Career Counseling – The Fourth Stage – (1960-1979) In the History of Career Counseling

The 1960s were a time of idealism and hope. The election of John F. Kennedy as US President, Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, the beginning of the great modern civil rights movements, the Vietnam War, and the economic peaks of this era all combined to focus a generation of young people in the potential, myths and illusions of American society, giving them a new vision of personal, social and cultural relationships.

 

The type of federal legislation enacted during this period also illustrates the expectations of Americans during this fourth stage of career guidance. In the early 1960s, the unemployment rate was 8.1%, the highest since the 1930s. President John F. Kennedy took office in 1961 and, as one of his first acts, appointed a panel of consultants in vocational education. They issued a report in 1962, which stated that school counselors must have an exceptional understanding of the world of work and its complexities. What is obviously needed is a counselor who meets all the requirements of a vocational training in student personnel services and who is at the same time a specialist in occupational information, career guidance and counselling. His recommendations became the Vocational Education Act of 1963, which was updated through amendments in 1968 and 1976.

 

Additionally, in 1965, the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration budget included money to expand the reach of vocational rehabilitation agencies to handle impediments to effective vocational life caused by educational, cultural, social, or environmental factors. The 1966 amendments to the Economic Opportunity Act created the New Careers Program to create sub-professional jobs, career ladders, and differentiated staffing. The Social Security Act of 1967 created the Work Incentives Program for welfare clients who wanted and could become financially self-sufficient. It included funds for training, education, childcare for the participants’ children, and a variety of support services, including counselling. The Primary and Secondary Education Act, as amended in 1969, provided help for disadvantaged children in schools in impoverished areas, library resources, and guidance and counseling services. The Comprehensive Employment and Training Law (CETA) of 1977 extended the life of CETA programs, which were intended to create jobs and full employment.