Career orientation programme - preparation and support of career choice decisions at the Éltes Mátyás EGYMI, Kindergarten, Primary School, School for Developmental Education and Training, School for Skills Development and College in Pécs

Abstract

For a decade and a half, I have been concerned about the labour market situation of students with mild intellectual disabilities. Social and economic changes in recent decades have led to a steady increase in the number of people with disabilities in the labour market. We were interested to see how these changes have affected them and how we could support them to become successful career-building adults by creating their own livelihoods.

I consciously looked for opportunities to intervene in the process of career guidance where we could help the child, the family and the teacher to build appropriate individual strategies through guided counselling.

We have a long-standing, well-established practice of individual and group career guidance. Our programme involves collaborative decision-making, in which students participate to the highest level of their potential. Creating one's own career building strategy, developing self-awareness, self-expression skills and knowledge of careers are just some of our core principles.

Based on our experience, we can say that our process-oriented career guidance programme developed in Éltes Mátyás EGYMI in Pécs provides opportunities for young people with mild intellectual disabilities to choose the right career and to obtain a good and sustainable position in the open labour market.

Feedback from families and secondary schools suggests that the introduction of career development programmes, the presence of appropriate guidance professionals and supportive activities in educational institutions for young people with mild intellectual disabilities would be crucial.

Keywords: mild intellectual disability, career guidance, labour market, individual and group counselling, life path support.