Understanding the Labor Market: Implications for Career Counseling

Abstract

The timely availability of quality information is a crucial element in the delivery of career guidance and counseling services. It is here that the role of a robust labor market information system (LMIS) becomes critical. Maintaining an accurate and updated national data base is a massive undertaking and ought to fall under the purview of government departments. At the same time, careers practitioners are expected to find, assess, and present relevant information to the client. Most of the major competency frameworks for career guidance practitioners include skills related to understanding the labor market and information management as key competencies. However in many countries, the emphasis on acquiring competencies related to understanding the education and employment sectors is inadequate and related teaching–learning material is almost nonexistent. A similar trend seems evident in relation to research pertaining to labor market information and career guidance. Our review of the literature indicated that the proportion of articles with labor market or labor market information or occupational/career information in the title of the article was low. Against this background, it seems possible that information and analysis related to labor market may not adequately inform the theory and practice of career guidance. In this chapter we describe the concept of labor market and labor market information (LMI), its interface with career guidance, and key competencies required for effective use of LMI in the process of career guidance and counseling. In the first section, we explain the concept of labor market, listing its key components and articulating some significant trends. In the second section, a number of definitions of LMI illustrate the changing perspectives in the conceptualizations of LMI; we also describe the demand, supply, and price sides of LMI. In the next section we discuss some of the key points pertaining to the interface between LMI and career guidance and examine the meaning and role of LMI in the career guidance context, the type of LMI considered to be important from the client and practitioner’s points of view, and variations in the need for LMI across target groups. Drawing this information together, in the final section, we articulate key competencies associated with the effective use of LMI in the process of career guidance and provide ideas for application and practice. The competencies include: understanding the role of LMI in practice; researching, assessing, interpreting, and presenting LMI; visiting opportunity providers; addressing questions related to LMI and equal opportunities; developing specialist LMI knowledge; and promoting the client’s self-mediation of the labor market. This section is concluded by urging practitioners to use LMI with discretion, always placing the personhood of the individual at the center of career guidance and ensuring that while LMI informs, it does not determine the outcome of career choice.