Career Counseling - Training of Professional Career Counselors

Training of Professional Career Counselors

Up until now there is no standardized qualification path for professional career counselors, although various certificates are offered nationally and internationally (e.g. by professional associations), and the number of academic degree programs in career guidance and/or career counseling is growing worldwide. Still, in most countries, basically anybody could call themselves a "career counselor" (unlike engineers or psychologists whose professions are protected legally). At the same time, policy makers agree that the competence of career counselors is one of the most important factors in ensuring that people receive high quality support in dealing with their career questions. Depending on the country of their education, career counselors may have a variety of academic backgrounds: In Europe, for instance, degrees in (vocational/ industrial/ organization) psychology and educational sciences are among the most common, but backgrounds in sociology, public administration and other sciences are also frequent. At the same time, many training programs for career counselors are becoming increasingly multidisciplinary.