- 2020Design
- 2021Design
- 2022Pilot
- 2023Design
- 2024Completed
Background
Career guidance and counselling helps individuals make well-informed decisions about education and careers, leading to more motivated students and, consequently, fewer dropouts. Guidance also assists individuals in adapting to a changing labour market and facilitates transitions or the acquisition of new skills when necessary. A workforce that is well-equipped through guidance is more productive and adaptable, which positively impacts economic development and competitiveness. Lifelong guidance supports society in a time of change.
To make well-informed choices, it is essential to receive structured information that is easily accessible and supports the decisions individuals need to make during the education and career selection process. The more choices there are and the more dynamic the external environment, the greater the need for information that is as objective and comprehensive as possible. The information provided by the education guide strengthens the individual’s opportunities, as well as the education system's ability to organise its career guidance effectively in terms of both resource usage and quality. When target groups can obtain certain information about education and career options independently, career advisers can focus more on actual guidance.
Well-structured guidance helps ensure access to skills and improves labour market matching. Therefore, it is of great importance that those planning to begin an education have access to guidance that is tailored to their individual needs and circumstances. By avoiding limitations in educational and career choices based on gender, social factors, or cultural background, guidance can play a key role in reducing segregation and biased recruitment. Access to guidance with educational and labour market information for EU citizens is also a key indicator in several international frameworks.
Objectives
The development of digital tools for study and career guidance to strengthen guidance in the school system and contribute to the possibility for more students to make informed choices.
Description
In Sweden, free school choice is applied and neutral, reliable and quality-assured information is needed for the individual to be able to make an informed choice. In 2020, the Swedish National Agency for Education was tasked by the education ministry with strengthening study and career guidance in the school system to contribute to more students having the opportunity to make well-founded educational and career choices. This would be done by developing digital tools for study and career guidance.
Various user surveys, interviews and workshops with students and study and vocational guidance counsellors were the basis for which tools have been developed and how they have been designed.
The target groups are students who have to choose a primary or secondary school, guardians who are looking for preschool or school for their child, adults who are looking for education or a profession, and study and vocational guidance counsellors. The target groups' needs for support and information, their behaviours and driving forces are the basis for the digital tools developed within the assignment.
The project started in September 2020 and was conducted according to a needs-driven design process to guarantee quality and reduce risk and cost. The first phases of the work were carried out according to Service Design Thinking, a user-centred approach to creating and improving services by focusing on user needs and ensuring the service is desirable, feasible, and viable. The last part of the work was done according to the agile working method, which is a project management approach that breaks projects into small, iterative cycles called ‘sprints’. It emphasises flexibility, continuous improvement, and collaboration, allowing teams to adapt quickly to changing requirements by regularly reviewing progress and customer feedback
The work has been carried out in the explore, define, design and realise phase. The work covered the following areas:
- understand and map the target groups' needs, behaviour and driving forces;
- user journeys to understand users' needs at different stages of life.
In 2021, the work on the development of digital tools for study and career guidance in the school system continued.
Several tools were published in 2022, including calculate your comparison number and calculation help for foreign grades and compare high school programmes.
Several tools were published in 2023, including Find training for adults and Vocational inspiration.
In 2024, the final report of the task was written and delivered to the Ministry of Education and Research. The report concludes that by February 2024 twelve digital tools for study and career guidance were developed and launched on the national guidance website, targeting students, parents, adults seeking education or careers, and guidance counsellors. The tools address key needs like calculating merit values, eligibility for programmes, comparing schools and vocational programmes, and exploring suitable careers based on personal traits. Thereby they support lifelong guidance, broaden perspectives on study and career options, and facilitate well-founded decisions, while promoting inclusivity and reducing bias. The reprot highlighted the necessity for ongoing website maintenance, data collaboration among authorities, and continuous user testing to remain a neutral, relevant actor in the guidance landscape.
Bodies responsible
- National Agency for Education
- Ministry of Education and Research
Target groups
Learners
- Learners in upper secondary, including apprentices
- Young people (15-29 years old)
- Adult learners
Education professionals
- Guidance practitioners
Other
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.
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.
European priorities in VET
VET Recommendation
- VET as an attractive choice based on modern and digitalised provision of training and skills
Osnabrück Declaration
- Establishing a new lifelong learning culture - relevance of continuing VET and digitalisation
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2026). Digital tools for study and career guidance: Sweden. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2026). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2025 update) [Online tool].
https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/48677