The Climbing Frame is an electronic tool developed by Unionlearn, an organisation established by the Trades Union Congress in the UK to help Union Learning Representatives to promote lifelong learning in the workplace and to assist members to access learning opportunities.

The Matrix Standard is a unique quality standard to support the effective delivery of information, advice and guidance wherever it takes place. It has been found useful by trade unions in benchmarking and developîng learner support initiatives in the workplace

This guide (2009) brings these two frameworks together, showing how they complement each other and the benefits of this complementarity in delivering high quality support to learners.

This Working Pâper by Bert Clough of Unionlearn, an organisation established by the Trades Union Congress in the UK, provides a historic review of the government skills strategy in the UK and of the partnership response of the trade union movement. It describes the rise of the Union Learning Representative (ULR), achieving national and statutory recognition. Their key role is to raise the demand for learning especially among workers with low or no qualifications. Their functions include:

• training needs analysis
• providing information and advice on training
• promoting the value of training
• arranging training
• consulting with employers.

In one recent survey, 85% reported offering information, advice and guidance.

The paper also describes the experience of trade unions in other countries in similar activities.

The proximity of the ULRs to the workforce is another example of how access to guidance at the workplace can be organised.

This publication is a summary of the proceedings of a French Presidency of the EU conference supported by the European Commission's Directorates for Education and for Employment. The conference aimed to identify the challenges, to set out common findings, and to outline measures taken to make lifelong learning more effective. Lifelong learning was seen as at the heart of the flexicurity principle.

As you will see from the proceedings, most of the time was devoted to issues concerning initial and continuing vocational training: access by SMEs, by older, disabled, migrant, unskilled; employer or employee led;  partnerships, motivation; costs and benefits.

The importance of career guidance and counselling was underlined by Heléne Clark, director of the EC's DG for Education, and was also underlined in the French Secretary of State for Employment's discourse on training system reform.

The ministers for VET of the European Union , the European Social Partners and the European Commission met in Bordeaux, France under the French Presidency of the EU in 2008 to review priorities and strategies in European cooperation in VET. The outcome of their discussions is known as the Bordeaux Communique.

The Communique outlines the process of cooperation since 2002, describes the key EU instruments created and their impact on national policies. It sets out a new strategic vision for 2008-2010, especially the challenges of globalisation. The Communique proposes four priority areas for future action:

• national implementation of cooperation instruments and agreements
• improving the quality and attractiveness of VET
• improving links between VET and the labour market
• strengthening European cooperation arrangements.

The Communique makes very explicit the centrality of the provision of career guidance to VET and CVET policies for young people and adults.

It calls for:

• facilitating access to information and lifelong guidance and counselling services through the successful implementation of the 2008 Council Resolution on Lifelong Guidance (which may be found elsewhere on this web site)
• action to be taken to promote guidance systems which help young people and adults to cope better with transitions within education and training and all along their career paths
• improve guidance and counselling services to ease transition from training to employment.

Recommendation 195 concerning human resource development - education, training and lifelong learning - has 11 chapters including:

• development and implementation of education and training policies
• education and pre-employment training
• development of competencies
• training for decent work and social inclusion
• framework for the recognition and certification of skills
• training roviders
• career guidance and training support
• research
• international and technical cooperation.

Members agreed through social dialogue to formulate, apply and review national human resource development, education and training, and lifelong learning policies which are consistent with economic, fiscal and social policies. Career guidance is positioned as central to national HRD policies.

Given the increasing policy importance being paid to the development of the skills to manage one's career, learning and work pathways in a lifelong learning context(Council of European Ministers of Education, 2008), this Australian publication is very timely to provide guidance on what exactly these skills look like. A joint initiative of the federal, state and territorial governments, and published by the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, and Training and Youth Affairs, this recently released document provides a framework for the design, implementation and evaluation of career development rogrammes for young people and adults. It identifies the skills, attitudes, and knowledge that individuals need to make sound choices and to effectively manage careers.

It is divided into three sections:

• What are career management competency skills?
• Who uses the Blueprint?
• What is the Blueprint used for?

There is a very useful Blueprint toolkit included - a series of resources to be downloaded to inform and enhance career development programmes and activities.

This is a joint strategy and implementation plan for career guidance services in Northern Ireland of two government ministries/ the Department of Education and the Department for Employment and Learning. Based on extensive consultation exercises on its proposals of 2007, the document outlines a new comprehensive strategy for the delivery of career guidance services and the challenges involved. It articulates a vision for the future and maps the actions required to deliver it.

The vision is subdivided into five themes:

1. Careers education
2. Access to careers information
3. Improving careers advice and guidance
4. Improving quality
5. Improving professional development.

This is the Danish translation of the European Council of Education Ministers' Resolution (2008) on better integrating lifelong guidance in strategies for lifelong learning. The Resolution defined four key areas/axes to guide national reforms of policies and systems: