CBS RIGA 2022 Compendium of National Surveys

Cross Border Seminar "Hope in times of uncertainty"
National survey: Portugal
(by Euroguidance Portugal)

Portugal information

In recent years, the panorama of career guidance interventions has been marked by a context of uncertainty, deeply impacted by the constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also by the significant increase in migratory flows and the reception of refugees in Portuguese territory. In this context, national institutions, both in the public and private sector, have mobilized a set of responses, from which we highlight, within the scope of this compendium, those that fall within the area of career guidance, both in its school and professional aspects.

By bringing more uncertainty, demands and challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic made the intervention of guidance practitioners even more important, considering that, although many aspects of people's lives have been forced to be placed "on hold", the reality is that the process of career building throughout life cannot fail to happen. In that response, it is important to maintain the interventions in the field of guidance for the different age groups.

Intervening in vocational psychology at a time when change and instability are the hallmarks of society, and when transitions throughout life take place in a less normative way than before, is a challenge. In this context, as important as helping citizens to reflect on the content of their decisions, is to envisage an intervention in this area, which promotes personal development and facilitates the acquisition of adaptability skills to cope with changes in their environment. In a context of unpredictability like the present one, it is important to consider that this may constitute an opportunity to assume the role of an active participant in the creation of one's own future. Thus it is necessary to raise awareness for the development of attitudes of continuous planning and careful observation of opportunities in the environment, contributing to the development of career management skills.

In this section, we will list below a set of guidelines issued by entities with competences at the level of technical and scientific support to guidance professionals. The Portuguese Psychologists Order has published a set of guidelines containing recommendations for guidance interventions, differentiating approaches according to the target audience of the interventions.

In terms of interventions with students, a set of recommendations are listed that aim to ensure the continuity of interventions in order to resume the processes of vocational decision-making support. The clarification of the students' personal, vocational and professional projects and decision making should be ensured as a way to guarantee the maintenance and conclusion of the ongoing processes, particularly in students who are in transition stages in their academic pathway (changes of education cycle). This intervention should also be adapted so that it can take place at a distance, either individually or in small groups, using different resources available in digital format for self-directed exploration. Whenever possible it is desirable to involve teachers and parents. At the level of interventions with adults of working age, this Guide emphasises the importance of considering the context of uncertainty in which many young people find themselves at the moment they are in a normative phase of transition to the labour market. Facing a scenario of greater uncertainty, of a still worsening economic crisis, in which unemployment rates increase and companies retract their hiring efforts, the role of guidance practitioners becomes even more necessary.

The importance of guidance practitioners mobilizing working procedures based on distance modalities to ensure continuity of interventions is advocated.

The work with citizens may point to the development of personal career management attitudes (vocational exploration, defining objectives, outlining and implementing action plans, monitoring and getting feedback), as well as to the promotion of active job search skills. In this respect, the role of technologies in the access to labour market information is highlighted. An approach to the market focused on existing needs may be more effective, and the construction of a positioning message and good tools for professional promotion may be a differentiating advantage. The promotion of job shadowing and professional mentoring programs may also be an advantage.

In line with the recommendations mentioned in the Guide above, the Ministry of Education of Portugal has worked to fulfil its duties regarding technical and scientific support to guidance professionals who develop their work in school contexts. Given the exceptional situation in which we live, fighting the pandemic of the disease COVID-19, the Ministry has sought to monitor the needs felt by students, professionals and families, in order to overcome the contingencies that distance imposes on actions characterized by a predominantly face-to-face intervention. Currently, with the possibility of new restrictions on face-to-face work, in the context of the provision of career guidance interventions for students, it is urgent to offer a professional support system to help educational psychologists in the current circumstances of their intervention, making them more resilient.

The Ministry of Education has produced guidelines on distance intervention modalities in which the advantages of information and communication technologies and distance interventions have been emphasized in the promotion of career development. These include the ease of access to guidance practitioners (when guidance is not otherwise possible), the multiple contents, the ease of research and storage of information, as well as the interest that this means of research can trigger in students.

On the other hand, the above set of recommendations also alerts us to the need to take some precautions, namely regarding the quality of the resources made available, the support/guidance of the technician in exploiting these resources, and also the issues of confidentiality and equity in access.

Turning now to the context of uncertainty, focusing on the phenomenon of migratory flows and people in temporary reception situations, we found that several initiatives and guidelines were implemented that aimed to support the development of orientation interventions, within the scope of the work to be developed with migrant and refugee populations.

The work with these populations raises a significant set of difficulties, imposing the implementation of adequate responses, within which the Career Guidance interventions may play a structuring role in the development of integration plans adequate from the point of view of the reality and singularity of each citizen in a situation of vulnerability, but also aligned with the reality and context of the host country.

In the educational context, the Ministry of Education has disseminated a set of information and guidelines (https://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Criancas_jovens_refugiados/orientacoes_para_o_acolhimento_a_integracao_e_a_inclusao_de_criancas_e_jovens_ucranianos_refugiados.pdf) (https://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Criancas_jovens_refugiados/guia_acolhimento_mena_agosto2020.pdf), aiming for schools to mobilise the appropriate educational teams and specialised technicians to facilitate the integration of migrant and refugee pupils, with particular relevance here to the mobilisation of school psychologists, ensuring that their action is coordinated with the most appropriate educational teams according to the type of intervention to be implemented.

The Portuguese Psychologists Order (OPP), as a professional association of reference for technicians who, in Portugal, implement orientation interventions, published the Guidelines for Professional Practice within the scope of Psychological Intervention with Refugees and Asylum Seekers. The Guidelines are based on the aspirational dimension of the Code of Ethics, as well as on the precepts of our founding Law, serving, not as a regulatory document, but as a basis of guidance for Psychologists in the resolution of ethical and professional dilemmas.

The Guidelines for Professional Practice result from the synthesis of international recommendations and good practices adapted to the specific characteristics of the Portuguese reality, which are supported by the Code of Ethics that regulates the activity of Psychology.

Information on the intervention of Psychologists with refugees and asylum seekers in Portugal has not yet been systematized. It is known that there are professionals in governmental and non-governmental entities with specific activity in this area, as well as in several general services (municipalities, schools, health services, among others) who have, or will have in the future, contact with refugees. The above-mentioned Guidelines for Professional Practice are addressed to the various guidance practitioners who contact and/or work with this population, either within these services or in other services.

Guidance practitioners should promote the employability of refugees and asylum seekers. The integration of refugees and asylum seekers into workplaces is a good practice for promoting human and social capital, contributing to their adaptation process, sense of control and autonomy. In Portugal, psychologists have competencies to promote the employability of refugees and asylum seekers through direct interventions (e.g. how to write a CV, interview preparation, skills training) or through the development of programmes on career management skills and mastery of a new language. They should also encourage leaders and employers to include diversity in their vision and organisational goals/outcomes and to hire refugees and asylum seekers. Transparent recruitment processes in which diversity is clearly valued will be perceived as fairer and may encourage refugees and asylum seekers to apply. Once in organisations, developing integration and welcoming systems are essential for them to be able to carry out their roles and tasks, understand the organisational culture and establish relationships with other workers.

It is in this context of connection with the employment and vocational training sector that the Portugal for Ukraine initiative emerged. This programme is an initiative of the Government of the Portuguese Republic to support citizens of Ukraine who wish, for reasons of armed conflict and humanitarian issues, to reside in Portugal. In these situations of calamity, civil society and specifically Portuguese companies also mobilize and make themselves available to welcome and hire these citizens.

The Institute of Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP, IP) participates in the national efforts to welcome citizens from Ukraine to Portugal, which naturally includes their social and professional integration. In this context, IEFP IP intends to promote the social and professional integration of citizens from Ukraine, identifying and mapping the skills of the Ukrainian workers welcomed and their places of reception/residence to available job offers. The IEFP IP will contact potential candidates, if there is a compatibility to the profile required by the companies that express such interest.

The Ministry of Labor created a platform to collect available job offers for Ukrainian refugees arriving in Portugal.

Within the scope of direct work with migrant and refugee populations, we should also mention the initiative of the Mentors for Migrants Programme, which is an initiative promoted by the High Commission for Migration (ACM, I.P.) and developed throughout the country by a number of local partners. The responsibility of the ACM, I.P. (https://www.acm.gov.pt/-/apoio-a-integracao-de-pessoas-refugiadas) is, within the terms of reference of its assigned attributions, to support the integration of refugees, including those relocated, resettled and spontaneously in need of international protection. The Migrant Mentors Programme aims to promote experiences of exchange, mutual help and support between volunteers (Portuguese citizens) and migrants (emigrants and immigrants) and/or refugees.

The Migrant Mentor Programme has the following objectives:

• Providing support, follow-up and guidance in order to solve immigrants' difficulties or concerns, with a view to their integration.
• Provide ways to connect, accompany or support the return of Portuguese emigrants.
• Provide support, follow-up and guidance in resolving the difficulties or concerns of refugees that our country receives.
• To promote equal opportunities and raise awareness of the richness of diversity.
• To promote volunteering, active citizenship and the positive exchange of experiences.
• To contribute to the personal, social and organisational enrichment of the people and entities involved.

This Programme allows mutual knowledge, where differences are blurred in the resolution of similar difficulties, concerns and challenges of everyday life, offering the following opportunities:

• The immigrants who are mentored have the opportunity to solve a need or receive support to make a dream come true.
• Mentored refugees have voluntary support in their arrival and reception in Portugal.
• Mentored emigrants who have decided to return can count on support and guidance to find adequate solutions for the construction of their new personal and professional project in Portugal.
• The volunteer mentors can, from this experience, further develop their personal skills, openness to diversity and the opportunity to exercise their participative citizenship.
• On their side, the associated entities see this experience as an opportunity for personal enrichment of their employees as well and, therefore, for the environment and organisational culture.

Migrants and refugees

Since 2016, the Fundão Seminar is a Reception Center for migrants, refugees and seasonal workers, under the supervision of the Municipality of Fundão, in the center of Portugal. In September 2018, the Municipality responded to the international humanitarian appeal to welcome a group of 19 refugees from the Boat Aquarius and also to a request from António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations and a native of Fundão. The response to this reception involved coordination work between the Municipality and the services of the governmental areas of Internal Administration and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Foreigners and Borders Service and the High Commissioner for Migration.

To date, they have welcomed 251 asylum seekers who move for different reasons, of different nationalities, and who find their first place of welcome here. They work on their reception, integration and empowerment with the support of a multidisciplinary team, made up of psychologists, social workers, sociocultural animators, translators and intercultural mediators, jurists and specialized technicians.

The Office for Inclusion and Cultural Diversity (GID) is located at the Center for Migration. Daily they accompany all citizens and each one individually in the areas of health, education, work, documentation, housing and learning the Portuguese language. The GID is attentive and guarantees the answer to all the needs and vulnerabilities that these citizens present, due to forced displacements in the context of war and persecution.

Intervention phases:

1. Hosting – guarantee accommodation and essential goods; monitoring and referral to specialized responses in the area of health.
2. Integration – provide courses in Portuguese as the Host Language, integrate into the labor market, into schools and enhance professional training; support in documentation processes with the Aliens and Borders Service, Social Security and other entities; develop recreational, cultural and sports activities.
3. Autonomization - Elaboration of Life Plans; enable training in financial and social autonomy; support in finding and moving house, with access to a Home Grant made available by the Municipality to migrants; continuously monitor the process of citizen empowerment, with the aim of providing the conditions for an autonomous life.

Regarding the process of integration into the labor market, 44 Ukrainian citizens are already working, and in the municipality of Fundão, the average time between the date of arrival in the municipality and integration into work is 6 months. Regarding the school integration process, 89 minors are included in the municipality's school clusters and 5 are in the process of being included in higher education. Regarding the process of empowerment, 113 citizens are living in the Fundão Migration Center, 76 in autonomous houses and 31 citizens live in SOS Ukraine houses, with support from the Municipality and the Fundão community. The average time between reception and empowerment is 15 months.

At the local level, and like other low-density regions in Europe, the Municipality of Fundão faces the socio-demographic and economic challenges of an aging population, desertification and, consequently, the lack of manpower, especially in the agricultural and industrial sectors. To counter these trends, over the last few years the Municipality has developed local policies to attract permanent residents through programs such as “Move to Fundão” and “Inovar”. As a result of these policies, Fundão took on the status of “Municipality Friendly Toward Migrants and Diversity” and, in 2020, was distinguished with the “Municipality of the Year” award, for the work of welcoming and integrating migrants carried out at the Center for Migrants of the Municipality of Fundão.

New challenges are imposed on the municipality, which must anticipate the needs of its community, placing at the forefront of municipal strategies:

• Housing – availability of a housing catalogue published in several languages that allows access to decent housing and affordable rents;
• Training – creation of a Training Center for Third-Country Nationals, through the Fundão ACOLHE Project, training new arrivals to reinforce the supply of qualified labour, essential for the business fabric of an entire region;
• Autonomization – individualized monitoring with training strategies and tools in financial, social, educational and housing autonomy that guarantee full integration of the new arrivals;
• Portuguese Language – establishment of partnerships with Training Schools for learning Portuguese as the Host Language, at the Center for Migration, aimed at social and labor integration;
• Transport Network – the creation of a transport network that facilitates the journey from home to the workplace was established as one of the objectives of the municipality.

It is expected and intended to be able to attract, retain and integrate around eight thousand migrants in the next ten years, both in the more traditional areas and in the technological areas. The municipality wants them to come with their families and become integrated members of the community. They intend to share traditions, experiences and creativity. The objective is to create a multicultural community and make good examples to spread to neighboring regions.

Specifically, the municipality works towards the full integration of migrants from countries that do not belong to the European Union – the so-called “Nationals of Third Countries” (NPT) – in Portuguese society, through partnerships and local networks that promote and support social, labor, cultural and affective relationships between those who arrive and those who welcome them. Additionally, the continuous mobilization of the collective conscience of the Fundão society – itself already composed of locals and “new locals” – for the themes of diversity, dialogue between cultures, solidarity and cooperation – is a target.

Career development at schools

The exercise of a professional activity is one of the most important practices in the life of an adult individual, but it is in adolescence that, often, this subject generates anxiety in young people in the face of the incomplete knowledge of themselves, the possibilities of the learning and professional world and the construction of a life project. Faced with a world in constant and accelerated change, it is not only necessary to support these young people at this stage, but also to help them develop personal skills that allow them to deal with the changes necessary in the adjustment of their life-long life project. Thus, it is within schools that the process of vocational choice takes shape and is consolidated.

In this context of choices, the challenges imposed, both to vocational guidance and to education in general, go through the transformation and development of the characteristics of the young person. This should primarily be seen as "[...] a cross-cutting intervention parallel to student education [...]" (COIMBRA, 1995, p. 26), as a responsibility shared by the different actors of the educational community (KONIGSTED; TAVEIRA, 2010; STOP; CASTRO; COIMBRA, 1998).

In this multi-participation and longitudinal perspective of the school path, importance is given to the different educational agents that include parents, teachers and psychologists who specialize in vocational development, the latter having a fundamental role in the monitoring of young people, enhancing various modalities of individual and/or group intervention, from individual psychological consultation to orientation programs (GAMBOA; PAIXÃO; JESUS, 2011). The intervention involves the integration of vocational development in the global process of psychological development of individuals (CAMPOS, 1988), and the school has the role of facilitating a set of conditions in which young people are placed in relation to the world and in whose context they undergo experiences and perform learning that can influence their personal development (COIMBRA, 1995). To this end, it is necessary to challenge the exhaustive use of classical vocational guidance models and allow young people to develop their own perspectives on the world of work as well as their professional preferences.

In this context, and to support educational psychologists in the framework of Career Intervention, the Directorate-General for Education will provide a technical support instrument: the JANUS platform



The pandemic has brought about changes in the way interventions are made available, bringing a sharp increase in distance interventions. It was also necessary to support professionals from different sectors, but more specifically those of schools, in the use of online resources and in the use of ICT in interaction with pupils.

The JANUS platform allows a longitudinal intervention (from the 5th year to the 12th year of schooling), whose objectives are developmental. It contains:

• A set of activities related to the different dimensions involved in supporting transitions and career decision making, including exploration exercises, reflection and integration of practice, experiences and knowledge;
• The automatic provision of a portfolio for storage and sharing with psychologists, including results of activities and guided exercises performed by students;
• The uploading, by students and psychologists, of records relating to other relevant activities helping to integrate the career with other dimensions of life;
• The connection to reliable and up-to-date databases on educational and training provision, and the labor market;
• A Technical Manual for Psychologists.

In the current context, it is essential to develop tools that, ensuring all scientific, technical and deontological criteria, allow alternative and complementary forms of interaction in the development of guidance interventions. This instrument should be seen not only as a strategy to meet the challenges of this exceptional situation, but also as an opportunity to increase access to interventions, combining activities carried out autonomously with activities mediated by career advisers.

Bibliography

CAMPOS, B. P. Consulta psicológica e desenvolvimento humano. Cadernos de Consulta Psicológica, v. 4, p. 5-12, 1988.

COIMBRA, J. L. Os professores e a orientação vocacional. Porto: Universidade do Porto, 1995.

GAMBOA, V.; PAIXÃO, M. P.; JESUS, S. N. A eficácia de uma intervenção de carreira para a exploração vocacional. Revista Brasileira de Orientação Profissional, v. 12, n. 2, p. 153-164, 2011

KONIGSTEDT, M; TAVEIRA, M. C. Exploração vocacional em adolescentes: avaliação de uma intervenção em classe. Paidéia, v. 20, n. 47, p. 303-312, 2010.

PARADA, F.; CASTRO, M. G.; COIMBRA, J. L. A orientação vocacional como objetivo educativo transdisciplinar: análise do currículo enunciado do terceiro ciclo do ensino básico. Cadernos de Consulta Psicológica, v. 13, n. 14, p. 108-130, 1998