Updated Latvian Career Counsellor Occupational Standard

Author: Ilze Jansone, Euroguidance Latvia.

In Latvia a new national occupational standard for career counsellors was approved in April 2025. The previous update was in 2011. Changes in educational legislation, and methods for developing a standard made an update necessary.  

The working group, led by Euroguidance Latvia, aimed to develop a clear and comprehensive guide to the profession, especially for new career counsellors. The standard defines tasks, competencies, knowledge and skills necessary to deliver high quality guidance and support clients effectively. 

Key updates in the 2025 standard  

1. New level of qualifications 

The 2025 standard now covers both general and school-based career counsellors.  It is classified at Level 7 of the Latvian Qualifications Framework (master’s degree level).  The standard specifies prior education requirements in pedagogy, educational science, social services, or commercial sciences and administration.  It also lists related professional qualifications, including personnel manager, psychologist, social pedagogue and youth worker.

2. More detailed description of skills, knowledge and competences 

Compared to 2011, the number of skills, knowledge areas and competencies described in the standard has expanded significantly:

The 2025 standard is longer and more detailed partly because of the new method used to write it. Every task now has its own dedicated skills, knowledge and competences listed, without overlaps, whereas the 2011 standard used more general, combined lists.

3. New focus areas in Guidance 

The 2025 standard introduces several key guidance elements:  

• Education and lifelong learning: the education system, knowledge of the lifelong learning system and its development trends, national and international education and the national qualification framework 
• Labour market and employment: Labour market structures, employment policies, and the impact of digital transformation 
• Sustainability and societal trends: the principles of the green economy and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 
•  Innovation and enterprise: innovation processes and the entrepreneurial ecosystem 

In contrast, the 2011 standard mentions the "education system", "labour market", and "theories of career development" more generally. 

Changing European policy priorities have an impact on public administration, and also on the labour market, educational choices and career counselling. Therefore, an inevitable new requirement is the digital competence of career professionals. In the standard, the concept of "green career" is interpreted as promoting ethical career choices, so that the chosen occupation does not harm the environment and society. 

Benefits for guidance practice 

The new standard is designed to be as close as possible to the working reality of a contemporary career counsellor. This standard not only benefits practitioners but is also very useful for educators when creating study and professional development programmes. Career practitioners can use the standard to understand their strengths and weaknesses, professional development needs, and personal career development opportunities.