Inaugural Issue
Table of Contents
Editor's Note
Dr. Marilyn Maze
These Conference Proceedings are free to all. Please share this webzine with anyone you know who might appreciate it.
To read an article, just click on the title. Articles are listed in the order that they were presented.
The sixteen short articles in this volume provide a glimpse into the innovative ideas discussed at the 2026 Conference by presenters from 31 countries from South
Africa to Canada. These authors would love to hear from you about the ideas that these articles spark.
Izza Dinillah, Kartika Yuniarti, Ahmad Sururi, Zaki Laili Khusna, and Shanti Andin
Abstract: In collectivist societies such as Indonesia, career and educational decisions are often influenced not only by individual aspirations but also by family expectations, values, and sociocultural norms. Traditional college counseling frameworks often prioritize individual autonomy, which may not fully align with students’ lived realities in collectivist cultures. The Siap Kuliah Program, developed by Sekolah.mu, offers a family-inclusive counseling model that bridges the gap between student individuality and familial influence in higher education planning. This paper outlines how Siap Kuliah’s counseling framework supports shared decision-making in career and university selection within a collectivist cultural context.
Reflective Approach to Career Development Practice for Diverse Clients
Roberta A. Borgen and William A. Borgen
Abstract: Single mothers encounter substantial barriers to economic security, including limited access to flexible employment and specialized training. This paper presents a comprehensive framework, grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory and Super’s Life-Span, Life-Space Theory, for delivering inclusive career services. The analysis identifies four essential intervention pillars, namely wraparound resources, programmatic flexibility, transformational coaching, and community engagement, that address systemic obstacles encountered by single mothers in Malaysia. By implementing these evidence-based strategies alongside inclusive workplace policies, career development professionals can help single mothers enhance their self-efficacy and establish sustainable career pathways.
Inclusive Career Development for Women in Transition: Struggles and Empowerment in Japan
Hana Nobuko Hasegawa and Michiko Nakato
Abstract: Japan faces a declining birthrate and rapid population aging. Consequently, women are increasingly expected to participate in the workforce. However, many women still struggle to build sustainable careers because of barriers such as domestic violence, caregiving responsibilities, and unstable employment. We have worked at gender equality centers, publicly funded centers that promote gender equality in Japan, where we have supported women navigating complex life transitions. This paper introduces two representative cases: a woman recovering from domestic violence and a woman struggling to rebuild her career after years of caregiving and unstable employment. Based on these cases, we found that job-search assistance alone was often insufficient. Long-term career counseling, post-employment support, and a one-year career seminar program incorporating peer support emerged as particularly valuable forms of support. Women facing complex barriers should be able to access this form of support regardless of where they live. Accordingly, we continue to advocate for enhanced training for career counselors and collaboration with local governments.
Development and Validation of a Measure of Perceived Career Value Discrepancy Between Indonesian Students and Significant Others
Sujin Kim, Dian Ratna Sawitri, and Kevin Sanly Putera
ABSTRACT: This paper delves into the challenges and opportunities of providing vocational guidance in rural and remote areas, focusing on the case study of Kato Vathia, Crete. Drawing upon insights extracted from career counseling initiatives organized by the Cultural and Recreational Association of Kato Vathia, led by Dimitris Sampsonidis—a career counselor and PhD candidate in vocational guidance—this study highlights the concept of “poverty of access” in such regions, where individuals lack adequate educational and career development opportunities. Through two case studies—a career event combining science education with cultural tradition and an international Raki Making Festival—the paper illustrates how cultural clubs and associations can serve as allies in addressing these challenges. These initiatives not only provide vocational guidance but also foster community engagement, empowerment, and international exposure. The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of collaboration among universities, local communities, and businesses to promote career development and educational opportunities in geographically remote areas.
Abstract: Volatile labor markets have made career transitions increasingly common among adults worldwide. In Vietnam, economic slowdown, automation, and organizational restructuring have displaced numerous workers since 2023, creating substantial challenges for career development practitioners. While established career theories explain career adaptability and career formation, practitioners often require practical approaches that address clients’ immediate psychological, financial, and identity-related concerns. Based on over a decade of professional experience in career counseling and workforce development in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, this paper proposes a practitioner framework comprising 10 principles for supporting adults through career transitions. The framework integrates established career development theories with practical counseling strategies that promote resilience, labor market literacy, and sustainable decision-making. Rather than prescribing specific career choices, the framework emphasizes helping clients develop adaptive capabilities to navigate ongoing labor market uncertainty. Overall, this paper offers a practice-informed perspective that complements existing career development literature and may be useful for counselors working with adults undergoing involuntary career transitions.
Designing an Agentic Artificial Intelligence Career Coach: A Human-in-the-Loop Framework for Personalized Career Guidance
Xiahan (Dilapsky) LI and Miwa Omori
Abstract: This study introduces a framework for an agentic artificial intelligence (AI) career coach designed to provide personalized guidance based on specific student personas. The system architecture features a specialized chatbot interface driven by a five-section prompt design and integrated with a five-component evaluation process that generates structured insights for human advisors. Pilot implementations were conducted at two Japanese universities, using the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale and qualitative feedback to explore the framework’s potential impact. Quantitative and qualitative findings suggest that the proposed framework may support student career readiness, self-discovery, and career reflection and indicate the potential value of a hybrid AI–human coaching model
Global Careers, Local Values: Understanding Work Values Across Countries for Inclusive Career Development
Paige McDonough and Joyce Tham
Abstract: As career development becomes increasingly global, practitioners must recognize that the values influencing career decisions are not universally shared. Work values play an important role in shaping educational, occupational, and life choices, but they are influenced by cultural, social, and economic contexts. This study examines work value patterns among approximately 13,000 secondary school students from China, the Philippines, and the United States who completed the Super Work Values Inventory–Revised between 2022 and 2025. The results revealed both shared and culturally distinct patterns in work values across countries. They also suggested that culture influences how individuals prioritize factors such as income, workplace environment, relationships, independence, and lifestyle. Implications for practice include adopting culturally responsive approaches to career advising, recognizing local contexts, and avoiding assumptions based on one’s own cultural framework.
Smart Skills, Smarter Futures: Advancing Technical and Vocational Education and Training through Intelligent Career Profiling
Lucila O. Bance, Richard D. L. C. Gonzales, and Sheila Marie G. Hocson
Abstract: Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems are under increasing pressure to prepare learners for labor markets shaped by digitalization, automation, and evolving employer expectations. However, many existing career assessment tools used in TVET remain narrow in scope and insufficiently aligned with contemporary employability demands. This article presents the conceptual and methodological basis of an intelligent career profiling tool (CPT) intended to improve learner guidance, program matching, and labor market alignment under TVET settings. The framework was derived from a nationwide review of assessment practices and focus group discussions with trainers, alumni, industry practitioners, and guidance counselors and was further informed by vocational psychology, employability research, socioemotional learning, and TVET policy literature. Recurring limitations were identified in current profiling practices, including overreliance on generic interest inventories, limited assessment of employability and socioemotional competencies, insufficient contextualization for Philippine TVET qualifications, and the absence of standardized tools across institutions. In response, the proposed CPT framework includes six interrelated domains: career interests, employability skills, 21st-century skills, socioemotional skills, trade skills, and literacy and numeracy skills. The use of a holistic, context-sensitive, and psychometrically rigorous CPT may strengthen career guidance, improve learner–program fit, inform targeted interventions, and enhance institutional responsiveness to labor market needs. Overall, this paper presents a practical and research-informed framework for advancing assessment innovation in TVET.
Abstract: The international student satisfaction rate in Aotearoa New Zealand is 87 percent. However, beneath that headline, sizable numbers of the same students navigate confusion, loneliness, and a sense of being an outsider. Both accounts are valid, and this practitioner paper argues that the gap between them is where career development work is most needed and most often missing. It presents Te Whare Tapa Whā, Sir Mason Durie’s Māori model of holistic well-being, not as an adjunct to well-being support but as a practical tool for career practice. Drawing on a 2026 APCDA skill-building workshop, it offers three practical resources that practitioners can use immediately: a set of deficit-to-dignity language reframes; one powerful question for each of the four walls; and a reproducible map that embeds those questions, alongside a career-theory question, across all six modules of a pre-arrival course. The aim is straightforward: to move the model from the presentation slide into career conversations.
Career Readiness Profiles of Vocational Students: Predictive Roles of Vocational Identity and Future Time Perspective
Sunawan, Dian Ratna Sawitri, Ernest Ceti Septyanti, and Edwindha Prafitra Nugraheni
Abstract: Vocational students in Indonesia enter a volatile labor market, so career readiness is critical for a successful school-to-work transition. In this study, we identified career-readiness profiles and tested whether future time perspective and vocational identity predicted profile membership. Participants were 690 vocational high school students (54.64% girls; mean = 16.31 years, standard deviation = 0.85). K-means clustering yielded two profiles: high career readiness (41.3%) and low career readiness (58.7%). Students in the high-career-readiness profile reported higher levels of career knowledge, career motivation, and career management activity. They also reported a stronger future-positive time perspective, a weaker future-negative time perspective, greater career exploration, and stronger career commitment. Logistic regression indicated that future-positive time perspective (odds ratio [OR] = 7.73) and career commitment (OR = 2.17) uniquely predicted membership in the high-career-readiness profile (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = .84). The findings suggest that school counseling should strengthen future-positive time perspective and vocational commitment to support students’ transition to work.
Abstract: This study examined the effectiveness of individual career counseling provided by in-house career counselors (CCs) for employees with low career autonomy in a Japanese corporate setting. Participants were 153 employees in their 30s and 40s at a large Japanese information technology company who received counseling from either CCs or supervisors. Career autonomy was assessed before and after counseling using the Career Autonomy Scale developed by Horiuchi and Okada (2016). After controlling for pre-counseling scores, no significant overall difference was found between the two counseling types. However, counseling provided by CCs improved career autonomy primarily among employees with low initial autonomy, whereas supervisor counseling improved career autonomy in both the low- and high-autonomy groups and had stronger effects than counseling provided by CCs on behavioral autonomy, including networking behavior and career development behavior. These findings suggest that counseling provided by CCs serves as a psychologically safe support resource for employees with low readiness for self-directed career development, highlighting the importance of differentiated career support roles within Japanese organizations.
Abstract: This study explores the integration of heutagogical principles with experiential learning theory to enhance the capabilities of career guidance professionals in technical and vocational education and training institutions. The proposed trifocal experiential learning approach frames professional development by incorporating the perspectives of administrators, practitioners, and students. Grounded in Kolb’s experiential learning theory and the heutagogical principles of learner autonomy, reflection, and self-efficacy, this model emphasizes capability development over the acquisition of competencies. The framework promotes adaptability, innovation, and lifelong learning, thereby helping career guidance remain responsive to diverse student needs and evolving labor market realities.
Navigating Adversity and Complexity in Career Decision-Making: A Decision-Space Worksheet Approach
Carlin Weinberg-Scott and Sarah Shelby
Abstract: Challenges related to career decision-making can emerge at various stages of life (Sanusi & Ismail, 2020). One factor that affects career decision-making is negative career thoughts, which result from an individual’s assumptions, attitudes, beliefs, feelings, plans, or strategies. Identifying and addressing these negative thoughts are important components of career counseling and can enhance an individual’s career decision-making self-efficacy. This paper details the use of the Decision-Space Worksheet (Peterson et al., 2009), a projective assessment, to help individuals navigate challenges and barriers in career decision-making. It also discusses the application of the instrument using an illustrative case study.