Introduction: An International Handbook of Career Guidance

Abstract

Career guidance operates within a tradition of concern for the welfare of the individual and a respect for the dignity of each person. It eschews a haphazard or serendipitous approach to career choice for one that is more coherent and structured. The aim is to maximise the vocational potential of each person for themselves and the world-at-large. Over time, career guidance has evolved not only as a field of professional activity but also as a major area of academic research that focuses upon one’s vocational adaptation to life. This second edition of the International Handbook of Career Guidance is addressed principally to researchers in that discipline and reflects not only developments in career theories or guidance practices but also methodological approaches. This chapter sets out some broad influences on career guidance in terms of individuals, the society at large, occupation, and changes occurring in the world. The aim of this Handbook is to provide an up-to-date overview of the field of career guidance on the world stage. The argument is advanced that the fundamental intention of career guidance is to ensure that the individual maximizes lifelong career satisfaction. With this as a founding tenet, it considers prominent contemporary issues that confront career guidance services and practitioners, including the presence of the informal labour markets and changing formal workplaces, accelerating digital transformation and automation of processes, and the need to accommodate the work-based experiences of people on the margins. It is argued that there is scope for professional guidance in this changing, complex, and competitive labour market.