Future perspectives for the Euroguidance community: Practitioner Views
What the 2024-2026 stakeholder survey suggests for the next stage
The Euroguidance stakeholder survey showed that current users value Euroguidance highly, while also identifying areas that could be strengthened, including practical and accessible content, continuity in professional exchange, learning mobility opportunities, and visibility within the wider guidance community.
The subsequent discussions with stakeholders and the Euroguidance representatives prioritisation workshop explored these findings alongside broader questions about the network’s strengths, stakeholder collaboration, policy development and future priorities. They generated practical ideas for how Euroguidance could develop its work.
This is not to say that the results of the stakeholders’ survey translate into a single plan for every country. National contexts, resources and stakeholder needs differ, and the feasibility, ownership and timing of possible actions still need to be decided. Nevertheless, several opportunities became apparent. They concern not only what Euroguidance communicates, but how people learn together, remain connected and bring practice into European cooperation and policy.
Practical content for changing guidance work
Stakeholders want Euroguidance to continue addressing emerging developments, but they also want help turning those developments into practice. Artificial intelligence and digital tools, changes in education and the labour market, inclusive guidance and the green transition all appear in the consultation. Alongside them is a strong demand for practical methods, cases, ready-to-use resources and examples from other countries.
This points towards a useful combination: timely European content accompanied by materials that practitioners can apply, adapt or discuss locally. For example, a webinar on an emerging issue can be followed by a short practice guide, case example or facilitated exchange. Longer publications can be complemented by summaries, infographics or concise learning materials. This would not mean replacing substantive work with simplified messages. It would make evidence and European developments easier to use in busy professional settings.
Co-creation is another opportunity. Practitioners can contribute cases, test resources and explain how tools work in different settings. Their involvement can help Euroguidance produce materials that reflect the diversity of guidance systems and client groups across Europe.
From individual activities to continuing professional exchange
The stakeholders ask more than just more events, they ask for continuity: opportunities to reconnect, exchange experiences and develop ideas after a webinar, seminar or training activity has ended. Expert participants proposed peer groups and alumni mechanisms, while the workshop with Euroguidance representatives gave support to a European community of practitioners.
The opportunity is to connect existing activities more deliberately. Thematic forums, short follow-up meetings or practitioner groups could help relationships continue between scheduled events. They could also allow practitioners to find colleagues working on similar issues, compare approaches and develop joint responses. Small, well-facilitated groups organised around specific topics may be more useful than a single large space. Existing national networks and professional communities would be important partners, both in reaching practitioners and in keeping European exchange connected to local realities.
Widen learning mobility and extend its value
Study visits, Academia exchanges, job shadowing and other forms of peer learning are distinctive parts of the Euroguidance offer. The survey results suggest two related priorities: widen access where possible and make more of the learning after participants return home. Virtual exchange can create additional entry points for people who cannot take part in longer or more resource-intensive activities.
The value of mobility can also extend beyond those who travel. Participants can be supported to share what they learned with colleagues, maintain contact with peers and describe the experience in professional-development terms. Alumni contact, short dissemination sessions and practical records of learning could help turn individual participation into a wider resource for organisations and national guidance communities. Building on evaluation already in place, a brief follow-up after several months could record what participants have applied in their work, shared with colleagues or developed through continued collaboration. This would help demonstrate the wider value of mobility and provide useful evidence for future planning.
Make Euroguidance easier to find and use
The contrast between positive assessments from current users and more limited visibility in their wider professional communities remains important. The questionnaire could not show why some people find Euroguidance less visible, but the stakeholder interviews identify possibilities worth testing: shorter formats, targeted communication, multilingual provision and more accessible digital content.
Email remains an important route to existing users, while websites, social media, direct contact and professional networks can serve different audiences. The opportunity is therefore not to search for one universal channel, but to clarify who needs to be reached, what is useful to them and which trusted intermediaries can help. National centres, practitioner networks, educational institutions, public employment services and other partner organisations can all contribute to this reach.
Accessibility should be part of the same discussion. Simple English, translations where feasible, captions and accessible formats can help information travel further. Shorter communication can guide readers towards more detailed resources rather than replace them. Euroguidance could test different approaches by comparing indicators such as webinar registrations, newsletter link clicks or resource downloads when information is provided in shorter, translated or captioned formats. Where appropriate data are available, these indicators could also show which countries or professional groups are being reached and which remain under-represented. This would provide a stronger basis for future communication decisions.
Connect practice with evidence and policy
Euroguidance occupies a useful position between European cooperation, national systems and frontline practice. This position can be strengthened by gathering evidence on practitioner needs and outcomes, coordinating contributions to policy discussions and building partnerships that produce useful evidence.
This could include collecting comparable examples of practice, examining learning from international exchanges, and creating routes for practitioner experience to inform European and national conversations. There is also a need for timely, concise contributions when policy opportunities arise and coordination across centres could make these contributions more coherent while still respecting national differences.
Partnerships are especially valuable when they lead to concrete joint work: research, resources, pilot activities or shared communication. The Euroguidance network contribution may be to connect people, frame European questions and help evidence move between practice, research and policy.
From consultation to shared action
The stakeholder survey identifies directions rather than a strategy. The next step is for the network to decide which ideas to prioritize, over what timeframe and with what resources.
The strongest opportunity is to build on what current users already value: combining emerging content with friendly and accessible resources, connecting activities between professional exchange, extending the reach of the learning mobilities, improving visibility through trusted channels, and strengthening the evidence that links practitioner experience with European cooperation and policy.
These priorities are closely connected. Practical content becomes more useful when practitioners can discuss and adapt it. Mobility has greater reach when learning is shared. Visibility improves when professional communities and partners carry information into their own settings. Evidence becomes stronger when practice is documented and compared across countries.
The survey has opened a common agenda. Shaping what comes next will depend on continued dialogue among national centres, practitioners, experts, partner organisations and the wider European career-guidance community.
Euroguidance Stakeholder Survey
Authors of this article: Delia Goia and Speranta Tibu
