Search results

PurposeExisting literature on algorithmic management practices – defined as autonomous data-driven decision making in people's management by adoption of self-learning algorithms and artificial intelligence – suggests complex relationships with employees' well-being in the workplace. While the use of algorithms can have positive impacts on people-related decisions, they may also adversely influence job autonomy, perceived justice and – as a result – workplace well-being. Literature review revealed a significant gap in empirical research on the nature and direction of these relationships. Therefore the purpose of this paper is to analyse how algorithmic management practices directly influence workplace well-being, as well as investigating its relationships with job autonomy and total rewards practices.Design/methodology/approachConceptual model of relationships between algorithmic management practices, job autonomy, total rewards and workplace well-being has been formulated on the basis of literature review. Proposed model has been empirically verified through confirmatory analysis by means of structural equation modelling (SEM CFA) on a sample of 21,869 European organisations, using data collected by Eurofound and Cedefop in 2019, with the focus of investigating the direct and indirect influence of algorithmic management practices on workplace well-being.FindingsThis research confirmed a moderate, direct impact of application of algorithmic management practices on workplace well-being. More importantly the authors found out that this approach has an indirect influence, through negative impact on job autonomy and total rewards practices. The authors observed significant variation in the level of influence depending on the size of the organisation, with the decreasing impacts of algorithmic management on well-being and job autonomy for larger entities.Originality/valueWhile the influence of algorithmic management on various workplace practices and effects is now widely discussed, the empirical evidence – especially for traditional work contexts, not only gig economy – is highly limited. The study fills this gap and suggests that algorithmic management – understood as an automated decision-making vehicle – might not always lead to better, well-being focused, people management in organisations. Academic studies and practical applications need to account for possible negative consequences of algorithmic management for the workplace well-being, by better reflecting complex nature of relationships between these variables.

In European industrialized countries, a large number of companies in the healthcare, hotel, and catering sectors, as well as in the technology sector, are affected by demographic, political, and technological developments resulting in a greater need of skilled workers with a simultaneous shortage of skilled workers (CEDEFOP, 2015, 2016). Consequently, employers have to address workers who have not been taken into account such as low-skilled workers, workers returning from a career break, people with a migrant background, older people, and jobseekers and train them, in order to guarantee the professionalization of this workforce (Festing and Harsch, 2018). Continuing vocational education and training (CVET) is seen as an indispensable tool; because CVET has advantages for both employers and employees, it helps to increase the productivity of companies (Barrett and O'Connell, 2001), to prevent the widening of socioeconomic disparities (Dieckhoff, 2007), and to open up career opportunities for the workforce (Rubenson and Desjardins, 2009). However, participation rate on CVET seems to differ, depending on institutional factors (such as sector and size of the company) and individual characteristics (such as qualification level, migration background, age and time of absence from work) (e.g., Rubenson and Desjardins, 2009; Wiseman and Parry, 2017). In contrast to previous research, our study aims to provide a holistic view of reasons for and against CVET, combining the different perspectives of employers and (potential) employees. The analysis of reasons and barriers was carried out based on semi-structured interviews. Fifty-seven employers, 73 employees, and 42 jobseekers (potential employees) from the sectors retail, healthcare and social services, hotels and catering, and technology were interviewed. Results point to considerable differences in the reasons and barriers mentioned by the disadvantaged groups. These differences are particularly significant between employees on the one side and employers, as well as jobseekers, on the other side, while the reasons to attend CVET of jobseekers are more similar to those of employers. The results can be used to tailor CVET more closely to the needs of (potential) employees and thus strengthen both the qualification and career opportunities of (potential) employees and the competitiveness and productivity of companies.

In 2011, the EU ERASMUS Thematic Network AQUAT-NET (representing the fields of aquaculture, fisheries and aquatic resources management) began a study on lifelong learning needs in the sector in order to find ways to tackle issues of articulation between different types of qualification frameworks. The survey (1913–1915) (37 organisations (universities, research institutions, associations and private companies providing lifelong learning (LLL) courses) from 16 European countries) examined their use of, and opinions concerning, the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and the corresponding European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET). The survey, published in 2015, revealed that two thirds of the respondents (65%) agreed or strongly agreed that there was a genuine need to establish the ECVET system of credit points in education and training and a majority of those respondents (58%) considered that the ECVET system of credits should be put into force as soon as possible, though with certain caveats. If the raft of new educational initiatives created by the European Union since then is considered along with the redefinition of key terminology in the EQF (i.e. competences) and the delayed rollout of the ECVET credit system, these AQUAT-NET results take on renewed significance, e.g. the admittedly low take-up rate of ECVET credit points. According to Reports and Evaluations on the state of ECVET implementation (e.g. CEDEFOP (2016) and the much later 2019 European Commission study on VET instruments ECVET and EQAVET), both the concept and the definition of ECVET credit points need to be revised (rather than removed). One acknowledged obstacle to the acceptance of the entire ECVET package lay in the absence of a large, well-organised peer learning group able to disseminate up-to-date relevant information. Within the small aquatic sciences sector, the steady flow of information concerning new lifelong learning initiatives to all stakeholders accounted for the success of the AQUA-TNET approach in promoting informed decision-making at the relevant level. This continues to be one of the recommended best practice approaches, while surveys such as ours are relegated to the vast unread mountains of EU studies. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This innovative new handbook offers a comprehensive overview of the ways in which domestic education policy is framed and influenced by global institutions and actors. Surveys current debates about the role of education in a global polity, highlights key transnational policy actors, accessibly introduces research methodologies, and outlines global agendas for education reformIncludes contributions from an international cast of established and emerging scholars at the forefront of the field thoughtfully edited and organized by a team of world-renowned global education policy expertsEach section features a thorough introduction designed to facilitate readers' understanding of the subsequent material and highlight links to interdisciplinary global policy scholarshipWritten in an accessible and engaging style that will appeal to domestic and international policy practitioners, social scientists, and education scholars alike Karen Mundyis a Professor, Associate Dean of Research, and Canada Research Chair at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, where she directs the Comparative, International and Development Education Centre (CIDEC). Her research has focuses on the global politics of 'education for all' programs and policies, education reform in sub-Saharan Africa, the role of civil society in the reform of educational systems, and the policy influence of international organizations, such as the World Bank, UNESCO and the WTO. A former president of the Comparative International Education Society, Dr. Mundy has published five books and more than four dozen articles and book chapters, and is a contributor to dozens of policy papers and reports. Andy Green is Professor of Comparative Social Science at UCL Institute of Education and Director of the ESRC Centre for Learning and Life Chances. A frequent consultant to international bodies, such as CEDEFOP, the European Commission, OECD and UNESCO, and to the UK government departments, Dr. Green has published eighteen books, including: Education, Globalization and the Nation State (1997); Regimes of Social Cohesion: Societies and the Crisis of Globalization (2014, with J.G. Janmaat) and Education and State Formation: Europe, East Asia and the USA (2013). He was elected an Academician of the UK Academy of Social Science in 2010. Bob Lingardis a Professorial Research Fellow in the School of Education at the University of Queensland, Australia. A Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences and Editor of the journal Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, Dr. Lingard has published twenty books, including most recently Globalizing Educational Policy(2010) (with Fazal Rizvi), Politics, Policies and Pedagogies in Education: The Selected Works of Bob Lingard(2014) and Globalizing Educational Accountabilities(2015) (with Wayne Martino, Goli Rezai-Rashti and Sam Sellar). He has also published more than one hundred journal articles and book chapters in the sociology of education. Antoni Vergeris a Senior Researcher in the Department of Sociology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. A former post-doctoral researcher at the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research of the University of Amsterdam, Dr. Verger research specializes on two main areas: the global governance of education and education privatization policies. He has published more than four dozen articles, book chapters and books on these themes, including WTO/GATS and the Global Politics of Higher Education(Routledge, 2010), and Global Education Policy and International Development: New Agendas, Issues and Programmes(Bloosmbury, 2012).

This publication arises from major reviews of national career guidance policies conducted by the OECD and the European Commission during 2001-2003. Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Korea, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom took part in the OECD review. The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) gathered data from Belgium, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Portugal and Sweden for the European Commission, and the European Training Foundation (ETF) gathered data from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. A parallel review by the World Bank was conducted in 2003 in Chile, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa and Turkey. In each country the reviews assessed how the organisation, management and delivery of career guidance services contribute to the implementation of lifelong learning and active labour market policies. The OECD and the European Commission co-operated in planning the reviews, used a common survey instrument (initially designed for use by the 14 countries taking part in the OECD review, and also used as the basis for the World Bank reviews), shared experts and members of review teams, and jointly commissioned expert papers to inform their assessment of key issues. This co-operation has resulted in a unique set of data on national approaches to career guidance services. A number of common messages emerged from the reviews about deficiencies in national career guidance services. Many examples of good practice exist in the countries that were reviewed. Nevertheless there are major gaps between how services are organised and delivered on the one hand and some key public policy goals on the other. Access to services is limited, particularly for adults. Too often services fail to develop people's career management skills, but focus upon immediate decisions. Training and qualification systems for those who provide services are often inadequate or inappropriate. Co-ordination between key ministries and stakeholders is poor. The evidence base is insufficient to allow proper steering of services by policy makers, with inadequate data being available on costs, benefits, client characteristics or outcomes. And in delivering services insufficient use is made of ICT and other cost-effective ways to meet client needs more flexibly. This publication gives policy makers clear, practical tools that can be used to address these problems. It encompasses the major policy domains involved in developing a comprehensive framework for lifelong guidance systems: meeting the career guidance needs of young people and of adults; widening access to career guidance; improving career information; staffing and funding career guidance services; and improving strategic leadership. Within each of these areas the publication: • Sets out the key challenges that policy makers face in trying to improve career guidance services; • Provides examples of good practice and of effective responses to these challenges, drawing upon research conducted in 36 OECD and European countries; • Lists the questions that policy makers need to ask themselves in responding to these challenges; and • Provides practical options that they can use in order to improve policy. Material for the publication was prepared by Professor Ronald Sultana of the University of Malta and Professor Tony Watts of the United Kingdom's National Institute for Careers Education and Counselling, both of whom had extensive involvement in the OECD and European Commission reviews. Within the OECD preparation of the publication was supervised by Richard Sweet, and within the European Commission by staff of the Directorate General, Education and Culture. It is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD and the Director General for Education and Culture, European Commission. ; peer-reviewed

Education and training have been identified as one of the key instruments for the promotion of social stability and economic prosperity in the Mediterranean region in a number of policy documents and bilateral cooperation programmes under the so-called Barcelona Process. Among other measures to support this process, a special regional MEDA programme – Education and Training for Employment (MEDA-ETE) – was launched by the European Commission (EuropeAid Cooperation Office), and is being implemented by the European Training Foundation (ETF) between 2005 and 2008. This project aims to support 10 Mediterranean Partners – Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, and the West Bank and Gaza Strip – in the design of relevant education and training policies that can contribute to promote employment through a regional approach. When the MEDA-ETE project was designed, many of the 10 Mediterranean Partners expressed the interest and need to better understand the career guidance services in the region and to identify existing good policies and practices both in and outside the European Union. As a result, in 2006, a specific component of the project was dedicated to career guidance in the Mediterranean region. It has generated a number of outputs, such as country and cross-country analyses of career guidance policies as well as the establishment of a regional network of policy-makers in career guidance, supported by a virtual community/discussion forum on guidance. The analysis was built upon previous experience with career guidance reviews of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the European Commission (Directorate-General for Education and Culture), Cedefop, ETF and the World Bank, and developed further the research methodology by paying particular attention to the socio-economic and cultural context of the Mediterranean region and its impact and limitations on career guidance services. It was based on the assumption that career guidance is not only important for individuals, but also can contribute to a number of public-policy goals in education and training, in the labour market and in social cohesion and equity. It further took into account the paradigm shift in career guidance that is emerging in the EU and OECD countries, from 'choosing a career' to 'constructing a career', from 'psychological testing' to 'tasting the world of work', and from 'external expert support' to 'career self-management skills'. Therefore, the underlying definition of career guidance used in the analysis was the same as adopted by EU Ministers of Education in 2004 (EU Council Resolution on Lifelong Guidance): 'services to assist individuals and groups of any age, at any point throughout their lives, to make educational, training and occupational choices and to manage their careers.' Special thanks to Carmela Doriana Monteleone and Jens Johansen (ETF) for preparing and advising on the statistical tables. The cross-country report is based on 10 country reports and profiles (see Annex B) prepared by the following local experts: Abdul Majid Abdul Ghani (Lebanon), Khayri Abushowayb (West Bank and Gaza Strip), Fusun Akkök (Turkey), Aboubakr Badawi (Egypt), Benny A. Benjamin (Israel), Abdassalem Bouaich (Morocco), Améziane Djenkal (Algeria), Issa Maldaoun (Syria), Nader Mryyan (Jordan), and Saïd Ben Sedrine (Tunisia). The report takes into account developments reported by the 10 countries and territories up to the end of 2006. Both the analysis and the network of career guidance policy-makers covered the whole region. By early 2007 the work had already stimulated interesting follow-up initiatives, for example in Egypt, Jordan and Morocco. We believe that this cross-country report will allow both policy-makers and practitioners to further develop national career guidance systems and structures, as well as to better relate and benchmark their activities within the international context, based on a shared vision within the Mediterranean region and with the European Union. The ETF will actively seek opportunities for further support to Mediterranean Partners on the topic of career guidance, both at institutional level and by creating synergies with other donor activities. Meanwhile the current virtual community on career guidance, hosted by the ETF, will continue to assist in networking between Mediterranean Partners to ensure the exchange of expertise and views. ; peer-reviewed

Cette publication est issue des grands examens des politiques nationales d'orientation professionnelle effectués par l'OCDE et la Commission européenne entre 2001 et 2003. L'Allemagne, l'Australie, l'Autriche, le Canada, la Corée, le Danemark, l'Espagne, la Finlande, l'Irlande, le Luxembourg, les Pays- Bas, la Norvège, la République tchèque et le Royaume-Uni ont participé à l'examen de l'OCDE. Le Centre européen pour le développement de l'orientation professionnelle (CEDEFOP) a rassemblé des données provenant de Belgique, de France, de Grèce, d'Islande, d'Italie, du Portugal et de la Suède pour la Commission européenne et la Fondation européenne de la formation (FEF) a collecté les données concernant la Bulgarie, Chypre, l'Estonie, la Hongrie, la Lettonie, la Lituanie, Malte, la Pologne, la Roumanie, la Slovaquie et la Slovénie. Un examen parallèle a été conduit en 2003 par la Banque mondiale en Afrique du Sud, au Chili, aux Philippines, en Pologne, en Roumanie, en Russie et en Turquie. Dans chaque pays, il s'agissait de savoir comment l'organisation, la gestion et les modalités des services d'orientation professionnelle contribuent à la mise en oeuvre de l'apprentissage tout au long de la vie et des politiques actives du marché du travail. L'OCDE et la Commission européenne ont planifié les examens en coopération, utilisé un questionnaire commun (conçu à l'origine pour les 14 pays participant à l'examen de l'OCDE, il a aussi servi de base aux examens menés par la Banque mondiale), mis en commun les experts et les membres des équipes d'examinateurs, et commandité conjointement des rapports d'experts pour éclairer leur appréciation des principaux aspects. Cette coopération a donné lieu à une série exceptionnelle de données sur les diverses façons de concevoir les services nationaux d'orientation professionnelle. Les examens ont permis de dégager un certain nombre de messages communs au sujet des insuffisances de ces services. Il existe dans les pays examinés de nombreux exemples de bonne pratique, mais on constate d'importants écarts entre les modalités d'organisation et de conduite d'une part, et quelques grandes finalités de l'action publique de l'autre. L'accès aux services est limité, notamment pour les adultes. Trop souvent, les services ne perfectionnent pas l'aptitude des individus à gérer leur carrière, préférant se focaliser sur les décisions immédiates. Les systèmes de formation et de qualification destinés à ceux qui dispensent les services sont souvent inadaptés ou insuffisants. La coordination entre les principaux ministères et les parties prenantes laisse à désirer. L'information disponible ne suffit pas à assurer le pilotage avisé des services par les décideurs qui ne disposent pas de données adéquates sur les coûts, les avantages, les caractéristiques des clients ou les résultats. Les services ne font pas suffisamment appel aux TIC ou à d'autres moyens rentables d'apporter une réponse plus souplement adaptée aux besoins des clients. Cette publication offre aux décideurs des outils simples et pratiques qui peuvent être utilisés pour résoudre ces problèmes. Elle couvre les principaux domaines qui concourent à la mise en place d'un dispositif complet de services d'orientation tout au long de la vie : répondre aux besoins d'orientation professionnelle des jeunes et des adultes, élargir l'accès à l'orientation professionnelle, améliorer l'information sur les carrières, recruter le personnel des services d'orientation professionnelle, en assurer le financement et en améliorer la direction stratégique. Dans chacun de ces domaines, la publication : • Présente les principales difficultés auxquelles les décideurs doivent faire face pour tenter d'améliorer les services d'orientation professionnelle ; • Donne des exemples de bonne pratique et de solutions efficaces à ces difficultés, en s'inspirant des recherches menées dans 36 pays de l'OCDE et d'Europe ; • Énumère les questions que les décideurs doivent se poser pour surmonter ces difficultés ; • Offre des options pratiques qu'ils peuvent utiliser pour rendre leur action plus efficace. Les éléments de cette publication ont été établis par Ronald Sultana (Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Educational Research, Université de Malte) et Tony Watts du National Institute for Careers Education and Counselling au Royaume-Uni, qui ont l'un et l'autre largement participé aux examens de l'OCDE et de la Commission européenne. La préparation de cette publication a été supervisée par Richard Sweet à l'OCDE et à la Commission européenne, par les agents de la Direction générale de l'éducation et de la culture. Ce document est publié sous la responsabilité du Secrétaire général de l'OCDE et le Directeur général de l'Education et de la Culture, Commission européenne. ; peer-reviewed

Inhaltsangabe:Einleitung: Jedes Jahr wird eine Vielzahl europäischer Studierender innerhalb des ERASMUS Programms unter Europas Hochschulen ausgetauscht. Ziele dieses, durch Mittel der europäischen Union geförderten, Austauschs sind die Verbesserung der Qualität der Hochschulbildung, die Förderung grenzüberschreitender Zusammenarbeit und Mobilität zwischen Hochschulen sowie die Schaffung von Transparenz und die Anerkennung von Studienleistungen und Abschlüssen. Weiterhin sollen durch den Austausch von Studierenden ein Abbau von Vorurteilen sowie die Erziehung zu weltoffenen Bürgern erfolgen. Als das ERASMUS-Programm im Jahr 1987 ins Leben gerufen wurde absolvierten 3200 Studierende ein Auslandssemester an einer Europäischen Hochschule und erhielten dafür Mobilitätszuschüsse in Höhe von 3,3 Mio. Euro. Achtzehn Jahre später, im Hochschuljahr 2004/2005, gingen 144.000 Studierende ins Ausland und die Fördersumme betrug 124 Mio. Euro. Dieser rasante Anstieg an Studierenden, die den Schritt wagen und ein Semester in einem europäischen Nachbarland absolvieren, ist den Befürwortern des Programms noch lange nicht genug. Auf der Bologna-Konferenz setzte man sich das Ziel, bis 2013 die 3 Millionenmarke (Akkumulierte Anzahl an ERASMUS-Studierenden) zu erreichen. Natürlich erhofft man sich durch die Förderung von Mobilität auch wirtschaftliche Vorteile gegenüber anderen Wirtschaftsräumen. Somit geht der Bologna-Prozess Hand in Hand mit den Zielen der Lissabon-Erklärung, Europa zum wettbewerbsfähigsten und dynamischsten wissensbasierten Wirtschaftsraum der Welt zu machen. Die Frage, ob die eingangs genannten Ziele tatsächlich erreicht werden oder ob für die Mehrzahl der Studierenden der Auslandsaufenthalt bloß eine interessante Erfahrung darstellt bzw. lediglich dem Erwerb sprachlicher Kompetenz in der Landessprache dient, ist berechtigt. Bei der Beantwortung dieser Fragestellung ergeben sich weitere Fragen: Wie bewerten Studierende ihre Zeit im Ausland? Welche Erfahrungen haben sie gemacht und welche Qualifikationen erlangt? Mit welchen Vorurteilen waren sie konfrontiert? Haben sie den größten Teil ihrer Zeit mit anderen ERASMUS-Studierenden verbracht oder sind sie tatsächlich in die Kultur des Gastlandes eingetaucht? Wurden ihre Scheine an der Heimatuniversität anerkannt? Haben sie ihre persönlichen Ziele erreicht? Gang der Untersuchung: Um all diesen Fragen gerecht zu werden, ist eine genaue analytische Auswertung der Aktivitäten der letzten Jahre im Hinblick auf die Zielsetzungen des Programms nötig. Es soll überprüft werden, was für Austausche stattgefunden haben und welches die Motivation der, von der DSHS entsendeten, Studierenden war. Bisher sind nur wenige wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten zum Thema ERASMUS bekannt. Über Bildungsprogramme der EU existieren einige wenige Arbeiten. Eine davon ist die Diplomarbeit von Donata von Heyden aus dem Jahr 2006 über die LEONARDO DA VINCI-Projekte an der Deutschen Sporthochschule Köln. Die Autorin analysiert und evaluiert darin das europäische Programm für die berufliche Bildung. Wichtige Monographien zum Thema ERASMUS existieren jedoch kaum. Der Großteil der Informationen liegt in Form von Broschüren oder Informationsheften des DAAD, der nationalen SOKRATES/ERASMUS Agentur, oder der EU vor. Das Internet bietet eine wichtige Quelle für die Recherche, da sich hier die Europäische Union und der DAAD sowie ihre Programme selbst darstellen. Die Diplomarbeit mit spezifischem Fokus auf die ERASMUS-Aktivitäten der DSHS ist somit neuartig und soll weiteren Untersuchungen als Ansatzpunkt dienen. Nach einem Einblick in die Bildungspolitik der EU und einer allgemeinen Beschreibung des ERASMUS-Programms, wird ein Blick auf die Aktivitäten an der DSHS Köln zwischen 2000 und 2006 (SOKRATES - Phase II) geworfen. Die Darstellung bezieht sich auf Anzahl, Geschlecht und Alter der Studierenden der DSHS, die im ausgewählten Zeitraum an dem Programm teilgenommen haben sowie deren Zielländer bzw. Partneruniversitäten und weitere relevante Faktoren. Mittels Leitfadengestützter Interviews, die mit ehemaligen ERASMUS Studierenden geführt wurden, soll herausgefunden werden, was die eigentliche Motivation für den Auslandsaufenthalt war und ob die persönlichen sowie die Ziele des ERASMUS-Programms erreicht wurden. Die Ergebnisse der Befragung werden dargestellt und anschließend ausgewertet. Schließlich wird das Programm bewertet. Ein Schwerpunkt der Arbeit liegt auf der Darstellung von Verbesserungsmöglichkeiten aus der Sicht der Studierenden. Im Schlussteil der Arbeit werden die wichtigsten Erkenntnisse zusammengefasst und ein Fazit gezogen.Inhaltsverzeichnis:Inhaltsverzeichnis: AbkürzungsverzeichnisVI AnhangsverzeichnisVIII AbbildungsverzeichnisIX 1.Einleitung1 2.Das ERASMUS-Programm der Europäischen Union4 2.1Der Bildungsbegriff der Europäischen Union4 2.2Die Institutionalisierung der Bildungspolitik in der EU8 2.3Bildungsprogramme der EU13 2.4Die Dezentralisierung des Bildungswesens in der EU16 2.5Das ERASMUS-Programm16 2.5.1Zielsetzungen und Durchführung von ERASMUS18 2.5.2Die Rolle des Deutschen Akademischen Austauschdienstes (DAAD)20 2.5.3European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS)22 2.5.4Der EUROPASS25 2.5.5Die Zukunft von ERASMUS26 3.ERASMUS an der Deutschen Sporthochschule Köln28 3.1Bewerbung29 3.2Anforderungen29 3.3Zusatzqualifikation Europäische Sportstudien30 3.4Partnerhochschulen in Europa30 3.5Austauschaktivitäten während der SOKRATES II Phase33 3.5.1Studierenden - und Dozierendenmobiliät33 3.5.2Stipendien35 3.5.3Zielländer36 3.5.4Zusammensetzung der Studierenden38 3.6ERASMUS im Vergleich - Deutschlandweit und an der DSHS39 4.Interviewmethodik45 4.1Zielsetzungen45 4.2Auswahl der Interviewpartner46 4.3Erläuterung und Begründung des Untersuchungsdesigns48 4.4Methodik der Datenerhebung und –erfassung49 4.5Auswertungsverfahren50 5.Darstellung der Untersuchungsergebnisse54 5.1Gründe für das Auslandssemester54 5.2Zufriedenheit mit der angebotenen Hilfe57 5.3Ängste und Vorurteile59 5.4Verlauf des Studiums60 5.5Beschreibung des Gastlandes62 5.6Integration63 5.7Erwartungen66 5.8Anerkennung der Studienleistungen67 5.9Bewertung des ECTS68 5.10Sonstige Qualifikationen71 5.11Verbesserungsvorschläge73 6.Zusammenfassung und Interpretation77 6.1Die Europäische Union und ihr Bildungsverständnis77 6.2Die Zielsetzung des ERASMUS-Programms78 6.3Methodik der Interviews mit ERASMUS-Studierenden79 6.4Motivationen der Studierenden zu ihrem Auslandssemester80 6.5Qualifikationserwerb durch das ERASMUS-Semester81 6.6Verbesserungsvorschläge für die Organisation des Austauschprogramms an der DSHS Köln82 7.Fazit84 Literaturverzeichnis86 Anhang92Textprobe:Textprobe: Auszug aus Kapitel 2.1, Der Bildungsbegriff in der Europäischen Union: Lebenslanges Lernen schließt zum einen formales Lernen, wie bspw. ein Universitätsstudiengang mit Abschluss, zum anderen aber auch nicht-formales Lernen, wie bspw. der Erwerb von Schlüsselqualifikationen am Arbeitsplatz, und informelles Lernen, wie bspw. das Erlernen eines Musikinstrumentes, ein. Ein gleichberechtigter und ungehinderter Zugang zu hochwertigen Lernangeboten und einer Vielzahl von Lernerfahrungen soll allen Bürgern in ganz Europa ermöglicht werden. Allerdings sind aufgrund des Subsidiaritätsprinzips in der Europäischen Union die Mitgliedstaaten selbst für die Gestaltung ihrer Bildungssysteme verantwortlich. Subsidiarität ist eine politische oder gesellschaftliche Maxime und bedeutet, dass individuelle Verantwortung staatlichem Handeln voranging zu stellen ist. Für die EU und ihre Mitgliedstaaten bedeutet dies, dass die Umsetzung von Gesetzen, die auf EU-Ebene beschlossen wurden eigenverantwortlich auf Staatenebene passiert. Der EU bleibt lediglich die Möglichkeit, die Zusammenarbeit untereinander zu fördern, vor allem mit dem Ziel, 'die europäische Dimension im Bildungswesen zu entwickeln sowie die Mobilität von Lernenden und Lehrenden wie auch die europäische Zusammenarbeit zwischen den Bildungseinrichtungen zu fördern'. Eine gemeinsame Bildungspolitik wird also nicht angestrebt, es gibt jedoch Mittel und Wege die Zusammenarbeit auf europäischer Ebene zu fördern. 'Um dies zu erreichen, muss die allgemeine und berufliche Bildung in Europa grundsätzlich umgestaltet werden. Diese Umgestaltung wird in jedem Land entsprechend der nationalen Rahmenbedingungen und Traditionen stattfinden müssen und sie wird durch die Zusammenarbeit der Mitgliedstaaten auf europäischer Ebene vorangetrieben- vor allem dadurch, dass Erfahrungen ausgetauscht werden, dass an gemeinsamen Zielen gearbeitet wird und dass man von dem, was woanders gut funktioniert, lernt'. Laut Jahrbuch der Europäischen Integration gibt es jedoch trotz des Subsidiaritätsprinzips starke Tendenzen der Europäisierung. Obwohl die bildungspolitische Koordinierung keine vertraglich verpflichtenden Harmonisierungsmaßnahmen auf nationaler Ebene nach sich zieht, entstand durch den Bologna-Prozess vor allem im Hochschulbereich eine Dynamik, derer sich die Mitgliedstaaten kaum entziehen können. Vor allem der Europäische Binnenmarkt bietet Chancen und Möglichkeiten für junge Menschen, ihre Fähigkeiten und Kompetenzen in einem nie da gewesenen Rahmen zu erweitern. Bereits 1993 wurde betont, dass das Bildungswesen auch die Aufgabe hat, Jugendliche auf die Übernahme von Verantwortung in einem erweiterten wirtschaftlichen Raum vorzubereiten. Damit wird es wichtig, dem Bildungswesen eine europäische Komponente zu geben, da sie zur Anpassung des Bildungsprozesses an die neuen wirtschaftlichen, sozialen und kulturellen Gegebenheiten beitragen kann. Insbesondere die 'Förderung der Mobilität von Schülern und Studenten, Lehrern sowie Ausbildungs- und Forschungspersonal sowohl durch eine optimale Nutzung der bestehenden Gemeinschaftsprogramme (Sokrates, Leonardo, Jugend) – durch die Beseitigung von Hindernissen – als auch durch mehr Transparenz bei der Anerkennung von Abschlüssen sowie Studien– und Ausbildungszeiten' soll vorangetrieben werden. Die Einsicht in die Wichtigkeit des lebenslangen Lernens ist nicht auf die Europäische Union beschränkt. Die UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) beauftragte 1996 eine internationale Expertenkommission unter der Leitung von Jacques Delors, sich mit der Frage was Bildung ist zu beschäftigen. Das Ergebnis der Fachleute ist im sog. Delors-Bericht 'Lernfähigkeit: Unser verborgener Reichtum' nachzulesen. Darin wird die Bedeutung einer breit angelegten Grundbildung als Basis für lebensbegleitendes Lernen betont. Auf der von der Europäischen Kommission und dem European Centre for Development (CEDEFOP) sowie in Zusammenarbeit mit führenden Firmen der IT-Branche organisierten sog. European E-Skills Conference im Jahr 2006 in Thessaloniki wurde die Bedeutung moderner Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologie für unsere Gesellschaft und nahezu sämtliche Bereiche der Wirtschaft betont. Die Realisierung der Ziele von Lissabon ist demnach abhängig vom effektiven Einsatz moderner Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien sowie der Schulung mit deren Umgang. Die Institutionalisierung der Bildungspolitik in der EU: Als 1951 die Länder Belgien, Deutschland, Frankreich, Italien, Niederlande und Luxemburg mit dem Vertrag von Paris die Europäische Gemeinschaft für Kohle und Stahl (EGKS bzw. Montanunion) gründeten, hatte man damit primär wirtschaftliche Ziele im Blick. Der unter anderem daraus resultierende wirtschaftliche Aufschwung im kriegszerstörten Europa hatte jedoch auch eine enorme friedensstabilisierende Wirkung. Auch die Weiterentwicklung der gemeinsamen Wirtschaftspolitik und die daraus resultierende Gründung der Europäischen Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft (EWG, später Europäische Gemeinschaft - EG) sowie Europäischen Atomgemeinschaft (EAG, später EURATOM) im Jahr 1957 (Römische Verträge) hatte noch keine gemeinsame Bildungs- oder Kulturpolitik zum Ziel. Jedoch stellten die Bildungsminister der Mitgliedstaaten bereits 1962 allgemeine Grundsätze für die Durchführung einer gemeinsamen Politik der Berufsausbildung zusammen. Mit dem Fusionsvertrag (Vertrag zur Einsetzung eines gemeinsamen Rates und einer gemeinsamen Kommission der Europäischen Gemeinschaften) schlossen sich 1965 die EGKS, die EAG und die EWG zu den Europäischen Gemeinschaften zusammen. 1968 wurden mit der Verordnung Nr. 1612/68 über die Freizügigkeit der Arbeitnehmer innerhalb der Gemeinschaft bereits wichtige Meilensteine auf dem Weg zur Europäischen Integration, wie die Freizügigkeit von Arbeitnehmern, die Niederlassungsfreiheit sowie die Dienstleistungsfreiheit gelegt. Einem Treffen der Bildungsminister der Mitgliedsstaaten am 16. November 1971 in Brüssel war der Wunsch der Regierungschefs, Europa als eine außergewöhnliche Quelle der Entwicklung, des Fortschritts und der Kultur zu erhalten, voraus gegangen. 1973 wurde in der damaligen Generaldirektion XII für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Entwicklung ein eigenes Bildungsressort unter der Leitung eines Kommissars, des Deutschen Ralf Dahrendorf, eingerichtet. Damit bekam das Bestreben eines gemeinsamen Bildungswesens in der Europäischen Gemeinschaft neue Impulse. 1976 entschloss man sich dann für eine gemeinschaftliche Zusammenarbeit im Bildungsbereich, jedoch unter Berücksichtigung der Traditionen und der Vielfalt der Bildungssysteme jedes Landes. Der Ministerrat forderte im Aktionsprogramm des Bildungsbericht vom 9. Februar 1976, dass die Zusammenarbeit im Bildungswesen nicht nur als Bestandteil des Wirtschaftslebens gesehen werden könne, sondern sich vielmehr auf die Verbesserung der Korrespondenz der Bildungssysteme in Europa, auf die Verstärkung der Zusammenarbeit der Hochschulen, die Verbesserung der Möglichkeiten einer akademischen Anerkennung der Diplome und Studienzeiten, des Fremdsprachenunterrichts sowie der Freizügigkeit und Mobilität der Lehrkräfte konzentrieren sollte.

The provision of career information and guidance throughout a citizen's life has become an issue of great importance worldwide, as societies prepare themselves to meet the challenges that the transition to knowledge-based economies represents. An unprecedented research effort has in fact been initiated by the OECD, which has distributed a dedicated questionnaire to 14 countries internationally in order to create a baseline of information on the current state of policy development in career guidance. That same survey instrument has been used by CEDEFOP to gather data on the remaining EU countries, and by the ETF in relation to 11 ACCs . The World Bank has initiated a parallel review in a number of middle-income countries, again using the OECD questionnaire. The thematic review by these key partners will lead to the development of the most extensive harmonised international database ever on guidance policy and practice. This synthesis report summarises the state of play in the development of career information and guidance in both the education and labour market sectors in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Experts from each of these countries have written a report, structured around the OECD survey and on the basis of their own knowledge of the field, often following extensive consultation with key partners. The broad purpose of this exercise is, first of all, to provide an account of the most recent and most significant developments, trends, challenges and major issues, as well as the strengths and weaknesses, of national career information and guidance systems and policies, in such a way as to render the data susceptible to comparative analysis. Secondly, the synthesis report aims to facilitate the generation of benchmarks, enabling the countries that participated in the review to gauge how well they are doing in career information and guidance provision in relation to other comparable countries, and to facilitate the sharing of good practice. Thirdly, the report should prove to be a useful tool for the development of policy, particularly as ACCs have acknowledged the centrality of lifelong learning in their strategic response to the challenges of integration in the global economy generally, and in the EU more specifically, and the value of career information and guidance throughout life for citizens within that context. The synthesis report consists of six sections, which closely follow the OECD outline in order to facilitate comparison between the different reports once these become available. In the Annex, experts responsible for writing up the detailed country reports have contributed a summary providing an overview of the key elements of the national arrangements for careers information and guidance, outlining the strengths, weaknesses, issues and challenges for their systems. The first section provides a background to the Commission's involvement in the career information and guidance review. It also outlines briefly the geopolitical, economic and cultural contexts of the 11 countries surveyed, particularly in so far as these impact on career guidance provision. The second section focuses on the policy challenges for career information and guidance in terms of national objectives. The latter include the upgrading of the knowledge and skills base of the population, with a view to addressing unemployment, to meeting the demands of knowledge-based economies, and to ensuring that the labour supply and demand are in harmony. Another set of challenges arises from a social policy context that seeks to ensure equitable distribution of education and employment opportunities, with guidance services having a key role to play as active measures in combating early school leaving, facilitating the integration of at-risk groups in both education and the labour market, and reducing poverty. Governments in ACCs – and to a lesser extent, the private sector – have acknowledged the important contribution that career guidance can make in reaching these educational, employment and social objectives, and indeed have launched several initiatives to underscore their commitment to the cause. Nevertheless, while the discourse around career guidance has intensified, it appears that in some cases that discourse has outstripped practice, and plans tend to suffer from a lack of implementation. The third section constitutes the heart of the report, as it considers several aspects that contribute to the more effective delivery of career guidance. An initial focus is the services provided in the education sector. Here attention is given to the extent to which guidance is a stand-alone activity offered infrequently and at key transition and decision-making points, which seems to be the key modality of provision when compared to other models where guidance issues permeate the curriculum. Attention is also given to the initiatives that help to connect the school with the world of work; to the instruments used in delivering guidance; to the groups that are targeted; and to the education sectors where services are non-existent (namely primary schooling), or where they are most present (secondary level), or where they are on the increase (tertiary level, including universities). A second focus is on the employment sector, and the extent to which adults receive guidance as they negotiate occupational and further education and training trajectories in a lifelong learning society. The synthesis report highlights the fact that most adult guidance is offered in the context of public employment services, and that it tends to be remedial in nature, narrowly targeted at unemployed people, with the immediate goal of finding them employment. Other key trends noted are the lack of cross-sectorial collaboration, and the minor involvement of the private sector in the provision of adult guidance, where at best they function as job-brokerage services. One aspect of guidance that has witnessed a great deal of development in most ACCs is the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) to ensure more effective and widespread provision of education- and career-related information to the community. There is also a gradual trend to increased input and involvement by stakeholders, and to a shift in the modality of service whereby clients are provided with the resources to assess their needs and aspirations, and to match these with employment opportunities. A key issue cutting across the whole of this section is the lack of a sound evidence base that would permit the evaluation of the effectiveness of the guidance service in reaching its objectives. Section four considers the human and financial resources dedicated to career guidance. In most ACCs, staff involved in offering guidance services have a higher level of education – often in psychology or the humanities – though not all have had specialised pre-service training in the field. Trends include increased opportunities for in-service training, and the gradual professionalisation of career guidance through the specification of entry and qualification routes, the articulation of clearly defined occupational roles, the drawing up of a formal code of ethics, and the formation of associations and networks that may have a research and training function. Most ACCs report that the profession tends to attract women in the main, and that the qualifications and training routes for staff employed in the education sector tend to be different from those for staff engaged in the employment sector. The information about the financial resources allocated to career guidance is extremely sketchy and inconclusive. Most of the budget for careers information and guidance services comes from the state, with few ACCs reporting any substantial investment in the activity by the private sector. Section five synthesises the observations made by experts from the ACCs in terms of the strategic leadership that is exercised in the field of career guidance, and of how this could be strengthened. Despite the fact that there have been several noteworthy developments, a general conclusion that can be drawn is that there is a need for stronger mechanisms to provide coordination and leadership in articulating strategies for lifelong access to guidance within a national policy framework that is both dynamic and adequately resourced. As things stand at the moment, career guidance still tends to be seen by governments as a marginal activity. There is also much scope for a more vigorous role for the private sector and stakeholders, in a field where, curiously, trade union input seems to be particularly weak. Little evaluation is carried out to monitor quality in service provision, or to measure effectiveness, particularly in relation to specific performance targets and outputs. While examples of good practice exist in a number of the countries surveyed, a more robust evidence base is required if guidance is to be provided in a way that responds to the distinct needs of a differentiated clientele. Section six provides a concluding note identifying the main challenges as well as the way forward for career guidance in the countries surveyed. While none of the ACCs on its own holds the key for addressing the most pressing issues that are identified, collectively they certainly provide a rich thesaurus of good practice from which policy-makers and practitioners can draw inspiration. ; peer-reviewed

Between 2001 and 2004, the OECD, the European Training Foundation, CEDEFOP and the World Bank carried out extensive reviews of career guidance, looking broadly at related policy and practice in both the labourmarket and the education sectors. In 2002, the European PES Network's Expert Group carried out a study on personalised services with a special focus on guidance and counselling, documenting examples of interesting practice in six Public Employment Services (PES). The present study, commissioned by DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities in October 2004 in collaboration with the Heads of PES Network, sets out to build on the accumulated knowledge of the previous reviews by drawing on the responses of 28 countries—the EU25 plus three EEA countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland)—to a questionnaire survey that was specifically developed to facilitate the identification and examination of the place of career guidance in the Public Employment Services across Europe. The survey data was complemented by country visits to Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Poland, Slovenia and Sweden, in order to provide a qualitative dimension to the study, and to enable a deeper examination of the issues that were foregrounded in the survey. The key purpose behind the study was to gauge the manner in which—and the extent to which—personalised employment and career guidance services in the European PES have responded to the widely-adopted goal of implementing a personal service approach, identifying the difficulties they have encountered and the innovative responses they have generated. The study is guided by a concern with the practical, i.e. it sets out to describe the day-to-day realities of work in the PES with a view to identifying some of the more promising and successful practices, and to make proposals for improvement. The report provides details of the various models of career guidance in use, the processes that are being implemented across the range of EU and EEA countries, the outcomes of PES interventions, the tools and instruments used to attain such outcomes, the level of staff preparation for delivering career guidance services, and the strategies that are in place in order to ensure quality provision. An understanding of the context in which the PES across Europe provide career guidance services is crucial. The study is therefore careful to locate the survey within the context of the European Employment Strategy (EES), and particularly the European Employment Guideline on prevention and activation. It also draws a link between the latter and the effort to modernise the PES across Europe through the widespread adoption of a personal service model, which gives pride of place to the client, and which strives to guarantee citizens' rights for quality, proximity, personalisation and individualisation of public services. The report further examines the potential of career guidance in contributing to the attainment of the Lisbon targets, particularly in relation to the priorities established by the EES to increase in the adaptability of workers, to attract more people to the labour market, and to increase quality investment in human capital. It is argued that career guidance and personalised employment services have the potential for making such a contribution by advancing lifelong learning goals, by helping to address a whole range of labour market issues, and by supporting efforts to attain social equity and social inclusion goals. While career guidance services are offered in a range of settings, and there is an overlap in the way that these services are understood in such settings, specific attention needs to be given to the way career guidance is defined within the overall mission of the PES. Here we can distinguish three main categories of activities: - The first are those activities that fall within the area of 'personalised employment services', and that have elements of career guidance embedded in them. Employment advisers register and interview clients, and in the process of doing so utilise several guidance-related skills, particularly where efforts are being made to personalise services through client segmentation. While the employment adviser's work at this level—in relation to the initial interview, personal action planning, and assistance in the job-search process through job-broking and other means—cover processes and tasks that are largely administrative, they can also have strong guidance elements embedded in them. The report acknowledges the tensions that arise in the mix and balance between administrative and guidance roles, stressing that both elements are critical in the consolidation of career guidance elements within services that have, as their primary objective, the placing of people in employment. - The second category of activities are specialised career guidance services. These are distinguished from the first category by their more intensive and more focused engagement with the client, on the basis of a deeper knowledge base and extended competence. It is noted that the two categories are increasingly becoming blurred, and that this carries with it both opportunities and challenges for career guidance in a PES context. - A third category of activities considers other career guidance provision that the PES may be involved in, including the production and/or dissemination of labour market information, as well as occupational information, and the provision of career guidance services to students. These three categories of activities need to be considered within the changes in the overall organisational context of the public employment services. One of the key trends that have an impact on the way personalised employment and career guidance services are delivered is responsibility-sharing. The study considers three key aspects in relation to this organisational trend. The first is the sharing of responsibility with regional and local employment offices through decentralisation. The second is the sharing of responsibility with partners through joint service delivery, or through outsourcing and contracting-out. In both cases, the different modalities by means of which the process can be organised are discussed in some detail, particularly with a view to identifying how they can improve—or jeopardise— quality career guidance provision. Indeed, a key challenge that the PES has to confront is to find the right balance between, on the one hand, encouraging innovative, flexible and context-sensitive responses in its decentralised mediation between clients and local labour markets, and on the other, maintaining standards across the whole range of providers, thus ensuring that citizens, irrespective of their geographical or social location, have guaranteed access to the same quality of service that they are equally entitled to. The issue of quality standards in the attempt to manage the decentralisation process is therefore pivotal, and constitutes the third aspect considered. The study highlights different approaches to quality assurance across the 28 European countries, pointing to some of the formative experiences in the use of both quantitative and qualitative strategies in this respect. The change in the organisational context, as well as the paradigmatic shift towards a 'personal service model', has given rise to a number of trends in the delivery of career guidance and career-guidance-related services within Europe's PES. One of the more important is the increase in the range and depth of services that contain career guidance elements. This increase in both supply and demand for services can lead to tensions resulting from the attempt to develop personalised approaches while at the same time catering for increasingly large numbers of unemployed in a differentiated manner. Such tensions are particularly accentuated in those contexts where human and material resources have either remained stable or even been decreased. Europe's PES have developed three key ways to manage these tensions. These include: a resort to partnership and to outsourcing; a shift to self-service modes of delivery; and the introduction of tiering, to provide career guidance in self-access modes and in groups to the majority of clients, reserving to the rest more intensive individual career guidance interviews if and when needed. Employment advisers and career guidance staff are at the crucible of most of the transformations taking place in the PES, and their training, competence levels and motivation have a great bearing on the quality and nature of services provided. The study considers PES staff involved in delivery of personalised employment and career guidance services from a variety of angles. First, attention is given to aspects of their profile, including age, gender and conditions of work. The focus then turns to the distribution of career guidance roles among PES staff, with distinctions being drawn between those systems that have specialised tiers of staff, and those that require their staff to be multi-functional. The implications that such role distributions have for the provision of specialised services on the one hand, and holistic services on the other, are also examined. A third major consideration in regard to staff is the profile required of career guidance and career-guidance-related personnel at the point of recruitment, as well as the opportunities that such staff have for pre-service, induction and continued training. While many systems do not provide initial training, and recruitment is often effected on the basis of proxy qualifications, there is a trend for improved induction and in-service professional development opportunities—linked, for example, to the range of tools and instruments that career-guidance-related staff use in delivering services. Details of the modalities for the provision of training are presented, as are examples of commendable practice from a variety of countries. Training gaps are also identified, many of which were signalled by respondents to the survey who felt that expanded roles required the targeting of specific competence development. In their attempt to modernise their delivery systems, Europe's PES have striven to reach out to a range of clients, giving special attention to those categories that have particularly acute needs for individualised and tailor-made support on the road to employment: these include the long-term unemployed, women returnees, persons with disability, the unqualified and low-skilled, company-closure clients, and customers with a variety of social problems and/or tenuous links to citizenship rights. The study provides details of the different career guidance models and strategies used to deliver services to such clients. It also considers the results of client-satisfaction surveys, which are being used by PES in several countries as an indicator of effectiveness. Despite major improvements in catering for differentiated needs, it is also clear that there are other categories of customers that the PES are finding more challenging to reach. In particular, rising unemployment levels in a tight resource environment are often leading PES to focus narrowly on the unemployed, despite the fact that lifelong career guidance perspectives are adhered to in principle. Swift placement in employment remains a pivotal challenge for the PES, even as they strive to balance this with other career guidance-related goals such as client clarification of occupational strengths and interests, as well as career management and development in a lifelong perspective. In their attempt to maintain the dynamics of transformation into effective and client-oriented organisations, Europe's PES face a number of important challenges. Four are particularly relevant to personalised employment and career guidance services: - The first challenge concerns the need for PES career guidance and careerguidance- related services to be more systematic in the evaluation of their effectiveness. While there is a strong tradition of critical assessment of PES functions overall, the targeted evaluation of career guidance within PES settings needs further attention, even if there are a number of examples of good practice in several countries that could serve to provide models for emulation. A stronger evidence base on the match between career guidance services and policy objectives buttresses claims for improved resourcing. On the other hand, a lack of systematic evidence leads to a situation where the major shifts in the modalities of service delivery—particularly in relation to responsibility-sharing with partners and outsourced agencies—remain unexamined in terms both of efficiency in resource use, and of impact on quality of service. - A second challenge is to get the right balance between integrating career guidance elements in the services and activities provided by the PES, while at the same time maintaining specialist services for deeper engagement with clients when this is required. In many ways this implies the foregrounding of the identity of career guidance within PES settings. In addition, the attempt to deepen career guidance and career-guidance-related services towards a larger range of clients signals the need for more intensive preparation of staff, and for a more careful consideration of the ways in which the administrative and the career guidance roles of providers can be kept in appropriate balance. - A third challenge arises from the necessity to open up guidance services within the PES to embrace a more long-term, life-long perspective: one that is more in tune with the needs of citizens in the emergent knowledge economy. This vision presents enormous resource and training challenges for the PES, but it is likely to be one that it will need to rise to as citizens increasingly move through occupational and training pathways in more complex, non-linear ways. A lifelong perspective on career guidance would entail the PES in stronger collaboration with education institutions and with companies, so that service delivery is experienced by the client in a seamless, holistic way, with community resources being mobilised in support of goals that have, as an outcome, both the private good and the public good. - Finally, the PES has to rise to the challenge of addressing key gaps in service delivery, and to focus on those areas that require further attention and investment in order to facilitate the provision of quality services for all. The way forward lies in addressing these challenges. ; peer-reviewed