CBS RIGA 2022 Compendium of National Surveys
Download CBS RIGA 2022 Compendium of National Surveys (pdf)
Euroguidance CROSS BORDER SEMINAR “Hope in times of uncertainty” was held in Riga, Latvia from November 7-9, 2022.
It was a privilege for Euroguidance Latvia to host its first Cross Border Seminar, which was also its first major international event with a dominant on-site presence after the Covid restrictions. Career guidance practitioners from ten countries, including Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia shared their experience in application of various career guidance tools in a total of 16 workshops.
The theme of “Hope in times of uncertainty” was chosen as a reflection of the need to support both clients and guidance practitioners in the context of the covid recovery period and the Russian aggression. Prior to the seminar two main questions were addressed in national surveys submitted by CBS group members to the host country: (i) factors causing uncertainty in individuals making career decisions and (ii) approaches for helping clients deal with uncertainty and for career practitioners to manage stress.
Seminar participants had the
opportunity to participate in an introductory lecture and masterclass
delivered online by the world-renowned founder of the Hope-Action Theory,
professor emeritus of the University of British Columbia, Dr. Norman Amundson
(Canada).
At the workshops during CBS Riga 2022 seminar national experts presented a
variety of methods, tools and approaches suitable for students, young people,
adults, as well as those aimed at career guidance practitioners themselves. The
workshops addressed various psychological and practical obstacles that hinder
career planning and integration into studies or the labour market.
Workshop leaders presented techniques for strengthening psychological
resilience, confidence building and developing trust in one’s abilities and
capabilities for both clients and guidance practitioners. Decision-making and
problem-solving skills were also improved and the issue of how to encourage
individuals not to be afraid of the unknown was addressed, as well as how to
involve and motivate cooperation partners in providing career guidance support.
Participants also had opportunities to network during the event and share their
professional experience with colleagues from other countries.
The current compendium comprises national contributions of what approaches are used in different countries when working with individuals and groups to help them to manage uncertainty and increase their hopefulness in the context of career planning and decision-making.
More information about CBS RIGA 2022 can be found hereFunded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
6. National survey: Serbia
Cross Border Seminar "Hope in times of uncertainty"
National survey: Serbia
(by Euroguidance Serbia)
Factors causing uncertainty in individuals making career decisions
In the labor market in Serbia, young people aged 15 to 29 represent 16.4% of the total population. Statistics show that young people in Serbia stay longer in the education system, which means that they enter the labor market later. This is reflected in the Law on Youth of the Republic of Serbia, where the term youth encompasses a wider age range– between 15 and 30 years of age – unlike in Europe, where young people are defined as those under the age of 26 (Regional Cooperation Council Western Balkans Youth Lab Project, 2022).
Despite some developments and more opportunities to engage young people in NGOs and social initiatives, the youth in Serbia continue to face challenges. This is supported by the fact that 32.5% of young people aged 15 to 24 are unemployed, 15.9% of young people aged 15 to 24 are not in employment, education, or training, and 54% of young people do not work in a profession for which they have been educated or trained. In addition, 21.9% of students report feeling anxious at least once a week, and mental health services are not accessible enough. Further, 40% of young people aged 16 to 24 live at risk of poverty and social exclusion (UNICEF, 2022).
In the last two years, when most regular activities have moved online, online career information and counseling has become even more important. Many people do not have access to career guidance and counseling services because these activities cannot be conducted in the usual way, which often involves longer counseling or face-to-face workshops with large groups. (Belgrade Open School, 2020). In addition, 42% of 755 young people surveyed claimed that they had not had any career advice, help with career choices or continuing education during their schooling (UNICEF, 2022).
General uncertainty in the context of jobs and the economy can deepen the feeling young people already have – the feeling of insecurity and fear regarding future career development. Nowadays, career guidance and counselling are recognized as even more needed, with a growing number of unemployed people and disruptions in education. A survey conducted by the Belgrade Open School in 2020, several months after the beginning of the pandemic, showed that the most common difficulties faced by young people are a lack of information about education or finding a job, a lack of information about themselves, decision-making and career planning, but also unreliable information.
According to another study (UNICEF, 2022) there are also difficulties such as limited job and internship opportunities, and a lack of necessary education, skills, and training. In addition, there is a lack of information about jobs and mentoring, as well as age restrictions for employment. Furthermore, coping with various career challenges and career transitions through education and from education to the labor market have also been recognized as problematic.
Young people also believe that they need more practical experience through internships and more quality education to develop their skills. In addition, there is a need to harmonize professional skills with market demands and acquire skills such as communication and teamwork.
The situation caused by COVID-19 has contributed to the fact that 46% of young people claim their view of the future has changed for the worse. Their biggest career concern is that they will not be able to find an adequate job and they see limited job and internship opportunities as the main obstacle.
A review of activities and services in the field of Career Guidance and Counselling conducted by various stakeholders (NES, NGOs) shows that the dominant form of support for young people in career development are internships, which connect them with the labor market and employers, and help them develop soft skills (examples of good practice: “E2E - Education to Employment” project, Internships for young people with disabilities by the “Forum of young people with disabilities” NGO, “Promoting the employability of Roma people” project by the “Foundation for Education of Roma people” NGO, UNICEF’s platform biramuspeh.rs).
On the other hand, career development platforms are gradually being developed in order to provide young people with educational and career opportunities, as well as to help them acquire competences and soft skills (examples of good practice: obrazovanje.rs, biramuspeh.com, karijera.bos.rs, dsi.rs, coca-colapodrskamladima.com). Furthermore, many companies within their learning and development departments have developed programs to support young people through engagement in summer internships (examples of good practice: Coca-Colapodrskamladima.com, Nestle, HART - Talent art).
The role of civil society organizations in the past couple of years has been recognized as crucial in implementing various activities to reduce unemployment of young people in NEET categories (KOMS, 2022).
Since educational institutions, youth organizations and companies have worked fully or partially online in the last two and a half years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, various services in the field of Career Guidance and Counselling have been developed and provided to users online (examples of good practice: workshops and webinars of the Foundation Tempus, Career Counsellor by the Belgrade Open School, Zoom Café by the Center for Career Development of the University of Belgrade).
Approaches to helping clients deal with uncertainty and career practitioners manage stress
To explore how career practitioners help clients deal with career uncertainty and help themselves cope with career uncertainty related stress, the Foundation Tempus – Euroguidance Center in Serbia conducted a brief survey among career practitioners in Serbia from May to June 2022.
The survey was conducted through an online questionnaire created for this purpose and included 32 career practitioners from several cities in Serbia, employed mainly in secondary education (66% of respondents).
Among the methods/techniques/approaches used to help clients cope with career uncertainty, the most prominent are workshops on the topic of career guidance and counselling, conducted by 87.5% of respondents. Many respondents use individual counselling (71.9%) and real meetings with professionals (50%). In addition, slightly less than a half of the respondents use informative publications and brochures (43.8%) and organize internship/job/education fairs (41%).
Among all these activities, most of the surveyed career practitioners consider individual counselling to be the most efficient in helping clients to deal with career uncertainty (40.6%), while a slightly smaller number mention CGC workshops (31.3%). According to the results of the survey, individual counselling with clients is considered as the most effective since in this way clients’ needs are addressed individually and responded to as authentically as possible. On the other hand, workshops, with a significantly larger coverage, are also described as effective, because group work helps clients relax more easily – which means sharing experiences and concerns with peers who are in a similar situation.
The survey shows that most career practitioners (46.9%) occasionally face stress resulting from frequent changes and developments in their work environment, while 31.3% stated that they are often stressed.
When it comes to methods/techniques/approaches to cope with job related stress, most respondents mention leisure time (62.5%), i.e., spending time alone engaged in relaxing activities (e.g. reading, watching movies/TV series, listening to music etc.), as well as time spent with family and friends (53%). Furthermore, a significant number of surveyed career practitioners point out talking to colleagues in a similar situation as an effective way of coping with stress (46.9%), while playing sports (37.5%) and practicing relaxation techniques (28%) are reported as somewhat less effective in dealing with job-related stress.
Approaches career practitioners in Serbia use when working with individuals and groups to help them manage uncertainty and increase their hopefulness in the context of career planning and decision-making
- Individual counselling – an approach that involves direct communication, considering the person’s individual needs and capabilities. Individual career guidance and counselling includes the following activities (services): determining the person’s skills, competencies, motives and resources; psychological assessment ; counselling for choosing a profession or continuing education; consultations on the first job after graduation; consultations on career planning; counselling in referral for work, training, internship; support for writing a CV; help with job applications; practicing job interviews; work on overcoming personal difficulties; organizing on-the-job training.
- Informative publications and brochures – information on various topics: lists of educational institutions or specific information about them, their departments, conditions for enrolment, activities they promote, opportunities for further employment and internship, etc. There are also brochures about occupations – descriptions of professions, requirements that need to be considered in terms of education, skills, knowledge, and abilities for working in specific fields, etc.
- Internship and education fairs – events that provide information on different types of formal and non-formal education, high schools and universities, employment and career development opportunities in companies and available scholarship programs. University students, graduate students, and recent graduates in search of internships can apply for various internships and jobs and thus have their first work experience. In addition, elementary and high school students can learn about available high school programs and study opportunities. There are often workshops on how to prepare and write a CV and a cover letter, and apply for the desired internship.
- Real meetings with professionals – In this area, people learn about interesting schooling and occupation opportunities in practice. The term "real meetings" refers to all direct encounters with the world of work, for example:
- visiting workplaces and inquiring about occupations
- meetings with professionals
- job shadowing
- trying out an occupation
- in-company placement
- Girls'/Boys' Day
- visiting workplaces and inquiring about occupations
- Workshops on the topic of career guidance and counselling – These workshops can be very diverse, both thematically and methodologically (using modern interactive techniques and training methods), designed for small or large groups of people. These workshops can focus on:
- self-awareness - recognizing one's own capacities, readiness for achievements, interests, and motivation
- information on occupations – available or new information about occupations, prepared in a structured way, to enable informed career choices
- education opportunities – information about schooling and career opportunities that lead to the desired profession
- real meetings – interviews with professionals and company internships through which people explore their desired occupation
- choosing an occupation – in this phase, people can make plans about their future education and/or occupation.