President’s Welcome
It is my great honour and delight to welcome you to the Institute of Guidance Counsellors (IGC) website. As President of the IGC, I am proud of the essential work our members provide for the benefit of those with whom they work, and the Guidance Counselling Profession. The dedication and resilience of guidance counsellors who offer consistency in the high standards of guidance counselling provision, supporting learners and students in a variety of settings across the lifespan, is to be celebrated. Branch Chairpersons, Treasurers, Secretaries, CPD coordinators and Supervision officers, are the backbone of our organisation. Their commitment to the IGC, their students and colleagues is to be commended.
Our website is a great portal for all those interested in lifelong guidance. There are many great resources available to all members of the public including; Member Survey Findings 2022-2023, Towards Professional Recognition policy document, and the IGC Strategic Plan 2024-2027. There are further resources available in our members area. Information on Supervision and CPD is also available as both are integral to the profession. Supervision is essential for our work as professionals. In order for Supervision to be facilitated it requires cooperation from the Dept of Education, Monaghan Education Centre, the Supervision Subcommittee in addition to the considerable work done at branch level by branch organisers. I urge all members of the IGC to partake of this vital support.
The IGC advocates for an adequately funded guidance counselling service, where the holistic model of guidance counselling is clearly evident, across post primary, FET and other sectors. The dedication and resilience of guidance counsellors who offer consistency in the high standards of guidance counselling provision, supporting learners, students and clients, in a variety of settings across the lifespan, is to be celebrated.
I hope our website helps improve understanding amongst stakeholders on the role of guidance counsellors and our profession. I invite you to peruse our website at your leisure and please get in touch with any queries.
Ní neart go cur le chéile
Catríona Rodgers
President
Who are we
The Institute of Guidance Counsellors is a registered Charity in Ireland, registered charity number: 20021412. It was established as a company limited by guarantee in 2017 and achieved charitable status. The Institute of Guidance Counsellors (IGC) is the professional body for guidance counsellors in Ireland, practising across a variety of settings, including Second Level Schools, Further Education and Training Colleges, Adult Guidance, Higher Education and in Private Practice. We currently represent over 1,500 members.
As per national and international best practice, the professional body aims to promote professionalism, quality assurance mechanisms and to support its members in their work by engaging in the following principal functions.
The IGC:
- Articulates a professional competency framework and CPD requirement (see IGC’s Core Competancies and Professional Practice document)
- Contributes to the development and maintenance of qualification content and standards
- Develops a progression route to different grades of membership, e.g., student, qualified, and chartered;
- Defines sectoral organisation, criteria for membership, maintains a register of members and approves new members
- Defines ethical standard requirements, and develops and regularly reviews the body’s Code of Ethics
- Promotes quality assurance mechanisms by establishing procedures for dealing with breaches of code of ethics and failure to maintain criteria for membership
- Communicates, informs and provides ongoing support through
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- Proactive policy research and development pertinent to the profession’s aims
- Develops publications, resources and materials
- Develops and maintains a website to enhance communication both with members and the general public
- Mentors new members and promotes professional supervision as appropriate
- Actively promotes and monitors core competency CPD participation of practising members
- Promotes the profession’s interests in its dealings with policy makers, other agencies and professions
The Institute is a member of IAEVG:
Our Structure
Hover over the pulsating buttons on the below infographic to find out more about the structure of our Nationwide branches.
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There are 16 Branches around the country in different geographical regions. These are: Cork, Clare, Donegal, Dublin North, Dublin West, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny/Carlow, Midlands, Mid West, North East, Sligo, South Dublin/Wicklow, South East and Tipperary.
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The Branch will elect it’s own Branch Officers: Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer and PRO who will manage the affairs of the Branch.
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There are five executive officers on the National Executive:
President
Vice President
National Secretary
National Treasurer
National PRO
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Each Branch has at least one representative on the National Executive Committee. This is the body which implements motions passed at the Annual General Meeting and manages the affairs of the Institute between AGMs. The National Executive normally meets at least five times per year.
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The National Executive may form Sub-Committees which will carry out certain duties at it’s request. The nature, number, composition, and terms of reference of these committees are a matter for determination by the National Executive of the Institute.
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The Institute has it’s Head Office on Herbert Street in Dublin and has two administrative staff members.
As practitioners, we deliver personal, social, educational and vocational guidance work to individuals across their lifespan encompassing students from 1st year in post primary school to adult clients post retirement. Guidance counsellors work in second level schools, in further and higher education, in youth services, with the adult community, the prison services and in private practice. We are mindful that we have a rich and diverse membership. We strive to address the concerns of all of our members and meet their CPD needs with the shared ultimate goal of offering a world class service to our students and clients.
Initiatives of interest to us
We applaud the objectives, contained in the Action Plan for Education 2017, including:
• An increase in the number and range of available Apprenticeships, we have responded to this with the roll out of Phase 1 of our Strategic National Baseline LMI CPD equipping members in all 16 of our branches with cutting edge CPD on labour market skill shortages and information of new initiatives that pertain to apprenticeships and traineeships
• Support and increase of resources to Lifelong Learning
• Accommodation of an expected 25% increase in enrolments in HEIs. We believe that a properly resourced guidance service at third level could work toward reducing our dropout rates, with a significant saving to the exchequer.
Strategic Planning for the Institute
In October 2019, we engaged the services of Governance Ireland to demystify the work on how to meet the requirements of Company Law Charities Regulation and Governance Code (2019). In addition to this they facilitated a process where the National Executive collectively worked on our vision, mission, and values then prioritised our 5 most strategic goals for the year ahead. These are the main goals we agreed to focus our work on:
- Professional recognition
- Professional training
- Professional CPD
- Strengthen and empower our membership base
- A voice at policy level
Your National Executive is energised about these 5 big ticket items that we have collectively forged during this planning process. The next step is to divide out the work and form a plan of action. Watch this space…
What are our main concerns in 2020?
As outlined in our 2020 Pre Budget Submission, our current priorities are as follows:
1. That the reduced pupil teacher ratio is ring-fenced exclusively for guidance counselling provision and delivered by a professionally qualified guidance counsellor.
2. The critical need for restoration of all 600 posts cut in Budget 2012
3. That AEGS staffing levels for the Adult Education Guidance Services, which were also cut, are reinstated & enhanced.
4. The urgent requirement for an enhanced guidance allocation to facilitate the following:
• Delivery on new educational and vocational initiatives like apprenticeships
• Contribution in a meaningful way to the new Wellbeing Programme
5. That, following best international practice, we move in partnership at national level towards:
• The development of a Cross Ministerial Framework Guidance Strategy
• The expansion of the National Skills Strategy to develop a National Skills Careers Database.
Our Future
We look forward to a collaborative engagement with the DES to achieve Departmental goals as outlined in the Action Plan for Education 2016-2019 and beyond. Furthermore, as the professional association of members working with clients across the lifespan, the IGC seek to work in partnership, on a cross-ministerial framework basis, in relation to future planning initiatives and strategies – in particular where these initiatives pertain to the development of guidance services and the specific role of the guidance counsellor within those services.
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