commitments

• the person is seen as an individual
• his or her needs and wants are paramount
• a developing sense of self is the agenda
• feelings and motivations are critical
• equal opportunity is the primary policy concern
• some people need extra help to deal with arbitrary discrimination

rationale

You may feel that the primary concern must always be for the individual as a person rather than as a producer or consumer of wealth. This commitment gives strong emphasis to a person’s need to find a course of action which is personally rewarding - people should be helped to make their own choices and transitions.

There is an equal-opportunity issue here: if a person is to make her or his own moves, then of whatever background, gender or race - he or she has a right to do so with as fair a chance of realising aspirations as anybody else.

People therefore need an opportunity to consider hitherto unconsidered possibilities - in employment and in other forms of work. They should examine both what is familiar and what is farther afield. Whatever they do, they must do it with their eyes open and, especially, knowing that they could have done something else.

implications

This commitment argues strongly for good guidance, but guidance for all kinds of roles. Where there is a specialist careers-education programme it is thought of as something which supports guidance.

In all of this, there may be an equal-opportunity commitment to using most resources for those who most need help.

issues

The individual does not live in a social vacuum. She or he will manifest different aspects of self in different settings. So narrowly based sources of help may not be helpful enough to enough people.

This complexity is made more complicated where the individual is overtaken by contemporary change. Disentangle effects from the causes need more time and resources than basic provisions can afford. There should be no paltry responses to such formidable tasks.