Ibec welcomes launch of career guidance review

Ibec, the group that represents Irish business, today welcomed commitments in the Independent Review of Career Guidance Tools and Information to have greater engagement with enterprise, enhanced governance structures and improvements in career guidance tools and career information.

Ibec Senior Executive Dr Kara McGann stated: “The world has changed fundamentally over the last two decades. We have seen the departure of the job for life, the emergence of roles that never existed before and the loss of many unskilled and semi-skilled jobs to globalisation, digitalisation and technological changes. We need a new world-class model of career guidance which embraces lifelong learning and changing career paths throughout individuals lives.

Guidance counsellors play a fundamental role in supporting, influencing and preparing individuals for their careers across their life span and we need to support guidance professionals in meeting these constantly changing demands. 

This report acknowledges too that employers have a role to play as key stakeholders in ensuring that Ireland is ready for the future of work, but engagement can be quite disjointed, ad hoc or reliant on local relationships. It is vital that a more coherent and professional structure is developed through which employers can engage with all levels of education to provide support from careers planning skills, role models, careers talks and work placements.

It is essential that the recommendations outlined in the report are implemented quickly to ensure individuals are engaging their talents and fulfilling their potential against the backdrop of an unpredictable and dynamic future. This will have significant impact on the individual, business and society.”

Ibec looks forward to working with the implementation plan and the taskforce to support the aims of this review.”