Through adopting the Rulebook on standards of career guidance and counselling services on the 19^th of June 2019 the important step towards establishment of comprehensive quality system in the area of career guidance and counselling was made.

What does creating career mean and which competencies are connected with it? Which general competencies should the career practitioners have and which are the specific competencies they should possess depending on whether they conduct counselling, informing or career education? How to check whether the career guidance services of the organization are available to everyone? These are some of the questions regarding which the standards of career guidance and counselling services provide guidelines.

Four parts of the standards puzzle

By adopting standards the bases is made for planning, development and evaluation of career guidance and counselling services provided by organizations in the education, employment, social protection and youth policies sectors, for individuals of any age.

Standards are described in four areas:

1. Standards of career management skills define key areas of personal and professional development and within them, competencies of individuals in the areas of discovering and understanding themselves, learning about possibilities in the world of work and creating their careers, as well as outcomes connected with these competencies.
2. Standards of competencies of career practitioners represent basic guidelines to employees and organizations who conduct programs and services of career guidance, regarding ethical principles as preconditions for work of practitioners in the areas of counselling, informing and career education.
3. Organizational standards define conditions, requirements and principals on which the quality of services of organization is based upon.
4. Standards of career guidance programs represent structural framework for development and conducting services and activities in an organization.

Development of standards as a result of cooperation

Institute for Improvement of Education and Upbringing – Centre for Vocational and Adult Education at a proposition of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development in cooperation with Belgrade Open School, Euroguidance centre and GIZ project realized the process of development of the standards of career guidance and counselling services. Through participation in the working group, Belgrade Open School has provided expert support for establishing career guidance standards as a prerequisite for the development of quality in the career guidance and counselling field in Serbia.

The Working Group consisted of representatives of the ministries in charge of education, youth and employment, Council for Vocational and Adult Education, Institute for Evaluation of Education, Public Employment Service, Chamber of Commerce, educational institutions, international and civil society organizations.

As the analysis of career guidance systems in the Western Balkans region conducted by BOS shows, development of the standards of career guidance and counselling services with participation of all relevant actors can be acknowledged as a good practice example. More information on the process of development of standards is available at the webpage of the Institute for Improvement of Education and Upbringing.