This fascinating Thematic Paper, published 2025 by the European Commission - DG EMPLOYMENT, SOCIAL AFFAIRS, AND INCLUSION, reviews the evolving role of the Public Employment Services (PES) in the prevention of unemployment through career counselling and upskilling of employees. Helping workers at risk of unemployment to make job-to-job transitions has ... Read More
21
Jan2025
ICCDPP and the World Association of Public Employment Services (WAPES) undertook a joint survey of career guidance provision in public employment services worldwide in late 2024. The survey examined public policies driving the provision of career guidance and their implementation through organisational programmes and priorities. It looked at main user ... Read More
January 21, 2025John McCarthy
25
Oct2024
RATIONALE
A very impressive National Careers System Strategy (NCSS) has been developed by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), New Zealand, to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the careers system. Economic and structural changes arising from COVID-19 provided the impetus for the refresh. The review allowed for alignment with government priorities ... Read More
October 25, 2024John McCarthy
29
Apr2024
The International Centre for Career Development and Public Policy and the World Association of Public Employment Services (WAPES) have teamed up to enhance career guidance on a global scale. This collaboration will particularly benefit member communities by shedding light on the counselling services provided by Public Employment Services.
With ICCDPP championing ... Read More
April 29, 2024John McCarthy
27
Apr2024
Canada is one of many countries where the career guidance sector is unregulated and not organized at a national level, with no universal application of consistent job titles, sector member definitions, or sector data tracking systems. Policymakers, employers, and the public know very little about the sector. Provincial and territorial ... Read More
April 27, 2024John McCarthy
23
Jan2024
Public Employment Services (PES) play a critical role in active labour market policies, helping to match jobseekers with job opportunities, and supporting job changers. Matching is not a straight forward activity. The skills demanded by employers e.g. in emerging jobs, may not be those held by jobseekers. Moreover, jobseekers are ... Read More
January 23, 2024John McCarthy
08
Sep2023
Career guidance provision for adults has long been recognised as the weakest link in the chain in lifelong guidance careers services and systems in most countries. This is paradoxal as we spend most of our lives in adulthood, experiencing multiple transitions in work and life roles, and trying to balance ... Read More
September 8, 2023John McCarthy
20
Jul2023
JOINT STATEMENT OF IAG (2023)
This welcome statement from seven relevant international organisations (OECD, WB, EC, CEDEFOP, ETF, ILO, UNESCO) sets out the benefits to workers, employers, economies, and societies of investing in career guidance provision for workers. Using an ILO definition of worker, it categorises workers into several groups: formally employed, ... Read More
July 20, 2023John McCarthy
22
Jun2023
SKILLS IN LATIN AMERICA REPORT: OECD 2023
This interesting report highlights some of the challenges and opportunities facing governments and societies in several Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries. Despite remarkable recent increases in enrollment, school completion, and educational attainment, these countries lag behind in skills development among both secondary school students ... Read More
June 22, 2023John McCarthy
30
Apr2023
This article describes a qualitative study of the experiences, understandings, and conceptions of lifelong guidance systems of a sample of career experts based in different work settings, and mainly in European countries. It aims to elucidate how such systems develop and to identify features of effective systems and of their future ... Read More
April 30, 2023John McCarthy
28
Jan2023
Jens Bjornavold worked for many years at CEDEFOP as a lead international expert on the interrelationships between education, training, and the labour market, the changing nature and role of vocational education and training, the role of learning outcomes and competences in reforming education and training policies, and the continuous development ... Read More
January 28, 2023John McCarthy
19
Jan2023
The Department of Education, Ireland, has just published a Consultation Paper on a national framework for lifelong guidance provision. It provides a brief overview of existing career guidance provision, a rationale for a national lifelong system, a vision for a high functioning system, some guiding principles, and four strategic pillars. It offers readers ... Read More
January 19, 2023John McCarthy
01
Nov2022
The National Guidance Forum of Germany aims to promote the professional delivery of guidance in education, vocational training and employment sectors in Germany, to give stimulation for the (further)development of guidance services which meet the different needs of the users, to develop guidelines for quality and quality assurance of services and practices, and ... Read More
November 1, 2022John McCarthy
23
Jun2022
هناك العديد من الأمور التي يفهمها الأسكتلنديون تماماً على مستوى السياسات:
أهمية انخراط الشباب بين 16 و24 سنة بالتعلم والأنشطة الأخرى المُنتجة اجتماعياً، والحاجة الى تأمين دعم إضافي للتعليم المهني للشباب لجعلهم قادرين على تخطيط وتصور مستقبلهم في العمل والمجتمع، والحاجة الدائمة لمراجعة وتعديل سياسات وأنظمة الخدمات المهنية بالتشاور مع أصحاب ... Read More
June 23, 2022John McCarthy
23
Jun2022
تملك فنلندا واحداً من أفضل موارد أنظمة التوجيه المهني المدرسي حول العالم، حيث يُعتبر التعليم المهني جزءاً متكاملاً وإلزامياً من المنهج المدرسي، وتبلغ نسبة الطالب الى ممارس توجيه مهني المدرسي 350:1.
بالتالي، من الطبيعي ان تملك مؤسسات التعليم العالي والمستمر في فنلندا (بما في ذلك التعليم والتدريب التقني والمهني TVET) معدلات ... Read More
June 23, 2022John McCarthy
23
Jun2022
USEFUL LINKS AND TOOLS FOR WORKING WITH REFUGEES
EU Skills Profile for Third Country Nationals
https://ec.europa.eu/migrantskills/#/
This tool is intended for persons and organisations in the EU who work with refugees.
It helps to map the skills, qualifications and work experiences of third country nationals
and to give them personalised advice on further steps,
e.g., a ... Read More
June 23, 2022John McCarthy
23
Jun2022
TRANSFORMING CAREERS SUPPORT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULTS
Northern Ireland, with a population of 1.9 million is located on the island of Ireland and forms an integral political part "home country" of the United Kingdom for over 100 years. It also currently benefits from being part of the EU's Single Market, ... Read More
June 23, 2022John McCarthy
16
Jul2021
Joint Position Paper: OECD, CEDEFOP, ETF, UNESCO, ILO, ECThis booklet is a revision and further developed version of a 2019 joint publication by these six international organisations. It describes:
What is meant by 'career guidance' The current social and economic context that guides publicly funded career guidance responses Some characteristics of effective career guidance ... Read More
July 16, 2021John McCarthy
15
Jun2021
This handbook seeks to provide a state-of-the-art reference point for the field of career development. The handbook is divided into three sections. The first section explores the economic, educational, and public policy contexts within which careers are enacted. The second section explores the rich conceptual landscape of career theory. The ... Read More
June 15, 2021John McCarthy
05
Jan2021
JOINT RESEARCH REPORT: ICCDPP, OECD, UNESCO, ILO, EC, CEDEFOP, ETF
This report, recently published through CEDEFOP, captures changes in career guidance policies, systems and practices arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, as observed across 93 countries globally between the end of June and the beginning of August 2020.The research findings show that career ... Read More
January 5, 2021John McCarthy
14
Dec2020
‘Towards European standards for monitoring and evaluation of lifelong guidance systems and services’
CEDEFOP has just launched a call for papers for a reference publication on the monitoring and evaluation of career guidance systems and services for adults, entitled ‘Towards European standards for monitoring and evaluation of lifelong guidance systems and services’ which can be downloaded here: https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/files/2020_11_16_call_for_papers_cedefop_careersmonitoring.pdf
Contributions will be used for developing a ... Read More
December 14, 2020John McCarthy
03
Apr2020
The Corona virus pandemic is not just a medical crisis, but a social and economic one too, says ILO Director-General Guy Ryder. If our response is to be effective it must take into account all these factors, and be delivered in a co-ordinated, global way. In particular, it must answer ... Read More
April 3, 2020John McCarthy
03
Apr2020
This note offers the International Labour Organisation's preliminary assessment concerning the possible impacts of COVID-19 on the world of work and proposes a range of policy options to mitigate these impacts and facilitate strong and fast recovery.
April 3, 2020John McCarthy
18
Mar2020
WORKERS MOST AT RISK OF INFECTION
The US Department of Labour has a comprehensive database of over 900 occupations that can be accessed online. The characteristics of different occupations are described such as physical proximity to others, exposure to infection, if and how often a telephone is used, and how often a job ... Read More
March 18, 2020John McCarthy
01
Dec2019
Very interesting policy implementation evaluation study by CEREQ, a French research agency of the ministries of education and employment. The study examines the effects of the devolution of responsibility for career guidance to the regions, in particular the offer and legal entitlement of adults to career counselling.
Factors such ... Read More
December 1, 2019John McCarthy
31
Oct2019
La question de savoir comment les gouvernements peuvent aider les citoyens à construire des carrières épanouissantes a été au centre du neuvième Symposium international sur le développement de carrière et les politiques publiques, qui s'est tenu à Tromsø, Norvège, du 17 au 20 juin 2019.Au cours du Symposium, des représentants ... Read More
October 31, 2019John McCarthy
31
Oct2019
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the European Commission's science and knowledge service which employs scientists to carry out research in order to provide independent scientific advice and support to European Union policy. It has published a series of working papers on the links between labour, education, and technology in ... Read More
October 31, 2019John McCarthy
31
Oct2019
Virtual assistant, you-tuber, app-developer.There are jobs that 20 years ago were not imaginable.Other jobs have almost disappeared.
This report is the work of The Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission's science and knowledge service, which employs scientists to carry out research in order to provide independent scientific advice and support ... Read More
October 31, 2019John McCarthy
02
Jul2019
Profesionales de la orientación académica y profesional de 33 países se reúnen en el International Symposium for Career Development and Public Policy para reflexionar sobre los retos de esta disciplina e identificar posibles mejoras desde las políticas públicas. ¿Cómo pueden los gobiernos ayudar a las personas a construir carreras profesionales más ... Read More
July 2, 2019John McCarthy
28
Jun2019
How governments can support citizens to build fulfilling careers was the focus of the ninth International Symposium for Career Development and Public Policy, held in Tromsø, Norway on 17th-20th June 2019. During the Symposium representatives from 33 countries and from UNESCO, the OECD, European Commission, European Training Foundation and the ... Read More
June 28, 2019John McCarthy
10
Jun2019
We are pleased to bring to your attention the four synthesis papers arising from the 33 country papers prepared for the 9th International Symposium on Career Development and Public Policy which will be held shortly in Tromso, Norway. They concern how policies and systems for career guidance support the public and ... Read More
June 10, 2019John McCarthy
10
Jun2019
From Norway to Chile, from Syria to Sri Lanka, from France to Japan, how are policies and systems for career guidance supporting the public and employers to manage the structural and occupational changes occurring in the labour market and their social impact?
The 33 countries participating in the 9th International Symposium ... Read More
June 10, 2019John McCarthy
26
Jun2018
What can behavioural economics propose for better labour market policy interventions to assist newly unemployed persons to regain employment? Some suggestions are quite useful while others are more controversial! Read here!
One challenge that unemployed persons face is identifying their own transferable skills and seeing such transferable skills presented in descriptions of other ... Read More
June 26, 2018John McCarthy
08
Nov2017
An economic view of factors that contribute and not to job satisfaction!!!
November 8, 2017John McCarthy
27
Feb2017
This post follows well on the last post entitled Changing Places!
This Report, commissioned by the Centre for Better Ageing (UK) and undertaken by the Institute for Employment Studies (Brighton), presents the workplace and job-related factors that make employment fulfilling for older workers, offering insights into both the attitudes of older ... Read More
February 27, 2017John McCarthy
27
Feb2017
Why is there a growth in the percentage of older workers in the workforce in your country? New pension requirements? Skills shortages? Removal of age discrimination? All of the above? Other?
Do you have policy responsibility and/or interest for the development and retention of older workers engaged in arduous work (work ... Read More
February 27, 2017John McCarthy
15
Sep2016
EMPLOYABILITY? WHAT IS IT? WHO DEFINES IT?
A RESEARCH REPORT FROM THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE
OF PERSONNEL AND DEVELOPMENT (CIPD)
CIPD is the professional body for Human Resources (HR) and People Development staff employed in the private and public sectors worldwide. Its goals include promoting better work and working lives and working practices that ... Read More
September 15, 2016John McCarthy
11
Dec2015
These EU Guidelines, produced by the European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network (ELGPN) provide an agreed reference framework on policies and systems for lifelong guidance across EU Member States. They aim to assist policy makers and policy developers to reflect in a systematic way on existing career guidance services and programmes ... Read More
December 11, 2015John McCarthy
23
May2015
This Resource Kit, developed by the European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network (ELGPN), was designed to help policy-makers and other stakeholders in the European Union to review existing lifelong guidance provision within their country or region, and to identify issues requiring attention and gaps that need to be filled, drawing from ... Read More
May 23, 2015John McCarthy
02
Feb2015
CEDEFOP 012015 Newsletter Benefits of Career Guidance
This recent Briefing Note prepared by CEDEFOP, January 2015, illustrates my means of case study summaries the economic, social and individual benefits of career guidance in difficult economic times.
February 2, 2015John McCarthy
10
Jan2015
Workforce mobility within the European Union is a high political priority for EU education, training and employment policies. The European Commission in April/May 2014 undertook an EU-wide survey to collect the views of some 27,998 respondents from different social and demographic groups across the Member States of the EU on the ... Read More
January 10, 2015John McCarthy
07
Sep2011
While not an expert paper on career guidance information, this is an interesting informational article (2008) that compares the US and Japan in terms of challenges facing the economy and the workforce, challenges for particular work groups in certain economic sectors, and job seeking support systems including careers information.
Read more
September 7, 2011Tibor Kovacs
28
Jul2009
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 ... Read More
July 28, 2009Tibor Kovacs
28
Jul2009
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 ... Read More
July 28, 2009Tibor Kovacs
18
May2009
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 ... Read More
May 18, 2009Tibor Kovacs
15
May2009
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 ... Read More
May 15, 2009Tibor Kovacs
16
Apr2009
Arrimer Les Etudes Et Le Travail – L’engagement De L’alberta En Matiere De Developpement De Carriere
Arrimer les études et le travail : l’engagement de l’Alberta en matière de développement de carrière établit des liens plus solides entre l’éducation et le travail, et fournit un accès plus coordonné aux programmes de formation professionnelle et d’emploi, ainsi qu’aux services dans un marché du travail constamment en évolution.
Arrimer ... Read More
April 16, 2009Tibor Kovacs
16
Apr2009
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 ... Read More
April 16, 2009Tibor Kovacs
09
Jan2020
INVESTING IN CAREER GUIDANCE: JOINT STATEMENT OF OECD, ILO, UNESCO, THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION AND ITS AGENCIES ETF AND CEDEFOP, DECEMBER 2019