Connecting with partnership networks
The CLFDB survey of counsellors revealed the isolation in which they live professionally: from colleagues within a school, from the reality of the workplace, and from the wider community. Few counsellors spent time "working with third parties," such as other agencies, employers, or counselling specialists. This situation must be changed. Career and employment counselling is a key element in a successful transition system. To be effective, it must be integrated with the other elements of the system. School counsellors should become the students' window on the world of work; they must play an essential role in the proposed expansion of cooperative education and career development curriculum and courses. Counsellors in CECs and community agencies should communicate regularly with employers and enhance their knowledge of changes in the workplace. A stronger training and retraining program should include information on these aspects of counsellors' responsibilities.
The establishment of local boards should be used as an opportunity to include counsellors in the local private-sector network.
If counsellors feel more confident because they are well trained, if they are recognized by society as professionals with a major role to play in the transition process, and if they are better equipped with adequate information, especially labour market information, they will be better able to carry out their important task. The goal of coherence, in our approach to transition issues and, more specifically, within the vast area of career and employment counselling, calls for coordination of the various initiatives.