Korea Research In stitu te for Vocation al Edu cation & Train in g
Research Director : Ji-Yeon , Lee
The Research aims at presentin g a new career guidance service that could systematically supp ort career development competency amon g all university stu dents from freshmen all the w ay up to seniors.
It has been pointed out that career guidance services provided by 161 universities in Korea are too focu sed on "recruitment" rather than "holistic stu dent' s career development". This problem causes the lack of continuity an d professionalism in the area of career guidance service at higher educational level. How ever, fun damentally, those problems are integrated such as failures of career guidance at the levels of elementary to high schools, lack of communications an d coordination betw een universities an d companies, an d un du e emphasis on short-term p erformances in the process of career guidance service in reality.
The case has also been made for the stron g need for university stu dents to raise career comp etency that w ould allow them to effectively cope w ith possible unemployment after graduation . The experience of the
"unemployment " comes on the heels of gradu ation can decisively w eaken a sense of economic in dep en dence an d a positive role they could play in
society . Therefore, the role of career guidance service has been noted that it needs to help harmonize stu dents' career plans with the human resources needs of comp anies the ultimate beneficiaries of such service.
This situ ation has provided a context in which the Research has been launched, w ith the follow in g four qu estions:
First, what institutions are there that provide career service in universities an d what are their roles?
Secon d, what is the deman din g needs form universities, companies an d stu dents on the issues of career guidance service resp ectively?
Third, what is the best delivery structure of integrated career guidance service amon g instituties?
Fourth, what is the best w ay for realization those su ggestions on career guidance service in Korea?
Chapter 2 classifies the services provided by the 161 universities into on-line an d off-line career guidance services in tryin g to answ er the first qu estion .
Chapter 3 surveys needs amon g stu dents, career guidance professionals in universities an d comp anies throu gh qu estionnaires, conference calls an d interview s, correspon din gly . The questionnaires foun d that 60.9% of the stu dents asked have never received on-campu s career development service.
Most of those who have received career guidance services are juniors an d seniors (74.5%). Also foun d w as that most of the experiences in career development service w ere from recruitment-oriented one-time events such as sp ecial lectures an d seminars. Both the suppliers an d beneficiaries of university career guidance service w ere foun d to deman d, first an d foremost, that career guidance institutions be stren gthened in terms of personnel an d finance. Follow in g such deman d w as the requ est for puttin g in place systematic career development programs.
Chapter 4 is a case stu dy of career guidance service in U.S. universities
concernin g how it is structured an d provided as w ell as how it develops an d applies comp etency-oriented career development strategies. Chapter 4 also identifies four implications that it has for Korea. First, there is a need for coop eration betw een career guidance service an d various other university-based institutions on campu s. Secon d, career service needs to be sp ecialized so that it can be provided at the faculty or department level.
Third, the focu s of career guidance service should shift from one-off events to continu ous an d synergistic approaches. Fourth, a blu eprint for career guidance service should contain a roadmap that addresses each grade sp ecifically . Career guidance service should also be an enabler that empow ers stu dents to set up an d manage their own career goals.
Chapter 5 recommen ds w ays for better career guidance service in universities throu gh the follow in g 4 research questions:
First, w hat sh ould university career guidance service achieve ultimately ? The qu estion should be answ ered differently for each of the tw o group s of beneficiaries. From the stan dp oint of stu dents its primary beneficiaries it should allow them to acquire know led ge, skills an d attitu des required for their own career development process. In the meantime, from the stan dpoint of companies its en dpoint beneficiaries it should maximize the efficient an d competitive application of human resources.
Secon d, w hat should univ ersity career guidance service provide? The Research su ggests that fosterin g comp etency for career development should form the core of overall university career guidance service an d that career guidance service should manage curriculums an d programs in a w ay that it could stren gthen university-company links. The Research proposes that such curriculums an d programs should also be based on a 3-stage career development process which sp ans the entire 4 years in university. Each stage of the process is designed to address the questions,
"who am I?", "what is my career goal?" an d "what should I prepare to meet that goal?", resp ectively.
Third, how should univ ersity career guidance service b e organized?
The Research presents a model that continu es to u se the merits of existin g service institutions to the full. More importantly, this model is also designed to stren gthen specialized expertise amon g various institutions an d to supp ort the 3-stage career development process seamlessly.
Fourth, w hat are th e prerequisites f or facilitating univ ersity career guidance service? The Research identifies the follow in g prerequisites:
First, career guidance chan ge should concur at the levels of elementary to high schools so that it can help nurture stu dents' cap abilities required for career development in a comprehensive manner . Secon d, universities should be more flexible in copin g with chan ges takin g place off campus.
Third, the qu ality an d outcomes of career guidance service should be incorporated into university evalu ation . Fourth, university management should shift its priorities from recruitment of new stu dents to nurturin g of advanced human resources an d job placement. Fifth, companies, traditionally the consumers of university gradu ates, should also seek to serve as the suppliers of university graduates. By un dertakin g this more aggressive role, comp anies could save "reeducation " costs by efficiently allocatin g human resources in the right place an d at the right time.
Lastly, the Research points to the commitment of stu dents tow ard career resilience as a critical prerequisite for successful career guidance service.
Livin g in the age of career transition, stu dents are advised to commit themselves to balancin g their goals with fast-chan gin g social deman ds by continuou sly preparin g for new ly defined career paths an d becomin g a life-lon g learner.