Handbook on Lifelong Guidance for those working with education and career guidance

Handbook on Lifelong Guidance is an easy-to-use tool for all professionals involved in lifelong guidance.

The summary publication is the first of its kind in Finland. The Handbook on Lifelong Guidance aims to strengthen and support lifelong guidance at the national level. The Handbook provides support to ensure high-quality implementation, equality and accessibility of guidance in Finland.

In addition to disseminating information, the Handbook intends to inspire advisers to develop their skills and working methods and to encourage organisations related to guidance to enhance their activities. The Handbook can be used in diverse ways in different situations, e.g. in supporting guidance work and training, as independent learning material, for developing guidance work and supporting decision-making. It also provides a good introduction to those wanting to learn about all aspects of lifelong guidance in Finland.

What does lifelong guidance mean?

Lifelong guidance refers to measures to support people in their education and career planning throughout their lives in educational institutions, employment services, youth services and workplaces, for example. Career guidance ensures smooth and sustainable transitions on the educational and career path. Guiding people to make choices for the future requires wide-ranging skills and the ability to respond to the changing needs of society and working life. It is therefore important for those providing guidance to continuously develop their skills.

Because of the extent of lifelong guidance and the fragmented nature of information, it was deemed necessary to compile the national policies, strategies and the results of development projects on lifelong guidance together. The Handbook covers the key areas of lifelong guidance, including the strategy for lifelong guidance, guidance skills, criteria for good guidance, career planning skills and knowledge-based management of lifelong guidance. It provides clear guidelines and recommendations based on the results of recent national studies and experiments.

Handbook on Lifelong Guidance was produced with funding from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and it is based on continuous learning in accordance with the Sustainable Growth Programme. The Handbook is part of the national development of lifelong guidance, which is managed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the Development and Administration Centre of ELY Centres and TE Offices (KEHA Centre).

The Handbook will also be available in Swedish and English on the website of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

Inquiries:

Eveliina Vainikka, Senior Specialist, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 295 047 304
Anna Toni, Senior Specialist, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 295 047 361

The Ministry’s email addresses are in the format  [email protected]