The work of the careers master

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to outline the skills and responsibilities of a careers master in the late 1950s.

Design/methodology/approach

Schools were becoming more businesslike, and training was becoming more specialised and developed. Schools needed to have an “Officer of Information” or a “Careers Master” in order to make sure that students had the appropriate qualifications in order to follow a career path with a particular firm. The author suggests that schools needed to do more for the students than simply provide an encyclopaedia of different occupations. This paper lists the practical steps a careers master needed to take, in terms of useful literature, notices and advertisements and also in terms of giving vocational guidance to students.

Findings

This article outlines the main responsibilities of a careers master and details some of the methods he/she should be able to use.

Originality/value

This paper suggests ways in which the role of a careers master in schools can aid students to gain the appropriate qualifications and to gain further information regarding potential future careers.

Citation

Longland, C.P. (2008), "The work of the careers master", Education + Training, Vol. 50 No. 1, pp. 20-23. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910810855432