Lifelong vocational guidance for young people and adults

As of 1 January 2019, the service offering vocational guidance before entering working life will be introduced nationwide (Area 1).

Since January 2020, the lifelong career guidance of the BA has been extended to adults (Area 2: unemployed or in employment), in addition to young people.

In 2021, the online self-exploration tools Check-U and New plan, aim to inspire choices of new professional paths and shows the possibilities for development or further training on the job (Area 3).

A brochure describing all Lifelong vocational guidance services was published by the Federal Employment Agency in November 2021.

In 2022, the Federal Employment Agency intensified its lifelong vocational guidance services by expanding the digital self-exploration tools (Check-U for new entrants into professional life and NewPlan for those in work).

As an association in which guidance associations and stakeholders, experts from science and research, business organisations and trade unions have joined forces, the German National Guidance Forum in Education, Career and Employment (Nationales Forum Beratung in Bildung, Beruf und Beschäftigung e.V.) is committed to the professional development of guidance services in Germany and in Europe. The nfb brochure Career Guidance in the Life Course – Structures and Services in Germany (in English) was updated in 2022, in cooperation with the national Euroguidance centre in the Federal Employment Agency. This brochure informs guidance practitioners about the basic features of the German guidance system in the field of education, career and employment and provides a compact overview of guidance structures and guidance services in Germany.

Since the end of 2022, 600 counsellors have been available nationwide at 39 network locations to provide career guidance to employees and those returning to work. The overall aim of lifelong career guidance is to support young people and adults throughout their working lives, particularly with regard to changing conditions on the training and labour market.

In 2023, the BA's lifelong career guidance service, which is already anchored in the Social Code III (SGB III), was further strengthened. The service offers career guidance to people before entering employment (BBvE) and to people in employment (BBiE), for example when re-entry or career reorientation is involved. With BBiE, the Federal employment agency is expanding its career guidance services.

In December 2023, the IAB (Institute for employment research of the federal employment agency) published the research report 21/2023: Who makes use of career guidance in working life (BBiE)? A process data analysis. As the Federal employment agency services addressed different target groups during the period investigated, the IAB research report examines 45 000 employed persons, almost 9 000 unemployed persons and around 17 500 other persons who attended at least one initial guidance appointment in 2021 and who fulfilled some additional conditions.

Since 25 June 2024, the New Plan - an online tool for professional development - has been integrated into the national education platform ‘my NOW’.

The IAB research report 01/2024 presented the results of an online survey among employees and recipients of unemployment benefits. The sample analysed in this report comprised approximately 4 400 people.

The main results of the survey as presented in the report are:

1. on average, people receiving unemployment benefit knew about and used New Plan more often than those in full-time employment. People who had received the information letter sent in advance knew and used New Plan significantly more often;
2. two thirds of the full-time employees surveyed and three quarters of the unemployment benefit recipients surveyed were interested in professional development;
3. more than half of the full-time employees and unemployment benefit recipients surveyed unemployment benefit recipients felt (rather) well informed about their earnings and employment opportunities. The information letter sent out in advance had no influence on their responses.

In 2025, the portal ‘my NOW!’ run by the Federal Employment Agency provided career tests to check own skills and expertise, as well as information on job profiles and prospects, on professional development and further education programmes, on funding opportunities and on counselling services – all in one place.

For young people, the portal ‘my vocation’ (meinBeruf) run by the Federal Employment Agency provided guidance and vocational orientation in 2025.

In Germany, women interrupt their careers more often than men. This often leads to difficulties when returning to work. Qualifications can become outdated and uncertainties about career opportunities can arise. Support is available from the Federal Employment Agency's career guidance service. Studies by the IAB provide indications of the extent to which this advisory service reaches the group of women returning to work (IAB-Forum, July 2025). Further, the issue 02-25 of the online magazine DENK-doch-Mal.de (‘Think about it!’) focused on career and employment history in the course of life, featuring various expert articles.