1. Head of Career Counseling Department: Maria Koutsafti
CONFERENCE FAMILY CAREER COMPASS Efficient Career Guidance Approaches Supporting Parents in Guiding their Children’s Vocational Career”
"Greek experience in guidance supporting parents in career counseling to their children”
Doukas School
Head of Career Counseling Department: Maria Koutsafti

2. National Approach of Career Counseling & Vocational Guidance in Greece

3. Introduction
Career Counseling & Vocational Guidance in Greece aims to provide help to people, at their several growth phases in order to realize their interests, to develop their capabilities and to support their participation in society.
The National Centre of Career Counseling (E.K.E.P.) which was founded in 2000 and was responsible for the certification for the practice of Career Counseling and the scientific support, is recently merged in by the National Organization for the Certification and Career Guidance (EOPPEP).

4. EOPPEP
The newly established national authority, under the supervision of the Minister of Education serves the need for a strong pillar for the actions under the national policy in the areas of Career Counseling Certification, qualification and structures for lifelong learning.

5. Career Counseling Certification & Curricula Standards
Development of the Career Counselor profile in Greece with the active contribution of SEV (Helenic Federation of Enterprises) and Scientific Expert Maria Koutsafti , Head of the STEP Department at Doukas School & Director of Career Associates
This occupational profile contains the job functions and the required knowledge, skills and competencies for exercising career counseling.
Based upon this accredited occupational profile,  EOPPEP is planning to develop standards and specifications for modularized curricula with credits. In addition this will allow the accreditation of providers of formal & non-formal education.
Also a code of ethics and a base standards by which career practitioners should abide has been developed.

6. E.O.P.P.E.P. is responsible for:
providing scientific and technical support to the Ministry of Education in designing and implementing a National Policy on Career Counseling,
the development of communication and coordination of actions taken by private and public counseling and guidance service providers, aiming at the improvement of existing services,
networking of providers and vocational guidance professionals,
designing and implementing actions of counseling supporting the work of counselors and of lifelong support of citizens for career management,
Promoting quality information exchange between European countries on career counseling and vocational guidance issues
Through:
Seminars/Training workshops,
Meetings and Conferences targeted at Counseling and Vocational Guidance Practitioners,
Scientific material & publications,
Developing and upgrading e-tools

7. Education -Training Public Sector
University of Athens -postgraduate degree in Vocational Guidance and Counseling.
Higher School of Pedagogical and Technical Education (ASPAITE)- Specialized Degree in Counseling and Vocational Guidance
Private Sector
There are several postgraduate programs, certificates and diplomas by Private Educational Institution and Colleges.
Some Private Career Centers offer various training seminars /programs in Career Counseling.

8. Professional Scientific Associations
Hellenic Society of Counseling and Guidance (Ε.L.Ε.S.Υ.P.) established in 1985, aims to promote, and establish the practice of career counseling and guidance in Greece.

9. Guidance Services in Universities
Career Services Offices for Universities & Technological Educational Institutes (TEI) provide:
Career Guidance and sometimes Counseling services to graduates aiming to facilitate their smooth entry into the labour market.
Information about postgraduate studies, training courses, scholarships and knowledge about employee / professional rights.

10. Guidance Services in Education
The 70 Counseling and Guidance Center (KE.SY.P) which
Have been founded in major towns have been reduced nowadays.
KE.SY.P mainly:
provide guidance support and information about studies, and the labor market to students & teachers.
provide their services to handicapped people but very few can be reached by them due to lack of equipment.
The “Nestor” net, a PanHellenic Intranet with educational and occupational information allow access only to the specialized members of KE.SY.P.
The School Guidance Offices (GRASEP) which support the
implementation of guidance in the schools, have been eliminated

11. Implementation of the Educational Guidance Institution in the Classroom
The institution of Vocational Guidance has been incorporated to
the Greek national education in the sense that is an additional
item in the curriculum involving specific activities for which the
students are not marked.
Specifically, Vocational Guidance is “taught” at High-school level
(Grade C:1 hour per week) and at Unified Lyceum (Grade A’: 1 hour
per week, 2nd semester), by teachers with poor training in Career
Counseling & Guidance.

12. Career Services in the Private Sector (1)
Other bodies, also, offer Career Counseling & Vocational Guidance services
Presently, there are only seven good private schools in secondary education operating their own counseling with career counselors – psychologists or school psychologists.
Private Career Counseling Centers offer individual specialized Career Counseling & Guidance Services for secondary students, unemployed, professionals with personal sessions psychometric tools and information.

13. Career Services in the Private Sector (2)

14. Parents & their Children’s Career Counselling
The need for their engagement to the Career Counseling Process

15. Obstacles Self-projection of their own needs and expectations
Need to postulate their own stereotypes
Projection of their own fears
The above lead to the limitation of their children’s perception for their career development

16. Why should parents participate in the process of Career Counseling
To be “trained” and to be sensitized to new approaches in relation to Career Counseling
Enhance the open minds to the new, emerging, innovative career choices due to technology advancement
To provide emotional support and eliminate the need to control their children’s life
To be aware of the new process of career decision making
To enhance the positive image of their children
To encourage their children’s engagement to (lifelong) learning activities

17. Department of Career Counseling S.T.E.P. since 1993 at Doukas School
Head of Department: Maria Koutsafti
Associates of the Department:
Aspasia Koukoumtzi & Georgia Matziara

18. Career decision making is crucial for every individual
Especially, nowadays, a period characterized mainly by the rapid change and internationalization of labor, deciding and managing a career becomes complicated and it is often frustrated. The person is required to handle variety of knowledge, to recognize the aspirations, values, needs and roles involved.

19. Philosophy (1) By adopting the Model of Personal Career Management,
the department following the new trends aims to the
creation of a new “culture” about career decision making
and development
According to this model, the individual is required to have the possibility to reconsider the relation between the acquired education, the job and the personal abilities, to be prepared through a lifelong learning process to be redirected successfully along with the rapid changes of labor.

20. Philosophy (2)
STEP is committed to helping every student identify, plan and implement sound career decisions as part of his/her education and personal growth through a broad range of services which are constantly renewed:
Individual Career Counseling,
Assessment through valid psychometric tools,
Educational information,
Seminars/Workshops,
Career Day.

21. The program-Methodology
The continuum, individualized program starts in 3rd Grade of Gymnasium and is completed in 3rd Grade of Lyceum & International Baccalaurean.
 Evaluates and supports students who face difficulties, questions, or dilemmas and supports the decision making process.
Emphasizes to the distinction and evaluation of the educational and professional options as well as the information about workplaces by providing reliable information on academic institutions and on the job market.

22. 3rd Grade of Gymnasium
An interactive individualized program with a basic goal is the awareness and the sensitization of the students about their initial career exploration and planning through specialized exercises related to personality traits, interests and values and updated information.
Planning of a personal “Career Map”

23. 1st Grade of Lyceum 2nd to 3rd Lyceum
Main goal is for the students to have a deeper perception and awareness of the importance of “personal planning”. Therefore, it seeks to gradually gain a wider knowledge of their skills and strategies during the decision making and also have a critical attitude to the complex information they receive
2nd to 3rd Lyceum
Follow up individual meetings with additional updated information material

24. 1st Grade of Lyceum – The Process includes the following Steps:
Evaluation through valid psychometric questionnaires & tests (personality, values ,interests and abilities)
Personal sessions - counseling analysis
Individual folders are given with detailed presentation of the results of the questionnaires and tests
Targeted and comprehensive information in relation to educational fields and professional options
(the results of this procedure vary according to the emotional growth and capability in decision making of every student)

25. Parents
The department encourages & maintaines the direct contact with the parents, on a personal or group level through:
Personal sessions with the Career Counselors
Seminars/workshops
Lectures open to the public with various
topics
It’s aim is to sensitize and inform them about their children's career development

26. Workshops/Training
STEP organizes or takes part in a wide variety of workshops, training and open lectures to students, parents and teachers on career related topics:
Test anxiety
Building Confidence
Time Management
Decision Making
Job Search Skills etc
Mentoring Program: a structured education program which held a year ago to Teachers in collaboration with the School Psychologists.

27. General Activities For accurate and realistic information on the labor market
Career Day
Career Role Model (Video Productions)
Educational / Professional Visits

28. Career Day
Distinguished, successful and accomplished professionals are invited to participate in panel sessions that help our students gain insight into the variety of professions and diverse career paths. 
Panel sessions conclude with a question and answer period to facilitate students-professionals interaction. 

29. Educational/Professional Visits
Career Role Models
Creation of career videos in order to show to the students in a vivid way how some alumni from Doukas school manage their career paths, and what challenges and difficulties they have handled.
Educational/Professional Visits
Every year the department organizes visits of its students to University Institutes & professional settings.

30. Evaluations-Research (1)
Structured questionnaires are given to students and parents, in order the evaluation of our services
Comparative Evaluation study between the educational fields that the Counselor suggested to the students in the 1st Lyceum and their results in the Panhellenic Examination

31. Evaluations-Research (2)
Research on the “Relationship among Career Decision Making – Personality Development –Family Relations”.
Methodology
Structured questionnaires filled by students of the 2nd grade of Lyceum
Indicative Results
According to the research, the personality development stage positively correlates to the occupational personality development stage.
Insecure attachment towards their parents may lead young adults to quickly establish their personality and to assimilate their parents’ system of values, beliefs, convictions & goals.
When an adolescent is emotionally dependent and continually seeks the confirmation, acceptance and support from his/her parents, finds it difficult to make career decisions.

32. Evaluations-Research (3)
The more emotionally independent the young adult is, the more he/she develops the ability for decision making towards career choices.
The more the system of beliefs and values is shaped the more capable the adolescents become for the appropriate career decisions.
Finally, the students’ occupational decisions may reflect the culture of their school .

33. “Parent in the 21st Century” Conference
National conference “Parent in the 21st Century”, which includes workshops for parents on career advice, psychology etc ( – Website PrintScreens