Investing in career guidance

Effective career guidance helps individuals to reach their potential, economies to become more efficient and societies to become fairer. It is critical to the smooth transitions of people as they make choices about education and training and to mobility within the labour market. Today’s labour market has become more turbulent. Covid-19 has deeply disrupted demand for workers and accelerated patterns of automation and digital transformation. Globalisation, demographic trends and growing efforts to create greener economies are changing the character of demand for skills around the world. Career guidance has an essential part to play in recovery plans and in helping people of all ages and backgrounds to navigate such disruption. Evidence shows that investment in guidance provides positive economic, educational and social returns, however, in too many countries access to guidance is insufficient, particularly for those who are in greatest need.