Career Guidance in Public Employment Services Across Europe

The results of a survey of Public Employment Services in all the Member-States of the European Union, plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, are reported. The career guidance services offered within these structures are reviewed, in three categories: career guidance elements within personalised employment services; specialised career guidance provision; and other relevant provision, including career and labour market information and the delivery of services to students. Four trends are identified: towards self-service provision; towards tiering of services; towards decentralisation; and towards outsourcing. Finally, four issues are addressed: quality and impact measurement; role tensions; foregrounding the identity of career guidance; and the role of Public Employment Services in relation to lifelong access to career guidance.