Lifelong Guidance Systems in Europe – Monitoring and evaluating

Traditional learning and career pathways are being replaced by more dynamic, ‘patchier’ routes and shorter job tenures. Fast-changing and more complex learning and working contexts draw more attention to continuous learning and individual mobility, making lifelong guidance pivotal. It improves people’s access to career information, helps them assess it and enables them to develop diverse skills throughout their careers.

Common indicators for better reference and effectiveness

To help develop common indicators to measure progress towards higher-quality and cost-effectiveness of guidance provision in the EU, Cedefop examined indicators used by Member States or found in key studies (2). These include input, output, outcome and impact indicators and target elements such as:

ƒ practitioner competence;
ƒ client satisfaction;
ƒ individual wellbeing;
ƒ clients’ increased knowledge and skills;
ƒ changes in career-related behaviour;
ƒ increased share of people with higher qualifica-
tions or skills;
ƒ participation in adult learning;
ƒ increased employability;
ƒ improved employment rates;
ƒ reduction of social welfare costs;
ƒ individual income increases.

Such common indicators and the data collected in reference to them can be used separately – to monitor specific elements such as investment in practitioner training – or together, to evaluate outcomes such as the share of people with increased employability.

These or similar outcome-focused indicators and updated methods for capturing outcomes of guid- ance measures could provide a basis for countries to monitor and evaluate their systems and services thoroughly and to clarify individual user and stake- holder expectations of guidance. They would also help countries examine their service structures and resources from an outcome perspective and consider the level of their investment in labour market informa- tion, skills intelligence, artificial intelligence or practi- tioner training, as compared to other countries.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story @  Briefing note – Monitoring and evaluating lifelong guidance systems across Europe | CEDEFOP