LABOUR MARKET INFORMATION LMI IN CAREER GUIDANCE PIVOTAL

LABOUR MARKET INFORMATION (LMI) IN CAREER GUIDANCE: PIVOTAL OR PERIPHERAL? Jenny Bimrose Institute for Employment Research University of Warwick Jenny. bimrose@warwick. ac. uk

LMI: Pivotal or Peripheral? SHIFTING CONTEXT CURRENT STATUS IMPLICATIONS

Labour Markets: dynamic

Labour Markets: dual processes Supply Demand

Exchange: goods & services

Labour markets: equilibrium

Labour Markets: disequilibrium

Information about Labour Markets q What is it? q What role does it play? LMI

Labour Market Information DATA about: � general employment trends (i. e. unemployment rates; skills gaps; future demand) � the structure of the labour market (i. e. what jobs exist, how many, which sectors) � the way the labour market functions (i. e. how people get into jobs & move between employers) � focusing on equality and diversity (i. e. which individuals are employed in different sectors, at what levels/pay? )

Labour Market Information � the interaction between labour demand & supply (i. e. mismatches – unemployment, skill shortages) � national, regional and local labour market variations (i. e. size of workforce, prominent sectors, etc. ) � progression routes (i. e. career structure, earnings, transferability of skills, etc. )

Information v. Intelligence LM Information • Original data from range of sources LM Intelligence • Interpretation of LM Information

Role of LMI in Career Guidance? CLIENT SOCIETY

LMI: Pivotal or Peripheral? Shifting context Impact on practice

LMI: Interplay of factors • Integration • CPD ICT Policy • Resources • Focus • Client • Framework Practice

LMI: Pivotal or Peripheral? Because of this complexity: Ø Ø Role of LMI in career guidance is variable across countries Even within countries, variations exist across different operational contexts

LMI: Country variations Wales Scotland LMI NI England

LMI: Scotland Increasing competitiveness (The Scottish Government, 2011): � Career management skills are central � Means enabling individuals to ‘understand how the labour market works’, through: v My World of Work (website) v Scottish Labour Market Information & Intelligence Framework – plan to identify current provision, create common understanding & ensure needs met (Skills Development Scotland, 2012)

LMI: Wales The Employability & Skills Division of the Dept. for Educn. & Skills within the Welsh Government: Ø Tasked to communicate intelligent & analysed LM Intelligence to better align supply/demand v Major review – with services moving into a new stage of web-development v LMI (information & intelligence) forms key part of this strategy

LMI: Northern Ireland New career strategy noted the importance of access to LMI for users of the Careers Service (DEL & DE, 2011). Ø Website comprises job profiles, links to employer bodies, Job. Centre Online NI, links to vacancies locally & across Europe Ø Access to LMI – enables improved understanding of education & employment opportunities

England: LMI is part of modernising the delivery of services, with a focus around the skills agenda: Jobcentre Plus - Transforming Labour Market Services (TLMS) Ø National Careers Service website, with telephone guidance services – LMI central Ø LMI 4 All – UKCES commissioned the development of a data tool for careers Ø

LMI: Practice Implications ‘The knowledge and application of CLMI (career and labour market information) is a core part of a career professional’s competencies and central to ensuring young people and adults are provided with a high-quality service’. Reference: Careers Profession Task Force (2010). Towards a strong careers profession: An independent report to the Department for Education. London: Department for Education.

LMI LEARNING MODULE Building skills and confidence using labour market information in practice Aim: To support the learning of career professionals to increase their effectiveness in using LMI in practice Explores: § Why we need LMI in careers § Sources of LMI – locating and evaluating sources § How to use LMI effectively § Key trends and what it means for careers guidance www. warwick. ac. uk/go/ngrf/lmimodule

OCR endorsement For the following OCR units: � OCR Level 4 Diploma in Career Information and Advice (04512) ◦ Level 4 Unit 11 Source, evaluate and use LMI with clients ◦ Level 4 Unit 16 Obtain and organise career-related information to support clients � OCR Level 6 Diploma in Career Guidance and Development (10215) ◦ Level 6 Unit 6 Use career and LMI with clients ◦ Level 6 Unit 15 Source, evaluate and use labour market intelligence with clients

LMI: Role in decision-making Traditionally, career decisionmaking has been regarded as a rational, linear process: � � � Information gathering Analysis Making a choice i. e. the ‘matching approach’ to guidance

Matching at the heart? Matching assumes a degree of stability in the labour market: ‘Trying to place an evolving person into the changing work environment. . . is like trying to hit a butterfly with a boomerang’ (p. 263) Ref: Mitchell, L. K. & Krumboltz, J. D. (1996) ‘Krumboltz’s learning theory of career choice and counseling’, in Brown, D. , Brooks, L. & Associates (Eds) Career Choice and Development (3 rd Ed), San Francisco, California, Jossey Bass.

Alternatives to matching Range from: � Unmediated: give clients/students direct access to high quality LMI � Developmental: LMI adapted for different stages � Empowerment: encourage clients/students to use LMI to support a broader process of personal growth � Learning: use LMI for specific purposes (e. g. challenge misconceptions)

LMI: research evidence? Most LMI research focuses on usability of products: Ø Readability; Ø Accuracy of information; Ø Ease of access; Ø Amount of use; Ø Focused on students, not adults Ref: Savard, G. & Michaud, M. (2005). The Impact of LMI on the Career Decision-Making Process: Literature Review. FLMM

LMI: research evidence Unanswered questions: Ø How do individual clients use LMI? Ø Ø To what extent does assistance by a service provider enhance the effective use of LMI by individuals? To what extent is independent self-help a sufficient process for clients to use LMI effectively?

LMI: career practice Research evidence: Ø Ø access to expert knowledge & information was regarded as critical to effective career guidance (Bimrose et al. , 2008); necessary for career professionals to support information seeking behaviour (Vilhjálmsdóttir et al. , 2011);

LMI: Clients � Tailored LMI embedded in a learning process most powerful � LMI appropriate for client’s specific need (not general LMI) appears to support engagement & action � Structure & timelines appear to motivate action and create a sense of progress � Giving clients hands-on tools appears to be best motivator � For many, a little (or no) professional support is adequate (Ref: Hiebert, B. (2010) Assessing the Impact of LMI: Preliminary Results of Phase Two (Field Tests). CRWG)

LMI: challenges � Classification of occupations � Insufficient detail for some occupations � Lack of standardisation of data � Inconsistent data � Insufficient sample sizes � Inability to disaggregate to the required level � Skewed vacancy data � Local LMI (expertise in building employer networks needs to be re-established)

LMI: Pivotal or Peripheral? Pivotal! v Key differentiator: Ø makes career guidance distinct from other helping professions