Possible contexts for using ProMICAD

With young people:
The positive nature of the personal profile generated by ProMICAD invariably results in a positive and productive dialogue with even the most ‘difficult’ of clients, making particularly useful for professionals working on a one-to-one basis with young people and adults in a variety of different settings.

Working with groups:
Whilst the system can be used by students from the age of 13 upwards as part of a personal and social education programme, the program will be particularly useful to teachers working with students who are disaffected or at risk of exclusion. Initially, younger students should be supervised by a teacher when using the program but once familiar with it they can be allowed to use it unsupervised. A student can be encouraged to produce a number of profiles, to compare them and select the best. Teachers should encourage students to relate the statements in their profiles to any achievements and activities at school, in sport, hobbies or at home. In group work, profiles can be used as a basis for discussing the sort of jobs that a person with a particular profile might be suited to. Careers Mentoring Plans included in the latest version of ProMICAD are designed to aid such discussions. (See section on Careers Mentoring Plans)

For individual guidance:
The ProMICAD System contains a number features that will benefit students from age 15 onwards in the course of their careers guidance decision-making. As part of a self-assessment process, the personal profiler can generate positive statements about them. Students should try to relate these to their experience and achievements. They can then be used in their college, training or work applications. In a one-to-one situation the profile will provide an excellent basis for discussion.

The teacher or advisor can encourage the student to relate the profile and the Careers Mentoring Plan to ideas they may already have or to explore what ideas the profile and mentoring plan may suggest. The CV writer will also help them in compiling a CV. The Job Browser will give students an idea of the vast range of jobs that exist in a wide range of industries and work sectors.

A child psychologist and Youth Offender team leader reports, “ProMICAD helps me to quickly establish good relationships with offenders and to show them that, despite their past behaviour, they do actually have very real and valuable qualities. Personal profiles are greatly valued by our young people and help them to see how their lives could be. They are included in the young person’s Record of Achievement and used for assessment purposes. ProMICAD is now an important part of our youth development programme.”

See also the ‘prompt sheet’ included in later pages, whichprovides a starting point when discussing the personal profile with students.

With Adults:
Adult guidance professionals can use the program on a one-to-one basis with adults. In particular, the personal profile and CV writer will be helpful to unemployed people as they prepare job applications and go to interviews. It could also be used with adults in group situations, allowing participants to reflect on and discuss their profiles in relation to work etc.

The program has been used extensively by advisors, teachers and caseworkers themselves and many have reported benefits in terms of raising morale and sharpening their interviewing and selection techniques. All of the ProMICAD ‘quick-play’ exercises in character diagnosis are suitable for management training, as well as providing an entertaining experience. They are intended to help people to understand the structure of people’s characters and recognize that an individual’s attitude, work style, underlying strengths and personal aims are as important to success as academic honours, if not more so!

See also ‘Further suggestions for using the ProMICAD system in different contexts’, devised by Micro Academy as a result of testing the program are included in later pages.