The COVID-19 pandemic forced the rapid implementation of new digital tools to ensure access to employment and career services. It was against a backdrop of increasing job losses and career-related questioning that many CDPs had to migrate their services online. This practice now seems to have become a permanent fixture in the toolbox of some CDPs. But does going digital really benefit clients?
A study conducted by Dionne and her colleagues attempted to draw a portrait of the advantages and limitations of virtual counselling for career development interventions. The research team was interested in the resources available and the factors that hinder or support the transformation of these resources into real capacities to foster integration into the job market. A total of 149 counsellors who had experience facilitating group sessions completed the online questionnaire, and 26 also took part in virtual discussion groups. The majority of participants were women (82%), born in Canada (82%), of an average age of 39.
The research team identified a few factors that tend to increase or decrease inequalities linked to the use of digital technology in career development group interventions.
Among negative factors, there are issues related to the client’s:
- lack of equipment required for virtual counselling (e.g., one computer for the whole family, insufficient Internet connection),
- space not allowing for confidentiality (e.g., domestic violence situation, home without an enclosed room),
- digital literacy issues, and
- inability to use the Internet for those in the justice system who are banned from Internet use.
Also, there is less informal support and fewer interactions online than in person as well as less discussion of sensitive issues.
Positive factors include:
- Better reconciliation of different spheres of life (e.g., greater schedule flexibility, elimination of the need to travel, easier access to external resources).
- Asynchronous access to content.
- Increased use of collaborative documents between participants during counselling.
- Learning process linked to virtual counselling as a source of digital skills development for both participants and practitioners.
The article concludes that digital inequalities can exacerbate social inequalities by making public employment or career services less accessible to populations that have not already developed digital skills or do not have access to quality computer equipment. These inequalities are solved in different ways by different organizations, which do not all have access to the same funding for equipment loans and access to virtual software. Based on these observations, CDPs can implement some best practices to promote fairer access to services:
- During a preliminary meeting, making sure that participants have the necessary equipment and space to ensure confidentiality. Otherwise, offer them the possibility to participate from the organization’s offices or to loan them equipment.
- Attending and offering workshops aimed at developing digital skills.
According to this study, the digital transition forced by the pandemic has the potential to be a source of social justice by facilitating access to employment and career services, provided the necessary conditions are put in place to ensure real access to resources for the most marginalized populations.
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