping young people understand the range of occupations available, the qualifications necessary to enter them, the salaries they offer, the progression routes within each, and their challenges and satisfactions.

However, his report also points out the strengths of Malta's system. He says the guidance service in the education sector is well established, with clear roles, objectives and a service manual which provides benchmarks for practitioners.

Guidance issues also permeate the school curriculum, with several subjects addressing the world of work, while a broad range of information is made available on educational paths.

Prof. Sultana also hails as a major development the new Diploma in Social Studies (Occupational Guidance and Career Counselling) being offered by the Workers' Participation Development Centre at the university, in collaboration with the ETC, saying the course furthers the professionalisation of guidance staff.

Some of Malta's initiatives, such as the Scoops project in schools, have been showcased as examples of good practice abroad.

"Malta, however, has also much to learn in its attempts to provide all its citizens alike with a service that facilitates both the private good and the public one," concludes Prof. Sultana.