As outlined in ones post “Counselling Careers – Employment Opportunities and Trends” of even date, one was approached by the ACA (Australian Counselling Association) earlier this year to draw on ones specialist Career Development skills, qualifications and experience (15 years) and 9 years generalist Counselling experience for a video interview and supporting magazine article.
Supporting this interview and intended magazine article were the responses to 15 questions posed by the ACA, to which one responded by utilising conversational English to ensure ones message met the needs of a diverse target base.
The ACA has recently decided it does not want to use this valuable information; However one perceives this is highly valuable information for those considering a career in Counselling, recent graduates and seasoned professional whom may be seeking career guidance and development strategies.
Thus please find below 15 Questions and Answers to help you “Explore Counselling as a Profession”.
Questions And Answers
- Are there jobs out there for Registered Counsellors? Is there competition?
Yes!
There are jobs out there for Registered Counsellors; however, what you need to determine is how flexible you are in relation to the positions that you will undertake in terms of title, location, responsibilities and remuneration structure.
To help you scope out positions available to you at various educational levels, one has compiled a PowerPoint Presentation to highlight same. Keeping in mind that Diploma and Degree level qualifications are seen as the foundation of your knowledge and will provide you with an entry level position to build your skills, knowledge and experience whereas that Post Graduate, Masters’ and PHD level qualifications are viewed as your area of specialisation, building upon your existing acumen and skills set after a period of experience in the real world.
The second part of this question pertains to competition and yes just like any other area of your life there is always competition. Competition is something that you will never escape so you need to be comfortable with the term, identify your unique selling points, understand at a core level who you are, what you want and do not want, establish a career development plan with realistic goals and small steps to achieve your goals and consistently work on your craft through continued education for the rest of your career.
2. Does ACA Membership assist with securing employment, and how so?
Yes, your ACA Membership can assist you with securing employment in a number of ways.
3 Key ways include: –
Accessing the ACA’s Career Centre (link on the website’s home page) which provides a national job search engine for all registered members. Simply add in your preferred job location, specialisations and work type preferences hit search jobs and all relevant positions matching your criterion will pop up.
ACA Membership plays a key role in securing employment; that is many advertised position will list as part of their essential or desirable criterion an affiliation requirement. Thus, when a prospective employer is culling applications they are searching for a candidate that meets a minimum 75% of their criterion and will conduct a skills matrix to compare and contrast candidates.
ACA Networking – Your ACA membership provides you with the opportunity to network with industry contemporaries though chapter meetings, events or professional networking sites such as LinkedIn which facilitates in securing employment opportunities in the hidden job market which equates to 80-85% of all positions.
3. What is the employment outlook for Counselling in Australia?
The Australian Government identifies that the Counselling industry over the last 5 years has experienced very strong growth which is predicted to continue over the next 5 years (until May 2020).
It is important to realise that all employment sectors have periods of growth, decline and regeneration however what you need to look at in detail is the employment cycle over a period of time to determine if the industry is viable, where the jobs are, average remuneration structures etc.
Looking back on historical data it is noted that in 2007 there were 18,000 workers in the industry, in 2010 it peaked at 26,000 with a significant decline in 2011 to 13,200. Since 2011, the industry has consistently grown each year and in 2017 the figures reached 23,500 workers.
Thus, taking into account the natural peaks and troughs over the past 10 year one notes that the employment outlook is growing; which means that opportunities are been created through individuals leaving the industry as well as new positions been generated within the existing organisations.
4. How much are Counsellors earning per week, on average?
There are a number of factors that determine a remuneration structure including but not limited to: –
- Location (national vs global, intrastate vs interstate, region vs region)
- Qualification level
- Employment status preference i.e. F/T, P/T, Casual
- Skills and experience
- Labour market demands
- Role
- Employment Sector
As a general rule of thumb, the average national gross income for a
- Diploma qualified Counsellor the average is $928.84 (48K pa)
- Degree qualified Counsellor is $1,330.00 per week (69K pa)
- Post Graduate or higher qualifications remuneration structures generally commerce at around $90-$95K+ excluding salary packaging components dependent on your specialisation, experiences, skills set, sector you are entering, your influencing and negotiation skills set at point of remuneration negotiation within the recruitment and selection process.
5. What do these figures in earnings and employment outlook tell us about the industry of counselling?
Analysing the above data and labour market information in general the key notations are:-
- Counselling is a growth industry and will continue grow over the next 5 years
- There is a direct correlation between your AFQ level and your remuneration structure – for each AFQ level you obtain your salary will on average increase by $21K pa
- Employment opportunities are strongest on the Eastern seaboard with NSW been the strongest employer
- P/T work is common although more than half of the workforce is engaged on a f/t basis – thus there is a need to develop a Portfolio Career
- Average hours worked per week is 37.1 and average age of a Counsellor is 46 years
- 8:10 Counsellors are females
6. What advice can you give to new graduates in relation to starting their career as a Registered Counsellor?
- Find and regularly engage with an experienced and supporti