Lifelong guidance policy for Ukrainian refugees in the EU : views from CareersNet.
Date: 2023-03-23
Institutions: Cedefop
Subjects: aid to refugees, integration into employment, integration of migrants, job access, labour market, professional qualifications, refugee

EN

Lifelong guidance policy
for Ukrainian refugees
in the EU

Views from CareersNet 

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02

Data on  
Ukrainian  
refugees  
coming 
into the EU

7  996  573   
refugees from Ukraine have been recorded across Europe 
since February 24, 2022 (*).  

Almost 5 million    
have been registered for Temporary Protection or similar 
national  protection  schemes  in  Europe.  The  majority  of 
those granted temporary protection are women and chil-
dren (Eurostat data).

(*) Data taken from UNHCR January 24, 2023. ‘Europe’ includes 

all Europe sub-regions as identified by EuroVoc.

Initial 
considerations 
for career  
guidance 
providers

Basic needs  
Food, shelter, safety, security, and psychological support 
are among the first services provided. 
Care of children 
Providing  full  access  to  arrangements  for  pre-school 
and  school  children  is  a  necessary  condition  to  enable 
parent(s)  willing  to  work  or  study  to  access  guidance 
services.  Students  need  access  to  career  education  in 
schools.

Context for career guidance 
provision
Once  basic  needs  are  secured,  a  second  support  level 
is  the  provision  of  career  guidance  providing  access  to 
suitable labour market and education opportunities.
Uncertainty in decision-making 
Refugees from Ukraine live with a high level of uncertain-
ty. Decision-making is made difficult for the individual and 
affects job search and education. It is important to adopt 
long-, medium- and short-term perspectives. As the con-
flict continues, services must adapt for the longer term.
Uncertainty in employment 
Will  Ukrainian  refugees  decide  to  remain  in  the  host 
country/in  the  EU?  This  continued  uncertainty  may  pre-
vent employers from recruiting refugees, for example, in 
apprenticeship schemes or in offering career support.

 
  
 
 
Career  guidance  provision  should  meet  the  diverse 
needs  of  refugees.  Career  leaders,  managers,  and 
practitioners  need  to  be  aware  of  the  relevant  and 
specific  barriers,  resources  and  opportunities,  par-
ticularly for providing career support to adults.

Language  barriers 
(cited most often, depending on host country) 
Guidance  services  may  sometimes  be  accessed  using  English; 
understanding  of  Slavic  languages  eases  access,  but  might  not 
be  enough  to  access  education  and/or  work.  Most  training  and 
job  opportunities  require  knowledge  of  the  local  languages,  with 
only a few economic sectors/occupations allowing for working in 
English. Not knowing the local languages also constitutes a barrier 
in interaction with the local administration.

Labour market barriers 
Although beneficiaries of the Temporary Protection Directive and 
of  international  protection  have  the  right  to  work  and  education, 
barriers exist as the necessary procedures are not always in place. 
Local employers might have doubts about recruiting refugees who 
are uncertain about the duration of their stay. According to the data 
reviewed, variations exist in ease of access to the labour market.

Outreach barriers   
Complexity  of  information  on  rights  could  be  considered  and 
eased. Existing information on education, employment, and rights 
should be accurate and adapted to specific needs that evolve with 
changes. Refugees with lack of trust or negative past experiences 
with public administration may avoid registration or use of career 
services. Providers must carefully choose the appropriate format 
and channels for services and consider low threshold measures.

Lack of understanding 
There may be gaps in understanding of host and Ukrainian edu-
cation,  training,  employment,  and  career  support  systems  alike, 
between career guidance provider and guidance clients. This pos-
es difficulties in comparing qualifications and assessing/certifying 
competences. Career guidance and advice on training in adopting 
long- to short-term perspectives can prepare for potential transfer 
of  experience  back  to  Ukrainian  settings.  In  some  EU  countries, 
guidance may only be available in the form of ad hoc or tailor-made 
support, without a systemic or integrated vision.

Potential 
context 
and  
barriers 
career 
services 
need to 
understand

03

  
 
 
 
Lifelong guidance policy for Ukrainian refugees in the EU 

04

System  
and  
policy  
level 
experiences  
in career  
guidance  
for refugees

The  level  of  readiness  of  the  guidance  system  to 
receive  new  refugees  tends  to  depend  on  past 
experience and existing structures (across sectors, 
including  NGOs).  Overall  capacity  of  the  lifelong 
guidance systems in relation to refugees may largely 
depend on experience with previous refugee flows. 
Gaps  can  appear  in  services  for  existing  refugee 
groups when high numbers of newcomers arrive. 

The  level  and  types  of  cooperation  among  key 
supporting  actors  in  the  lifelong  guidance  ecosys-
tem  and  nearby  fields  varies  substantially  across 
countries  but  appears  to  be  inadequate  across  all 
relevant  levels.  To  support  complex  needs  career 
guidance  and  psychological  support  need  to  work 
together  (e.g.  via  referrals).  There  seems  to  be 
limited  interinstitutional  cooperation  and  patchy 
cross-institutional activity. 

This  points  to  a  need  for  better  coordination  and 
collaboration  in  the  lifelong  guidance  ecosystem, 
vertically and horizontally.

Sufficient  attention  should  be  placed  on  providing 
basic information, especially using existing informa-
tion  tools,  including  translating  self-help  tools  (EU 
and national ones), and transferring existing tools to 
new contexts. 

  The  now  activated  Temporary  Protection  Directive  sup-
ports immediate labour market and education access for 
beneficiaries;  however,  accompanying  language  learning 
support and adequate career guidance are needed to en-
able Ukrainian refugees to access meaningful jobs and/ or 
learning opportunities.

  There  is  a  need  to  develop  robust,  adequate  guidance 
systems,  flexible  enough,  with  stable  financing,  and  en-
suring smooth collaboration, to accommodate the evolv-
ing demands of Ukrainian refugees; career guidance and 
training  designed  with  both  shorter-term  and  long-term 
perspectives in mind need to be integrated in these sys-
tems.

  Building  on  past  experience  with  other  refugee  popula-
tions  helps,  as  the  lifelong  guidance  systems  are  better 
prepared and able to learn from prior successes and diffi-
culties; however, needs can change with each new demo-
graphic profile and context.

  The provision of information (e.g. help desks or single ac-
cess points) is a starting point for further career guidance 
but some countries lacking these features need to devel-
op them.

  To support complex needs, some countries have integrat-

ed psychological support into career guidance.

  There is a need for trained guidance professionals to en-
able  crisis  management;  they  should  be  sensitive  to  the 
challenging situation of refugees and regularly updated on 
their changing circumstances and specific needs.

  ICT is useful in accommodating a large number of career 
guidance  clients  who  have  access,  helping  in  the  trans-
lation process and in follow-up steps. It can improve ac-
cessibility  to  information,  availability  of  education  and 
linguistic  resources,  admissibility  to  labour  markets  and 
entrepreneurship  opportunities,communicability  with  the 
home  country,  connectedness  with  the  local  population, 
interactivity  with  the  host  government,  and  can  facilitate 
peer-help as well as volunteer coordination.

  It is important that public administration work with NGOs 
which are directly in contact with the evolving flow of ar-
rivals, their changing situations, addressing their different 
needs.

Suggestions  
for  
developing  
career  
guidance  
policy 

05

EN

Lifelong guidance policy
for Ukrainian refugees
in the EU
Views from CareersNet 

This  flyer  draws  on  an  ad  hoc  data  collection  volunteered  by  independent 
CareersNet experts in lifelong guidance and career development during May 
2022,  with  views  from:  AT,  BG,  CH,  CZ,  EL,  ES,  FI,  FR,  HU,  RS,  SE,  SK, 
TR.  The  CareersNet  advisory  group  (Wolfgang  Bliem  (AT),  Tibor  Bors  Bor-
bély-Pecze (HU), Jaana Kettunen (FI), and Ema Perme (SI)) drafted the mate-
rial and Cedefop coordinated the process.

Experts provided independent assessments and illustrations, with suggest-
ed solutions to challenges in the field of career guidance for Ukrainian refu-
gees, particularly adults, based on evidence available. Content and access 
to information varied widely among countries due to the dynamic nature of 
the situation.

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