Skill-driven recommendations for job transition pathways.

Job security can never be taken for granted, especially in times of rapid, widespread and unexpected social and economic change. These changes can force workers to transition to new jobs. This may be because new technologies emerge or production is moved abroad. Perhaps it is a global crisis, such as COVID-19, which shutters industries and displaces labor en masse. Regardless of the impetus, people are faced with the challenge of moving between jobs to find new work. Successful transitions typically occur when workers leverage their existing skills in the new occupation. Here, we propose a novel method to measure the similarity between occupations using their underlying skills. We then build a recommender system for identifying optimal transition pathways between occupations using job advertisements (ads) data and a longitudinal household survey. Our results show that not only can we accurately predict occupational transitions (Accuracy = 76%), but we account for the asymmetric difficulties of moving between jobs (it is easier to move in one direction than the other). We also build an early warning indicator for new technology adoption (showcasing Artificial Intelligence), a major driver of rising job transitions. By using real-time data, our systems can respond to labor demand shifts as they occur (such as those caused by COVID-19). They can be leveraged by policy-makers, educators, and job seekers who are forced to confront the often distressing challenges of finding new jobs.

Dá el primer paso y los caminos aparecerán: Percepciones de los/as adolescentes sobre el taller de Orientación Vocacional Ocupacional / Take the first step and the paths will appear: Perceptions of adolescents about the vocational orientation workshop

El Equipo de Psicopedagogía del Área Programática del Hospital Vélez Sarsfield, implementa desde el año 1998 procesos de Orientación Vocacional Ocupacional (OVO) en el marco de la Atención Primaria de la Salud (APS), la cual tiene como objetivo generar la participación, autogestión y responsabilidad en el cuidado de la salud de la población en general. El proceso de OVO busca que los/as estudiantes sean protagonistas de su elección, pudiendo llegar a tomar decisiones autónomas y significativas respecto a su futuro y, de esta manera, optimizar así su calidad de vida. Particularmente en este contexto de pandemia por Covid19, se decidió re-pensar de qué modo continuar con la oferta de esta actividad a pesar del impedimento de llevarlos a cabo de forma presencial; se consideró necesario mantener estos espacios donde se pudiera acompañar a los/as adolescentes ante la incertidumbre de la elección de una carrera o trabajo. Por tal motivo, se pensó en la idea de diseñar y llevar a cabo un Taller de OVO de forma virtual y acotado en cantidad de encuentros. La presente investigación tiene como objetivo analizar las percepciones de los/as adolescentes que iniciaron y culminaron el Taller de Orientación Vocacional Ocupacional, realizado de manera virtual en el periodo de octubre a diciembre de 2020, en relación al dispositivo de Orientación Vocacional Ocupacional. (AU)

[An assessment of the role of the Social Insurance Institution in the occupational activation of people with health problems, conducted by issuing decisions on the appropriateness of vocational retraining]. / Ocena roli Zakladu Ubezpieczen Spolecznych w aktywizacji zawodowej osób z problemami zdrowotnymi, realizowanej poprzez wydawanie orzeczen o celowosci przekwalifikowania zawodowego.

BACKGROUND: The new training allowance policy has been put in the Social Insurance Institution to bring back to employment workers with health problems unfit for their previous occupation. These people, following specific vocational training, may acquire new skills and competencies to stay on the labor market. The aim of this study was to assess the role of the Social Insurance Institution in the activation of persons with health problems, which was carried out by issuing opinions about the appropriateness of vocational retraining. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The analysis included 460 cases in which decisions on the appropriateness of vocational retraining, due to the inability to work in the current profession, were issued in 2009. RESULTS: It was found that 40.9% of the analyzed cases were not in accordance with the principles of adjudicating on the incapacity for work and applicable law. The majority of the study group (72.4%) were people with basic vocational education. No significant changes were found as regards gender, age and the place of residence between the retrained (N = 89) and not retrained subjects (N = 252). In the retrained group including 89 persons, 13 subjects started to collect pension again within 6 months; and 1 person collected pension while working. In addition, 51 (57.3%) retrained subjects were unemployed. After 12 months, the number of unemployed subjects decreased to 31. CONCLUSIONS: The effectiveness of the training allowance as a tool for the activation of people with health problems, expressed as the number of retrained people who returned to the labor market, is low. More than 80% of the people fail to get retrained and some of them again submit pension applications. A large number of incorrect vocational retraining opinions, as well as the lack of cooperation between institutions conducting retraining (the Social Insurance Institution and labor offices) resulted in a limited effectiveness of the training allowance. In order to enhance the effectiveness of the training allowance, it is necessary to carry out organizational and legislative changes, with particular emphasis on expanding the knowledge of medical examiners representing the Social Insurance Institution and occupational health physicians, as well as to improve cooperation between all institutions involved in the occupational activation of people with health problems. Med Pr. 2020;71(3):309-23.

Implementation and evaluation of an advisement program focused on academic and career development.

INTRODUCTION: This research evaluated a formal academic and career advisement program implemented in a doctor of pharmacy program, which included a "Meet Your Advisor" luncheon and required faculty advisement sessions with an assigned faculty member. METHODS: The advising experience of students from two cohorts of first-year pharmacy students who received the formal advisement program (referred to as advisement cohort 1 and advisement cohort 2) were compared to the experience of a cohort of second-year students who entered prior to the formal advisement program (referred to as the pre-advisement cohort). All students completed a survey with both quantitative and qualitative questions regarding the advisement program. RESULTS: Our research demonstrates that the formal advisement program was successful at ensuring that nearly all students receive personalized advisement. In the pre-advisement cohort 65% of students reported receiving individual advisement, while 94% of students in advisement cohort 1 reported individual advisement and 95% in advisement cohort 2. Advisement cohort 2 responded similarly to the pre-advisement cohort on many of the advisement scales, especially the developing understanding scales, which provided evidence that two years after making the advisement program mandatory, students were having similar experiences to the smaller group of students who self-selected to receive advisement. CONCLUSIONS: A formal advisement program can be developed to include all students. Our research provides evidence that it may take time for the changes to be impactful and suggests the importance of faculty development.

[Young rehabilitants in vocational training at the transition to the labour market]. / Junge Rehabilitanden in der Ausbildung am Übergang in den Arbeitsmarkt.

This study tackles the question, whether and to what extent labour market integration is achieved by young rehabilitants participating in an apprenticeship provided by the Federal Employment Agency. In order to identify salient determinants for the entry into as well as the sustainability of fi rst employment, event history analyses are applied. After a relatively short period, first integrated rehabilitants mostly fi nd unsubsidized employment. The entry into employment is determined by factors similar to those influencing the labour market transition of young adults without disabilities: higher educational achievements, a successfully completed apprenticeship at best within an establishment, high regional mobility and good structural conditions favour labour market integration. Furthermore, physically disabled graduates and those with shorter unemployment and sickness periods stay longer in fi rst employment than graduates showing other disabilities and those with longer periods in unemployment and sickness.

Receipt of employment services among Veterans Health Administration users with psychiatric diagnoses.

This study examined the population-based reach of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) employment services to VHA patients with psychiatric diagnoses. Reach of services includes the percentage and characteristics of people who accessed services compared with those who did not. Using clinical administrative data, we identified patients with a psychiatric diagnosis among a random sample of all patients who received VHA services in 1 yr. Among VHA patients with psychiatric diagnoses, we examined their likelihood of receiving any VHA employment services and specific types of employment services, including supported employment, transitional work, incentive therapy, and vocational assistance. We identified clinical and demographic characteristics associated with receiving employment services. Results indicated that 4.2% of VHA patients with a psychiatric diagnosis received employment services. After adjusting for clinical and demographic characteristics, VHA patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were more likely to receive any employment services and to receive supported employment than were patients with depression, PTSD, or other anxiety disorders. VHA patients with depression and PTSD were more likely to receive transitional work and vocational assistance than patients with schizophrenia. Future studies should examine system-level barriers to receiving employment services and identify types of employment services most appropriate for Veterans with different psychiatric diagnoses.

Model selection for minimum-diameter partitioning.

The minimum-diameter partitioning problem (MDPP) seeks to produce compact clusters, as measured by an overall goodness-of-fit measure known as the partition diameter, which represents the maximum dissimilarity between any two objects placed in the same cluster. Complete-linkage hierarchical clustering is perhaps the best-known heuristic method for the MDPP and has an extensive history of applications in psychological research. Unfortunately, this method has several inherent shortcomings that impede the model selection process, such as: (1) sensitivity to the input order of the objects, (2) failure to obtain a globally optimal minimum-diameter partition when cutting the tree at K clusters, and (3) the propensity for a large number of alternative minimum-diameter partitions for a given K. We propose that each of these problems can be addressed by applying an algorithm that finds all of the minimum-diameter partitions for different values of K. Model selection is then facilitated by considering, for each value of K, the reduction in the partition diameter, the number of alternative optima, and the partition agreement among the alternative optima. Using five examples from the empirical literature, we show the practical value of the proposed process for facilitating model selection for the MDPP.

Desarrollo y validación del Cuestionario de Personalidad Vocacional Adaptativa: un cuestionario para analizar la conducta vocacional de estudiantes universitarios / Adaptive Vocational Personality Questionnaire Development and Validation of an adaptive personality questionnaire to analyze the vocational behavior of university students

Este estudio presenta el desarrollo y validación de un instrumento para evaluar la personalidad adaptado al ámbito vocacional: el cuestionario de Personalidad Vocacional Adaptativa (CPVA). 2160 estudiantes universitarios de los últimos años de carrera respondieron a la versión preliminar del cuestionario. Sus respuestas fueron sometidas a un conjunto de análisis factoriales confirmatorios siguiendo un diseño de validación cruzada: en la muestra exploratoria (n=879) identificamos el modelo que mejor ajustaba los datos. Como esperábamos, el modelo presenta dos factores relacionados pero separados: Características Adaptativas de personalidad (CA) con 9 ítems y Características no Adaptativas de personalidad (CNA) con 11 ítems. En la muestra de validación (n=932) comprobamos si ese modelo presentaba un buen ajuste a este nuevo conjunto de datos. Los resultados así lo indicaron, apoyando la validez de esta estructura bifactorial. La fiabilidad de las dos escalas, CA y CNA es adecuada, así como su capacidad para pronosticar el criterio empleado, conducta proactiva en la búsqueda de trabajo. Este artículo incluye el cuestionario, las claves de corrección y los baremos necesarios para su uso (AU)

This study presents a personality evaluation instrument adapted to the vocational setting: the Adaptive Vocational Personality Questionnaire (AVPQ). The questionnaire was developed and tested in a sample of 2160 university students in the final years of their degree programs. The purpose of the study is to validate the questionnaire, providing evidence about its internal structure and its usefulness for predicting scores on a criterion scale. A confirmatory factor analysis combined with a cross-validation design was used: the exploratory sample (n = 879) helped to identify the model with the factorial structure that best fit the relations among the items. As expected, this model had two related but clearly separate factors: Adaptive Personality Characteristics (AC) with 9 items and Non-Adaptive Personality Characteristics (NAC) with 11 items. The validation sample (n =932) was used to test the generalization capacity of this model, which was satisfactory and showed a good reliability index. Regarding its usefulness in predicting proactive job-search behaviors, the results were also satisfactory. The questionnaire and keys are provided, as well as the criteria for calculating the scores on each scale and on the entire questionnaire (AU)

Working with Hispanic women who are deaf: recommendations from the literature.

The authors used the hermeneutics approach within social cognitive career theory to explore employment trends and issues over the past 20 years relevant to Hispanic women who are deaf. Barriers to employment were discovered including discrepancies due to gender, race/ethnicity, and severity of hearing loss. Recommendations for policymakers and professionals suggest a need for research that addresses the unique experiences of Hispanic women who are deaf within vocational rehabilitation, the use of social cognitive career theory as it relates to career development and choices, and an increase in education and training to better prepare vocational rehabilitation counselors to work with individuals from multiple minority backgrounds. While information about Hispanic women who are deaf is limited, this review provides a better understanding of Hispanic deaf women and encourages expansion of knowledge in practice and research for professionals working with this unique population.

Un modelo estructural de variables cognitivo-motivacionales explicativas del rendimiento académico en Lengua Española y Matemáticas / A structural model of cognitive-motivational variables as explanatory factors of academic achievement in Spanish Language and Mathematics

En los últimos años se vienen desarrollando diversos modelos explicativos que tratan de analizar el valor predictivo de distintos factores en relación al rendimiento escolar, así como los efectos directos e indirectos que se producen entre ellos. Nuestro objetivo es contrastar un modelo estructural que integra algunas variables de tipo cognitivo y motivacional que influyen en el rendimiento de los alumnos en las dos áreas instrumentales básicas de nuestro curriculo: Lengua Española y Matemáticas. Entre estas variables incluimos las aptitudes diferenciales, el autoconcepto específico, las orientaciones de meta, el esfuerzo y las estrategias de aprendizaje. La muestra está compuesta por 341 alumnos españoles de primer curso de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria. Empleamos distintas pruebas y cuestionarios para la evaluación cada una de ellas y aplicamos SEM para contrastar las relaciones del modelo inicial. El modelo propuesto obtiene un ajuste satisfactorio en las dos áreas estudiadas, siendo significativas la totalidad de las relaciones hipotetizadas. La aptitud matemática y verbal es la variable con mayor poder explicativo sobre el rendimiento académico. También destaca la influencia directa del autoconcepto específico sobre el rendimiento, las orientaciones de meta y el esfuerzo, así como la capacidad mediadora del esfuerzo y de las estrategias de aprendizaje entre las metas académicas y el rendimiento final (AU)

In recent years, several explanatory models have been developed which attempt to analyse the predictive worth of various factors in relation to academic achievement, as well as the direct and indirect effects that they produce. The aim of this study was to examine a structural model incorporating various cognitive and motivational variables which influence student achievement in the two basic core skills in the Spanish curriculum: Spanish Language and Mathematics. These variables included differential aptitudes, specific self-concept, goal orientations, effort and learning strategies. The sample comprised 341 Spanish students in their first year of Compulsory Secondary Education. Various tests and questionnaires were used to assess each student, and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was employed to study the relationships in the initial model. The proposed model obtained a satisfactory fit for the two subjects studied, and all the relationships hypothesised were significant. The variable with the most explanatory power regarding academic achievement was mathematical and verbal aptitude. Also notable was the direct influence of specific self-concept on achievement, goal-orientation and effort, as was the mediatory effect that effort and learning strategies had between academic goals and final achievement (AU)

Evaluation of medical career-counseling resources across Canada.

BACKGROUND: North American medical school accreditation requires career counseling. PURPOSE: The Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) MedCAREERS program was implemented in 2000 before published evidence of efficacy of Canadian medical school career-counseling programs existed. METHODS: Data were gathered initially through the Canadian Residency Matching Service Post-Match Survey in 2003 and subsequently through the Canadian Graduation Questionnaire from 2006 to 2008. The overall response rate was 61%. Perceived benefits and efficacy of the MUN MedCAREERS Web site and several career-counseling resources were determined along with participation rates encompassing a 6-year period. RESULTS: Most career-counseling resources were perceived as helpful, regardless of participation rate. CONCLUSIONS: Our goal was to provide information on an array of career-counseling resources so that Canadian medical schools can avail of appropriate resources and select activities to help students make informed decisions about their specialty choice. Planners of career-counseling activities may wish to consider elements that students find most helpful.

[Occupational outcome of patients with schizophrenia after first request for disability status: a 2-year follow-up study]. / Devenir professionnel de sujets souffrant de schizophrénie dans les deux ans suivant l'obtention du statut adulte handicapé.

OBJECTIVE: To assess occupational outcome of persons with schizophrenia over the 2 years following the first request of disability status. METHODS: This study was carried out in collaboration with the Commission Technique d'Orientation et de Reclassement Professionnel (COTOREP) (technical commission for occupational guidance and rehabilitation of the disabled) de la Gironde (Bordeaux region, South Western France). Persons with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder requesting for the first time in 2006 a disability allowance or the status of disabled worker were assessed using a standardized questionnaire collecting data on clinical, occupational and income history. Information on occupational outcome over the 2 years after the first request was collected at the end of the follow-up using multiple sources of information. We used a broad definition of work, including moonlighting and episodic activities (baby-sitting or grape-harvesting), as well as study periods. RESULTS: Of the 121 patients included at baseline, direct or indirect information was available for 108 (90%) at the 24-month assessment. Persons lost to follow-up were less likely to have worked before first request of disability status compared to persons with information available at the end of the follow-up, but did not differ regarding the other characteristics. Nearly half of the persons (41.7%) had worked over the follow-up, irrespective of the type and duration of the occupation. The working periods were of short duration (median duration 14.5 days, interquartile range 6.5-47.5) and most (98%) were done in low-qualified jobs. Nearly half of the persons reported that they had benefitted from support for starting or returning to work, mainly from recruitment agencies specialized in supporting disabled workers. Persons with the status of disabled worker (Reconnaissance de la qualité de travailleur handicapé) (RTH) were more likely to have worked over the follow-up period (66.7% vs 33.3%; OR=3.9; 95%IC 1.3-11.3; p<0.01) as well as persons who had benefitted from institutional support (61.1% vs 38.9%; OR=3.0; 95%IC 1.2-7.8; p=0.02). However, a noteworthy result was that most jobs were obtained by the patient's personal effort. Nearly one out of four patients (23.2%) was involved in vocational training over the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: This prospective study demonstrates that half of persons with schizophrenia who benefit from the disabled status remain actively engaged in vocational rehabilitation. Hence, giving access to disability status does not act as a disincentive regarding the return or access to work. However, the benefit of being kept involved in vocational rehabilitation has to be weighted against the fact that most patients only obtained low-qualified jobs of short-duration. This precarious situation may be stressful and may have a deleterious impact regarding self-esteem.

Discriminant analysis in career studying «Decision/Indecision»: the career factors inventory (CFI) as a diagnostic measure

Literature has shown that, nowadays, a multidimensional approach to decision-making has become prioritized. The Careers Factor Inventory (CFI) is, in fact, a multidimensional measurement instrument for evaluating career indecision, which may be useful in the diagnosis of adaptation behaviors in terms of career decision versus indecision. This study emerges as a follow-up to a previous study which used the CFI on a sample of university students in which this measurement instrument was found to be capable of distinguishing Low decided vs. Highly decided groups and to evaluate the discriminatory capacity of the CFI scales. It is the aim, here, to further analyse the results obtained in such study with a view to grounding the importance of the use of this Inventory as an instrument for distinguishing people who present different decision levels in relation to their careers. In this study, 494 university students from a number of higher education establishments and courses are part of the afore mentioned Low decided and Highly decided groups. The collected data were analysed by means of Discrete Discriminant Analysis models and corroborate the discriminant power of the Inventory and its use as a diagnostic instrument in the psychological intervention of career counseling and development (AU)

La literatura muestra que, en estos días, una aproximación multidimensional de la toma de decisiones se ha vuelto prioritaria. El Inventario de Factor de Carreras (Careers Factor Inventory; CFI) es, de hecho, un instrumento de medida multidimensional para evaluar la indecisión en la elección de carrera, lo que puede ser útil para el diagnóstico de conductas adaptativas en términos de decisión versus indecisión en la elección de carrera. Este estudio emerge como continuación de un estudio previo que utilizó el CFI en una muestra de estudiantes universitarios en la que éste instrumento de medida ha sido capaz de distinguir entre grupos de Baja decisión vs. Alta decisión, y para evaluar la capacidad discriminatoria de las medidas CFI. El objetivo aquí es continuar analizando los resultados obtenidos en ese estudio con vistas a determinar la importancia del uso de este Inventario como instrumento para distinguir a las personas que presenten diferentes niveles de decisión en relación a sus carreras. En este estudio, 494 estudiantes de diversos cursos de instituciones de educación superior son parte de los grupos ya mencionados Baja-decisión y Alta-decisión. Los datos recogidos fueron analizados mediante el modelo de Análisis Discriminante Discreto y corroboran el poder discriminante del Inventario y su uso como instrumento diagnóstico en la intervención y psicológico de la elección de carrera y la orientación vocacional (AU)

[Predicting the success of occupational retraining using the occupational aptitude test battery]. / Vorhersage des Umschulungserfolgs durch die Berufseignungsdiagnostik.

In vocational retraining centres, a test battery including several performance tests is generally administered to assess the occupational aptitude of rehabilitants and to predict their success in occupational retraining. This paper presents the multiple regressions of a set of achievement scores on "grades of retraining" and "grades of final examination", respectively, concerning retraining to become an office management assistant. It was shown that only few variables are adequate to clarify a maximum of variance of the criterions. Four different regression models were identified; each of them could clarify about 25% of variance. Significant predictors were indicators for verbal skills and basic numeracy. In each model a measurement for nonverbal intelligence had to be taken into account as a suppressor variable. To put all in a nutshell, in order to predict the success of vocational retraining to become an office management assistant it is more important to focus on strengthening school knowledge than on general intelligence.

Career education: an application of latent growth curve modelling to career information-seeking behaviour of school pupils.

BACKGROUND: This study applied the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) in an attempt to predict longitudinal growth of career exploratory behaviour in school pupils. The importance of information for making considered career decisions is indicated in theories of career development and choice, career education programmes, and concepts of career maturity. AIMS: The study aimed to initially model individual and group levels of career exploratory behaviour and then to identify psychological variables that predicted such behaviour. SAMPLE: Longitudinal data from a sample of 325 adolescents (mean age 16.4 years, SD = 0.77, 45% were male) was collected at three points in time. METHOD: A latent growth curve model was specified to account for initial status and subsequent linear growth of career exploratory behaviour. Variables representing the TPB were included in the model to explain the variation in the intercept and slope factors. RESULTS: The latent growth curve model was found to be an acceptable description of the data, and indicated that there was significant individual variability in terms of the intercept and slope factors. Behavioural intention was found to be a significant predictor of the intercept factor, but not of the slope factor. CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that the TPB remains a useful theoretical framework from which to explain career information-seeking behaviour.

Disability, employment and work performance among people with ICD-10 anxiety disorders.

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain at a population level, patterns of disability, labour force participation, employment and work performance among people with ICD-10 anxiety disorders in comparison to people without disability or long-term health conditions. METHOD: A secondary analysis was conducted of a probability sample of 42 664 individuals collected in an Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) national survey in 1998. Trained lay interviewers using ICD-10 computer-assisted interviews identified household residents with anxiety disorders. RESULTS: Anxiety disorders were associated with: reduced labour force participation, degraded employment trajectories and impaired work performance compared to people without disabilities or long-term health conditions. CONCLUSION: People with anxiety disorders may need more effective treatments and assistance with completing education and training, joining and rejoining the workforce, developing career pathways, remaining in the workforce and sustaining work performance. A whole-of-government approach appears needed to reduce the burden of disease and increase community labour resources. Implications for clinicians, vocational professionals and policy makers are discussed.

Qualifying from the pre-registration nurse diploma course: the demand for career guidance.

A previous paper in Nurse Education Today [Marsland, L. (1996) Career guidance for student nurses: an unmet need, Vol. 16, No. 1, p. 10] presented research about career guidance received during nurse education by 1015 Registered General Nurses (RGNs) who qualified in 1990/1991. The findings revealed a substantial unmet need for guidance amongst this group, especially in relation to discussions about individual career planning. The paper argued that the greater variety of training experiences incorporated into the Project 2000 diploma course curriculum, plus the opportunity in some colleges to defer branch selection until after the common foundation programme, would increase rather than decrease the need for pre-registration guidance. The research presented in this subsequent paper investigates career guidance received by a cohort of adult branch nurses who qualified from the nurse diploma course in 1997/1998. Similarities and differences between the guidance experiences of the two cohorts are discussed, and deficits experienced by the diploma course nurses identified.