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Career Guidance in the Life Course – Structures and Services in Germany
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Guidance in Education, Career and Employment in Germany – Structures and Services

Supplementary services for special target
groups under different responsibilities
Responsibility: FEA, Länder,
Responsibility: Länder, Municipality, FEA
Chambers of Commerce and
Services: Crafts, HE Institutions
School guidance and counselling Services:
Guidance on educational paths Vocational guidance by the FEA

School Psychological Service first vocational School guidance
Career guidance by the FEA schools, edcucation Guidance during apprenticeship
transition from (dual system VET/
school to work full-time vocational HE couselling services
schools)
Higher Education

Responsibility: Federal
Government, Länder, adult education, employment,
Municipality, Chambers further education vocational reorien-
of Commerce and Crafts (general and tation, return to Responsibility: FEA, Länder,
vocational) employment, Municipality
Services: unemployment
Services:
Educational guidance by the
municipalities and in adult education Placement and counselling
centres in the EA/Job Centre
Career guidance in the chambers Municipial educational guidance,
Career guidance in the EA adult education centres
Guidance by providers of further training
In addition, there are private
guidance services in all areas.

Diagram: National Guidance Forum (nfb)

Career education and vocational orientation world of work. The use of a career choice passport (port-
folio approach) enables students to report their career-
Career education or vocational orientation (Berufswahl­ related experiences.
unterricht, Berufsorientierung) is an integral part of the
school curriculum in all Länder and a common guidance In addition, links with the world of work and industry
activity of most secondary schools. It aims at preparing as well as school-business partnerships are organised by
pupils for the world of work by improving their career a well-established national network (Arbeitskreise Schule­
management skills and their abilities to seek and use in- Wirtschaft) operating across the country. This supports
formation and make decisions. In some Länder, prepara- not only work experience programmes for teachers and
tion for working life is a subject in its own right, which students but also further training for teachers. It assists
may be named differently e.g. Arbeitslehre (lessons in pupils in learning how to run a company (Schülerfirmen)
working life), Arbeit-Wirtschaft-Technik (Work­Economy­ and encourages twinning arrangements between schools
Technology). But career education is also more and more and particular companies in order to give students practi-
part of other subjects, such as economics, social sciences cal experiences.
and law. It is frequently complemented by extra-curricu-
lar activities, often in co-operation with companies. The Whereas career guidance activities in lower secondary
career education curriculum also involves internships and schools concentrate on the transition from school to work-
visits to enterprises as well as to the local Career Informa- ing life, activities in upper secondary education focus on
tion Centre (Berufsinformationszentrum BIZ), which ex- academic orientation and transition to tertiary education.
ists in every local EA. Two or three weeks of work experi- Nevertheless, 24 % of all young people who started voca-
ence in businesses, administration or private companies tional training in the dual system in 2012 held an upper
give pupils a vivid impression of the requirements in the secondary qualification with entitlement for higher educa-