TPC-Journal-V1-Issue1

44 The Professional Counselor \ Volume 1, Issue 1 The number of individuals employed in various occupations increases and decreases with changes in the economy. This dynamic was as much a feature of the industrial age as it is in the information age. The loss of positions for the coopers who shaped wooden staves and assembled barrels occurred in the industrial age long before computers became commonplace. Web designers are often given as an example of the substantive change currently occurring in occupations. Forklift drivers were unknown in 1870, but were commonplace by 1950 during the industrial age. The pace of change in the information age is undoubtedly faster, but it is a mistake to confuse the rate of change in occupations with the extent of change. A relatively small number of occupations appear and disappear in the labor market each decade, but the characteristics of most occupations change only incrementally and these changes are often peripheral (as is the case with dentists). Occupational credentialing provides additional evidence of the relative stability of occupations. Despite changes in work tasks, numerous occupations still require a license or certification to work independently. There is no evidence that the number of occupations requiring a credential has decreased. Certainly the knowledge and skills required for credentialed workers evolves over time. These changes are reflected in content modifications in licensure and certification exams, as well as changes in experience requirements required for credentialing. However, the core elements of credentialed occupations are stable enough to warrant continued certification. The process of identifying and describing an occupation is the work of occupational analysts who use a variety of specialized tools and classification systems in their work. For example, analysts working with census data examine hundreds of thousands of jobs and employment situations reported by citizens in each census period. Researchers then categorize the detailed job information into occupational groups using the census occupational codes and more recently the Standard Occupation Code (SOC; U.S. Dept. of Labor, 2000) to classify occupations. SOC is the system now used with O*NET , the online, comprehensive listing of the most common occupations in the U.S. that employ the most persons. Implications for Practice in Career Services We believe the magnitude of change in occupations has been oversold in professional counseling literature and in the popular media. The transition to the information age has not had the substantive impact on occupations that is generally believed. Thomas Gutteridge and Raymond Palmer, a researcher and career counselor, respectively, suggested that it is jobs that are changing, not occupations (as cited in Patterson & Allen, 1996). They noted that it is a mistake to consider the occupational world as unstable or unpredictable because the vast majority of occupations change very little. The findings of Reardon, Bullock, and Meyer (2007) support their assertion. The career assessments and career information used in the provision of educational and vocational guidance services are based on occupations and not jobs, and practitioners should have confidence that this is a useful schema for career services. While a few occupations will change more, most will change less. Labor market analysts have the expertise to maintain the validity of occupational data. We also have the technology required to maintain and quickly disseminate these data. However, without a public policy to provide adequate and stable funding for analysis and dissemination of occupational information, the opportunity to provide individuals with potentially helpful career information will be negatively impacted. While important changes in work have occurred, occupations remain a viable unit of analysis for the assessment and information resources used in delivering career services. It is inappropriate to assume that current changes occurring in the nature of work are a sufficient justification for substantive change in the delivery of career services. Career interventions that are old are not out of date unless there is evidence that some other intervention is more effective. Changes in the delivery of career services should be based on evidence that changes are warranted and that other interventions are likely to be more effective. New ideas are not necessarily better and old ones are not necessarily worse. As Savickas et al. (2009, p. 240) stated, “…we must not lose sight of those valuable contributions of 20th century theories and techniques that remain relevant in this new era. As we go forward, we should manage the great inheritance of the last decades of the 20th century, while increasing its richness.”