Global labour markets are changing at an ever-increasing pace, with new demands being made in terms of 21st Century Skills (OECD, 2018), new skills for new jobs (Europe2020), digitisation and automation. People who are unqualified, or who have lower qualification levels and those that are unskilled (whether unemployed or working in unskilled and low-skilled occupations) face the greatest risks from these changes, in terms of precarious employment, insecure and unhealthy working conditions and frequent periods of unemployment. This in turn results in embedded poverty and social exclusion in society. Access to lifelong learning, in work-progression and C-VET (continuous vocational and educational training) can offer a way out of unemployment and unskilled employment. However access to appropriate opportunities and pathways to break out of these circumstances is significantly dependent upon the availability of knowledgeable, relevant and effective vocational guidance. In many contexts in Europe. Guidance practitioners themselves are operating in a changing European labour market, in which the ability to understand and anticipate skills and modern work requirements is vital to being able to effectively support un- and low-skilled and un-and low-qualified people. Furthermore, Guidance practitioners themselves require new forms of C-VET and occupational development, new methods and techniques required to ensure that as their profession itself changes, their service is current, relevant, accessible and effective for those who are in real danger of being left ever-further behind. EMPLOYMENT PLUS addressed this challenge by focusing on guidance practitioners who are a crucial link between low- and unqualified job-seekers and the labour market. Often, guidance practitioners work in institutions whose guidance offers are not specifically designed for low- skilled and unqualified persons and do not specifically address their needs. They often use methods developed for higher educated clients or for unemployed people in general, focussing more on job-seeking and on job matching than equipping their clients with resilience, vocational orientation and on participation in C-VET. The overall aim of EMPLOYMENT PLUS was to support the adaptation and integration of guidance services in Europe, ensuring that they are modernised and relevant, highlighting and removing high-threshold barriers for effective interventions with those that are low and unskilled and those that have no or low levels of qualifications. A vital part of EEP was contributing to a consistent European criteria of success for guidance practice addressing labour market participants that are un- and low skilled and unqualified. The definition of European guidelines for guidance practitioners dealing with this target group as well as guidance methods, in the form of learning activities, which were developed by the project partners forming the EEP curriculum and facilitators guide (IO3 and 4). Thus, EMPLOYMENT PLUS achieved its objectives by designing, testing and adopting new learning interventions for vocational guidance practitioners, specifically: - developing new guidance methods - testing and establishing good practices and success criteria for relevant vocational guidance services - producing occupational guidance for professional guidance practice - creating ready-to-use methods for guidance practitioners, supported by a multilingual, universally accessible online database and a digital skills check tool - a newly designed set of learning modules and curriculum programme, supported by e-learning resources The work programme included: (1) defining common quality assurance criteria through evaluating international good practice that evidences effectiveness in reaching and helping the target group (2) designing and testing new learning strategies and creating structured guidance for guidance practitioners to work effectively with the target group of low and unqualified job-seekers (3) the development of 60 new guidance methods for group and single settings that will enhance progression for those that are low- skilled and unqualified EMPLOYMENT PLUS created a work-based learning solution directly relevant to the CPD needs of guidance practitioners, through peer and action learning design, supported by open source digital learning materials available and accessible 24/7. It will equip vocational guidance practitioners to enhance the employability of low- and unqualified and low and un-skilled labour market participants by - enhancing the participants motivation to participate in C-VET and in-work progression - strengthening learning technique skills. - improving their career development and progression skills (potential analysis skills, labour market information skills, validation of formally and informally-acquired competencies)

Year 2020 is the year of challenges all over the world. It is hard for us to model and estimate the impacts of the COVID-19 epidemics; still, we need a progressive strategy. The unplanned situation established in connection with the COVID-19 epidemics also means a challenge for the career advisors, who are currently the supportive pillar of the labour market supporting the economy. They are standing in front of an unexpected task – the provision of the continuity of their work without having a chance for personal meeting with the clients. They can adjust to the new reality by providing distance counselling with the help of the available communication tools. The strengthening of the career counselling system is the interest of all. However, in order to enable the advisors to manage accumulated challenges, their training and renewal is indispensable. Due to the fact that the problems arising from the epidemic are of global nature, and that according to the needs assessment and the needs analysis implemented in each of the partner countries, career orientation services and their use in the everyday practice takes place to a different extent and on a different level, this question should be treated within an international context, in the framework of which we can get to know the best practice examples of the partner countries, and in cooperation, we can work out a global training program for the digital (e-)career orientation service providers, in order to provide them guidance according to the challenges of the 21st century, that can be applied in all partner counties as well as in other countries of the EU.There are 5 organisations involved in the project, operating in the fields of career counselling, research, digital skill development and adult education from Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, France and the Netherlands, that provide guidance, training and special service as well as special services, and that also provided the support of their members as an umbrella organisation.Main objectives of the project:-Facilitation of digital counselling and competence development of professionals implementing career counselling by working out a new, innovative modular blended-learning training programme reflecting to the challenges of the 21st century.-Facilitation and development of international cooperation of professionals implementing lifelong guidance, professionals implementing career counselling, advisors, training institutions and organisations providing other labour market services, and establishment of partnership networks.-Deployment of digital technologies as well as innovative and open pedagogies among career counsellors.-Facilitation of lifelong learning of career counsellors.The direct target group of the project include career guidance counsellors in different sectors (schools, labour offices, counselling and HR consulting agencies, outplacement agencies).The project will also be beneficial for the indirect target groups: practitioners in career guidance in different sectors, researchers in the field of career guidance, policy makers in the field of career guidance for different target groups, life coaches, business coaches, organization developers, NGOs providing assistance to vulnerable groups, social partners and professional associations, other relevant stakeholders in career guidance and for the unemployed people and the employees taking the career advisory and counselling services, who are in a crisis situation from multiple points of view.We are planning to prepare 4 intellectual outputs within the project. In the first phase of the project, mapping good practices and following that, the exploration of success factors and their impacts provide an opportunity for working out a methodological guide based on (explored) outcomes, facilitating the use of high-quality and modern digital tools. Following that, we will work out a blended-learning training material targeting the professional and digital competence development of career counsellors, as well as an experience exchange that can be applied both on a national and international level for the establishment of an electronic platform.The biggest advantage of modular blended-learning training programme provided for career counsellors is the acquisition of new competences that meet the requirements of 21st century. We place emphasis on digital competences, completed by a methodological guide that facilitates more efficient, higher quality and client-oriented career advising and counselling services.Partner organisations plan to incorporate in the offer of educational activities outputs of the project, which will be made available also to other interested parties. Project activities will facilitate the development of partner networks of professionals and organisations operating in multiple sectors.

As quality requirements and the need for career guidance in different context are increasing (development of upskilling pathways, development of complex systems of validation and recognition of non-formal and informal learning, increased frequency of different transitions etc.), numerous initiatives for quality assurance and professionalisation are spreading. However, experience shows that the actual implementation and real life usage of these different quality assurance mechanisms are often lacking - the establishment of professional standards and organisational quality standards is only the first necessary step in the development of national quality assurance systems. The QUAL-IM-G project addressed this gap by collecting tangible evidence on the impact and success factors of existing quality assurance mechanisms and by developing tools for a more efficient implementation of quality assurance systems based on standards for individual counsellors and organizations providing career guidance in the countries participating in the strategic partnership. In the first phase of the project the consortium analysed the current practices in quality assurance in career guidance practices in different countries in order to identify their usage, impact and analyse the success factors and limits (O1 - Analytical paper). The conclusions from this work was used to develop 4 outputs that strengthen the implementation of different quality standards in partner countries: - Mentoring programme for CG practitioners (O2) - Certification/accreditation procedure of CG practitioners (O3) - Quality development framework for organizations providing career guidance (O4) - Audit/labelling procedure for organizations providing career guidance (O5) The project focused on the impact and success factors of different quality assurance systems and approaches in place in partner countries and on selected existing trans-national standards for career guidance. The project did not develop new quality standards, but produced guidelines, tools, methods and procedures that facilitate the implementation of existing standards on national and European level. Project results were tested with existing quality standards in partner countries: more than 30 career guidance counsellors and 12 organizations were involved in the testing of different outputs. In some national contexts (Slovakia, Czechia, Norway) the project was realized in parallel with the development of the national quality assurance systems for career guidance In other countries, the developed tools strengthen the implementation of the currently existing national standards. On the European level, the project results provided stakeholders from different countries with guidelines and tools based on the analysis of existing practices and allow their further development. In this way a multi-directional transfer of expertise and experience with a real European added value was assured. Within the project, three training activities were carried out for the evaluation of outputs (pilot verification of mentoring programme related by the partners' staff, pilot testing with counsellors from Slovakia and the Czech Republic, pilot testing with counsellors from DE in NL). Also, a seminar for the testing of the Quality Development Framework was organized for organizational providers of guidance.The results of the project have been reflected in the participating organizations which are umbrella organizations for career guidance or have a significant role in ensuring the quality of career guidance in their countries: enable them to improve their existing quality assurance systems in a concrete way (NO, DE, NL, UK, AT - introduction of mentoring for candidates, improving or better formalizing the certification process), or create new quality assurance mechanisms (SK, CZ, NO). The results of the project also impacted partners outside of the partnership: they were used by the European Federation of Career Guidance and Competence Balance Centers (FECBOP) to develop a self-assessment tool for candidate organizations. The project results were also disseminated through the International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance (IAEVG), which, thanks to the QUAL-IM-G project, decided to organize its annual conference in Bratislava. It allowed an intensive dissemination of results to countries outside the project partnership. Long-term benefits are most pronounced in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Norway, where thanks to the project sustainable mechanisms for quality assurance of career counsellors and career guidance organizations have been created in parallel and with the support of the project.