© Bildungsberatung Niederösterreich

Bildungsberatung Niederösterreich (Educational Guidance Lower Austria) is available for people aged 15–64 who have questions about education and careers. These may be straightforward questions such as “Is there funding for the further education courses that I wish to attend?” and important questions in connection with career changes, e.g. “Am I doing the job that I really wish to do?” or “What are my strengths and where can I put them into practice professionally?” Around 10,000 people turn to us every year for advice. The consultations take place face-to-face at more than 90 locations as well as online and via video, telephone, and e-mail. Our roughly 30 counsellors have got their hands full as they attempt to solve the various issues in a manner that is oriented towards helping the customer, saving resources, and finding solutions. Lately, people are coming to us for advice seeking a more meaningful occupation as they aim for social or green professions. This trend has increased during the pandemic. This was also what motivated us to look more closely at the topics of green jobs and green guidance.

Fortunately, we have been working together with the Department of Environmental and Energy Management of the Province of Lower Austria on the Green Jobs for You project since January 2021. The objectives of this project are to motivate, inform, and raise awareness among young people. The target group is reached by means of workshops, a website, and films. The core content was developed in the project, and an intensive collaboration was initiated with schools, relevant businesses, and stakeholders. We subsequently made this knowledge available to our educational counsellors. In addition, we utilised the province-wide Lower Austrian counsellors meeting in autumn 2021 to exchange views on experiences in the field and to create a greater awareness for the topic of green guidance. There was considerable interest in this topic, so we compiled an information leaflet for counsellors as a basis for the counselling activities. The leaflet contains definitions, an overview of green professions and training offerings, and examples of jobs as well as useful links.

Furthermore, we made a number of plans and put our intentions into words as follows – in 6+ aspects of green guidance:

1. Networking and collaboration with green stakeholders. Here, we mean regular target-oriented networking meetings with NGOs, environmental organisations, chambers of commerce, politicians, local governments, etc. in which reciprocal knowledge transfer as well as joint event and project planning shall be made possible at various levels.  
2. Networking with green businesses. Practical responsibilities, needs, and challenges shall be examined with the help of increased networking with green businesses so that the relevant information can be incorporated into everyday counselling activities.  
3. Green guidance. Customers shall be made aware of green educational and career paths, and motivated in this regard, in addition to being informed about professions as well as education, further training, and reskilling opportunities.  Educational counsellors shall provide information about the effects that the selected professions have on the environment and thus contribute towards the decision-making process. Here, it is important to encourage the eradication of stereotypes, to expand horizons, and to think outside the box.  
4. Green strategies and ideas. More green aspects shall be incorporated into the strategic development of counselling processes, especially into the guiding principles, quality development, and performance measurements.  
5. Green public relations. Green careers and testimonials shall be presented more often, while a greater focus shall be placed on green businesses. Moreover, advertising material such as flyers and giveaways shall be made using less plastic, more fairly, and in a manner that saves resources and is more region-oriented.  
6. Making our own work greener. Bildungsberatung NÖ depends greatly on the high mobility of its staff, who commute to 90 different locations spread throughout the province. Although we are still far from making these business trips possible by means of regional (electric) car sharing or public transport models and enabling customers to travel on foot or by means of public transport, the first steps have been made in this direction. The increased offer of video counselling can also make an important contribution here.

Event management is a further aspect. Here, attention should be paid to ensure that venues can be reached via public transport and that the catering is regional, organic, and fair trade. A further intention is to purchase green office supplies and green office equipment. Here, well-thought-out recommendations from respected organisations are already being used.

Finally, I would like to emphasise that we are increasingly focusing on green guidance because we are convinced that the counselling process has an impact on individual career decisions and career paths, and that it can thus contribute towards the sustainable development of our society.

About the author: 

Rosemarie Pichler is a qualified engineer, spatial planner, and educator. She has worked in participatory regional development for many years and, since 2015, has headed Bildungsberatung Niederösterreich (Educational Guidance Lower Austria).

Contact: https://menschenundarbeit.at and https://bildungsberatung-noe.at

About this article: 

This blog is based on a presentation held as part of the Austrian Euroguidance Conference 2021 “Green Guidance”.