"Stakeholder-Perspektiven auf die Berufsberatung im Erwerbsleben (BBiE). Ergebnisse einer qualitativen Studie"

Abstract

"The results presented below are based on a qualitative study on how the Federal Employment Agency's (FEA) career guidance in working life (BBiE) is embedded in the further training (counselling) landscape in Germany. It highlights the self-perception of BBiE counsellors and the perception of the service by external stakeholders. BBiE is a central counselling service offered by the FEA and is aimed at adults seeking support in their professional (re)orientation, especially employees and those returning to work. For this purpose, five focus group interviews with BBiE counsellors and individual interviews with their team leaders were conducted in 2024, as well as 29 interviews with regional and supra-regional network partners and stakeholders of the BBiE (e.g. chambers, educational institutions, ministries, employers' associations, and trade unions), and nine interviews with companies. The interviews were evaluated using qualitative content analysis. Both the stakeholders and the BBiE teams surveyed viewed the counselling services as largely positive. Many BBiE counsellors emphasized the flexibility they had in terms of the content and structure of the counselling sessions and seemed to develop a strong sense of self-efficacy. Most of the counsellors described how they were able to fully apply their counselling skills and respond well to the different concerns of their clients. However, the diversity of counselling concerns also came with challenges for which counsellors had to find individual solutions. The majority reported high job satisfaction, and many felt that they were able to make a meaningful contribution to their clients' development. Many of the counsellors surveyed described a low level of integration of BBiE into the internal structures of the employment agencies. Although internal departments of the employment agencies were often mentioned as important network partners, there was a great deal of uncertainty regarding the content and organizational cooperation at the interfaces with job placement, rehabilitation, and, above all, employer services. From the counsellors’ point of view, however, the work within the BBiE teams worked well. Networking played an important role in the work of the external stakeholders surveyed, although in some cases there was no cooperation with the BBiE and the BBiE was only a key network partner in a few cases. External stakeholders working with BBiE counsellors, however, generally regarded it as a useful resource. With regard to the introduction of the BBiE, many of the external stakeholders described a lack of involvement. The FEA was sometimes perceived as a “top dog” that ignored existing structures. In addition to BBiE, there is a range of counselling services offered by public and private providers, which varies in scope from region to region. Politically, there was a call to avoid duplicating structures. Different services should complement each other. However, some external stakeholders also emphasized that duplicate structures were not necessarily dysfunctional, as a pluralistic range of services could be important in order to serve different groups of people with different wishes and needs. In the local context, BBiE counsellors often operated within these duplicate structures. There were differences between individual counsellors in how they dealt with this: while many counsellors attached great importance to networking and promoted cooperation with other counselling providers, few of those surveyed were hardly aware of other players on the market. Some of the local and supra-local stakeholders expressed regret that no cooperation with BBiE had taken place so far, despite efforts on their part. Conversely, however, some BBiE counsellors also reported a lack of willingness to cooperate on the part of other regional counselling actors. In the few cases where close cooperation with the BBiE did take place, it was described as very beneficial by local players. Many of the stakeholders surveyed had differing opinions and uncertainties regarding the target groups of BBiE. Some respondents positively emphasized that BBiE is open to a wide variety of groups and does not only address a specific target group. There was also uncertainty and differences in expectations regarding the understanding of counselling. For example, some stakeholders associated the FEA as an institution whose counselling mandate must be strictly oriented toward the labour market, which makes open-ended counselling difficult. In contrast, other stakeholders considered the service to be necessarily open-ended. The image of the FEA was a central topic in the interviews with external respondents. Prejudices and negative experiences with the FEA among their own clientele were frequently mentioned, leading to a reluctance to engage with the FEA. Some external stakeholders expressed doubts as to whether the FEA would be able to implement a program such as BBiE convincingly. However, stakeholders with a positive attitude toward BBiE emphasized the importance of “advance trust” and called for the organization to be given time. Supra-regional stakeholders emphasized the innovative approach of BBiE and even saw it as a catalyst for cultural change within the FEA. The FEA was repeatedly credited with exclusive knowledge of the current labour market and its trends, which fundamentally qualifies it to provide counselling services such as BBiE. However, some stakeholders also questioned the added value that BBiE in addition to existing services. The BBiE counsellors and their executives also attributed positive aspects to BBiE with regard to the image of the FEA. Some BBiE counsellors reported that clients with less positive experiences with the FEA in the past said that they did not expect such a service. BBiE could act as the “positive” face of the organization to the outside world." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Hartosch, K., Heuer, L., Lang, J. & Ulrich, A. (2025): "Stakeholder-Perspektiven auf die Berufsberatung im Erwerbsleben (BBiE). Ergebnisse einer qualitativen Studie". (IAB-Forschungsbericht 22/2025), Nürnberg, 49 p. DOI:10.48720/IAB.FB.2522