Table 8.2 Stages in career development
Approximate age range Career stage and characteristics
16-28 Exploration. Explore various occupations and test out an initial
occupational identity. Develop skills, establish a social network
and mentor relationship, and cope with the emotional demands of
an early career.
22-42 Establishment. Become an individual contributor with a specific
area of expertise. Work through work versus non work conflicts
and develop a plan for achieving career goals.
32-55 Advancement and maintenance. Focus on achieving career goals
and maintaining organisational progress. Revise career plan in
light of progress. Re-determine the relative importance of work
and non-work roles. For many, the top position in their career
becomes evident, and few promotions are likely. Become a men-
tor.
55- Retirement Late career. Usually the highest position has been reached, and
people have started to shift more energy into non-work pursuits.
Their main source of contribution is breadth of knowledge and
experience. Mentoring can continue throughout this stage.
Source: Johns (1996).
organisations (Simonsen 1997; Morrison & Hall 2002; Torrington et al. 2005). There-
fore, viewed as a formal approach in human resource management in organisation, ca-
reer development has to be an on-going and formalised process and activity of improv-
ing employee competencies.
Organisations should have many programmes and policies for managing human re-
sources (Morrison & Hall 2002). These programmes accomplish things such as recruit-
ment and selection of new employees, training, and compensation. Traditionally, these
programmes provide narrow focus on the short-term matching of employees to current
jobs. If human resource programmes focus on the long-term development of ‘human
capital‘ and anticipate future job transitions employees should experience, then those
efforts will pay off in ways that contribute to both individual and organisational success.
New model of career development
There are on-going debates regarding the relevance of career development in organisa-
tions today and the main criticisms are levied at the increasingly unpredictable employ-
ment relationships arising from:
- High unemployment due to limited job opportunities and availability of ‘readymade’
human resources in the job market as a result of a knowledge based economy. - Job losses as a result of mergers, acquisitions and business closures.
- Increasing preferences for part time and contract jobs and less secure job tenures.
- More simplified work process through automation.
These developments have shifted the traditional career development equation to more
flexible and dynamic approaches that define different roles for individuals and organisa-
tions in career management (Jarvis 2003; McDonald & Hite 2003). Jarvis (2003) has
proposed the following differences between the traditional career development model
and the emerging one as indicated in Table 8.3.