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 is one of the very few countries in the world where students have a legal right to such provision. The Ministry of Education provides an allocation of 1 full-time guidance counsellor for up to 350 students schools in basic education.

The recently published Criteria for Good Guidance are a set of recommendations on how guidance counselling provision should be operationalised to support, develop and assure the quality of guidance in basic education and upper secondary education so that learners can receive good guidance whenever they need it. This includes a framework and methodology for developing a school’s Guidance Plan. The Criteria highlight the different roles and responsibilities of the education providers and of municipalities in transition support. Guidance provision should be learner-centred and pay particular attention to transitions within the education and training systems and from these to work, enabling learners to develop career planning skills to manage such transitions. In terms of inputs, the Criteria recommend that the competence, qualifications and resources of guidance personnel in the school and educational institution community be safeguarded.

Systems evaluation is recommended: the systematic collection of quantitative and qualitative data on the quality, accessibility, and impact of guidance, and on areas for development.

While these Criteria for Good Guidance have been specifically developed for the education and training systems of Finland, and take into account the human resources for guidance counselling provided by the Ministry, they provide a useful checklist for Ministries in other countries who are developing similar recommendations.