Seventh year in a row Belgrade Open School (BOS) organized “National Annual Conference on Career Guidance and Counseling” in Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment on 24th of November 2017. The conference was accredited by The Institute for Advancing Education and Upbringing and gathered over 130 teachers and expert associates from all over Serbia.
The aim of the "National Annual Conference of career guidance and counselling" was quality improvement of services on career guidance and counseling in high schools, so that young people get equal and quality support in their transition from education to business world. Conference was supported by Ministry of Education, Science and Technological development, The Institute for Advancing Education and Upbringing, Center for Educational Policies, Euroguidance Center, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia and The Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy.
At the opening, the attendees were addressed by Ms. Vesna Djukic, General Director of Belgrade Open School, dr Danijela Grujic Garic, Assistant Minister of the strategic planning for Ministry of Education, Science and Technological development, Mr. Nikola Mikasinovic, Program Coordinator at Solidar Suisse. Ms. Vesna Djukic emphasized that BOS will continue to advocate for development on career guidance and counseling and creating cooperation between relevant stakeholders. The importance of career guidance and counseling also stressed dr Danijela Grujic Garic and stated that it was implemented in all educational laws, including the recently adopted Law on Dual Education. “Career guidance and counseling are significant areas from the perspective of an individual as well as society, because it represents important link between education and business world” said Grujic Garic. She underlined the importance of Proposed Career Guidance and Counseling Services Standard, which is now the leading document in this field. Mr. Mikasinovic pointed out that since 2003, when BOS and Solidar Suisse started working together, a lot has been done in the field of career guidance and counseling, as well as that adopting these standards represents the base of further improvements. He especially emphasized that it is important to work on perception of craftsmanship occupations and we also have to look back on the role of parents in the process of career guidance and counseling and how to motivate students.
Also, Ms. Mirjana Kovacevic on behalf of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia said that it is in the interest of businessmen that students are adequately prepared for stay in company, why career information can bring significant contribution. Coordinator of Working group for Standard Development, Ms. Tatjana Glisic Milutinovic presented during conference standards, after which attendees agreed that it is important to introduce these standards in order to live in educational policies and practices and for the benefit of students and economy.
The Conference was the opportunity for exchange of experiences of good practices in vocational schools. Winners of Fair of School teams for career guidance and counseling 2017 addressed the attendees: Politehnička school from Kragujevac, Gimnazija „Branko Radičević“ (Grammar School) from Stara Pazova and Hemijsko-tehnološka school (School of Chemistry and Technology) from Subotica. They stressed out most important activities of career guidance and counseling, which they conduct and shared their experiences from school visits to Slovenia and Austria, which was the Fair prize for the first three places.
During the plenary session "Career guidance and counseling as a mechanism for preventing dropouts" experts Olja Jovanovic, The Institute of Psychology, Vitomir Jovanovic, Center for Educational Policies and Marko Bankovic, Euroguidance Center considered the potential of career guidance for prevention of the dropout of students. Through the discussion, teachers looked at the challenges they face in everyday work, but stressed that further support to schools in this process is needed. Within the panel "Supporting career development of students in learning programs through work", the best mechanisms for supporting career development of students in learning programs through work were considered.
The conference is closed by the exhibition „Workshops for career development of secondary school students in Serbia“, which were developed by teachers, psychologists and pedagogues. During the exhibition, participants of conference had the opportunity to talk with school representatives about their experiences in creating and implementing services for students, with special emphasis on career guidance and counseling students at risk of dropout, and their experiences are presented in more detail in the brochure “How to develop career management skills of students in high school? – workshops proposals“.
The Expert conference was organised within the project Quality services for better youth employment - KviS on BIS with aims to support the development of employability among young people and to promote lifelong learning through improvement of sustainability and quality of the system of career guidance and counselling.The project is implemented by the Belgrade Open School and funded by the Solidar Suisse – Office in Serbia.
