Project “Career Start – European Best practices in career counseling for Romanian students”

Title

Project “Career Start – European Best practices in career counseling for Romanian students”

Affiliation(s)/ Institution

Institute of Educational Sciences, Bucharest

Email addresses

delia.goia@ise.ro

Project funded by

European Social Fund through the Sectoral Operational Programme Human Resources Development 2007-2013 “Investing in people”, Priority Axis 2: “Linking lifelong learning and labor market”, Area of Intervention 2.1. “Transition from school to work.”

Promoter name and country

Ministry of Youth, Romania

Partner(s) name and country (if applicable)

Students Union from Romania, SIVECO Romania SA, SC LEAN PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSULTING SRL, Romania, University „Titu Maiorescu”, Romania, SC GRAFFITI BBDO SA, Romania and European Board for Certified Counselors

Type of provider

public

Area of implementation

• urban
• nazional

Context and motivation of the project - legislative background/obligations, institutional policy, institutional structures

The project contributes to the general objective of European Social Funds, by conducting actions aimed at human resources development and linking lifelong learning and education to the labour market requirements, through the creation and implementation of specific procedures and tools, in order to improve graduates’ access and future participation in a modern, flexible and inclusive labour market.

Aims of the project

The overall objective of the project is the development and implementation of improved career counselling and guidance services for 5000 students in order to facilitate the insertion into the labour market or their motivation to continue their education. New methods and techniques of interventions will be developed and adapted to the specific of the target group, meeting current community standards. By setting up 13 career counselling centres on national level, and by applying new counselling methods and techniques, both during and after the project, it will generate a long term positive effect regarding the counselling of students. Moreover, the principal of portability of information will be applied using the on-line environment, and the counselling methods and techniques developed during the project will be disseminated to other interested groups, for example, school students. The specific objectives of the project are: Development of personalized guidance and counselling services for students in order to support them in an easy transition from school to work life, with long term positive effects. Providing modern guidance and counselling services and techniques, adapted to the community space and personalized for the specific of the target group. Monitoring the students’ insertion on the labour market or the continuation of their studies after they were the beneficiaries of the counselling services through modern communication means, using the software solution that will be implemented during the project.

Target group

• students

Description of the target group

University students (Bachelor, Master, Doctorate).

Staff (selection, evaluation, training, promotion)

Career counsellors with international certification (EBCC). Evaluation instrument is the monthly activity reports. Counsellors benefit from weekly sessions of supervision, with experts in counselling.

Methodological approach, activities implemented

Setting up 13 career counselling centres on national level. Group counselling sessions, each group of students has five face to face counselling sessions. In addition, they benefit of online counselling, through the platform startincariera.ro. The groups have a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 12 students. Part of the students benefited from thematic summer camps, with workshops related to career development. Job fairs were organized in 5 large university centres.

Results and impact - data of program internal/ external evaluation, beneficiary satisfaction, the impact of the didactical practices at individual and institutional level

The project is still running.

Conclusions, lessons learned

Students need career counselling and respond very well to these activities. Their feedback is positive, indicating that career counselling should be more available to all students.

Directions of further development/ Transferability, replicability

The regional centres will continue their activity after the project end.

Type of ESL (early school leaving) practice

• Prevention
• Intervention

Web references (url, social media presence)

www.startincariera.ro

Parameters on which the practice is applicable (check those appropriate)

• Methodologies of provision
• Measures and profiles
• Objectives and needs