ACCG:Course Outline.

Award - DIPLOMA OF CAREER GUIDANCE`
Mode - Distance Education (self-paced; may be commenced at any time of the year)
Availability - Throughout Australia and New Zealand
Structure - Fifteen Books (each 50-100 pages) covering eighteen Units of Competency
Study Duration - Approximately 750 hours (average 50 hours per book)
Accreditation - Nationally registered (30385QLD) and accredited (at Level 5 of the Australian Qualifications Framework) AUSTUDY/ABSTUDY approved
Recognition - Graduates (with one year’s field experience) are eligible for Professional Membership in the Australian Association of Career Counsellors.


	Course Outline.
	Competencies.
	Assessment.
	Click here to view The Prospectus.

Book 1	Introduction and history of career guidance A conceptual foundation, including: Definitions of basic terms, initial descriptions of work activities, discussion of the value of career guidance, some historical insights, and an introduction to theoretical ideas of importance in the field.
Book 2	Theories of career guidance Five Major Schools of Thought – Trait and Factor; Holland’s Theory; Sociological Perspectives; Super’s Lifespan Theory and Krumboltz’ Social Learning Theory, are described in some detail. Practical implications of each theory for careers advisers are discussed.
Book 3	The world of work Structures of Socio-economic Organisation and Labour Markets in Australia are discussed, including: Sectors and Industries; Participation in the Workforce and Unemployment. Other topics include: General future job outlook; changes and trends in organisational and employment structures; implications for job prospects; and, how and why career paths are changing.
Book 4	Counselling I Generic micro-counselling skills, and their applications in careers work, are described by a highly qualified and experienced psychologist. This book introduces Attending, Empathy and Responding.
Book 5	Counselling II Generic micro-counselling skills and their applications in careers work. This is a continuation of Counselling I, and covers the topics: Self-Disclosure, Immediacy, Concreteness, Confrontation, Teaching and Referral.
Book 6	Introduction to assessment in career guidance Types of assessment instruments are described. Debates about the benefits of testing are explored. Basic technical aspects of assessment instruments and their use are considered. The role of assessment within the whole career guidance process is discussed. The testing of general ability is dealt with.
Book 7	Measuring interests and skills Various interest categories are compared. Interest Inventories and skills tests are described, featuring: Pryor’s VISA, Simcock and Cross’ VIQ, and inventories by Strong, Johansson, etc. Card Sorts are discussed. Various tests for the assessment of occupational skills and aptitudes are similarly described and discussed.
Book 8	Personality assessment and computerised guidance systems Values and personality assessment instruments are discussed, featuring: John Holland’s typology, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Knowdell’s Career Values Card Sort, Pryor’s WAPS, and COPSystem instruments. Computerised Assessment/Guidance systems are described and discussed, featuring: Adult Directions (CASCAiD), JIIG-CAL, Career Builder, Career Voyage, Career Assessment Program.
Book 9	Planning the process, and the career guidance interview How to plan the delivery of career guidance services to clients is a major topic of this book. Establishing rapport, determining client needs, probing, feedback in process, and exercises for use with clients (including career decision-making), are also discussed, in the context of career guidance interviewing.
Book 10	Career development stages, and special groups Career development across the lifespan, and career guidance for special populations, are discussed including: Stages of human development in relation to career guidance, life transitions and adjustments, minority groups, gender issues, clients with disabilities; literacy problems; clients from non-English speaking backgrounds etc.
Book 11	Professional ethics and careers work with groups and organisations Ethical standards and practices, the legal responsibilities of careers advisers, the rights of clients, referred clients, and the referral of clients to other practitioners, are discussed. Providing career guidance to groups and within organisations is also dealt with in this book.
Book 12	Occupational and educational information The sources, types, and uses of occupational and educational information, are discussed. How to establish a careers information collection and/or resource centre is an additional topic. Resources for estimating job prospects, pay and conditions are explored.
Book 13	Reporting to clients and job search skills The analysis of data, including interview data and results of psychometric testing, is a major topic. Consideration of client circumstances, conflicting indications, and the presentation of reports, are discussed. The need for tact and discretion, the presentation of options, with required practical details, are among aspects considered. The client’s responsibility for decision making is stressed. The book also deals with job search skills such as: applications and selection criteria, résumés, prospect lists, canvassing letters, and interview skills.
Book 14	Careers education in schools This book includes a brief history of careers education, a review of the relationship between career theory and career education, discussion of the elements of a quality career education program, with curriculum development (K-12), and the relationship between Careers Teaching and Guidance Counselling.
Book 15	Review of the course, occupational survey, and establishing an independent careers enterprise This book contains a general review of important principles and practices covered in the course. Also included is a broad occupational survey, covering the most common jobs in the Australian workforce. Finally there is information about establishing a careers enterprise.

Through the study of these fifteen books, the course aims to develop the following eighteen competencies.

Promote career guidance
Apply career theories
Use assessment instruments
Work within a structured counselling process
Facilitate the counselling relationship
Provide support for clients implementing a course of action
Reflect and improve upon counselling skills
Obtain and analyse personal data
Provide career guidance
Provide careers information
Analyse and apply labour market information
Conceptualise and apply information about the Australian economy
Prepare and deliver clients’ career guidance reports
Career-related skills coaching
Provide job search support
Design and manage career development plans
Plan a careers education program
Plan and facilitate the establishment of a professional private practice in career guidance service

Attitudes: Some of these competencies relate to general attitudes, such as empathy, objectivity, and a non-judgmental approach to clients.

Knowledge: Other competencies this course is designed to deliver are based on knowledge – such as, an understanding of the major ideas in theories of career choice and career development. More ‘detailed’ knowledge is developed in areas such as the range of occupations, the levels of training courses, and the job prospects in various lines of work. Careers professionals need to be able to answer such questions or to be able to locate the answers.

Skills are another area of competency which the Diploma of Career Guidance aims to develop. Apart from the development of general skills, such as interpersonal and communication skills, there are specific career guidance skills that need to be understood and practised.

Micro-counselling skills, such as ‘reflecting client responses’, or skills in ‘preparing a comprehensive report for a client’, are all part of the toolbox of required competencies for career professionals.

An area of major interest to most practitioners is that of vocational assessment and the use of tests, questionnaires and surveys. Three Books (6, 7 and 8) are exclusively devoted to assessment and testing, including the use of computerised guidance systems. Careers advisers need to understand how tests are constructed in order to select appropriate assessment instruments for individual clients, and interpret the results accurately.

Concerning assessment, there is one assignment to be completed for each of the fifteen Books that comprise the course. Most of these are written assignments based on the book you have just studied.

One assignment (option) however, requires students to view a video and comment on the counselling micro-skills displayed in that video. Another assignment requires the student to conduct a twenty-minute interview (related to careers) with a friend or acquaintance.

Student assignments may be posted to the College, or sent by email or fax. The purpose of the assessment process is to enable independent, qualified assessors to honestly certify that you, the student, have achieved the competency taught in the book and (ultimately) all the competencies taught in the course, and are thereby qualified to deliver career guidance services to the public.