European Union

Historic step for guidance

On 28 May the Education, Youth and Culture Council of Ministers took a historic step by adopting a Resolution on lifelong guidance. This endorsement by Ministers and the decision to opt for a Council Resolution on this area of education, training and employment policies constitute a strong signal of the importance now accorded to guidance at the highest level. Clearly guidance is no longer considered as a peripheral issue or mere accompanying action but has moved from the wings and is now firmly centre stage.

The main reason for this attention is the recognition of the key role guidance plays in promoting public policy goals such as lifelong learning, social inclusion, labour market efficiency and economic development which all contribute to the realisation of the strategic objective the EU has set itself of becoming the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based society in the world by 2010.

Lifelong learning is the foundation upon which the development of a successful knowledge-based society is built. Access to good quality education and training across the lifespan is crucial. And the more diverse and flexible learning systems are, the greater individuals' needs for guidance become to enable them to make sense of the diversity of choice they are faced with. Individuals have to be able to make decisions about career and learning opportunities at all stages in their lives and to be equipped with the skills to self-manage their career-paths. In fact, lifelong guidance is a pre-requisite for effective lifelong learning.

The Resolution defines guidance as: 'a range of activities that enables citizens of any age and at any point in their lives to identify their capacities, competences and interests, to make educational, training and occupational decisions and to manage their individual life paths in learning, work and other settings in which these capacities and competences are learned and/or used.' Making lifelong guidance a reality, however, is a challenging task. Recent research, carried out by the OECD, Cedefop, the European Training Foundation and the World Bank, shows that current guidance provision is generally both narrowly targeted (mainly on secondary school pupils and unemployed adults) and limited in its content.

The Resolution stresses that, in many countries, policies, systems and practices for guidance in Europe do not match the demands of knowledge-based economies and societies and call for a reform of policies and a rethinking of practices. The Resolution puts especial emphasis on improving access so that guidance services are: 'available at times and in forms which will encourage all citizens to continue to develop their skills and competences throughout their lives, linked to changing needs in the labour market'. Particular attention is also given to provision for individuals and groups at risk and to the need for more flexible and diverse guidance provision, including the use of innovative methodologies and technologies as well as outreach services.

Key priorities highlighted in the Resolution include:

• improving the content of guidance services by refocusing provision on skills to manage learning and work;
• developing better quality assurance mechanisms for guidance services, information and products, especially from a citizen/consumer perspective;
• strengthening structures for policy and systems development through greater involvement of all stakeholders.

However, to go beyond rhetoric and achieve real change on the ground, the priorities identified by the ministers have to be turned into concrete action. The Resolution therefore invites the Member States to take the following specific actions:

• review existing guidance provision;
• promote co-operation among providers in order to widen access and ensure coherence of provision;
• encourage education and training providers to promote reflective learning techniques and autonomous learning.

The Member States and the Commission are invited to:

• build on and adapt existing guidance related European structures and activities;
• identify areas for further co-operation in guidance;
• ensure maximum impact on policies, systems and practices at Community and national levels from E.U funded collaborative guidance activities;
• integrate a gender perspective in all policies and practice relating to guidance provision;
• review existing training of guidance practitioners in the light of best practice;
• improve the collection of evidence on guidance to support the base for policymaking.

The question of how services can be transformed so that they respond to the diverse needs of citizens throughout their lives without significantly increasing public funding costs is crucial. Although the Resolution does not directly address this issue, the emphasis given to refocusing services, to diverse delivery methods and to better co-ordination suggest that the solution is mainly to be found in getting a better return on investment by increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of services.

The Resolution foresees that progress on the implementation of lifelong guidance policies will be included in future reports on the follow-up of the Education and Training 2010 programme. This will help to keep the spotlight on guidance and to ensure that the momentum built up by the Resolution continues to be developed.

The Resolution and its follow-up are intended to stimulate the establishment of a world class guidance model in Europe. However, the Resolution is not an isolated initiative. It is in fact part of the process of the adaptation of education, training and employment policies and systems in Europe in light of the Lisbon (2000) goals. In the next issue of Cedefop Info there will be a follow-up article highlighting Community level activity in this field.

Further information:
Jennifer Wannan, Cedefop,
Tel. (30) 2310 490 097
E-mail: jwa@cedefop.eu.int

Source: Cedefop/jwa