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
29
Apr2025
FINNISH NATIONAL AGENCY FOR EDUCATION 2023
The provision of guidance counselling in Finland is based on the structure of its education system where basic education encompasses the age range of 7 to 16 years followed by transition to either upper secondary, vocational education and training, or work and independent living. Finland ... Read More
April 29, 2025John McCarthy
13
Mar2025
OECD Working paper 2024 based on PISA 2022 results
This working paper is a salutary reminder of the challenges of translating good policy and systems intentions into effective mechanisms for developing teenagers' career visualisations and plans for the future. It is based on the analysis of responses of 62 schools and 2138 ... Read More
March 13, 2025John McCarthy
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
02
Sep2024
This is a welcome initiative involving UNICEF for the first time in an international research study (in cooperation with ETF) of young people’s career learning needs, the means to address these, their educational and occupational aspirations, key factors in their choices, and their current sources of career learning support. Nine ... Read More
September 2, 2024John McCarthy
21
Aug2024
Background
Following the recent general election in England, the duly elected Labour Party has a strong focus on skills and improving productivity but is hampered by 13 years rule by a conservative government that had different ideas and goals. The situation is made worse by England’s relatively poor economic growth ... Read More
August 21, 2024John McCarthy
30
May2024
This is an excellent Powerpoint presentation on lifelong guidance in Finland, created by representatives of two ministries (Ms Ulla-Jill Karlsson, Ministry of Education and Culture and Ms Anna Toni, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment), and presented recently online at a National Conference on Career Development in South Africa organised ... Read More
May 30, 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
23
Jan2024
The CIP theory of career choice concerns the application of general principles of cognitive information processing to making and implementing career choices.
The recently published “Cognitive Information Processing: Career Theory, Research, and Practice” aims to improve the integration of cognitive information processing (CIP) theory, research, and practice, leading to more cost-effective ... Read More
January 23, 2024John McCarthy
23
Oct2023
Glossaries are timebound and culturally bound compilations that enable communications within a field of of academic discipline, between professionals, and between professions and society. In the field of career guidance, glossaries have been developed by national associations of career practitioners to facilitate national and sectoral (education, training, employment, social) professional ... Read More
October 23, 2023John McCarthy
12
Sep2023
INNOVATION: CAREER EXPLORATION THROUGH THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM
FOR STUDENTS AGED 15-16 YEARS
The Department of Education in Ireland has a unique one-year school programme that bridges the gap between junior and senior cycle education, known as the Transition Year Programme (TYP). It represents a radical systems experiment whereby one whole year in the middle ... Read More
September 12, 2023John 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
22
Jul2023
ENGLAND: JULY 2023
Career guidance has a century long rich history and tradition of theory and practice innovation in England. The consistency of such developments over time stands in stark contrast to its value and interest to policy makers and developers which fluctuate constantly in government policies for education, training, and ... Read More
July 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
29
Mar2023
FOR NEETS, EARLY SCHOOL LEAVERS, AND STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
AN EMPOWERMENT BASED APPROACH
"Nothing succeeds like observed success" is a phrase that I learned from my professor of applied psychology back in the 1970s! These words came to mind again in recent interactions with Pascal Chaumette, the director of ID6, a ... Read More
March 29, 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
02
Jan2023
THE ROLE OF CAREER GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING
EU REVIEW 2022
This CEDEFOP report maps the existing career guidance and counselling policies and practices supporting learners at risk and early leavers from vocational education and training in the 27 EU countries plus the UK. It analyses the key characteristics of these policies and practices, identifies ... Read More
January 2, 2023John McCarthy
24
Dec2022
NEW BOARD MEMBERS FOR ICCDPP
Following a worldwide public recruitment campaign, ICCDPP has appointed 4 new members to augment and enrich the knowledge, skills and experience of the Board of ICCDPP in the pursuit of its mission and goals. The new members are:
Dr David Fretwell:
Dr. Fretwell’s primary area of experience ... Read More
December 24, 2022John 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
24
Jun2022
This well-intentioned joint ILO ETF publication acknowledges the socio-economic context of Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC), particularly infrastructure, geography, demographics, migration and emigration, attitudes and values, gender and age expectations, and participation in and the role of the informal economy. It identifies key elements or reference points for the development ... Read More
June 24, 2022John McCarthy
24
Jun2022
In 2009, CEDEFOP undertook landmark research Professionalising Career Guidance into the roles of career practitioners in EU Member States and into their initial and continuing training and qualifications. Based on the research findings, CEDEFOP proposed a competence framework for career practitioners while recognising that career practitioner roles were not homogenous between ... Read More
June 24, 2022John McCarthy
24
Jun2022
This succinct and comprehensive Briefing Note draws attention to the importance of career practitioner professionalism in career guidance delivery, to the need to continually redefine practitioner competences and occupational profiles in response to societal and technological changes, and consequently the need for continuing government investment in re-skilling and up-skilling of practitioners ... Read More
June 24, 2022John McCarthy
23
Jun2022
There are many things that the Scots get right at a policy level: the importance of youth engagement between ages 16 to 24 years in learning, work, and other societally productive activity; the need to provide additional career learning support to disadvantaged youth to enable them to visualise and plan ... Read More
June 23, 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
In July 1966, the European Commission issued a Recommendation on Career Guidance to the then 6 Member States which highlighted in its first article the importance of annual monitoring and evaluation of career guidance services for young people and adults at national level. Such evaluation was intended to provide an evidence base to support the development of ... 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
01
Jun2021
This UCAS publication (April 2021) explores the reasons for choice of degree subjects of UK higher education students and applicants, and maps their decision-making journeys from primary through secondary school. It also explores the barriers and challenges they faced in the decision-making process. Based on the responses of 64,600 higher education ... Read More
June 1, 2021John McCarthy
23
Apr2021
ETF published 2 volumes under this title in Autumn 2020.
In Volume 1, the authors, from their perspectives, identify and describe 4 mega-trends in career guidance: the use of ICT for career guidance delivery; career learning-the teaching and acquisition of career management skills; inter-ministerial coordination and cooperation in policy and ... Read More
April 23, 2021John McCarthy
09
Apr2021
CEDEFOP is inviting applications for expressions of interest in participating as a CareersNet independent, voluntary national expert in lifelong guidance and career development. It aims to select one core national expert for each country, as well as alternate experts who can serve in national reference groups.Eligible countries are all countries ... Read More
April 9, 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 provision of career guidance/learning in schools in many countries has been impacted by COVID-19. Schools and career practitioners have had to adapt to providing online support for students. These Guidelines just published by the Department of Education and Skills (Ireland) provide advice to guidance counsellors on how to manage ... Read More
April 3, 2020John McCarthy
13
Mar2020
TEENAGERS' CAREER ASPIRATIONS (2018) AND THE FUTURE OF WORK
The OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) measures the abilities of 15 year old school students to use their reading, mathematics and science knowledge and skills to confront real-life challenges. Its results provide useful insights to governments in participating countries and ... Read More
March 13, 2020John McCarthy
19
Dec2019
Realizar una reforma integral de la orientación y ofrecer intervenciones a lo largo y ancho de la vida con perspectiva de género son algunas de las propuestas que comparten tanto el Ministerio como expertos en la materia
December 19, 2019John 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
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
26
Feb2019
Dedicar fondos públicos a unos buenos servicios de orientación académica y profesional para los jóvenes reduce el abandono escolar, afirma en entrevista John McCarthy, director del International Centre for Career Development and Public Policy.
Lea la entrevista completa.
February 26, 2019John McCarthy
14
Jan2019
CEDEFOP, an agency of the European Commission, published a handbook in 2018 that describes 25 ICT in guidance initiatives in EU Member States. Some of these initiatives were established for and in the education sector while others are from the employment sector. A common feature of both sets of initiatives is their ... Read More
January 14, 2019John McCarthy
01
Apr2018
"She was a fishmonger, and sure t'was no wonder,
for so were her father and mother before"
(Words of a well known Irish song, Molly Malone)
So what are the chances of children following in the occupational footsteps of their parents? Read here
Is nursing the career of the future for men? Read here
Is ... Read More
April 1, 2018John McCarthy
01
Apr2018
England, the largest home country of the UK, is not a stranger to policy changes for career guidance provision over the past 20 years, some of which have been better or worse for citizens than the precedent!
The most recently launched policy paper 'Making the best of everyone's talents and skills' ... Read More
April 1, 2018John McCarthy
13
Nov2017
This 2004 review covered 7 countries: Chile, Russia, Philippines, Poland, Romania, South Africa, and Turkey. The study sought to:
to identify and describe the distinctive issues faced by developing and transition economies in forming effective policies in career guidance and counseling;
to identify emerging examples of best practice, and suggest ... Read More
November 13, 2017John McCarthy
08
Nov2017
Future European co-operation in the field of policies and systems for lifelong guidance and the use of ICT in guidance policies, systems and practices were some of the main concerns of the Estonian EU Presidency conference, held in Talliin at the end of September with an attendance in excess of ... Read More
November 8, 2017John McCarthy
13
Mar2017
Did you ever wonder why a country might benefit from having a national strategy for career guidance and what a national strategy for lifelong guidance might look like?
In general, most countries have subsystems of career guidance in the education, training and employment sectors, that often are not connected to each ... Read More
March 13, 2017John McCarthy
27
Feb2017
The German BeQu-Concept – now available in English
"Quality development in career guidance and counselling is an essential issue in lifelong guidance policy and systems development. Very few countries have statutory or binding quality standards and compulsory requirements for the qualification and competences of guidance and counselling professionals.
With the funding ... Read More
February 27, 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
29
Jun2025
CAREER GUIDANCE AND VET – EUROPEAN UNION POLICY PERSPECTIVE