Euroguidance Estonia

The Academia network is an European network that enables guidance professionals to experience a learning mobility in another European country. Estonia has been part of the network since 2000 both as a host and sending partner.  

The main purpose is to encourage mutual exchange between participants from different countries, provide a learning mobility experience in multicultural environment and international networking opportunities. 

The organisers are aiming at following learning outcomes. The professionals will:  

• receive overview on lifelong guidance in Estonia;  
• have an overview of the service provision regarding learning and job mobility to and from Estonia for different target groups, including the challenges; 
• be able to understand learning in multicultural environment;  
• be able to practice professional language and participate in discussions;  
• widen their professional network. 

The theme of the mobility is chosen each year by assessed need and Estonia and all the other Academia partners from Europe announce their offers latest in November for the coming year at the Euroguidance Training opportunities page.   

The focus of the learning mobility in Estonia 2024 will be on how to support the people who want to go to study or work abroad and who have come from abroad and need further career guidance and explore the topic related to international learning and work mobility, and multiculturalism.

We ask the guidance practitioners taking part in the Estonian mobility to present a method, practice, or approach from their daily work. They have formed compendium of practises from 2022, 2021 and 2020. From them you can find inspiration to your daily work both in individual and group counselling settings.  

Since in Estonia no full academic qualification is attainable for guidance practitioners, Euroguidance Estonia has taken responsibility to initiate various possibilities for career practitioners’ professional development. 

Latest activity in this field has been an international webinar series that showcased to Estonian guidance professionals the articles published in Career Theories and Models at Work: Ideas for Practice (CERIC, 2019).  

The starting point of the idea to create this webinar lies in the fact that an Estonian version of the book was published. When we had to choose the topics for our webinar, we primarily proceeded from the fact that it had to be as practically oriented as possible, contemporary, satisfactory both for practitioners dealing with students and with adults, and also suitable for use in the Estonian cultural and social context.  

First webinar was held by Nancy Arthur, Roberta Borgen and Mary McMahon. Their four-hour session was divided into two parts, comprising an introduction to the theoretical foundations followed by an interactive workshop based on a case study introduced to participants via pre-webinar homework. From a thematic point of view, the webinar addressed three theoretical perspectives discussed in the book: Systems Theory Framework, Culture-Infused Career Counselling and Career Engagement. 

Following the positive feedback of the first webinar, Euroguidance Estonia in cooperation with University of Tartu launched an international three-module course on Career Theories. Topics discussed by authors in different modules were: Sociological Career Theory: Reframing Choice by Jenny Bimrose; Schlossberg’s 4S Model of Life Transitions: Assessment and Intervention Planning by Jane Goodman; Children’s Reasoning about Career Development: The Conceptions of Career Choice and Attainment Model by Kimberly A. S. Howard and My Career Chapter: The Dialogical Self as Author and Editor of a Career Autobiography by Michael Healy. 

This initiative will hopefully bring Estonian career guidance one step closer to a fully accredited academic qualification system. 

International learning mobility gives individuals a chance to develop themselves both professionally and personally. One method to identify the skills gained are ELD competence cards. Originally developed by the Swedish Centre for International Youth Exchange to help volunteers describe the skills they used and developed during their time as volunteers. In 2011, the organization was dismantled and the ELD brand was transferred to method developer Terese Raymond to run privately. Currently, the one of the uses for the cards adapted to mobility context with Euroguidance Sweden.  

Euroguidance Estonia adapted the cards into the Estonian context. The adaptation process resulted in an elaborated vocabulary of the cards in Estonian, English and Russian and a manual with a focus on integrating international mobility and career management skills, including a collection of diverse methods, virtual approaches and adaptations.  

The competence cards and the manual is available for all professionals graduating from the e-course Multiculturalism, learning and work mobility in the context of career development.  

ELD - Experience – Learning – Description, is a method to identify valuable skills, talents and character traits shown through real experiences. The process results in a summary of experiences accompanied by key words that describe areas of competence. The key words are provided in a package of ELD cards that can be used as a tool for guidance practitioners. The ELD cards simplify the process of putting competence words on actions in different situations. They can be used in self-assessment, during individual conversations with a guidance counsellor, or in a group session with others who have been abroad.  

Continuous improvement and evidence-based development is essential to improve effectiveness and provide meaningful services in any organisations. As the national resources centre for career guidance we are dedicated to building and using evidence in our work. There are several initiatives we have either launched or being involved in both nationally and internationally.  

Most recent study focused on practitioner competence as one of the five quality elements identified in Europe for continuous improvement of lifelong guidance systems and policies. The report of the study The training model of career specialists: opportunities, needs and solutions for lifelong career development provides an overview of the professionalization of career services in Estonia, including training offers, practitioner competences and learning needs. In addition, solutions are offered for developing the competencies of career specialists, supporting the professionalization of the field, and developing training courses and training forms. 

An earlier study focused on the occupational qualification system as being an essential component of quality assurance with a focus on the professional training of career guidance practitioners. The outcomes of the study confirms that the system is an important tool in forming and ensuring the professional identity of the career guidance community of practitioners across sectors. The results of the study are available in English in the Digital transitions in lifelong guidance. Rethinking careers practitioner professionalism: a CareersNet expert collection (Cedefop, 2021). 

Furthermore, Euroguidance centres in Estonia, France and Ireland, have adopted the peer learning process using a ‘critical friend’ approach to assess current practices. The aim was to build on past achievements while also providing insights that might guide future activities and support new areas of growth. You are most welcome to find some further details: Euroguidance Estonia’s critical friends appreciated the performance of the center. 

The most overarching study on lifelong guidance (LLG) policy and practice in the EU focused on trends, challenges and opportunities. The study identifies 11 key features to enable a dialogue between stakeholders around how and in what ways LLG can evolve based on activity in other EU member states. The recommendations focus on what the European Commission can do to support the Member States in their development. In the field of LLG the researchers from the Universities of Jyväskylä and Warwick highlighted the need to: 

• give a fresh policy impetus 
• promote coordination and cooperation 
• explore initiatives that improve delivery 
• develop procedures that maximise mutual learning 
• develop learning outcomes linked to career adaptability and CMS  
• focus on career relevant LMI data and relevant CPD of practitioners 
• support the development of e-guidance 
• ensure effective exchange on the monitoring of outcomes and impact 

One finding of particular interest for the Euroguidance network is that mechanisms that foster cooperation and coordination, both at EU and national levels, are not always as strong as they could be. Here it is recommended that the Commission should promote coordination and cooperation in the provision of lifelong guidance by facilitating communication, exchange and consultation among relevant stakeholders at EU level. 

Representatives from five Euroguidance centres, including EE, FI, IE, MT, SE, SI, were involved in sharing their expertise on the international aspects in guidance. In this context, the study also points out the need for international exchange as part of the training for guidance practitioners. One of the interviewed experts is quoted; “International exchange and cooperation among guidance professionals contributes to their competence development by offering opportunities to study guidance methods and practices in other countries and opens possibilities for project cooperation between guidance services”. 

As a national Euroguidance centre we are dedicated to invest our own expertise, to share the results with national and international guidance community and to rely on this evidence in their development activities in coming years. 

Euroguidance Estonia has a long tradition of publishing every year an English language booklet, entitled “Lifelong Guidance in Estonia”, that provides information about various aspects of the versatile Estonian career guidance field. In its own way, this rather short publication can be seen as a symbol of co-operation, since the updating process of every new edition brings together all Estonian institutions involved in the national career guidance system.

In this brief and colourful brochure you can get an up-to-date overview of:

• Estonian education and employment systems and policies  
• stakeholder involvement 
• institutions and services involved in the national guidance system 
• professional development of career specialists 
• international co-operation 
• digital solutions used by Estonian career practitioners 

You can read latest version of Lifelong Guidance in Estonia here 

A blended e-course Multiculturalism, learning and work mobility in the context of career development with the aim to enhance guidance practitioners ‘skills and competences in multiculturalism and learning and working mobility in EU.   

The course is jointly developed and taught by Euroguidance, Eures, Europass and YFU Estonia experts and is taking place at Tallinn University and University of Tartu. The course has been recognised worthy of the quality label in 2021 by Estonian Quality Agency for Education.  

Based on modern theories and research, the course provides an opportunity to expand understanding related to international learning and work mobility, and multiculturalism more broadly, and to gain knowledge for working with people who want to go to study or work abroad and who have come to Estonia from abroad and need further career guidance.  

The course provides knowledge and skills needed to support people on international learning and job mobility, and on multiculturalism, including working with clients with different cultural backgrounds. Participants learn how to provide support on the topic of international learning and job mobility and how to empower people at the international level. 

Euroguidance and CareersNet collegues from Estonia, France and Sweden have analyzed the similarities and differences in education and training provision and policy for practitioners in Estonia, France, and Sweden. Three Euroguidance training offers are compared, including the Estonian e-course.  Key concepts used in the chapter are the international dimension in guidance, learning mobility and mobility guidance.

The article is chapter 11 “An international dimension for improved capacity building of guidance professionals” in the publication Cedefop et al. (2021). Digital transitions in lifelong guidance: rethinking careers practitioner professionalism: a CareersNet expert collection. Luxembourg: Publications Office. Cedefop working paper; No 2. http://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2801/539512