Page 25 - insights-autumn-2019

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Co-careering and ICT – a Changing Landscape for

Guidance

The availability of the Internet and new media opportunities have changed the paradigm of
counseling and now a career counselor is a recognized expert in career information, counseling and
process management, and that he or she chooses the time, place and sources of information.

Author Terje Laur is an adviser at Top Civil Service
Excellence Centre in Estonia. She took part in
Nordic summer university course “Information and
Communication Technology in Guidance and
Counseling”. Her study mobility was supported by
Euroguidance Estonia and The Association of
Estonian Career Counsellors.
∠ “Information and Communication Technology in
Guidance and Counseling” was the theme of
international training course in Nordic summer
university. It aimed at raising the awareness of
The new paradigm is co-careering, where it is career counselors of the role of technology in
important to be present and have a say in career career guidance.
issues where and when they arise. This means ∠ The course (august 2019) was conducted by
being active in using new media, taking on the role researchers and practitioners from the Finnish
of discussion leader in the community, combining Institute for Educational Research, the Universities
services and offering the client a convenient source of Jyväskylä, Malmö and Iceland and the Danish e-
and time (email, chat, phone or video call, face-to- counseling center (eVejledning).
face meeting, self-service portal, etc.).
∠ Terje Laur: “The program was well-thought-out
If we neglect this mental leap in counseling, we will by the promoters and balanced with theory and
inevitably contribute to the spread of misinformation experience. It was impressive how active learning
and we will be stuck in the Stone Age ourselves! environment was shaped by the lecturers.”

Cyborgs are here!

For the new generation, the real and digital world is
one world. For them, smartphones are like a part of
the body that they use to live their daily lives, talk to
each other, communicate and meet, find and
express intimacy. They are like cyborgs who do not
function normally when the phone is taken off or
their use is forbidden.
The digital nation does not depend on time or place,
it is in constant communication with many, with
whom it also develops its profile and personality. As
career counselors, we also have to adapt to this Terje Laur And Margit Rammo
world to find a way into their hearts and Euroguidance Estonia
communities. The pioneer in digital career guidance
are the Danes, who, with the support of the state,
have launched an e-guidance center (eVejledning).