2. Group career counselling activities for young people: what is important to know?

CHAPTER 2

Author Gintarė Joteikaitė

Group career counselling activities for young people: what is important to know?

Chapter 8 of this methodology proposes forty sessions based on the experiential results obtained while applying these sessions as well as on their relevance to young people of all ages. All together they cover the key competencies and skills needed for a young person when he/she is taking his/her first steps into the labour market or wants to reintegrate when retraining. Each of the proposed activities can be used as a separate activity, integrating it into your work programme, as a youth worker, with the target group. However, the greatest effect is achieved when the program is carried out in a continuous form, offering the young person the possibility to participate in it on a regular basis.

Forms of the continuing youth program:

1. Forms of the continuing youth program: These are regular (once a week, once every two weeks, once a month) group sessions, each of which is organized separately, as an open event, inviting to participate in the sessions those who are interested in a specific relevant to them topic. In this case, the sessions are organized in an open youth centre and the young people are not obliged to participate in several consecutive activities. However, they engage in activities to the extent that is relevant to them. By organizing regular activities, the target group of young people in a certain field of activity is naturally forming. Such a group is gradually building its community.

2. Continuous work with the group. In this case, work is being done with a specific permanent group of young people, with their commitment to participate in the continuous program for a certain period of time (several weeks or several months). During the ongoing program long-term commitments are possible as participants pursue certain goals together as a team or individually, while reflecting on their experiences in groups. The most effective choice in this case is to organize sessions once a week, but, if that is not possible, at least once every two weeks.

3. Mobile work with groups. In this case, the youth worker comes to a certain settled group of young people or community (for example, pupil class at school) with activity session on a topic he/she proposes and conducts this concrete activity session once or does it in a continuous form on a regular basis.

4. Individual work. Most of the theoretical information and practical tasks can also be transferred to individual work sessions with young people, where their personal challenges are addressed.

Ways to attract young people to group sessions:

• direct communication with current visitors, collecting data on what is relevant to them, which of the suggested topics interest them the most;

• publicity of open events on social networks or in other ways, inviting young people to participate in activities scheduled at a specific time;

• organization of mobile activities, when the youth worker himself/herself visits various youth communities

and organizes there one or more activities. In this case, the most interested participants can be invited to continue the program in an open youth centre.

Examples of implementation of activity types (to be completed): Antakalnis’ open youth centre “Žalianamis” (Lithuania)

“IT for everybody” (Belarus)

“Young Folks” (Latvia)

STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT

When organizing continuous group activities, it is useful to better understand the stages of team development and their features, especially in the development processes of youth career guidance activities. Bruce Wayne Tuckman states that each small working group goes through five stages of development for which the group leader should be prepared in advance. Depending on many factors, such as how well the participants know each other at the beginning of the program, the temperaments of the individuals, etc., these stages may be more pronounced or less pronounced, last longer or very briefly, but their sequence remains unchanged:

1. FORMING.

It is a period of acclimatization in a group, when the participants of the program that has just begun observe, examine and get to know each other. One may feel tense and uncomfortable at this stage. It is important for the group leader to ensure that the participants are provided with sufficient practical information, a cosy and safe environment is created, and methods for participants to get to know each other are prepared. It is also necessary to initiate the clarification of expectations and fears and to create a list of group rules, as at this stage each individual instinctively tries to find common guidelines and rules.

2. STORMING.

Feeling secure at the level of basic instincts, the group participants begin to analyse more intensely those around them and themselves in the existing space, and choose different social roles. At this stage, group leaders and the roles of existing team members become apparent. There is still a need for familiarization methods that can already integrate elements of teamwork in order to help participants to become more familiar with each other’s temperament, character, working and learning styles. In the case of a continuing career guidance program, when participants work together in the same group for several weeks and have common group tasks, it is at this stage when the first conflicts may arise, which are usually an expression of competition between two or more group leaders or non-recognition of the existing order of certain individuals. It is therefore important to encourage thorough group reflections on ongoing processes in order to reduce tension and improve group atmosphere.

3. NORMING.

In the first stages, the most courageous members of the group were the most active ones, whereas in this stage we begin to hear voices of each member of the group and notice the unique contribution of each individual. Conflict situations that occurred during the storm phase are gradually being resolved. Although several group members may leave the group, the remaining participants gain more and more confidence in themselves and other team members. The roles of the group finally become clear, team building methods and their reflections become important and this gives the opportunity to take a closer look at the style of work and goal-setting of the entire group as a whole.

4. PERFORMING.

Once the issue of group structure has been finally resolved, members can focus on goals, objectives, and an

intensive learning process. In the previous stages, the structure of the group’s activities (distribution of group roles, general rules and work procedures) was an essential task of group existence, which was at the same time bothering everyone, but now it becomes a tool, which the whole team relies on, and thus the whole team feels safe. It is the most productive stage of team development, both in terms of effective learning and the pursuit of team and individual goals.

5. COMPLETING.

Finally, as the group approaches its goals, it inevitably goes through a completion phase when group members feel general fatigue, though accompanied by joy and excitement. At this stage, reflections play a key role in evaluating the ongoing works and the completed works. On the one hand, the individuals in the group have already established a relationship with each other, on the other hand, one start to feel social fatigue which can lead to new conflict situations when looking for ways to separate from the group. Therefore, when implementing career counselling programs for groups of young people and, in particular, when monitoring the implementation of their goals, it is important for the youth worker to draw the appropriate lifespan of the group’s existence, after which a general reflection is made and the end of the group’s lifespan is clearly announced.

Upon completion of one five-stage cycle of team development, it is worth celebrating the achievements and, if necessary, creating the conditions that are needed to form a new group. It may also include former group members, but the whole cycle will be re-experienced.

WORK WITH GROUPS OF YOUNG PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT AGES

Experience shows that by organizing career counselling activities in an open youth centre, it is possible to round up young people from all three of the aforementioned age groups (14-18, 19-25, 25-29) so they could learn and work together. Young people, who choose the suggested activities on their own, usually consciously understand the meaning of their involvement, have specific goals and do not experience any discomfort due to the age difference.

When organizing activities for specific age groups, it is worth paying attention to the following aspects:

Young people aged 14-18:

• young people are characterized by hyperactivity or, conversely, passivity, therefore the most effective ways of learning are active experiential activities which develop general social competencies and which are based on applied theatre methods, situation simulations, team tasks in the form of a game;

• theoretical information should be provided in a non-hurried and small-scale manner, including discussions, open-ended questions, and by organizing group discussion sessions, where one or another issue is discussed in a group of 4-5 people;

• the duration of one activity should not exceed 1.5 hours.

Young people aged 19-25:

• they often raise issues of retraining, seek to change their jobs, field of activity, improve their financial situation, dare to undertake their favourite activity;

• they feel strong motivation to improve their social skills. At this stage, young people have already accumulated a lot of knowledge, but there is a need to strengthen the acquired knowledge. Both theoretical information and practice are relevant in performing individual tasks, as well as participation in experiential group activities;

• it is important for participants to integrate new knowledge into everyday practice and it is therefore useful to think regularly about how new knowledge is applied;

• longer single activity sessions are possible (2-4 hours including breaks).

Young people aged 25-29:

• they often raise issues of retraining, seek to change their jobs, field of activity, improve their financial situation, dare to undertake their favourite activity;

• they feel strong motivation to improve their social skills. At this stage, young people have already accumulated a lot of knowledge, but there is a need to strengthen the acquired knowledge. Both theoretical information and practice are relevant in performing individual tasks, as well as participation in experiential group activities;

• it is important for participants to integrate new knowledge into everyday practice and it is therefore useful to think regularly about how new knowledge is applied;

• longer single activity sessions are possible (2-4 hours including breaks).