This is a joint strategy and implementation plan for career guidance services in Northern Ireland of two government ministries/ the Department of Education and the Department for Employment and Learning. Based on extensive consultation exercises on its proposals of 2007, the document outlines a new comprehensive strategy for the delivery of career guidance services and the challenges involved. It articulates a vision for the future and maps the actions required to deliver it.

The vision is subdivided into five themes:

1. Careers education
2. Access to careers information
3. Improving careers advice and guidance
4. Improving quality
5. Improving professional development.

This is the Danish translation of the European Council of Education Ministers' Resolution (2008) on better integrating lifelong guidance in strategies for lifelong learning. The Resolution defined four key areas/axes to guide national reforms of policies and systems:

This is the German translation of the Council of Education Ministers' Resolution (2008) on better integrating lifelong guidance into lifelong learning strategies.

It defines 4 key axes of action for the reform of guidance services in Member States:

This Report was presented by Deputy Guégot to the French National Assembly in December 2008. It examined:

• problems in initial and continuing training supply: quality, transparency, funding, governance
• inequalities for young people and adults in accessing training
• difficulties in career guidance provision to support youth and adult participation in training.

It presents 16 propositions to address these issues.

This is an interesting study of adult employees in France who took advantage of their legal right to further education and training by participating in training provided by AFPA, the government institution charged with the vocational training of adults. 12000 such adults were surveyed with a view to discovering their motivation for using their legal right and what happened to them within 6 months of completion of training.

-66% of those surveyed wanted to change the type of work they were doing;

-54% wished to obtain a qualification;

-48% undertook a training programme that bore no relationship with their previous job.

The results of this survey are a healthy reminder of the guidance needs of employed adults. AFPA is particularly good at guidance for adults who wish to enter training programmes.

O Conselho da Uniao Europeia de Novembro de 2008 convidam os estados-membros a:

• favorecer a aquisicao da capacidade de orientacao ao longo da vida
• facilitar o acesso de todos os cidados aos servicos de orientacao
• desenvolve a garantia de qualidade dos sericos de orientacao
• incentivar a coordenacao e cooperacao dos diversos intervenientes a nivel nacional, regional e local.

El Consejo de la Union Europea de noviembre de 2008 invita los estados miembros a aplicar los siguientes principes rectores:

• favorecer la adquisicion permanente de capacidades de orientacion
• facilitar el acceso de todos los ciudadanos a los servicios de orientacion
• desarrolar la garantia de calidad de los servicios de orientacion
• fomentar la coordinacion y la cooperacion de los distintos protagonistas a niveles nacional, regional y local.

Le Conseil des ministres d'éducation de l'Union européenne ont adoptés cette Résolution en novembre 2008 afin de aider les états membres a réformer leur politiques, systémés et pratiques de l'orientation tout au long de la vie et de donner un soutien communtaire au travail de la European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network (ELGPN).

La Résolution invite les états membres a appliquer les principes directeurs ci-aprés dans leurs efforts de réforme:

• favoriser l'acquisition de la capacité à s'orienter tout au long de la vie
• faciliter l'accés de tous les citoyens aux services d'orientation
• dévelloper l'assurance qualité des services d'orientation
• encourager la coordination et la cooperation des différents acteurs aux niveaux national, régional et local.

This November 2008 Resolution of the EU Council of Ministers is an instrument to assist Member States to implement reform of career guidance services within their national strategies for lifelong learning. It highlights four areas for reform:

• Encouraging the acquisition of career management skills
• Facilitating access to guidance services by all sections of the population
• Developing the quality assurance of guidance provision
• Encouraging coordination and cooperation between all the stakeholders at national, regional and local levels.

It provides a political mandate for the work of the European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network (ELGPN) for the next 4 years.

AFPA is the state institution in France charged with the vocational training of adults. It is unique in Europe and beyond in that it provides a professional career guidance service to trainees prior to course entry, during training and at exit. AFPA's course completion and qualifications rates are very impressive and taking into account that the people who attend their training often suffer multiple barriers to learning.

This document developed  in the last quarter of 2008 is AFPA's contribution to an ongoing debate in France about the future organisation and management of career guidance services for all of the population. It identifies some of the key issues from an AFPA perspective, describes good practices developed by its dedicated guidance services and support unit (INOIP), and  feedback from its users.