Earlier this year, one was approached by the Australia Counselling Association (ACA) to produce a range of employment related data for new and existing Counsellors focusing on Counselling trends and employment opportunities.
At the time one spent over 40 hours researching and compiling national employment trend and labour market statistics to produce responses to 15 questions and of ones own accord designed and presented a PowerPoint presentation to complement the QnA. The three slides in this PowerPoint presentation are outlined below for your reference:-
- Employment Opportunities by AQF Level
- Remuneration Scales by AQF Level
- Where are the Jobs?
Together with responses to 15 written questions which would form the basis of a webinar-video interview where one was interviewed by the ACA Liaison Officer.
Whilst the above video interview and documentation was produced and received positive feedback from the ACA Liaison Officer one was recently told, that the ACA would not be using this research and data as they were now focusing on individuals seeking to establish private practice.
Given the vast amount of time, research and work that went into this project one perceives this to be a waste not to share this information with individuals seeking to explore a Career in Counselling and/or for new and existing Counsellors whom seek to establish their professional baselines and identify potential employment and growth opportunities within the counselling industry.
Employment and Labour Market Analysis
Upon reviewing the above you will note the first slide – Employment Opportunities by AQF Level highlights a range of direct and indirect pathways for individuals with either: –
- Diploma
- Bachelor
- Post Graduate
- Masters; or
- Doctorate
level qualification.
Whilst ideally most graduates would like to work in the industry as an employee or private practitioner there are no guarantees that this will occur and thus one has included examples of occupations (jobs) with a direct or alternate pathway based on academic learnings and key transferable skills. For example, a common alternate pathway for counselling and psychology graduate is Human Resources as there are a number of roles that you can apply your skills to including Organisational Development, Learning and Development, Recruitment and Selection just to name a few. Thus, if you are struggling to find a “Counselling” position utilise this slide and think outside the square a little and consider alternatives.
Finally, with respect to this slide and the Remuneration Scales by AQF Level for those of you who are unsure as to the definition of AQF it refers to the Australian Qualification Framework. The AQF commences at Level 1 – Certificate 1 and advances systematically to a Level 10 – Doctorate qualification.
For additional information pertaining to AQF Levels please click here
Counselling Questions and Answers – Exploring Counselling as a Profession
For those who would be interested to read the 15 questions one responded to with respect to the ACA’s questions pertaining to employment trends. Please click on the link below: –
Exploring Counselling as a Profession
Please note additional information was provided in a 30-minute video when the ACA Industry Liaison Officer interviewed Katherine earlier this year, however permission for the ACA to utilise this video has now been withdrawn by the author.
In closing, if you are: –
- Considering a career in Counselling
- A new or experienced Counsellor seeking career development guidance; and/or
- Seeking a specialist Career Counselling or development referral for your client or employee
- Are seeking employment opportunities, trend and remuneration information in an alternative industry or occupation; and/or
- Would like a copy of the aforementioned PowerPoint slides e-mailed to you
please do not hesitate to contact the Katherine on 1300 300 557 or alternatively via info@bluripples.com.au
About the Author: – Katherine is the Founder of Blu Ripples a specialist Career Counselling and Consulting practice located in Port Stephens NSW. Katherine is a nationally registered Career Development Specialist and Counsellor; is a Professional Member of the Career Development Association of Australia, Member of the Australian Counselling Association of Australia and Australian Association for Psychological Type. Katherine has worked in private practice since 2003 and prior to that worked in the corporate sector for a period of 12 years predominantly in Human Resources and Administration.