OECD initiatives in the field of lifelong guidance
Together with the EU, the OECD has played a significant role in bringing career guidance into focus.
Short descriptions of relevant OECD surveys and publications are provided below with links to online documents when possible.
Handbook for policy makers
A joint publication from the OECD and the European Commision (2004) provides a range of tools that can be used by policy makers to develop a comprehensive and efficient lifelong guidance system; a system covering both the educational and the labour market sectors.
OECD survey
In 2000-2002, the OECD carried out a survey of guidance policies and practices in 14 OECD countries, of which most were European countries. The 14 country reports are available from the OECD web site (go to bottom of the web page). Based on the findings from the country reports and the outcome of two international symposia on guidance, the OECD produced the publication Career Guidance and Public Policy. Bridging the Gap.
OECD website
The OECD webpages on guidance also include links to articles about various aspects of career guidance, e.g. quality in guidance, the use of ICT in guidance and training of guidance counsellors
The International Labour Organisation and the World Bank
Although not in the same scale as the EU and the OECD, organisations such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the World Bank have also focused on lifelong guidance in recent years.
The International Labour Organisation
In June 2004, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) adopted the ILO recommendation R195 - the so-called ”Human Resources Development Recommendation”. The new recommendation emphasises that educational and vocational guidance is a key factor in the promotion of lifelong learning.
The World Bank
In continuation of the OECD survey of guidance policies and practices, the World Bank initiated a similar survey in 7 so-called ”developing and transition economies”: Chile, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa and Turkey. In 2004, the World Bank published the results of the survey in the report "Public Policies for Career Development. Case Studies and Emerging Issues for Designing Career Information and Guidance Systems in Developing and Transition Economies".