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Career and Transition Policies and Frameworks

Australian Blueprint for Career Development

The Australian Blueprint for Career Development is a framework that can be used to design, implement and evaluate career development programs for young people and adults. Refinements from the trials of the Blueprint were carried out in 2008. The refined Blueprint and associated professional development kit and resources may be downloaded from the Australian Blueprint for Career Development website.

The Blueprint can be used to guide the development of school career education programs.

The Blueprint document has two main components

1) Career management competencies

11 career management competencies that are needed to build and manage a career are identified. These competencies are grouped across 3 key areas:

Area A: Personal management	Area B: Learning and work exploration	Area C: Career building
1. Build and maintain a positive self concept 2. Interact positively and effectively with others 3. Change and grow throughout life	4. Participate in life-long learning supportive of career goals 5. Locate and effectively use career information 6. Understand the relationship between work, society and the economy	7. Secure/create and maintain work 8. Make career enhancing decisions 9. Maintain balanced life and work roles 10. Understand the changing nature of life and work roles 11. Understand, engage in and manage the career building process

4 developmental levels:
- Phase 1 (Students in Kindergarten - Primary School)
- Phase 2 (Students in Middle School)
- Phase 3 (Students in Senior/Post Compulsory School or its Equivalent)
- Phase 4 (Adults).
The 11 competencies go across the 4 developmental levels, for example:

1. Build and maintain a positive self concept
Phase 1 - 1.1 Build a positive self concept while discovering its influence on self and others
Phase 2 - 1.2 Build a positive self concept and understand its influence on life learning and work
Phase 3 - 1.3 Develop abilities to maintain a positive self concept
Phase 4 - 1.4 Improve on abilities to maintain a positive self concept
A four stage learning taxonomy is used:
- Acquisition
- Application
- Personalisation
- Actualisation
Performance indicators are included for each competency at each phase from which local standards can be developed.

2) Career development program planning processes

The Blueprint provides guidelines on how to develop, implement and evaluate a career education program, including how to:

select appropriate content
select appropriate activities
evaluate resources.

Footprints to the future (2001)
This report from the Prime Minister's Youth Pathways Action Plan Taskforce made recommendations related to the following principles:

A national commitment to all young people
Education and training are the foundations for effective transitions.
A youth career and transition support system
Focused local partnerships
Changing the ways we support young people.
Responding to diversity in recognition that some young people have additional barriers.

Download from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations website.

Employability skills for the future (2002)
This document is based on research of what employers look for in workers to meet their current and future skills needs. The skills that were identified by employers are generic and transferable. They include communication, teamwork, problem solving, self-management, planning and organising, technology learning initiative and enterprise, and personal attributes (loyalty, commitment, honesty, enthusiasm, common sense, sense of humour, etc).

Download the full document from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry website.

Career and transition services framework (2003)
This framework presents a number of strategies to support young people to make effective transitions through school and between school and post-school destinations.

Download the full document from the MCEETYA website.

Careers Education Quality Framework (1999)
This document presents the elements of a quality career education program. It also lists the evidence required to show that the elements are being met.
A checklist is provided to assist in program evaluation and planning.

Download the full document from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (new window) website.

Queensland State Education 2010 (2001)
This document established a future strategy for Queensland state schools. Objectives in the document included:

Increasing the completion rate for Year 12 from 68% to 88% - new learning pathways
New Basics - life pathways and social futures
A new deal on equity
An increased effort in career guidance to support student choice
Standards for professional development

Download the full document from the Education Queensland (new window) 347k website.

Education and Training Reforms for the Future - White Paper (2002)
This document recommends 19 actions. The following summarises some of these actions:

New approaches to the early and middle phases of schooling
Compulsory schooling until 16 yrs or the completion of a Yr 10 Certificate
Compulsory participation in education, training or employment until 17 years of age or achieve a Senior Certificate or Certificate III
Year 10 as a transition to the Senior Phase of Learning
Senior Education and Training Plans - recorded by the Queensland Studies Authority (QSA)
Student support - Youth Support Coordinators, QSA responsibility for career information, an extended careers role of guidance officers
Education, industry, and community partnerships.

Download the full document from the Education Queensland website.

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