African Journal of Career Development 2025 Topical Collection: We invite you to submit

AOSIS calls on all authors to participate in the African Journal of Career Development (AJCD) 2025 topical collection that will be published in the open-access scholarly journal. Submit your latest research for consideration, contribute to the open-access content available to everyone, and share your expertise with a wider audience.

Timeline:

• Submissions open: 30 November 2024
• Submissions deadline: 30 April 2025
• Expected publication date: 30 October 2025

Innovative career development strategies to unveil unique talents among outliers and marginalised populations

There is a growing recognition that these overlooked talents hold the key to innovation and resilience in an increasingly complex global economy. Recent research by Maree (2020) highlights the transformative potential of focusing on the positive attributes of these individuals, suggesting that by unveiling and nurturing their unique talents, we can not only enhance their career trajectories but also drive innovation and resilience within the broader workforce. This shift in perspective calls for a reimagining of career development practices, moving beyond traditional approaches to fully embrace and celebrate the contributions of those who have been historically marginalised (Maree, 2024a). There are two broad aspects to this theme, namely, the need for alternative and innovative approaches to address career counselling and development. Secondly, to address the needs of outlier (often marginalised) populations who are overlooked and culturally neglected, leaving these populations underutilised. In line with the first theme, contextually appropriate approaches for data collection in career counselling and assessment became a non-negotiable characteristic for best practice to serve clients (Maree, 2020). Ethical practice in career counselling is to listen to and adapt career development practices to the distinctive needs of clients within their contexts by not only focussing on quantitative, objective assessments (Maree, 2024b). This perspective aligns with the work of Fugate and Kinicki (2019), who emphasise the role of adaptability in career development, suggesting that understanding individual stories can significantly enhance career strategies.

Moreover, the rapid technological advancements catalysed by the COVID-19 pandemic have opened new avenues for career counselling, enabling practitioners to reach clients innovatively. Integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) in career development, as noted by Fugate and Kinicki (2019), presents both opportunities and challenges. While AI can facilitate personalised career guidance, it also necessitates that practitioners adapt their skills to navigate this evolving landscape effectively.

Despite the potential for increased job opportunities due to technological advancements, the reality remains that marginalised communities often face significant barriers to employment (Maree, 2024a). As highlighted by Birt (2024) and Yu et al. (2023), the demand for highly skilled workers in specific industries exacerbates the challenges these groups face, who may lack access to the necessary resources and support systems. This discrepancy calls for a concerted effort to develop inclusive career strategies that recognise and actively promote the talents of the outliers or marginalised populations. Marginalised groups are traditionally described by age, gender, ability (Marginalised Groups Indicator Report: Stats SA, 2020), geographical location, race, social and economic hierarchy (Cross and Atinde, 2015). The list of marginalised communities is expanding to populations such as neurodivergent persons, persons with cognitive impairments and below-average intelligence, gifted and talented persons, and substance-dependent persons (Garret, 2024) as these groups are often victims of discrimination, violence, poverty, discrimination and social stigma, which could further impact their mental health.

In summary, the forthcoming topical issue of the African Journal of Career Development seeks to highlight innovative career development strategies that cater specifically to outlier and marginalised populations’ needs and leverage their unique talents and capabilities to significantly enrich their lives and impact the workforce in the new world of work.

Objective:

Unveiling unique talents: Innovative career development strategies for outliers [and marginalised] populations.

Recommended topics:

We welcome papers that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Innovative Career Development Strategies for Marginalised Populations address the unique strengths of outliers and marginalised groups, such as neurodiverse individuals, individuals in the late life and career stage, artists, etc.
• The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Career development, shaping the future of work for diverse talents.
• Exploring how Artificial Intelligence can transform career development by providing personalised guidance, enhancing job matching, and facilitating continuous learning opportunities while addressing the ethical implications and challenges associated with AI in career development.
• Holistic, context-specific approaches to career development, integrating psychological, sociological, and technological perspectives.
• Emphasises the importance of contextually appropriate career assessment and counselling methods that consider clients’ individual narratives and experiences, moving beyond traditional quantitative assessments to more qualitative, narrative-based approaches.
• Emerging trends in career development for outliers and marginalised populations.
• Long-term impact of inclusive career development strategies.
• Addressing Employment Barriers for Outlier Populations.
• Long-term impact of innovative and inclusive career development practices and how they can enhance innovation, resilience, and overall productivity by leveraging the unique talents of outlier populations.

Manuscript information:

The author guidelines include information about the types of articles received for publication and preparing a manuscript for submission. Read the full submissions guidelines.

Submission procedure:

When submitting your article to the African Journal of Career Development, choose ‘Topical Collection: Innovative career development strategies to unveil unique talents among outliers and marginalised populations’ as the article type. You can access the submission portal on the journal’s website after logging in with your personal credentials. For further information on the submission process, visit the journal procedure page.

All submissions will undergo an anonymous review process to guarantee high scientific quality and relevance to the subject. The Editor-in-Chief will make the final decision on acceptance, revision, or rejection based on the feedback from the reviewers.

We will be happy to provide you with any assistance during the submission and application process. Kindly enquire at submissions@ajcd.africa.

All submissions and inquiries should be directed to the attention of the guest editors:

• Dr Erna Gerryts (University of Stellenbosch) – gerryts.erna@gmail.com
• Dr Ronel Kleynhans (University of the Free State) – kleynr@ufs.ac.za