Authors:

"...

The aim of our project is to create a universal system, which can access modern methods and profession information to as big a part of the Polish youth population as possible and preparing them for a difficult process of changing from the role of a student to the role of an active participant of the job market.

In the way, that everyone would have a chance to create their own individual career path, which is optimal to their potential possibilities and conditions of the job market.

..."

Gdańsk – Wałbrzych 2001

1. Introduction
2. I. The base assumptions of the National Vocational Information System
   1. Compatibility with European Union standards
   2. Integration of institution activity related to profession counselling in Poland
   3. Preparing procedures of information transfer with countries of the European Union
   4. Using the existing institutional resources and solutions
3. II. Elements of the National Vocational Information System
   1. Sources of information
   2. Creators of information – the formal structure of the Vocational Information System – aims and tasks of centres
   3. Procedures – methods and standards of collection, classification, processing and distribution of vocational information
   4. Groups of information – central database – Multimedia Knowledge System
   5. Products (information carriers)
   6. Distribution channels for recipients
4. III. The role of local-governments in creating and functioning of the National Vocational Information Systems

Introduction

A necessary condition of further intensive development of or country will be the improvement of the quality of education and the growth of professional mobility of people. To achieve this, an investment in education and creating the same kind of oppertunities for youth regardless of their place of residence is important.

The aim of the education reform is to prepare young people for professional initiation activity in creating business attitudes for self-employment and professional mobility.

Introducing the education reform assumes the universalising of secondary level education, raising the quality of vocational training, introducing elements concerning free market economy into the curriculum starting from middle school level, preparing young people for an active start on the job market and encompassing orientation and profession counselling for students at every level of their education.

The necessity of developing profession-counselling services for every level of education arises.

In all modern countries of the world, profession counselling has a specific meaning. It is understood as a process, which encompasses the whole life of a person, makes up an open module and is based on co-operation with many institutions. The client is treated as a subject and has a guarantee of his own activity and most of all access to advisory services.

One of the main tasks of vocational counsellors is informing the client about vocations, education paths, training, and the job market and supporting institutions. Straightforward information is the cause for more aware career planning and making the right decisions at every decisional stage. There is a complete necessity of building a Vocational Information System, which would fulfil world-wide standards, in order to provide development of modern profession counselling in Poland.

Orientation and vocational counselling are a field of knowledge, which in the world and in Poland is beginning to be a very important element economic transformation, where at a very quick pace there is a necessity of a flexible and precise adaptation of young people’s qualifications to the demands of the job market.

According to American expert, Ray Lamb, who for a long period supported Polish profession counselling, it is a process in which the profession counsellor helps the client in achieving a better understanding of himself in relation to the job environment in a way as to make it possible for him to make a realistic choice or change of employment or also to achieve the adequate profession adaptation.

The term profession information /vocational information/ is defined by American experts as information, which is connected with work that can be used in the process of career development, which includes information from the field of education and employment and also social psychology related to work e.g. access of training, characteristics of the job and status of employees in different professions.

Speaking of rational planning careers by the students, we mean equipping them in universal abilities of realistic choosing of careers and general knowledge of the job market and the possibilities of gaining career qualifications.

A lack of sufficient funds and quite narrow career resources of profession counsellors in our country do not allow us to think about the universal support of youth directly through the contact of an advisor. We think that in the beginning, it should be equipped in active methods and profession information allowing independent work in planning individual careers.

Considering, that the time of half measures, temporary and provisional solutions is finished, we propose a complex solution including:

• collection
• preparation
• distribution
• duplication
• and initiation

of modern profession counselling methods functioning on a data base of profession information.

In other words, the aim of our project is to create a universal system, which can access modern methods and profession information to as big a part of the Polish youth population and preparing them for a difficult process of changing from the role of a student to the role of an active participant of the job market.

In the way, that everyone would have a chance to create their own individual career path, which is optimal to their potential possibilities and conditions of the job market.

The Authors

I. The base assumptions of the National Vocational Information System:

The presented project stresses the priorities, main directions and so-called “border conditions”, which are conditions, which should be met so that creating a modern National Vocational Information System would have a sense and a chance of realisation.

Approaching the preparation of the project of the National Vocational Information System, we wanted to clearly define the aim and sense of our work so that the energy put into it would have a concrete direction and pragmatic reference. This is why we have decided to stress the aim, which has been the foundation of our thinking. These assumptions have been called by us base assumptions and define our view of the Vocational Information System as a sub system of Profession Counselling as a whole.

1 – Compatibility with European Union standards

Observing the actions of the Polish government in the scope of European Union integration, further negotiations and terms, Poland’s joining the European Union will soon become a fact. One of the elements integrating us with the countries of the European Union will definitely be providing society with a professional vocational information system.

Information about the specifications of the European job market, methods of moving within them and the required qualifications and competencies will have influence on the choice of a career by young people and in this way providing competitiveness on the European market.

The lack of a modern and universally available vocational information system can have influence on the limitations of the choice possibilities of young people, which may give them the status of “second category Europeans” in the future.

To provide compatibility with European Union standards, a modern vocational information system should:

• be a permanent element functioning in the structure of the nation, which has its own legal “strengthening” defining status,
• guarantee the standards of collection, classification, processing and universalising vocational information,
• use the most modern computer technology of the 21st century,
• provide flexibility and easiness of modification and actualisation of information groups
• include all available forms of vocational information (among others text /printed/, photographic, animated, film, video and computer program),
• make it possible to exchange information with countries of the European Union (among others information about European job markets, demand for certain professions, guides to institutions, job markets, prognosis and trends etc.),
• integrate all valuable vocational information tools functioning currently,
• assure maximum and wide access to information to all interested by various distribution channels and different means of communication.

2 – Integration of institution activity related to profession counselling in Poland

A modern vocational information system should integrate the activity of all resorts and institutions connected to profession counselling in Poland. It should not be that in different institutions, work on vocational information should use different and non-compatible methodology causing doubling and non-adequate use of financial means. Vocational information should not be prepared by the funds of the nation by one institution and “accessed” only to its clients, when at the same time it could help thousands of others in a properly planned career development path. The National Vocational Information System should in reality use the proper competencies of individual institutions and each should have a precisely specified task to fulfil. This is why one of the most urgent problems to solve will be the work on standardising the standards of vocational information in order to provide its circulation and access.

3 – Preparing procedures of information transfer with countries of the European Union

Integration with vocational information systems with countries of the European Union should be a considered aspect with the detailed construction of the Vocational Information System in Poland. For proper and standard creation of this information it will be necessary to adapt the technological field of the National Vocational Information System in a way so that equal data bases in other countries could in an easy way be assimilated and translated to our Multimedia System of Knowledge. On the other hand, professional preparation of information in our database will have to be accessible for common “European space"

4 – Using the existing institutional resources and solutions

Building a new National Vocational Information System should in a large way take advantage of the existing institutional resources and solutions. In the case of a real lack of sufficient sources for building a “dream system”, this is an absolute necessity. In the present functioning of vocational information in Poland, there is a distribution of power and resources and also individual work effort and obstinacy, which has caused the establishment of many valuable products, activities and solutions, which very often are only known and used locally in the region and most probably require (after necessary verification and possible modifications) joining the National Vocational Information System.

II. Elements of the National Vocational Information System

The present solutions of the education department in the scope of profession counselling by a system of psychological – pedagogical centres does not fulfil the level of expectation of clients. Today’s client of profession counsellors has needs that are many times larger than the needs many years ago, yet profession counselling is only 1/5 of the tasks of counselling as a whole. It is not enough to equip centres with computer and audio-visual equipment, which fulfils the standards of the profession counselling in the European Union. It is difficult to speak about availability and universality of advisory services, when there are two three persons working in a centre and have access to only a few information guides.

The platform for leading profession counselling today is most probably vocational information. According to the definition:

“Vocational information is a collection of data necessary for a person to make further decisions concerning education, career choice and choice of entry and function in the job market.”

The task of the National Vocational Information System is the standardisation, collection, classification, processing and distribution of vocational information; among others information about education, the job market for the needs of counselling and school and profession orientation. The structure of NPIS should be a unique “blood network”, which provides the constant flow of information about a specific topic to a specific addressee. A well-constructed vocational information system should include the following elements:

1. Sources of information
2. Creators of information – the formal structure of the Vocational Information System – aims and tasks of centres
3. Procedures – methods and standards of collection, classification, processing and distribution of vocational information
4. Groups of information – central database – Multimedia Knowledge System
5. Products (information carriers)
6. Distribution channels for recipients

A view of the National Vocational Information System is presented below.

Ad. 1 – Sources of information

We propose the following division of information into four main parts according to content:

1. about the possibilities of education
2. about the professional world
3. about the job market
4. other

The most important sources of information can be distinguished as ministries (education, health, defence, administration, etc.); the Psychological – Pedagogical Methodology Support Centre; Voivodship Offices, County Offices, City Offices, Education Offices, Main Statistics Office, National Employment Office, Central Planning Office, National Research Centres which are carrying out research in industry, economy and society, Employment Offices, institutions, media (TV, radio, Internet, newspapers).

Everyone of these sources (and every piece of information transferred by them) in further stages of building the Vocational Information System will have to be described in detail in aspects such as:

• procedures of source information preparation
• the type of information supplied
• the format of information supplied
• the method of supplying information
• schedule of information supplied
• procedures of its preparation, classification and processing in the Vocational Information System
• the factors and logical rules (such as validity, recipients, products, relations and connections with other elements) required by the Multimedia Knowledge System

Ad. 2 – Creators of information – the formal structure of the Vocational Information System – aims and tasks of the centres

Distinguishing a separate category of “creators of information”, we want to turn your attention to the fact that they not only have to be institutions and national offices, but also other independent associations will be able to provide adequate quality of services. The great amount of work, which will have to be carried out by participants carrying out the National Vocational Information System will require the use of the best advantages of all available creative potential. Analysing the examples of other countries (e.g. the United States or Germany), a central institution which takes care of vocational information should be a visionary and initiator and co-ordinator of works connected to the creation and later functioning of the Vocational Information System, yet for the creation of certain elements, it should search for and contract the best executors and subcontractors. As a result from present experience of the National Employment Office, this strategy may give good effects in a quite short time.

Ad. 3 – Procedures – methods and standards of collection, classification, processing and distribution of vocational information

The third element of the Vocational Information System can be called the methodological one. These are procedures, such as methods and standards of collection, classification, processing and distribution of vocational information. Preparing procedures is a work-consuming element in creating and later functioning of the Vocational Information System, yet it is very important for the quality of information.

These procedures will be conditions:

• the methodological correctness of collecting, classifying, processing and distributing vocational information
• making the collection, classification and processing of vocational information the same in the whole country

The procedures created for the needs of the Vocational Information System will often require preparing them from basics and for this tested existing systems, which have been well-accepted by clients should be used.

Ad. 4 – Group of information – central database – Multimedia Knowledge System

A grouping of information should contain adequate parts that is suitable to the needs of the users. Especially those that:

• make up a source of information for students, teachers and parents.
• are useful for self-educating teachers that are involved in counselling and school and profession orientation,

The information should always be actual and modified to the level of the recipient. The method of its preparation should provide flexibility and easiness of modification and actualisation of information.

An unusually important part is when designing an information system to the level of the 21^st century to choice suitable methods of collecting and processing of information. The building of the Vocational Information System as a one of a kind large specialised library would be a an absolute mistake today. The static treating of information leads to many disadvantageous consequences. In the dynamic Knowledge System, one can use many modern techniques and methods to manage knowledge and make it many times stronger.

The Multimedia Knowledge System, which could be a level of the Vocational Information System form the point of view of the contents it would contain in the form of texts, photographs, schemes, foliograms, animations, video films, audio files, autonomic computer programs and WWW pages.

In the future, we could use artificial intelligence and especially knowledge concerning expert systems, decisional theories and possible neurone networks when creating a computer representation of knowledge.

Ad. 5 – Products (information carriers)

Products (information carriers) can be classified in many ways. In the National Vocational Information Scheme we distinguish:

1. simple printed formats a pamphlets, posters, short descriptions
2. complex printed forms a books, guides, information pamphlets, folders, characteristics, screenplays, training, workshops
3. audiovisual a video films, radio and TV shows, photographs, animations, graphics,
4. computer programs
5. WWW pages

In this place, one should stress the fact, that a main aim of the Multimedia Knowledge System is the possibility of fast and easy generation of products from knowledge. A clear thing does not always look like a simple “click” and then the product is ready for distribution. First, the methods of generating a new product must be defined in the Multimedia Knowledge System, and even if they are already finished, a person must always test a generated product. At the same time, this is a totally different level of work. Work with new products with or without the Multimedia Knowledge System can be compared to the work of two car factories; the first old Ford factory (without) and the modern automated General Motors factory (with). In the first, many hundred people produced a few hundred cars and the in the second, less people produce a many thousands of cars a month! The differences in quality and performance of both cars are not mentioned....

Ad. 6 – Distribution channels for recipients

The aim of providing the widest access to NPIS products should be thought over and the distribution to its recipients should be planned out.

A very important element of the National Vocational Information System is the chance for it to become a school profession counselling system. The necessity of such a specialist functioning in each school does not bring up any hesitations today. If we want the future profession development of our children to be harmonic with their abilities and if we want to provide our children with knowledge and abilities necessary for optimal entry onto the job market and if we want to lead them with success into the European job market, the a school profession counsellor should help them everyday that they are in school.

When planning distribution, the specification of the product should be taken into consideration (different distribution for brochures, pamphlets and films) and also the group of recipients at which it is aimed at. One should consider the preferences of recipients, some people prefer pamphlets, others prefer monographs, others prefer text and others prefer film or the Internet. Even though the Internet is really in fashion at this moment it is most definitely not a miraculous solution. It has many positive characteristics (useful and economic), yet it remains one of the many media for the transfer of information.

One should also remember, that while building NPIS we should rely mainly on the existing infrastructure, which are thousands (created with enormous costs over the years) modern Internet school workshops and this is a platform which should be used. School Internet workshops, form the viewpoint of NPIS, are an ideal place for the getting information and methods both by students and teachers.

The basic advantages of the use of the Internet as a distribution channel include:

1. the financial aspect, which in most cases initially, involves large creation and initiation costs, which are amortised in the future thanks to a low cost of maintenance, distribution and actualisation. The cost of printing materials (in amounts exactly suited to the needs) will be incurred finally by the recipient and user.
2. only such a flexible method of organising vocational information can simplify the dynamics of change, which are taking place in the professional world and job market. The use of response information will make it possible to communicate all the changes taking place for all users of the network making sure that all the information that is not available by other methods is up to date.
3. Internet technology gives us the possibilities of new access to information and new services such as:
   1. forums of counsellor experience exchange from all over the country
   2. receiving quick response information from clients
   3. automatic obtaining of data about the preferences of clients logging on to the server (e.g. the most popular downloaded methods and information)
4. thanks to the specifications of the Internet, we gain enormousness and universality of access to data. This makes it possible for making chances of access to modern methods and profession information equal – we have a computer workshop in every county today! Today, the full access to traditional method to information is only possible in large centres and is not for everyone because of the small possibilities of customer service by specialised centres (advisory services, profession information centres, employment offices etc.)
5. A large part of people (potential clients of profession counsellors) will have the chance of using modern profession counselling methods and gain information necessary for the process of becoming an active member of the job market in an active way. Those whom individual advise from a counsellor is necessary will receive “preliminary preparation”.
6. through the distribution of attractive content for teachers and counsellors the Vocational Information System will also directly promote the use of Internet as a medium in the teaching and profession counselling environment regardless of the place of their employment. Unfortunately, at the present time, most people regard the Internet as mysterious novelty without any practical use in their everyday life.

III. The role of local-governments in creating and functioning of the National Vocational Information System

Strategic partners in carrying out the Vocational Information System project will be territorial local-governments. The reform of national system has given local-governments wide competencies. One of the many functions of local-governments is creating a job market and raising the education level of its inhabitants.

Preparing regional development strategies, will definitely assume strengthening personnel factors creating the possibilities of development by supporting initiatives and equalling chances.

The aim of local-government politics in the aspect of minimising unemployment is:

• raising inhabitants’ qualifications by the organisation of trainings, courses, sharing experiences, presenting modern solutions, transferring advanced technologies, etc. and this will raise the economic attractiveness of the region.
• developing of continuing and specialised profession education
• supporting initiatives, which aim at equalling chances on the job market and this especially refers to countryside areas and small towns.

Here by using the information system based on modern technologies and by taking advantage of modern technical infrastructure such as computer rooms, libraries, information rooms in Employment Offices, advisory services for teachers, information centres it will guarantee general access to vocational information.

Inhabitants of these regions can with no problems leave their place of residence and use the informational resources, which will have an effect on the activation of professions and a rise in the attractiveness on the job market.

Referring to the National Employment Rise and Personnel Development Strategy for the years 2000 – 2006, it is assumed that ventures concerning the development of personnel will be supported by the budget of the nation in scope of voivodship contracts.

Taking into consideration organisational and economic factors, it is not valuable and it does not make any sense to create separate and similar solution systems, which are at a countryside level. Joining the National Vocational Information System guarantees access to information about professions, the job market, education etc. It gives the possibility taking advantage of new techniques and information tools, whose preparation cost would not let any local-government budget go bankrupt.

The presented project of the Vocational Information system allows the realisation of autonomic regional politics by local-governments, but also shows the needs of co-operation information systems managed centrally and systems located at voivodship, countryside and county levels.

The information system should collect all the solutions proposed by territory local-governments in a compatible way.

Finally, we would like to stress again that initiating the National Vocational Information System aims at giving universal access to modern information to all the inhabitants of Poland regardless of their place of residence, which in effect should guarantee a rise in profession mobility and equalling chances on the job market.

The above text is only a summary of the project prepared by us and if it should gain your initial acceptation, we offer a more detailed and personal presentation.