The aim of the international Carma project by Raabe Klett publishing house is to help graduated VET students in career guidance. The first publication which is one of the most important milestones of the program has been finished: it is a Manual for teachers to help students in career guidance.

The content of this manual is based on research of relevant literature and analysis of relevant target groups of partner countries – Bulgaria, Finland and Hungary. The Manual will be tested by Bulgarian, Finnish and Hungarian vocational teachers who have received special qualifications for this task. The content of the Manual will be modified according to their experiences, result of the evaluation and suggestions.
The significance of this Manual and in general, the development of career guidance skills is obvious nowadays in Europe. This is due to the very rapid change in work environment, work patterns and needed skills. On the other hand the fact can not be ignored that the career guidance skills must be strengthened and modernized in schools. Although many sources refer to practical and specialized tools for developing career guidance skills, it is not easy to look for learning materials for developing structured specific career management skills.

Developing career guidance skills is a major issue today because we are living in the age of 4th Industrial Revolution which brings rapid changes.

The Manual can be downloaded from carma.hu, in the first part we are introduced to the nature of this new age, the new requirements, the importance of lifelong learning and the non-professional skills needed for work and generally employability-enhancing employee and why it is essential for students to be aware of these before taking up a job.

The second, greater part of the book introduces how playful methods and practical tasks can help teachers show students how to react to the challenges in the labour market, measure their abilities and the level of them on their own, set real aims and improve their skills to use the opportunities of the labour market to realize their goals.

More than 40 activities are included in the practise package which are classified into six categories of skills/knowledge groups (career management skills, self-knowledge and self-development, work, career management, information technology, and communication skills) for an easier use to get a proper overview. Most of the tasks can be done in the classroom.

The soft labour skills are highlighted and the main aim besides skills development is to help students to get prepared for the world of labour market, to assess their own skills and knowledge levels in this field and to be able to sustain themselves, showing how resources and training materials can be found and how they can be utilized for self-development. Practical guidance is provided for example how to build a Facebook-profile. The tasks can be carried out during classroom work and homework.

 

Written by 
dr. Katalin Dobolán
Project manager