'Conduct of Conduct' or the Shaping of 'Adequate Dispositions'?:Labour Market and Career Guidance in Four European Countries

International audienceIn this paper, we provide an analysis of the deployment of labour market and career guidance as an instrument of liberal governmental rationality, and hence as a key tool for shaping attitudes suitable for the labour market. We characterize such processes and their effects on both those in receipt of guidance and those delivering it, on the basis of a three-year study in France, Slovenia, Spain and the UK. This leads us to put forward the problematic character of the notion of 'conduct of conduct', especially owing to the conflation implied between adaptation to governmental ends and freedom. We suggest that Max Weber's categories for depicting active adaptation in bureaucratic capitalism provide a more grounded grasp of the processes involved, and that the radical distinction he establishes between adaptation and the possibility of conduct may provide a new basis for conceptualizing resistance to liberal governmental rationality

Relocation services in Swiss universities: best practices and recommandations

Global mobility initiatives have encouraged companies to increasingly turn to international labour markets to source their new talents. Mobility is critical as the knowledge and skills required in some industries are so specific and advanced that the local pool of potential candidates for an opening is way too limited to ensure that companies get the best profiles. This phenomenon also had a significant impact on the mobility of researchers in the academic sector. With the increasing number of agreements between universities, researchers have the possibility to pursue an international career and continue their research in another university. Relocating abroad is not necessarily a painless experience and it brings its own set of challenges that researchers have to manage and be aware of. Some researchers will come with their families and their relocation will bring even more social, psychological and logistical challenges. These cases are typically characterised by high risk of failure and potentially substantial direct and indirect costs. Swiss and international universities have been increasingly developing structures dedicated to facilitating the relocation of incoming employees and researchers. In this paper we compare the various relocation services offered by Swiss universities’ “Welcome Centers” and draw conclusions on the best practices in terms of relocation of international researchers. While this study focuses on Swiss universities and the creation or development of mobility teams within their organization, our findings will mostly be also applicable to private companies seeking to source talents on the international labour markets. Indeed employees in both sectors will face the same psychological, social and cultural challenges that need to be addressed by global mobility teams. The main difference between academic and private sector will lie in the way cases are managed. While both sectors realize the importance of a successful relocation, the private sector tends to rely more heavily on relocation agencies and other external partners as a way to increase the quality of the service offered. This study covers and analyzes the various challenges encountered throughout the relocation process. We were able to identify the most critical ones on which Welcome Centers should focus their efforts. Among these are housing, childcare, professional integration of the partner and immigration

Reflection of a collective learning journey : Strengthening KCCEM to build the capacity of Conservation professionals in the Albertine Rift Region NICHE/RWA/025

Together with our support team from the Netherlands (Wageningen University), South Africa (South African Wildlife College) and Cameroon (Ecole de Faune) we embarked upon this journey of supporting the Kitabi College of Conservation and Environmental Management in Rwanda (KCCEM). The major building blocks of this learning journey are the development of a business model, the development of organisational capacity to implement the model, and the development of a range of products and services to be delivered with quality. All these three components operationalised within the policy frameworks and institutional context of Rwanda’s conservation, tourism and environmental management sector

Jobbcoachning : En undersökning om hur jobbcoachernas coachningsprocess ser ut

Labour market coaching (Swedish:“Jobbcoachning”) was a comprehensive political project for the Swedish labour market, with the aim of helping unemployed individuals to enter the labour market. Between 2009-2014  the labour market coaching was carried out by private companies through governmental regulations. This thesis aims to find out (1) what coaching activities the coaches used, and (2) how these coaching activities can be understood in the light of previous scientific research. My results consist of interviews conducted with six labour market coaches. I use a motivational theory called "Self-Determination Theory" to analyze the coaching methods based on motivation. I identify ten categories of coaching activities and find that the coaches used both motivation and instruction as methods of coaching. All the identified coaching activities have the potential to intrinsically motivate the participant.

Jobbcoachning : En undersökning om hur jobbcoachernas coachningsprocess ser ut

Labour market coaching (Swedish:“Jobbcoachning”) was a comprehensive political project for the Swedish labour market, with the aim of helping unemployed individuals to enter the labour market. Between 2009-2014  the labour market coaching was carried out by private companies through governmental regulations. This thesis aims to find out (1) what coaching activities the coaches used, and (2) how these coaching activities can be understood in the light of previous scientific research. My results consist of interviews conducted with six labour market coaches. I use a motivational theory called "Self-Determination Theory" to analyze the coaching methods based on motivation. I identify ten categories of coaching activities and find that the coaches used both motivation and instruction as methods of coaching. All the identified coaching activities have the potential to intrinsically motivate the participant.