Industrial society to information society

Manufacturing has shrunk and there is much greater emphasis on service industries. There has been an explosion of IT and we now inhabit a much more clearly knowledge based economy.

National economy to world economy

It is clear that we now operate in a global labour market. There is greater mobility of people and goods. Multi-national corporations have global profiles. It no longer makes sense to think only in terms of a local or even national labour market. Even those who choose not to geographically move themselves may be affected by global forces. The availability of cheaper labour overseas leading to factory closures in the UK is one example, or the increasing need to speak more than one language in order to negotiate effectively with suppliers and customers based overseas.

Core, permanent staff to outsourcing

There has been a trend to contract out in all sorts of industries. Most of us will have seen or worked in organisations where permanent staff are replaces by contract operators for e.g. cleaning or portering who can be brought in on a 'when needed' basis rather than being retained on permanent contracts.

Expansion to downsizing

Associated perhaps with the above, there is a trend for smaller, leaner workforces that work smarter rather than harder who are multi-skilled, flexible and able to multi-task.

Autonomous working to teamwork

There is a great emphasis on the ability to work as part of multi-disciplinary teams to increase creativity and productivity. Very few workers now will operate in isolation and autonomy.

Increasing emphasis on transferable skills and key competencies

Even if people don't change organisations during their working lives, it is still very likely the nature of their jobs will evolve and change. This being so, a key trend is the need for transferable skills which can be applied to new situations and circumstances if required. A key transferable skill might be verbal communication and a competency might be interpersonal effectiveness. There is an ongoing debate relating to the precise nature of core skills and competencies that is beyond the remit of this entry, but feel free to contribute your own thoughts to the discussion thread if you wish. You will need to log in to do so.

More complex transitions

Individual transitions into work have become much more complex and prolonged and may even span lifetimes. It no longer makes sense - if it ever did - to see a clear crossing point between education and employment. Now transitions are blurred, people typically spend longer in education and may have dual identities as e.g. student and employee or employee and student. It makes no sense to think in terms of a single transition point in a lifetime, instead 'careers' comprise multiple transitions over time from one employer to another, to different roles within the same organisation or even periods in and out of paid employment. Against this backdrop, it is nonsense to think of careers advice as a one-off inoculation, instead individuals are likely to have recurring needs for information, advice and guidance as they travel through their careers.

More options to explore

In a world of possibilities, there is an increasing need for vocational exploration, educational choice and personal development. Options are not mutually exclusive, many courses in the UK are not vocationally specific so choice of employment may be delayed. For some the choices are exciting, enabling and liberating, for others they are overwhelming. Not all the choices are real, not all are equally mobile or affluent to take up options available, but a key feature of IAG has traditionally been to help individuals identify all available options and then explore which are most appropriate for their own particular circumstances and aspirations.

Changing definitions of career

There are many, many definitions of career, most people involved in guidance will have their own preferred one. Although 'career' can and should be seen broadly to encompass much more than 'just' paid employment, in the context of this resource on LMI the following definition - encapsulating the idea that working lives are not static, but fluid - seems apt:
the evolving sequence of a person's work experiences over time

quote is from Arthur, M.B., Hall, D.T. & Lawrence, B.S. (1989) Handbook of Career Theory, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.