Strengthening Capacities of Learners with Disabilities and Learning Difficulties through Career Guidance Services
Main Info
TCA Description
"Strengthening Capacities of Learners with Disabilities and Learning Difficulties through Career Guidance Services" is the first TCA event within LTA “Enhancing Inclusion through Guidance” which aims to emphasize the role of career guidance as an inclusion mechanism. The TCA will focus on career guidance needs and practices for working with the young learners with disabilities and learning difficulties. The event will gather career practitioners from the School Education (SE), Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Adult Education (AE) from various European countries.
This TCA will focus on practical exploration of career guidance service provision to the young with disabilities and learning difficulties. The major portion of the event will be dedicated for the participants to have an opportunity to engage in several experiential workshops on a selected few best practices and tools, including digital ones.
To complement the practical tools with a theoretical framework, a keynote lecture will explore important developmental psychology concepts relevant to working with the young with disabilities and learning difficulties. Lastly, the participants will also have a facilitated networking opportunity to exchange project ideas for potential collaboration and exchange on this thematic.
The TCA will be hosted in Belgrade, Serbia from 20th until 22nd November, 2024. Participants should plan to arrive in Belgrade by 20th November 5 p.m. CET and leave on the 23rd November. The organizers will provide accommodation for the 3 nights (20th, 21th, 22nd, check-out on 23rd morning).
- Participants understand basic developmental psychology concepts relevant to understanding the needs, challenges and strengths of youth with disabilities and learning difficulties.
- Participants acquire knowledge about specific practical tools, including digital ones, for providing career guidance services to youth with disabilities and learning difficulties.
- Participants gain information on practices of providing CGS to youth with disabilities and learning difficulties across different sectors (SE, VET, AE), and make connections with career guidance practitioners from the sectors.
- Participants are inspired and equipped to implement novel techniques and tools in their contexts, and to explore project ideas with colleagues working with young people with disabilities and learning difficulties across Europe.
The TCA will provide a rare opportunity to tackle two vulnerable groups and understand opportunities for their inclusion through CGS, through exploring practical tools and examples of good practices from career guidance systems in different socio-economical contexts, gathering practitioners from across Europe.
Additionally, as the TCA will gather newcomers and experienced career practitioners alike, from across three sectors, it will provide ample opportunities for learning exchange and project ideas on the important topic of using career guidance services as an inclusion mechanism for young people with disabilities and learning difficulties.
Partners and participants
This TCA is for career advisors, school counsellors, teachers, educators and other practitioners providing career guidance and counselling services to young people aged 12-26 years within SE, VET and AE sectors. The TCA will not provide basic knowledge about career guidance and counselling services but rather build upon that knowledge providing the participants with methods and tools for provision of tailor-made career guidance to students with disabilities and learning difficulties.
Pending booked places
Accepted places
TCA Participant Application
Long-term Activity Info
This LTA will be dedicated to the development of career guidance and counselling (CGC) activities and tools for practitioners working in educational institutions and organisations. The main goal is to emphasize the role of career guidance as an inclusion mechanism, as well as to promote digital resources available to career guidance practitioners.
Considering that career guidance is recognized as a powerful tool for supporting students from vulnerable groups in developing the skills needed in the labour market, as well as a mechanism to prevent early school leaving, career guidance has a valuable impact on enhancing the inclusion of students from those groups. Through training, workshops and similar activities, LTA will aim to equip practitioners with the knowledge and skills to provide guidance that is context-sensitive, needs-oriented and addresses different challenges. By emphasizing the value of diverse role models, tailored support, and culturally responsive practices, the long-term project will seek to foster an inclusive approach that provides all individuals with equal access to information and meaningful career opportunities.
Furthermore, using digital resources as tools in career guidance can make the provision of guidance services more effective, efficient, and equitable. An inclusive digital environment considers different needs and abilities and enables more students to access the CGC services and use digital technology regardless of background or circumstances.
According to the data from the SALTO platform, since 2018, 10 single TCA events on the topic of career counseling have been organized or planned (between 1 and 3 per year), with many sending partners at each of those events. More than a third were focused on inclusion. This reflects the existence of common needs and the continued interest of National Agencies in the topic. To gather these National Agencies around a common LTA would enable a strategic approach to the organization of TCAs on the topic of CGC, as well as the exchange of knowledge and experiences among the event organizers. Such cooperation would provide a TCA offer that is coordinated regarding activities’ goals, topics, target groups, as well as a balanced event calendar.
The exchange of knowledge within the LTA would enable TCAs to be better tailored to meet the real needs of practitioners, with an additional benefit of monitoring and measuring the achievement of common goals.
Some of the National Agencies are as well homes to national Euroguidance centers, which are a significant resource of knowledge in the CGC field. It is an exceptional opportunity to build bridges between different E+ networks, E+ tools and parts of the program, from which all parties will benefit.
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LTA will provide involved NAs with a framework that will enable the continuous and coordinated organisation of TCAs on the topic of CGC in the next 3 years.
As a first step, partner NAs would map out the needs of CGC practitioners in their countries, which would inform and shape the activities organised within the LTA.
Later on, a transnational TCA should be organised at least once a year (hosted in Serbia in 2024 and possibly in different partner countries in the following years). The annual event should support CGC practitioners in better understanding the different ways of developing CGC services for students from vulnerable groups through the exchange of good practices and promotion of useful digital tools.
LTA will also offer flexibility and encourage partner NAs to plan and organise different formats of national and transnational activities related to the main theme and goals, regarding their national contexts, needs and capacities. In this way, LTA will offer a series of TCA activities that will enable training and networking for career practitioners.
TCA activities within this LTA can include:
- Seminars and workshops, to develop competences of participants,
- Study visits, to enhance the exchange of good practices,
- Tool fairs, to promote the digital tools and other resources which could be implemented in different educational contexts,
- Etc.
Additionally, a common strategy for monitoring and measuring the impact of activities organised within the LTA would be established.
- Promoting social inclusion and equality in career guidance throughout the education system.
- Improving competences of CGC practitioners to provide inclusive services in the education sector.
- Increasing number of projects concerning CGC, with inclusion as a priority in the Erasmus+ programme.
- NAs involved in the LTA gaining better understanding of the needs of CGC practitioners at the national and European level