Guidance System in Denmark – Introduction
Provision of educational and vocational guidance is given high priority in Denmark. The Danish act on guidance aims to develop a transparent guidance system with easy access to high quality guidance services. The act supports the Danish Government’s declared goals that by 2015, 95% of all young people should complete a youth education programme. Today the Ministry for Children, Education and Gender Equality (www.uvm.dk) and the Ministry of Higher Education and Science (www.ufm.dk) are responsible for guidance and have a controlling and coordinating role in relation to the guidance system.
There are three types of centres which are independent from sectoral and institutional interests:
- Youth Guidance Centres with responsibility for guidance in relation to the transition from compulsory school to youth education and for outreach services for young people outside education and employment.
- Regional Guidance Centres with responsibility for guidance in relation to the transition from youth education to higher education.
- eGuidance provides guidance to all citizens via various virtual communication channels.
In order to ensure that all citizens have access to quality information about education and professions, the Ministry for Children and Education provides a national Internet-based guidance portal: http://www.uddannelsesguiden.dk/ or simply www.ug.dk. UddannelsesGuiden means the “Education Guide”, and it provides information on:
- education and training possibilities at all levels
- labour market conditions and statistics
- study programmes taught in English at Danish colleges and universities.
Other features of the portal include an e-mail based enquiry service, the possibility of developing an interactive personal education plan, an electronic guidance tool facilitating the choice of education and career, and links to educational institutions and guidance centres.
Moreover, the eGuidance service is a part of the guidance portal www.ug.dk. Every person in Denmark who seeks information on education and employment can now receive guidance from experienced counsellors via chat, telephone, e-mail, SMS and Facebook every day of the week. Clients appreciate the anonymity as well as the flexibility of the service which means that they can get in touch with a guidance counsellor on a Tuesday evening or Saturday afternoon.
The Ministry for Children Education and Gender Equality has established a National Dialogue Forum on Guidance in order to secure a close dialogue between the Ministry and relevant stakeholders, such as social partners, organisations, institutions, guidance practitioner associations, end users and individuals holding a leading position in the field of guidance.
Quality in guidance is a topic that is continuously debated in Denmark. One way of enhancing the quality of guidance provision is to improve the qualifications of the guidance practitioners. Five centres of Higher Education in Denmark offer a one-year modular common training programme at diploma level for guidance practitioners across sectors. Furthermore, the Danish School of Education, Aarhus University offers a Master of Education programme in guidance counselling. It is a requirement that guidance practitioners working in the education system complete the diploma programme or, alternatively, that they – through assessment and recognition of prior learning – can document that they hold the required qualifications.
The Division for Guidance in the Danish Ministry for Children, Education and Gender Equality is actively involved in international cooperation in the field of guidance, and the main aims and elements of the Danish guidance reform are very much in line with the EU Resolution on Lifelong Guidance and with EU and OECD recommendations on guidance policies and practices.
Guidance for Adults
Denmark has a long tradition of improving the competencies of the workforce beyond compulsory stages of education. In fact, the notion is that learning is a lifelong occupation. There are a number of opportunities for adults wishing to receive education and update their competencies.
13 Centres for Adult Education and Continuing Training (VEU-centre) offer guidance related to a wide range of education programmes to adults, either employed or unemployed. Some of them give a second chance to people who left compulsory school without the necessary exams. Others offer highly specialized continuing vocational training courses (AMU) or general upper secondary programmes (VUC). As part of this adult educational system there is a provision of guidance.
At the centres guidance counsellors provide free and non-binding career guidance to companies as well as to individuals. People in employment or outside the labour market can get an overview over the various education and training programmes. They will receive an individual plan for their further education and training, which can lead them towards their career target.
More information on the Danish guidance system can be found in the publication ‘Guidance in Education – the educational guidance system in Denmark’.