Provision of educational and vocational guidance for pupils and students in the education system and for young people outside education and employment is given high priority in Denmark.  In April 2003, the Danish parliament adopted a new act on guidance (eng.uvm.dk/guidance/guidance.doc), as a result of which a comprehensive restructuring of guidance services in the educational system was initiated. The Danish Government wishes to make it easier for citizens to make realistic decisions about learning opportunities and careers - for the individual’s own sake and for the good of society as a whole. The Danish guidance reform should be seen in this perspective.

The new guidance system became operational 1 August 2004. The Ministry of Education has been responsible for the implementation of the Danish guidance reform, and it has a controlling and coordinating role in relation to the new guidance system.

This publication gives an overview of the key elements of the reform and the new Danish guidance system in the educational sector. The reform is primarily concerned with guidance services for young people. The main providers of guidance services for adults are the public employment services and the municipalities but these services are not covered by the reform and, therefore, they are not described
in this booklet.

An online version of the present publication is available at: http://pub.uvm.dk/2004/guidance/

There are two established systems of guidance and counselling that complement each other in their operation and goals: student counselling provided by the school system, and the vocational guidance and career planning as well as the educational and vocational information services run by the labour
administration. Education and labour authorities have the main responsibility for the organisation
of guidance and counselling services in the public sector. Also the bodies maintaining educational institutions, usually municipalities, share this responsibility to provide guidance and counselling at
schools.

The division of tasks between these two systems is clear. Educational institutions have the main responsibility for counselling of pupils and students, and the careers services of employment
offices are primarily intended for those outside the education and training system. However, all guidance and counselling services provided by employment offices are available for students, too,
when needed.

The goal of the guidance and counselling services is to help individuals make choices concerning their education, training and career planning at different stages of their lives. In Finland all citizens have a chance of receiving guidance and counselling whether they are students, at work, unemployed or
outside the labour market.

School Career Guidance in Greece was first implemented in 1978 (Law 307/76). This first implementation was experimental and carried out only in a few schools in the two largest cities of Greece, Athens and Thessaloniki, and only in the third grade of the lower Secondary Education schools which are called Gymnasiums (see Figure 1.).

Law 1566/85 constituted the legislative framework for the implementation of the institution in its present-day form. According to the above law, School Career Guidance is compulsory and is implemented in Secondary Education school units by teachers of various disciplines. More particularly, the main target of School Career Guidance is " to develop the students’ personality, as well as inform them about career choices available, and transitional stages in establishing a career and that will introduce them into life and society1”.

From 1985 until 1997 the institution of School Career Guidance was generalized and applied to various grades of the Gymnasium, and the upper Secondary Education schools, while from 1997 until today School Career Guidance has been applied to the 3rd grade of the Gymnasium and to the 1st grade of the Unified Upper Secondary School (Unified Lyceum).

Under a new law passed in 1997 (Law 2525/97) a number of innovations have been introduced into School Career Guidance.  More specifically the following centers have been established

• the National Center for Vocational Orientation,
• sixty eight (68) Guidance and Counselling Centers (Career Centers) at the headquarters of each prefecture, in addition to one at the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs and one at the Pedagogical Institute as co-ordinating agent ,
• two hundred (200) pilot School Career Guidance Offices in 200 Secondary Education school units.

The objective of career guidance in secondary education schools is to provide students with the necessary knowledge and appropriate experience in order to be able to:

• attain realistic self-understanding (achieve personal development and self-knowledge and make accurate estimates of personal traits and achievements)
• use information effectively
• develop skills pertinent to effective enquiry, critical processing and exploitation of information,
• develop problem solving and decision making skills
• identify the steps required to gain admission after secondary school  including whom to contact, how  to apply, what capital investment is necessary and the like.

Due to the diversity of its goals Career Guidance became part of the curriculum, while its aims fundamentally prescribe the role of Career Guidance officials in the school.

For a fuller account please read the attached description below.

Development of career guidance in Slovenia

Through the past five decades career guidance has been developing in the context of Employment Service of Slovenia, addressing labour market needs and the needs of unemployed.

In the 60s and 70s of the previous century, school career guidance has been offered as a part of School Counselling Centres addressing the needs of students in primary and secondary schools.  Until 1995, students have been the primary target group of career guidance.

At the beginning of the 90s, the turbulent labour market changes resulted in growing unemployment rates (in 1993 – 15.3%). A need for broader career guidance and new approach had been recognized. As a result, the career guidance reform was implemented in the 1996–1999 period. Throughout this period focus has shifted towards the unemployed and their specific needs. The need for new adult career guidance methods has emerged.  

For more details about the current organisation of career guidance in Slovenia, please read the pdf accessible below.

Career guidance services in the United Kingdom (2007)

In the UK, the specific term 'guidance' is normally reserved to describe the more intensive support element of a broader range of services collectively referred to as 'information, advice and guidance' (IAG). It is generally recognised that these services are well developed in the UK compared to most other developed countries. They are provided in a diverse range of ways, are available across many contexts, and have many highly developed institutional support arrangements including a legislative base, quality assurance standards, training and qualification frameworks, and research and evaluation support. 

However, there are many differences and similarities in the arrangements for the delivery of IAG services across the four constituent countries of the UK. These arrangements partly reflect the geography, culture, complexity and relative population sizes of the regions and, increasingly, they are also linked to differences in the legal and constitutional responsibilities that apply. In 1999/2000 certain powers, including those covering education and training, were devolved to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales who now have their own administrations, namely: the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Scottish Executive and the National Assembly for Wales. This means that within an overall policy framework emanating from the national parliament in London, the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are able to enact their own distinctive legislation.

For a fuller account of career guidance services across the UK, look at the pdf summary below.