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In recent years, many career counselling companies have started up, offering online careers services to students, along with a range of other services. With the education sector undergoing massive transformation and the career landscape widening, these companies have mushroomed all across the world. The threat posed by such organisations to traditional school counsellors is becoming significant.

Online counselling: convenience and flexibility

These companies offer attractive packages, access to technology, personalised service, instant access to mentors and career guidance. They therefore often appear more attractive to students than waiting to take up an appointment with the school counsellor. Many students like the convenience and flexibility that online counselling offers.

Such firms also provide access to a wide range of resources, including job market data, industry trends and career development tools, which can be more comprehensive than the resources traditional counsellors are able to offer. Their services often include end-to-end guidance for all study-abroad applications, including visa support and accommodation booking.

Many schools are now outsourcing the career counselling services to these companies and therefore do not hire in-house career counsellors, leading to shrinkage of the industry and fewer jobs for career counsellors in schools.

Facing up to the challenges

Counsellors need to face these challenges to play a vital role in supporting their students’ career-development journeys. They can embrace technology and incorporate it into their practice, thus providing students with more flexible and convenient access to career guidance – and providing more personalised and effective support than online counselling services can offer.

Counsellors can use online platforms to conduct virtual coaching sessions or provide students with access to online career assessment and resources. In other words, both can work hand-in-hand.

To stay competitive in the market, traditional counsellors will need to adapt their services to meet the changing needs of students. This may involve fraternising with the enemy: building partnerships with online career counselling companies or other organisations to provide students with access to a wider range of resources.

Another option that might be feasible for counsellors is to join these companies themselves, although the work culture will be more corporate, unlike the traditional environment of a school.

The benefit of human interaction

In addition, counsellors can focus on counselling services where human interaction and emotional support are required. These services may include mentoring, coaching or group sessions, which can be more effective than online resources for building relationships and offering support.

The rise of online career counselling companies is a game changer for students and a challenge for traditional school and college counsellors. While these firms are changing the way students access career guidance, they also present opportunities for traditional counsellors to adapt their services and continue to play a vital role in supporting their students’ career-development journeys.

By embracing technology and focusing on human-touch services, traditional counsellors can continue to provide effective support to their students and remain relevant in an ever-changing landscape.