8 October 2020
Addressing unconscious bias and white privilege in career guidance practice (English language text)
25 August 2020
New article: unconscious bias and white privilege in career guidance practice
An article on unconscious bias and white privilege in career guidance practice, co-authored by Uuganaa Ramsay and, I has been published today by Skills Norway and is available here: https://veilederforum.no/artikler/praksis/ubevisste-fordommer-og-hvite-privilegier-i-karriereveiledning?fbclid=IwAR0XioK7v8AVK5xmCoOIGBehrr91m_tpfidJF5loYci6rp82H_C3u0zG74E
21 August 2020
Current work on unconscious bias and white privilege in career guidance practice
This month will see the publication (in translation) of an article I have written in collaboration with Uuganaa Ramsay, on the importance of addressing unconscious bias and white privilege in career guidance practice, for Skills Norway.
In addition we will be delivering a webinar on this topic on 27th August, for the same organisation.
We will be sharing our work more widely in coming months. Students on the Postgraduate Diploma in Career Guidance and Development at UWS can also look forward to seeing more in relation to race-aware career practice in their learning this year, as we focus on what we can do as a sector to address racism in our society.
24 July 2020
News: Appointment as external examiner for the MA in Career Guidance and Development University of Huddersfield
Further to an earlier announcement about another EE post, I'm very pleased to announce I have also been appointed external examiner for the MA in Career Guidance and Development at @HudUniCGD Looking forward to working with the excellent @Jodielou23 and her team.
— Emma Bolger 🌈 (@bolger_emma) July 24, 2020
5 June 2020
New OERs relevant to career development training and practice
28 April 2020
New Portals for OERs
Note that as I am based in the UK, I post resources that are UK-orientated. Some of the courses listed via the portals above may be targeted at a non-UK audience, so always try them out before recommending!
24 April 2020
News: Appointment as external examiner for the MA in Careers Education and Coaching at the University of Derby
I'm very pleased to announce I have been appointed external examiner for the MA in Careers Education and Coaching at the University of Derby, where @nickimoore1 and @Tomstaunton84 run an excellent postgraduate programme. Looking forward to working with you over the coming years!— Emma Bolger 🌈 (@bolger_emma) April 23, 2020
15 April 2020
UWS MSc Career Guidance and Development: programme approach
You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqx21kBARhM
12 April 2020
CDI Student Conference England 2020:Keynote Speech
I have recorded a video commentary of my keynote, which addresses the topic of unconscious bias for career development professionals. This will shortly be made available on the CDI website at the page linked above and is also available directly via Loom, at: https://www.loom.com/share/6ffdd9c459e74ff4bbfab6203d47c360
![]() |
Title slide for keynote |
19 March 2020
The value of career information advice and guidance in a crisis
31 January 2020
Domestic abuse and career guidance practice

24 January 2020
Career Guidance and Development CPD Conference Scotland - Wednesday 29 January 2020
13 January 2020
OERs for Career Development and Career Development Professionals
FutureLearn
OpenLearn
edx
Coursera
OERu
I provide a list of relevant OERs to students on the UWS MSc Career Guidance and Development programme but it makes sense to present an expanded and contextualised list publicly. In this blog post, you will find a list of currently available resources, and a brief description of why each is useful and relevant to our field. If you have completed any of these OERs or others as part of your flexible work related learning, please post your feedback in the comments section of this post. If there are other OERs you recommend, please contact me and I will add them to the Resources page on this website.
OpenLearn: Thinking about how I work with other professionals
- examine practices in relation to working with other professionals in order to make the underpinning knowledge, values and beliefs explicit
- use a variety of ‘tools’ to examine the knowledge, values and beliefs underpinning a practice
- identify contradictions between an underpinning knowledge, values and beliefs and a practice
- identify any requirements for development of a practice and reconsider the underpinning values and beliefs in relation to any work with other professionals
- identify constraints within a setting that impact on the ways of working with other professionals
- identify the strengths of resilient people and recognise which of these strengths you have already
- recognise how the need for resilience varies in different occupational sectors
- understand changing trends in the world of work
- identify tactics for goal setting and overcoming setbacks
- work with a model for career resilience and develop personal resources.
- reflect on your interests and values and how these are relevant to your career choice
- understand the value of your networks in career planning
- develop the skills to write strong job applications and CVs
- recognise different interview situations and questions, and know how to approach these
- produce a realistic personal action plan
OpenLearn: Careers education and guidance
- understand the rationale for careers education and guidance (CEG) and young people's need for it
- understand your school's statutory responsibilities for CEG and its links with Connexions
- understand the basic knowledge and skills needed to help students access careers information and guidance;
- understand the school's CEG programme and the confidence to carry out your role in it
OpenLearn/Education Scotland: An introduction to inclusive education
FutureLearn: How to Succeed at Writing Applications
(A course you might wish to recommend to clients - if you do, it's wise to complete it yourself first, to see what it covers)
FutureLearn: Caring for Vulnerable Children (University of Strathclyde)
ACAS: Learning Online
- Disability Discrimination and Reasonable Adjustments
- Equality & Diversity
- Flexible Working
- Handling Redundancy
- Mental Health Awareness for Employers
- Shared Parental Leave
- Work Options When Preparing for Retirement
Online learning modules from the National Guidance Research Forum on Labour Market Information
Three Online Learning modules developed to support the continuing professional development of those working in careers education, information, advice and guidance in their understanding and use of labour market information and intelligence.