Working and ageing - Cedefop - Europa
Working and ageing - Cedefop - Europa
Working and ageing - Cedefop - Europa
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<strong>Working</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>ageing</strong><br />
Guidance <strong>and</strong> counselling for mature learners<br />
health. But people in the last decade or two of what might be recognised as<br />
ʻworking lifeʼ (which may take many forms) have different concerns from those<br />
embarking on a career. This chapter seeks to examine some of these<br />
differences, to propose some of the priorities for a much-needed research<br />
agenda, <strong>and</strong> to suggest inputs to professional training that would help careers<br />
advisers in their task.<br />
10.2. Research interest<br />
In 2007, evaluation of the UKʼs new telephone guidance service found<br />
differences in response to the service among older adults compared with<br />
younger people (Page et al., 2007); a finding which reinforced an earlier study<br />
by Tyers <strong>and</strong> Sinclair (2005). The differences related particularly to ʻsoft<br />
outcomesʼ (attitudinal change, opportunity awareness, insight, sense of<br />
direction, <strong>and</strong> capacity building) <strong>and</strong> led to the recommendation that ʻresearch<br />
into older peopleʼs expectations of guidance, <strong>and</strong> the types of issue that they<br />
would like help with would be beneficialʼ (Page et al., 2007, p 81). This<br />
recommendation was addressed through funding of two linked research<br />
projects conducted by the National Institute for Career Education <strong>and</strong><br />
Counselling (NICEC) in 2007-08. One project examined the extent to which<br />
distance methods of accessing career support (telephone <strong>and</strong> Internet) were<br />
viewed differently by older adults. The other explored career management<br />
skills reported <strong>and</strong> needed by older people (Barham <strong>and</strong> Hawthorn, 2009;<br />
2010). The latter used a narrative interview technique, inviting people to tell<br />
the story of their current learning <strong>and</strong> work situation, the events <strong>and</strong><br />
circumstances of the previous 10 years that brought them to that situation,<br />
<strong>and</strong> their hopes <strong>and</strong> plans for the coming few years. Throughout the<br />
interviews, the research team used a prompt question inviting reflection on<br />
how that is different from being younger (Barham, 2008).<br />
The report of the study fulfilled its intended purpose of making<br />
recommendations about approaches to career guidance with older adults.<br />
However, experience of the research raised several topics for researchers<br />
which this chapter seeks to develop through recourse to wider literature.<br />
These unresolved topics collect into three broad themes reflected in many<br />
personal stories. One relates to a concern with time, another to an expectation<br />
of some regard for experience accumulated through both work <strong>and</strong> life in<br />
general, <strong>and</strong> the third to the desire to ʻgive something backʼ to society. Cutting<br />
across all three themes is evidence of considerable diversity in experiences,