No description available.

In this study the experiences of young people who engage in a gap year were explored. The focus of the study was on how the gap year influenced career decision-making. A case study design was used to gather information about the experiences of three young people who engaged in various types of gap years. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews, life-lines and collages created by the participants. They were also consulted throughout the research process and participated in the data analysis. Content analysis was applied to the gathered data, and various themes and sub-themes were identified. These were confirmed by the participants before the completion of the study. This study found that the value of the gap year may be in the personal growth that it facilitates, the time it allows people to take before finalising their decisions, and its impact on career maturity. The findings indicate that the gap year may help people to resolve their career indecision by providing opportunities to experience the world and gain self-knowledge, thereby becoming more career mature. This in turn leads to the ability to make a career decision. / Dissertation (MEd (Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

No description available.

No description available.

This study explores protean and boundaryless career attitudes in a sample of black British knowledge intensive workers. Changes in the organisational climate to more flexible project based working have affected the way in which careers develop. It has been reported that employees need to possess certain skills to help them succeed in the modern employment climate (Arthur and Rousseau 1996). The main research theory that has attempted to explain such career changes and the acquisition of specialist skills include the boundaryless career which includes both intelligent and protean career competencies (Greenhaus et al 2004). The purpose of the current study is to investigate the extent to which black African and black Caribbean workers careers are boundaryless and to investigate the nature and type of career boundaries and barriers faced. The current research addresses some of the criticisms of boundaryless career research highlighted by Sullivan et al (1998, 1999, 2009). These criticisms include an apparent exaggeration of the pervasiveness of boundaryless and protean careers and a lack of research investigating the applicability of these career theories to professional, minority group members. Thirty two knowledge workers were interviewed to understand the nature and type of career boundaries faced. A quantitative questionnaire developed by Briscoe et al (2006) was also used to investigate the extent to which black knowledge workers are protean and boundaryless in their career outlook. The findings from the interviews highlight education and family as career enablers as they help participants navigate potential career barriers. The lack of career mentors, racial discrimination and inadequate career advice at an early age were perceived as career boundaries. Results also point to a perceptual difference between career boundaries and barriers which researchers such as Sullivan et al (2004) saught to clarify. The findings suggest that career boundaries are more flexible and less permeable and career barriers are more rigid and difficult to overcome. Briscoe et al (2006) boundaryless and protean scales and were completed by 187 participants. It was found that management consultants, those aged 41-50 and those with higher levels of education were found to be the most boundaryless. The main theoretical contribution is that “attached boundaryless” is displayed. Attached boundarylessness occurred as participants preferred the security of remaining in an organisation, but enjoyed being self directed and boundaryless within their organisations by working collaboratively.

This qualitative study examined, described and analyzed mentoring experiences and perceptions of five first-year alternate route teachers and their five mentors within an urban southeastern school division. The researcher employed a constructivist theoretical model to analyze interview data and frame the adult learning and mentoring experiences to answer the research questions. This investigation explored the benefits, challenges and implications concerning first-year alternate route teachers and their roles in the mentoring relationships.

4 Abstract The thesis introduces an outline of information about the career of an organization employee. The career is described in a theoretical manner which also looks into general characteristics of a career, its possible types, individual structures and career cycles. The thesis also focuses on individual types of employees represented in the organization, possible career movements and mentions a working environment typology. Other parts of the thesis discuss the relation of professional career and the organization culture as well as parts of the relation consisting of personal growth planning, executive positions succession planning and career planning. This part is followed by a draft of talent management. The last chapter of the thesis is an actual illustration of career management in an organization, namely in Škoda Auto. This part is concluded by an analysis carried out by the author of the thesis. Key words: career, career management, talent management

Thesis advisor: David L. Blustein / This study sought to better understand the complex relationship between family, social class, and career development. Social class, which is largely influenced by family of origin, contributes to work opportunities and work, in turn, can determine social class (Diemer & Ali, 2009). As such, work has the potential to promote social mobility among individuals from low-income backgrounds (Blustein, 2006; Matthys, 2012). For young people who have not yet entered the workforce, career expectations, which have been shown to lead to positive outcomes in work and overall wellbeing (Koen et al., 2012; Perry, 2008; Taber & Blankenmeyer, 2015; Zacher, 2014), provide a promising entry point for understanding and influencing the relationship between social class, career development, and social mobility (Perry & Wallace, 2013). Previous research has shown that family, a crucible for the development of social class identity (Brown, 2004), is also a significant predictor of career expectations (Whiston & Keller, 2004). Given the intergenerational nature of social class (Wagmiller & Adelman, 2009), the current study postulates that family, social class identity, and career expectations interact to perpetuate social inequality. The purpose of the present study was to tease apart these interactions through the lens of Social Cognitive Career Theory (Lent, Brown & Hackett, 2002). Broadly, it was hypothesized that one of the ways in which family influences both social class identity and career development is through vicarious learning; children integrate information about class and the world of work through observing their parents’ work experience. This relationship was examined by surveying 298 young adults online and in person. Individuals responded to a survey asking about their caregivers’ work experiences, as well as their own social class identity, parent support, mentoring experiences, and career expectations. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and findings revealed that, overall, the hypothesized model describing social class as partially mediating the relationship between caregiver work experiences and work expectations was an excellent fit to the data. Results of the model also suggested that the quality of caregiver work experiences and work expectations is more important to overall work experience than actual occupation. Gender differences were found in the overall fit of the model, as well as the influence of specific variables, such as mentoring. The results are discussed in the context of their contribution to existing literature on intergenerational social mobility and career development. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as limitations of the study, are considered.

The purpose of this study was to (1) select six vocational areas for Career Exploration Work Simulation Units development, hereafter referred to as CEWSU (2) design mock-up sites for CEWSU construction, (3) specify materials to be used in the mock-up, (4) describe tasks to be completed in the simulation exercises, (5) construct six CEWSU simulation units for placement in junior high school career education programs, (6) gather materials and tools to be used in each of the six CEWSU, (7) develop and program cassette tape instructions and flip charts for the CEWSU, (8) field test the CEWSU, (9) revise the CEWSU according to field test results, (10) publish replicable plans for the construction and operation of each CEWSU. The ultimate goal of this project was to design and develop a product for u s e in the public school system. For the final product to be considered effective it had to meet various criteria. The criteria were as follows: The CEWSU had to be self-instructional. The CEWSU had to provide a hands-on experience. The CEWSU had to provide the experience in a short period of time. The CEWSU had to be inexpensive to operate. The CEWSU had to be readily available to youth. The CEWSU had to simulate an actual work experience. The implications from the results indicated that: Not all of the criteria listed above were met by all of the CEWSU. The CEWSU developed in the present study should be reprogrammed for use with the developmentally disabled child. Many more CEWSU, for career exploration, should be designed and developed in other vocational areas than those covered in the present project.

Background: The most important resource of today’s companies is human resources. This has lead to a vast literature in the field of Human Resource Management, and within that are the fields of motivation and career management. Given the importance of technology intensive companies’ and the fact that engineers are increasingly dissatisfied and recognized as being difficult to manage a part of the literature have focused upon management of engineers. In this it is widely ac-cepted that engineers need special treatment, however, literature is not complete and a part which, up until now, has gained little attention is the one concerning career mobility. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to identify the inducements and obstacles to the career mobility of engineers. Frame of Reference: The first part of the theoretical framework covers motivation, in which the authors focus on McClelland’s Content Theory of Motivation, given its close connection to need for achievement, a central aspect in career mobility. The second part deals with previous research on management of engineers. Based on the Frame of Reference the authors construct the Career Mobility Model, which serve as a foundation for subsequent structure and interpretation. Method: In order to fulfill the purpose of the thesis the authors chose a qualitative research method, and conducted twelve semis structured interviews. The results were then analyzed in the light of the theoretical framework. Empirical Findings: The empirical findings consist of interviews with engineers of different ages, employment time and stages of their career. The interview results are organized based on the theoretical framework to aid forthcoming interpretation. Analysis: In the analysis the authors apply the empirical findings on the Career Mobility Model, thus interpret the different obstacles and inducements to career mobility. The authors’ interpretations reveal a clear excess of obstacles compared to inducements at the company participating in the study. Conclusions: By creating a challenging work situation and offering continuous education companies can create a good foundation for career mobility. However, without a uniform career management program combined with visible career routes and established communication channels a company will lack critical aspects of in-ducements to career mobility. Moreover, technical companies need to remember that the best specialist may not always be the best manager, given the many ob-stacles a specialist focused manager can induce. / Bakgrund: Den idag viktigaste resursen för företag är människor. Detta har lett till en omfattande litteratur inom ämnet Human Resource Management, och inom det återfinns ämnena motivation och karriär management. Givet betydelsen av teknologi intensiva företag och det faktum att missnöjet bland ingenjörer ökar samt att de är erkända som svåra att hantera har en del av litteraturen inom detta ämne fokuserat på hur man leder ingenjörer. Inom denna är det vida erkänt att ingenjörer behöver specialhantering, ändock är litteraturen inte fullständig och ett ämne, vilken det fram tills nu det givits lite uppmärksamhet åt, är karriärsrörlighet. Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att identifiera hinder och incitament till ingenjö-rers karriärsrörlighet. Referensram: Den första delen av det teoretiska ramverket hanterar motivation, inom vilken författarna fokuserar på McClellands behovsteori, givet dess nära koppling till behovet av presentation, en central aspekt inom karriärs rörlighet. Den andra delen handlar om tidigare forskning vad gäller management av ingenjörer. Ba-serat på Referensramen skapar författarna Karriär Rörlighets Modellen vilken fungerar som en bas för kommande struktur och analys. Metod: För att fullgöra syftet med uppsatsen valde författarna en kvalitativ undersökningsmetod, och genomförde tolv semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultatet analyserade sen i ljuset av det teoretiska ramverket. Resultat: De empiriska resultaten består av intervjuerna gjorda med ingenjörer i olika åldrar, med olika anställningslängd och i olika stadier av sin karriär. Intervju resultaten är organiserade baserat på det teoretiska ramverket för att underlätta inför den kommande analysen. Analys: I analysen applicerar författarna den empiriska undersökningen på Karriär Rörlighets Modellen, vilket betyder att de analyserar hinder och incitament för karriärsrörlighet. Författarnas analys visar att det finns ett klart överskott av hinder jämfört med främjande faktorer på företaget i studien. Slutsats: Genom att skapa en utmanande arbetssituation och erbjuda konstant utbildning kan företag skapa en bra bas för karriärsrörlighet. Likväl, utan ett övergripande program för karriärplanering kombinerat med synliga karriärvägar och etablerade kommunikationskanaler kommer företag att sakna kritiska aspekter som främjar karriärsrörlighet. Dessutom måste tekniska företag komma ihåg att den bästa specialisten inte alltid är den bästa ledaren, givet de många hinder en specialist fokuserad ledare kan skapa.