Who is a career guidance counsellor and what do they do? The task of a careers adviser is to advise his/her clients on opportunities and problems in their career or educational development.
What are the activities of the career guidance counsellor? Such choices can arise when pupils at elementary schools decide about their primary professional orientation and secondary education, when pupils at secondary schools decide about higher or university education, when graduates decide about their job or retraining for a different profession, or the choice of courses for further education. Careers advisers help to solve problems with finding a job or retraining for various disadvantaged groups (disabled people, women returning to paid work after maternity leave or raising a family, ex-offenders, etc.), and of course for unemployed job applicants. The profession involves providing information, advice and guidance with regard to the state and situation of the labour and educational markets, and counselling for individual clients. He/she can be employed by a careers or job centre, college or university, by an educational advisory company or other private consultancy organisation, by a school, a personnel agency and the like. In some countries of Europe, the careers adviser may be a teacher and a full member of the school or college staff, in others, they may be an employee of the state or the regional government.
Where is it done and under what conditions? In offices where the working environment is usually fairly comfortable. But careers advisers usually spend some time out of their offices visiting other organisations, industry, schools, colleges and higher education establishments.
What tools/equipment do they use? Computers, and the full range of information and communications technology, telephones and other normal office equipment, including books, videos and, in some cases, a selection of psychological tests for use with clients.
What do you need to succeed? You need at least secondary education, preferably university or postgraduate degree level, the ability to communicate with people, to listen to them and to be able to empathise with their problems. These requirements will differ within different countries of the EU: some require the adviser to be a qualified teacher, or psychologist, others require special postgraduate training of a similar level, in others, you may need to become a civil servant.