Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council of 21 November 2008 on better integrating lifelong guidance into lifelong learning strategies
Date: 2008-11-21
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: continuing education, education, education policy, personal development, vocational guidance, young person, youth policy

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States,
meeting within the Council of 21 November 2008 on better integrating lifelong guidance into
lifelong learning strategies

(2008/C 319/02)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPRESENTA-
TIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES, MEETING
WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

RECALL THAT:

CONSIDERING THAT:

1. The growing globalisation of trade and lengthening of the
period of active employment are increasingly requiring indi-
viduals to adapt their skills, in order to remain ahead of fore-
seeable or necessary changes and to safeguard their career
paths.

2. The enlargement of the European Union has increased the
potential for mobility in education and training, as well as in
the labour market,
thereby creating the need to prepare
Union citizens to develop their learning and professional
pathways in a broader geographical context.

3. Citizens' lives are increasingly characterised by multiple tran-
sitions: notably from school to vocational education and
training (VET), higher education or employment, or from
employment to unemployment, further training or departure
from the labour market. Guidance plays a decisive role in the
major decisions that individuals have to take throughout
their lives. In this respect, it can contribute to empowering
individuals to manage their own career paths in a more
secure way in the context of today's labour market, and to
achieve a better balance between their personal and profes-
sional lives.

4. The labour market is also characterised by the mismatch
between persistent
in
unemployment
recruiting in certain sectors, and guidance provides a means
of responding more effectively to labour market needs.

difficulties

and

5. Social inclusion and equal opportunities are still major chal-

lenges for education, training and employment policies,

CONFIRM:

the definition of guidance as referring to a continuous process
that enables citizens at any age and at any point in their lives to
identify their capacities, competences and interests,
to make
educational, training and occupational decisions and to manage
their individual life paths in learning, work and other settings in
which those capacities and competences are learned and/or
used. Guidance covers a range of individual and collective activ-
ities relating to information-giving, counselling, competence
assessment, support, and the teaching of decision-making and
career management skills.

1. the Council Resolution of 28 May 2004 (1) on strengthening
policies, systems and practices in the field of guidance
throughout
the key objectives of a lifelong
guidance policy for all European Union citizens;

life sets out

2. the Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for life-
long learning (2) underlines, with reference to several key
competences, that the ability to search for the education and
training opportunities and guidance and/or support available
is essential for an individual's personal fulfilment, profes-
sional development and social integration;

3. the Council Resolution of 15 November 2007 on new skills
for new jobs (3) invites the Member States and the Commis-
sion to equip people for new jobs within the knowledge
society by providing them with vocational guidance, which
should enable jobseekers to identify the competence modules
required to move to new jobs where there are skills gaps;

4. the 2008 joint progress report of

the Council and the
Commission on the implementation of the work programme
‘Delivering lifelong learning for knowledge, creativity and
innovation’ (4) notes that ‘particular attention must also be given
to lifelong guidance’;

5. the Council conclusions of 25 May 2007 on a coherent
indicators and benchmarks for monitoring
framework of
progress towards the Lisbon objectives in education and
training (5) are an important tool for assessing implementa-
tion of the goals set by the Lisbon Strategy and thus for
monitoring the progress made by Member States in the area
of guidance in their lifelong learning strategies;

6. the Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the
the
Council of 23 April 2008 on the establishment of
European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning (6)
creates a common reference framework designed to serve as
a translation device between different qualifications systems
and their levels. That framework should facilitate workers'
mobility and help make guidance part and parcel of Member
States' education and employment policies and practices;

(1) Doc. 9286/04.
(2) OJ L 394, 30.12.2006, p. 10.
(3) OJ C 290, 4.12.2007, p. 1.
(4) Doc. 5723/08.
(5) OJ C 311, 21.12.2007, p. 13.
(6) OJ C 111, 6.5.2008, p. 1.

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7. the Council

conclusions of 22 May 2008 on adult
learning (1) point
to the economic, social and individual
benefits generated by strengthening adult
learning and
stress that it is the responsibility of government to establish
quality information and guidance systems which are more
person-centred, so that, fairly and equitably, individuals can
become more active and independent learners.

NOTE THAT:

1. recent evaluation reports, in particular that by the European
Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop)
in 2008 on the implementation of the Resolution of 2004,
stress that although progress has been made, more efforts
are needed in order to improve the quality of guidance
services, provide fairer access focused on individuals' needs
and aspirations, and to coordinate and build partnerships
between existing forms of guidance provision;

2.

in 2007, the Member States set up a European Lifelong
Guidance Policy Network (ELGPN), comprising representa-
tives of each Member State which chooses to participate,
thus increasing the opportunities for Member States to learn
from one another and to cooperate on developing policies,
systems and practices in the field of lifelong guidance;

3. the priorities for implementing an active guidance policy
under the national
lifelong learning strategies need to be
confirmed. It is necessary to specify those priorities in the
form of activities and to deploy European instruments and
tools.

INVITE THE MEMBER STATES TO:

1. encourage the lifelong acquisition of career management

skills;

2. facilitate access by all citizens to guidance services;

3. develop the quality assurance of guidance provision;

4. encourage coordination and cooperation among the

various national, regional and local stakeholders,

— use the opportunities provided under the Lifelong Learning
Programme and the European Structural Funds, in accord-
ance with Member States' priorities.

INVITE THE MEMBER STATES AND THE COMMISSION, WITHIN
THEIR RESPECTIVE COMPETENCES, TO:

1. strengthen European cooperation on lifelong guidance provi-
sion, in particular through the ELGPN, with the support of
the Lifelong Learning Programme, and in liaison with
Cedefop.

In particular:

— enable Member States to share information on their poli-
cies and practices, and on their evaluation of both, so
that each may benefit from the successes of others,

— monitor national and European implementation of activ-
ities in the four priority areas under this Resolution,
using surveys, studies, reports, and peer learning activities
including case studies and conferences at European-level,

— endeavour

to ensure that

lifelong guidance is more
consistent and more tightly dovetailed with the various
European policy areas and in particular with those of
employment and social inclusion,

— strengthen the role of lifelong guidance within national life-
long learning strategies in line with the Lisbon Strategy and
with the strategic framework for European cooperation in
education and training,

— where appropriate, carry out reviews of guidance policies

and practices at national level,

— consider whether more

evidence-based policy on

guidance should be developed at European level;

2. provide citizens and guidance stakeholders with reliable
information resources which comprehensively cover Member
States' education and training systems and guidance services,
in particular via the Euroguidance network;

— make use of the following guiding principles (as detailed
under ‘Priority Areas’ in the Annex hereto), in accordance
with national contexts and legislation and with a view to
supporting the lifelong career transitions of citizens:

3. foster the development of lifelong guidance in third coun-
tries in accordance with the four priority areas outlined in
in particular through the activities of the
this Resolution,
European Training Foundation.

(1) OJ C 140, 6.6.2008, p. 10.

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ANNEX

PRIORITY AREAS

PRIORITY AREA 1: ENCOURAGE THE LIFELONG ACQUISITION OF CAREER MANAGEMENT SKILLS

Career management skills play a decisive role in empowering people to become involved in shaping their learning,
training and integration pathways and their careers. Such skills, which should be maintained throughout life, are based on
key competences, in particular ‘learning to learn’, social and civic competences — including intercultural competences —
and a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship. Career management skills include the following, particularly during periods
of transition:

— learning about the economic environment, businesses and occupations,

— being able to evaluate oneself, knowing oneself and being able to describe the competences one has acquired in

formal, informal and non-formal education settings,

— understanding education, training and qualifications systems.

To make progress in this priority area, Member States should, depending on their specific situations, consider:

— including teaching and learning activities which foster the development of career management skills in general, voca-

tional and higher education programmes,

— preparing teachers and trainers to conduct such activities and support them in this task,

— encouraging parents to become involved in guidance issues,

— involving civil society organisations and the social partners more closely in this area,

— facilitating access to information about training opportunities and their links to the professions, and about the skills

needs anticipated in a given locality,

— developing career management skills in adult training programmes,

— making guidance one of the objectives of schools, VET providers and higher education establishments. Integration into
working life and the operation of the local, national and European labour markets are aspects, in particular, that
should be taken into account.

PRIORITY AREA 2: FACILITATE ACCESS BY ALL CITIZENS TO GUIDANCE SERVICES

Guidance services, as services of general interest, should be accessible to everyone, irrespective of their knowledge base or
their initial skills, and should be readily understandable and relevant. A particular effort should be made to improve
access to guidance services for the most disadvantaged groups and persons with special needs.

To make progress in this priority area, Member States should, depending on their specific situations, consider:

— actively promoting guidance services with the public and raise their profile using the full range of information and

communication media,

— offering a clear range of easily accessible services based on an evaluation of people's aspirations and needs, and taking

account of their living and working environments,

— enabling people to benefit from support in obtaining validation and recognition on the labour market of their formal,
non-formal and informal learning outcomes, in order to safeguard their employment and maintain their employability,
in particular during the second part of their careers,

— promoting open access to documentary resources, the provision of support in information searches, individual coun-

selling and institutional provision.

PRIORITY AREA 3: DEVELOP QUALITY ASSURANCE IN GUIDANCE PROVISION

The development of high quality guidance services is a goal shared by the Member States.

To make progress in this priority area, Member States should, depending on their specific situations, consider:

— improving the quality and ensure the objectivity of career information and advice, while taking account of users'

expectations and labour market realities,

— ensuring that the information presented, advice given and support provided are tailored to suit the various different

users,

— developing tools for the forward-planning of jobs and skills, building on both national resources and on the Union's

common resources, in particular Cedefop,

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— relating information on training provision and the operation of the labour market to the local area,

— enhancing, including through initial education and further training, the professional profile and standards of guidance
practitioners, and promoting their competences and skills, in particular with regard to the provision of information,
counselling and support, in order to better respond to the needs and expectations of both citizens and policymakers,

— measuring the effectiveness of guidance provision, where appropriate by collecting reliable data covering both users'

perception of guidance services and the benefits obtained by them in the medium term,

— developing quality standards for guidance services which define the service provided and which pay as much attention

to the goals and results for the beneficiary as to methods and processes.

PRIORITY AREA 4: ENCOURAGE COORDINATION AND COOPERATION AMONG THE VARIOUS
NATIONAL, REGIONAL AND LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS

Guidance caters for different segments of the population: pupils, university entrants,
job-seekers, those in vocational
training and those in employment, which gives rise to differing systems. There should be greater complementarity and
coordination between the different areas, with national and local government, businesses, relevant agencies, the social
partners and local communities collaborating to improve the efficiency of reception networks accessible to everyone
seeking guidance.

To make progress in this priority area, Member States should, depending on their specific situations, consider:

— developing effective, long-term national and regional mechanisms for coordination and cooperation among the key

stakeholders in lifelong guidance provision,

— facilitating such coordination and cooperation by developing a guidance dimension within national lifelong learning

and labour market strategies, in keeping with the concept which each Member State has adopted,

— supporting a partnership policy and the local networking of lifelong guidance services, including by pooling services

wherever this proves effective, in the interests of streamlining user access,

— developing a common culture, including by means of quality assurance, among the various services responsible at

local, regional and national levels.