Career Centres for Youth+

Policy development
Practical measure/Initiative
Slovenia
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Timeline
  • 2025Implementation
ID number
50654

Background

A brief overview of the context and rationale of the policy development, explaining why it is implemented or why it is important.

The Career Centres for Youth+ (KCM+) initiative was launched in response to persistent challenges in supporting young people’s timely and well-informed transitions from education to the labour market in Slovenia. Despite earlier investments in career guidance, gaps remained in access, regional coverage and the inclusion of vulnerable groups, particularly young people at risk of early disengagement from education and training. At the same time, skills mismatches and shortages in key sectors highlighted the need for stronger links between education, VET providers and local labour markets.

Objectives

Goals and objectives of the policy development.

The main goal of the projects is to support young people’s integration into the labour market by better connecting the education process with the local environment and economy. The purpose of the programme is to provide better access to career guidance services for the young people in education (children and adolescents aged between 6 and 19) and NEETs (young people not in education, employment, or training aged 15 to 29). By fostering better links between education, employers, and regional labour market needs, the project seeks to empower young people to make informed decisions about their career paths and better prepare them for the future workforce, with a particular focus on addressing skills shortages in key sectors such as green and digital industries

The responsibilities of the KCM+ are:

  1. ensuring comprehensive and accessible career guidance services;
  2. empowering youth through individual and group career planning;
  3. supporting parents and school counsellors in delivering career guidance;
  4. developing new, tailored approaches for career orientation;
  5. facilitating career exploration and employer engagement, especially in shortage and future-oriented professions;
  6. providing information on labour market entry;
  7. strengthening cooperation among labour market stakeholders and career guidance providers (e.g. Employment Service of Slovenia, Slovenian Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational Education and Training, chambers, schools, and PUM-O+ (Project Learning for Young Adults+) programme providers and other relevant stakeholders).

Description

What/How/Who/For whom/When of the policy development in detail, explaining its activities and annual progress, main actors and target groups.

In April 2025, the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities launched an open call to co-finance two multi-year Career Centres for Youth+ (KCM+) projects, aiming to expand access to high-quality career guidance across Slovenia by establishing two regional consortia that form a coordinated network of youth career centres.

In the Western cohesion region, the lead partner is the Public Institute Cene Štupar – Centre for Education Ljubljana, implementing the project titled Karierni plac – Career Centre for Youth+. The consortium covers six territorial units. In the Eastern cohesion region, the project is led by the PRIZMA Foundation for Improving Employment Opportunities under the title Career Centre for Youth – VšečKAM in GREM+. This consortium operates across seven territorial units.

Building on the previous initiative implemented from 2019 to 2022, KCM+ aims to broaden its reach by including NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) aged 15-29 in its target group. Through this approach, KCM+ seeks to provide individuals in the target group with practical support for understanding their strengths, interests, and competencies, exploring future-oriented and shortage occupations, and making informed decisions about education, training, and employment. The initiative also aims respond to regional labour-market needs by strengthening links between schools and employers, developing tailored guidance...

In April 2025, the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities launched an open call to co-finance two multi-year Career Centres for Youth+ (KCM+) projects, aiming to expand access to high-quality career guidance across Slovenia by establishing two regional consortia that form a coordinated network of youth career centres.

In the Western cohesion region, the lead partner is the Public Institute Cene Štupar – Centre for Education Ljubljana, implementing the project titled Karierni plac – Career Centre for Youth+. The consortium covers six territorial units. In the Eastern cohesion region, the project is led by the PRIZMA Foundation for Improving Employment Opportunities under the title Career Centre for Youth – VšečKAM in GREM+. This consortium operates across seven territorial units.

Building on the previous initiative implemented from 2019 to 2022, KCM+ aims to broaden its reach by including NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) aged 15-29 in its target group. Through this approach, KCM+ seeks to provide individuals in the target group with practical support for understanding their strengths, interests, and competencies, exploring future-oriented and shortage occupations, and making informed decisions about education, training, and employment. The initiative also aims respond to regional labour-market needs by strengthening links between schools and employers, developing tailored guidance approaches, and empowering young people to plan their career paths with greater confidence and awareness of opportunities.

It also places greater emphasis on involving parents and school staff in career counselling. With its expanded geographical coverage across all statistical regions of Slovenia, the KCM+ aims to enhance its impact, particularly by focusing on regional labour market demands and preparing youth for the evolving job market.

2025
Implementation

Following a public tender for the co-financing of Career Centres for Youth+ (KCM+), co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), two multi-year KCM+ projects were selected by a committee appointed by the Minister responsible for labour specifically for this call. The projects are implemented over the period September 2025 to September 2029. They will focus on:

  1. providing expert support in career exploration and decision-making.
  2. identifying labour market needs and regional specifics, especially by connecting local schools and employers.

In the Western Cohesion Region, one KCM+ was established, comprising 6 partners (6 KCM+ units), operating in four statistical regains, with the aim of reaching at least 13 230 young people. In the Eastern Cohesion Region, one KCM+ consortium was established comprising 7 partners (7 KCM units) operating in eight statistical regions and aiming to reach at least 13 770 young people.

Bodies responsible

This section lists main bodies that are responsible for the implementation of the policy development or for its specific parts or activities, as indicated in the regulatory acts. The responsibilities are usually explained in its description.
  • Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (MDDSZ)

Target groups

Those who are positively and directly affected by the measures of the policy development; those on the list are specifically defined in the EU VET policy documents. A policy development can be addressed to one or several target groups.

Learners

  • Learners in upper secondary, including apprentices
  • Young people (15-29 years old)
  • Young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs)

Thematic categories

Thematic categories capture main aspects of the decision-making and operation of national VET and LLL systems. These broad areas represent key elements that all VET and LLL systems have to different extents and in different combinations, and which come into focus depending on the EU and national priorities. Thematic categories are further divided into thematic sub-categories. Based on their description, policy developments can be assigned to one or several thematic categories.

Supporting lifelong learning culture and increasing participation

Lifelong learning refers to all learning (formal, non-formal or informal) taking place at all stages in life and resulting in an improvement or update in knowledge, skills, competences and attitudes or in participation in society from a personal, civic, cultural, social or employment-related perspective (Erasmus+, Glossary of terms, https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/programme-guide/part-d/glossary-common-terms). A systemic approach to CVET is crucial to ensure adaptability to evolving demands.

This broad thematic category looks at ways of creating opportunities and ensuring access to re-skilling and upskilling pathways, allowing individuals to progress smoothly in their learning throughout their lives with better permeability between general and vocational education and training, and better integration and compatibility between initial and continuing VET and with higher education. Individuals should be supported in acquiring and updating their skills and competences and navigating easily through education and training systems. Strategies and campaigns that promote VET and LLL as an attractive and high-quality pathway, providing quality lifelong guidance and tailored support to design learning and career paths, and various incentives (financial and non-financial) to attract and support participation in VET and LLL fall into this thematic category as well.

This thematic category also includes many initiatives on making VET inclusive and ensuring equal education and training opportunities for various groups of learners, regardless of their personal and economic background and place of residence – especially those at risk of disadvantage or exclusion, such as persons with disabilities, the low-skilled and low-qualified, minorities, migrants, refugees and others.

Providing for individuals' re- and upskilling needs

This thematic sub-category refers to providing the possibility for individuals who are already in the labour market/in employment to reskill and/or acquire higher levels of skills, and to ensuring targeted information resources on the benefits of CVET and lifelong learning. It also covers the availability of CVET programmes adaptable to labour market, sectoral or individual up- and reskilling needs. The sub-category includes working with respective stakeholders to develop digital learning solutions supporting access to CVET opportunities and awarding CVET credentials and certificates.

Lifelong guidance

This thematic sub-category refers to providing high-quality lifelong learning and career guidance services, including making full use of Europass and other digital services and resources.

Ensuring equal opportunities and inclusiveness in education and training

This thematic sub-category refers to making VET pathways and programmes inclusive and accessible for all. It concerns measures and targeted actions to increase access and participation in VET and lifelong learning for learners from all vulnerable groups, and to support their school/training-to-work transitions. It includes measures to prevent early leaving from education and training. The thematic sub-category covers measures promoting gender balance in traditionally ‘male’ and ‘female’ professions and addressing gender-related and other stereotypes. The vulnerable groups are, but not limited to: persons with disabilities; the low-qualified/-skilled; minorities; persons of migrant background, including refugees; people with fewer opportunities due to their geographical location and/or their socioeconomically disadvantaged circumstances.

European priorities in VET

EU priorities in VET and LLL are set in the Council Recommendation for VET for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience, adopted on 24 November 2020 and in the Osnabrück Declaration on VET endorsed on 30 November 2020.

VET Recommendation

  • VET as an attractive choice based on modern and digitalised provision of training and skills
  • VET promoting equality of opportunities

Osnabrück Declaration

  • Establishing a new lifelong learning culture - relevance of continuing VET and digitalisation

Subsystem

Part of the vocational education and training and lifelong learning systems the policy development applies to.
IVET

Further reading

Sources for further reading where readers can find more information on policy developments: links to official documents, dedicated websites, project pages. Some sources may only be available in national languages.
Project website

Country

Slovenia

Type of development

Policy developments are divided into three types: strategy/action plan; regulation/legislation; and practical measure/initiative.
Practical measure/Initiative
Cite as

Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2026). Career Centres for Youth+: Slovenia. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2026). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2025 update) [Online tool].

https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/cs/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/50654