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

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

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 activities relating to information-giving, counselling, competence assessment, support, and the teaching of decision-making and career management skills.

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

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, vocational 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 counselling 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,

—	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.