The “Lifelong guidance policy and practice in the EU: trends, challenges and opportunities” report is a study on lifelong guidance (LLG) policies and practices in the EU, focusing on trends, challenges and opportunities.
The study was launched at a time when LLG policies and practices are viewed as crucial parts of current policy initiatives around the validation of learning and the Pillar of Social Rights. The aim was to look at how these policies and practices could be promoted by the Commission in providing an evidence base for priority-setting; improving organisational knowledge, supporting dialogue with stakeholders on LLG and, more widely, skills strategies; as well as identifying potential, relevant EU interventions in the area of LLG.
The study has a forward-looking aspect and provides proposals and directions for the new Commission after 2020. It is guided by two overarching research questions:
- How should career guidance evolve to support transitions between learning and work and to support lifelong learning?
- What areas of career guidance policy and delivery would benefit from greater co-operation or action at the EU level?
In 1 section we find the introduction - the approach to the study and structure of the report, section 2 provides an overview of the background and policy context of this study.
Section 3 presents the main findings - the key features and dimensions of an LLG system are evidenced and discussed. This section draws upon evidence from the literature review and interviews, which were inductively analysed. A high-level mapping of LLG systems in the EU identified 11 key features.
Section 4 presents a high-level mapping of the actors and organisations involved in LLG systems, as well as the new actors involved. The section also presents a catalogue of service delivery innovations from across the EU. Notable trends and approaches identified in the catalogue are also discussed in this section.
Section 5 provides the conclusions and recommendations from this study.
The appendices provide the details on the approach to the study, a synopsis of stakeholder interviews and a synopsis of the expert workshops.
The full report is available at the Publications Office of the EU (English only).