Employment Counselor Training and Professional Issues in the United States

Abstract

Employment counseling as practiced during the past 30 years in the United States Employment Service (now Job Service) is discussed, including (a) the historical forces that affected employment counseling, (b) their consequences over this period of time, and (c) employment counseling training initiatives. The Competency‐Based Employment Counselor Training Model is described, and more recent training initiatives are identified. The counselor credentialing process (particularly certification and licensure) is examined.

What Employment Counselors Need to Know About Employment Discrimination and the Civil Rights Act of 1991

“…This adversarial system is the antithesis of the values in employment counseling practice. On the basis of the Competency Modes (U.S. Department of Labor, 1979) the first of eight counselor competencies formally accepted within the profession is relationship skills-which constitute, according to Helwig (1993), "the ability to establish a trusting, open, and useful relationship with each counselee" (p. 157) . Furthermore, as Darr (198 1) reported, "this relationship forms the foundation on which attempts at constructive change are based" (p. 98).…”