The NICEC Journal

There are often barriers to improving professional practice, and one of those barriers is the cost of accessing knowledge. 

So, continuing the series (here) on how we can stay professionally updated, this post looks at the NICEC - National Institute for Career Education and Counselling - journal. NICEC is is an open access journal, which, while based in the UK, contains articles submitted from a broad range of nations; for example, the first issue in 2024 contained articles by writers from Scotland, England, Australia, Norway, and Malta. The second issue; England, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic and Slovakia.

NICEC as an organisation began as a research institute in the mid-70s, but is now a "learned society" (isn't that a lovely phrase?) for career practitioners spanning "career education, development and practice, including the specialties of "research, policy, consultancy, scholarship, service delivery [and] management" (NICEC, 2020). Part of NICEC's role is creating career conversations and sharing innovative ideas... and that is where the journal serves a vital role. The journal "seeks to integrate theory and practice in career development, stimulate intellectual diversity and encourage transdisciplinary dialogue", "to develop research, inform policy, and enhance service delivery". Worthy goals.

And the best thing is that we can read it online at no cost, and improve our practice knowledge. That is a wonderful thing for career practitioners around the globe. If you haven't yet had a look at the journal, check out the home page at https://www.nicecjournal.co.uk/index.php/nc/index, and go here for past issues: https://www.nicecjournal.co.uk/index.php/nc/issue/archive. Full issues or individual articles can be downloaded.

Sam

References:

NICEC. (2020, December). NICEC Journal Scope and Author Guidelines. https://hubble-live-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/nicec/redactor2_assets/files/151/NICEC_Journal_scope_and_author_guidelines_12_20.pdf

NICEC. (2025a). Journal of the National Institute for Career Education and Counselling. https://www.nicecjournal.co.uk/index.php/nc/index

NICEC. (2025b). Journal of the National Institute for Career Education and Counselling Archives. https://www.nicecjournal.co.uk/index.php/nc/issue/archive