Tristram Hooley is Professor of Career Education at the University of Derby (UK). He also holds a Professorial role at the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences and as a Visiting Professor at Canterbury Christ Church University.
Tristram is an editor of the NICEC Journal and on the board of the Career Development Policy Group and the International Centre for Career Development and Public Policy. He works closely with governments, employers, trade unions and practitioners to improve access to career development services.
Tristram is also a prolific writer who specialises in career and career guidance. He is editor and co-author of two books on career guidance and social justice, and has recently highlighted the issue of ‘green guidance in a paper entitled "Practitioners perspectives on green guidance: An international survey. Exploring Green Guidance".
1. What is green guidance? How does it differ from the career guidance that most practitioners provide?
When we are talking about green guidance we are really asking career guidance practitioners to consider the environment as part of their practice. Increasingly we are all having to admit that the climate crisis is real and that it is something that is already starting to change people's lives and work.
Whether it is rising sea levels, hotter summers, or policy-driven attempt to manage and mitigate climate change, environmental issues are already part of people's careers. As careers practitioners we firstly have to recognise that and secondly to think about what we can do to help people make the (green) transitions that are socially and environmentally necessary.
2. What benefits can green guidance bring to people and society in general?
At its most basic level, a concern with the environment is beneficial because we all want to continue to have access to water to drink, air to breath and to live on a planet that isn't on fire. When we face a clear and present danger, we have to do something.
Tristram is an editor of the NICEC Journal and on the board of the Career Development Policy Group and the International Centre for Career Development and Public Policy. He works closely with governments, employers, trade unions and practitioners to improve access to career development services.
Tristram is also a prolific writer who specialises in career and career guidance. He is editor and co-author of two books on career guidance and social justice, and has recently highlighted the issue of ‘green guidance in a paper entitled "Practitioners perspectives on green guidance: An international survey. Exploring Green Guidance".
1. What is green guidance? How does it differ from the career guidance that most practitioners provide?
When we are talking about green guidance we are really asking career guidance practitioners to consider the environment as part of their practice. Increasingly we are all having to admit that the climate crisis is real and that it is something that is already starting to change people's lives and work.
Whether it is rising sea levels, hotter summers, or policy-driven attempt to manage and mitigate climate change, environmental issues are already part of people's careers. As careers practitioners we firstly have to recognise that and secondly to think about what we can do to help people make the (green) transitions that are socially and environmentally necessary.
2. What benefits can green guidance bring to people and society in general?
At its most basic level, a concern with the environment is beneficial because we all want to continue to have access to water to drink, air to breath and to live on a planet that isn't on fire. When we face a clear and present danger, we have to do something.
"We are really asking career guidance practitioners to consider the environment as part of their practice".
But, as we have begun to think about what green careers and green career guidance really is, we've concluded that it is also about adjusting the way that we approach our careers in ways that attend to our wellbeing and the wellbeing of the people, animals and plants around us. Green guidance is not just about getting people to swallow nasty medicine to save the planet, it is also about thinking about some of the norms that make up our working lives and careers. A desire to rise to the top of your organisation and fill your bank account with euros and your house with luxury goods may not be the most healthy way for you to live, let alone the impact that it is having on the people around you.
Green guidance asks you to step back and think about these issues and make some changes in your life and in the world around you.
3. What is the importance of green guidance in the current context of climate change and how does it contribute to the coverage of green jobs in the future?
The first things that people tend to think about when they talk about green guidance are the skills needs of green or sustainable industries. There is a lot of sense in this, if we are going to have a green transition we need to reduce the amount of fossil fuels we produce and dramatically increase the use of renewable energy. And this mean that we also need to change the number of people working in these industries. A key part of green guidance is educating people about the green economic transition and helping them to identify opportunities within this.
But, green guidance is not just the provision of specialised labour market information about the green sectors. While these jobs are critical, we also know that they will still only make up a relatively small part of overall employment. Most people will still be working as cleaners, retail assistants, teachers, nurses and all of the other jobs that we already have. Green guidance has got to get these people to think about how to green their work, rather than just give up their existing job and become a solar power engineer. This job of greening the existing economy is probably even more difficult than getting people to move into new jobs in the green sector.
"A key part of green guidance is educating people about the green economic transition".
4. Your article ‘Practitioners perspectives on green guidance: An international survey. Exploring Green Guidance' concludes that only 5% of people believe that career guidance professionals in their countries know how to provide it. ¿What career counselors need to put green career guidance into practice?
While careers professionals were positive about the idea of green guidance they raised a lot of legitimate concerns about it. First and foremost was the question of how we can actually make this into a reality within our practice rather than an abstract idea.
We are currently working on a European project called Exploring Green Guidance which hopes to provide a toolkit for practitioners. But, in the meantime we encourage people to get involved in some experimentation. Green guidance is a new idea, we need to define what it is together. We know that it is going to be about encouraging people to research climate issues and the labour market, it will probably be about getting people to go out and experience nature and get in touch with it, it is also about thinking about your own wellbeing and happiness and trying to move beyond a money-first approach to careers. But, we'd be really interested to hear what people in your country feel green guidance should be about.
5. Would you please mention 2 examples of good practice in green career guidance in Europe?
We encourage people to share good practice on the Career guidance for social justice website. Have a look at Birkbeck University in London which has developed and ethical and fossil free careers policy. Or Stefania Maggi's work with young people in Canada to develop their activism alongside their career thinking. We'd love to hear some examples from you about what you have been trying in your country.
