Support for Career Development [2.10.2f 11]
National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA)
This section deals with Performance Appraisalsand is excerpted from Workforce Development TIPS (Theory Into Practice Strategies): A Resource Kit for the Alcohol and Other Drugs Field from the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA), Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia. Permission is granted for the use of this information.
Organizations in the AOD sector are often required to rely on short-term funding related to specific projects (e.g., research project) or outcomes (e.g., a specific client service). This can present significant challenges to career planning and advancement. In addition, across all sectors today’s working environment is characterized by change. Changing jobs every few years is increasingly regarded as the norm. Expectations of career paths and career development must also evolve and adapt to this increasingly fluid employment environment.
Success in a dynamic employment market requires individuals to be flexible and adaptable in their expectations of the types of work roles they will accept, and to recognize the need for continuous learning and skill development.[1]
AOD organizations can provide employees with continuous learning opportunities that enable employees to build a skill base that can be applied to a variety of work contexts.[2] Strategies for organizations to improve their employees’ skill base and professional development include providing:[3]
- Challenging projects;
- Mentoring (Watch for a future chapter on this subject);
- Training that provides general (i.e., transferable) as well as specific skills (Watch for a future chapter on this subject); and
- Networking opportunities.
Additional career development techniques that are commonly used in Australian organizations include:[4]
- Providing skills assessments;
- Reimbursing workers for tuition;
- Providing in-house training programs (Watch for a future chapter on this subject);
- Paying for workers’ membership in professional associations; and
- Allowing job rotation or internal transfers.
The entire
Workforce Development TIPS (Theory into Practice Strategies): A Resource Kit for the Alcohol and Other Drugs Workforce can be found
Here.
[1] Hall, D. T., & Mirvis, P. H. (1995). The new career contract: Developing the whole person at midlife and beyond.
Journal of Vocational Behavior, 47, 269-289.
[2] Hesketh, B., & Considine, G. (1998). Integrating individual and organizational perspectives for career development and change.
European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 7, 405-418.
[3] Hall, D. T., & Mirvis, P. H. (1995). The new career contract: Developing the whole person at midlife and beyond. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 47, 269-289.
[4] Hesketh, B., & Allworth, E. (2003). Career development and change. In M. O’Driscoll, P. Taylor & T. Kalliath (Eds.),
Organisational psychology in Australia and New Zealand (pp. 106-124). Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford
University Press.
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