Identification of barriers to the provision of career guidance services – barriers as identified by clients: public opinion research
Considerable expectations are associated with the provision of career counselling services, which are expected to help significantly in terms of both orientation in the labour market and addressing the study, work and even the personal problems of clients, and thus facilitating their future life paths, especially in terms of their working lives. To date, surveys have tended to focus on career counselling for those clients who most make use of career counselling services, i.e. secondary school students and clients of the Labour Office of the Czech Republic. However, surveys of these groups have, to date, not identified any barriers that prevent the take-up of career guidance services. The planned public opinion survey will, thus, provide a unique source of empirical data on the perception of career guidance services by the general public. The resulting study will, for the first time, provide an overview of the use of career guidance services by the general public and the barriers that render it difficult (or in some cases impossible) to use such services and that, therefore, prevent career guidance services from fulfilling their mission, i.e. the provision of support for important life decisions. The study also highlights and lists the risks that complicate or limit the development of career counselling in the Czech Republic. The project builds on the already-implemented first phase of the identification of barriers in terms of the provision of career guidance services, which focused on the mapping of barriers as identified by providers. The results of the project will be used as background material for the decision-making process of career counselling managers (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the Czech Republic) with concern to the establishment of career counselling services and the determination of further developments in this area.