Belgrade, February 10, 2025 – A workshop dedicated to advancing career guidance and counselling (KViS) standards was held in Belgrade as part of the cooperation between two projects: Support for the Reform of the Dual System of Secondary Vocational Education and the National Qualifications Framework in the Light of Lifelong Learning in Serbia, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and Increased Offer and Diversification of Accredited Non-Formal Training Courses and Adult Training Providers, funded by the EU.
The event brought together over 20 members of the KViS working group to discuss proposals for improving KViS standards, establishing a National Coordination Point for KViS, and forming a National Expert Group for KViS. Dr. Vesna Fabian, Acting Assistant Director for the National Qualifications Framework, and Elido Bandelj, Project Team Leader, officially opened the workshop.
In the first part of the workshop, the participants had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the proposal of improved KViS standards presented by Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Pejatović from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. The proposal for improved standards for KViS was developed within the project funded by SDC, and will serve as the basis for finalizing the proposal for career guidance and counselling standards, which represent an important framework that enables the application of the concept of lifelong learning, provides support to the individual in developing career management skills, and increases mobility in the labour market.
The first area of the proposed improved standards of KViS services refers to the standards of career management skills, which define the individual competencies that each individual should develop throughout life. In addition, the proposal includes three additional areas of standards: standards of competence of career practitioners, standards of organization and implementation of KViS services, and standards of career guidance and counselling programs. Together, these areas provide a comprehensive framework to support career development.
Within the standard of competencies of career practitioners, three categories of practitioners are defined: KViS activity coordinator, who deals with organizing activities and providing basic information to users; a career counsellor, who provides systematic career information, counselling and training for the development of career management skills; and an expert in KViS, who rightly deals with research, design, evaluation and development of quality systems in the field of KViS. In order to create a favourable context for the consideration of proposals for improved standards of KViS services, it is planned to establish several systems to support the application of new standards, including a code of professional ethics, a portal with relevant data and guides for harmonizing work in different sectors. These mechanisms aim to facilitate the implementation of standards in the fields of education, employment and youth work, thereby ensuring better career support for all citizens.
Presenting an analysis of the possibilities for establishing a National Expert Group for KViS and a National Coordination Point for KViS, project team leader Elido Bandelj pointed out, among other things, that the National Coordination Point for KViS should provide support to the National Expert Group, connect and coordinate the network of career centres and practitioners, provide support to practitioners, to design, prepare and organize trainings for career practitioners, and work on the preparation and maintenance of the portal that has yet to be established.
According to the findings of the analysis, the National Expert Group for KViS and the National Coordination Point for KViS could be located within existing institutions, such as the Qualifications Agency, the Office for Dual Education and NOKS or some of the existing institutions that are decided by the departments dealing with KViS, and funding could be provided from the budget of the Republic of Serbia. In order for this to happen, as the analysis indicates, it is necessary to prepare an action plan for the establishment of the mentioned bodies or to prepare amendments to the Act on the establishment of the institution in which they are placed. The action plan should also include: a plan to amend the necessary laws, a financing plan, normative solutions, changes to the act on the systematization of workplaces. By establishing the National Coordination Point for KViS and the National Expert Group for KViS, it will affect the quality of career guidance and counselling services, and through an intersectoral approach, career counselling services would be more accessible to all citizens, including young people, the unemployed and adults. The analysis also pointed to the need to create a common database on qualifications, educational programs and labour market needs, as well as connecting to European networks such as Euroguidance.
In addition, the analysis also indicated that one of the major challenges is achieving synergy between local plans and the required human resources. In this sense, there should be local bodies at the local level that would be in charge of implementing local and national policies related to the development of human resources. These bodies would also be in charge of networking career practitioners at the local level. A local network of career centers that functions for one or more local governments would achieve better results in resource planning, the analysis pointed out.
The participants of the workshop agreed that it is necessary to provide financial resources for the sustainable development and work of the National Coordinating Point for KViS and the National Expert Group for KViS, as well as for the training of career practitioners. Also, it was concluded that in the continuation of the implementation of activities, through the project "Increased supply and diversification of accredited training in the field of non-formal education and training providers for adult education", training programs and the training itself for different groups, a methodology for monitoring the quality and effect of KViS and instruments for the implementation of KViS in the process of recognition of prior learning will be developed.