Career guidance policies in 37 countries : contrasts and common themes

Abstract

This paper synthesises the main findings from three co-ordinated reviews of national career guidance policies carried out by OECD, the European Commission and the World Bank. Some important differences are evident, with services in middle-income countries being less welldeveloped than in high-income countries. But the dynamics of globalisation, together with ‘‘policy borrowing’’, have led to a great deal of convergence. In all countries, career guidance is viewed as a public good, linked to policy goals related to learning, the labour market and social equity. These goals are being reframed in the light of lifelong learning policies, linked to active labour market policies and the concept of sustained employability. Career guidance accordingly needs to be accessible not just to school-leavers and the unemployed, but to everyone throughout their lives. With career guidance taking increasingly varied and disparate forms, there is a need within countries for stronger mechanisms to articulate a vision and develop a strategy for delivering such access.