Written by Büşra Kulakoğlu

On 14 April 2026, Working Group 2 in COCAG will host its 3rd webinar, focusing on how career development policies operate within political, economic, and social systems, and how these policies impact diverse groups, particularly those most affected by inequality, discrimination, and precarious labour markets. To see the call for proposals, please click here.

Before the upcoming webinar, let’s rewind to our last event on policy responses to contemporary challenges in career and lifelong guidance from a multilateralism perspective. The event took place on November 10th, 2025 online, and our guest was John McCarthy, featuring the speech titled “The Answer is Blowing in the Wind”, quoting Bob Dylan (1962). Mr. McCarthy is the director of International Center for Career Development and Public Policy (ICCDPP), and took a historical look at lifelong and career guidance agendas from a multilateralism perspective which is the principle of participation by three or more parties, especially governments of different countries.

From Multilateralism and the Road to Career Guidance Policy

Mr. McCarthy started from the beginning: the post-WWI and post-WWII period, when multilateralism took shape through the creation of organizations like the United Nations, World Bank, Council of Europe, and OECD. Participation in these organizations is voluntary, and their foundations rest on shared values of inclusivity and equality, cooperation and solidarity, consultation and compromise, and collective action.

Looking at vocational guidance through that historical lens, one thing becomes clear: vocational training and guidance are social policy responses to offer effective solutions to economic and social challenges and needs. This recognition led CEDEFOP in the 1990s and the ETF in the 2000s to focus on career guidance research and development, while the EU made vocational guidance a pillar of its VET policies.

The 2000s brought another significant shift, as economic and social change pushed policymakers to strengthen EU competitiveness in response to the emerging knowledge-driven economy. The EU’s Lisbon Strategy was central to this, promoting student and worker mobility, national lifelong learning systems with support for lifelong guidance, and international cooperation. This significantly expanded institutional cooperation, resulting in symposiums, expert groups on lifelong guidance, and international networks.

The Multilateral Career Guidance Policy Landscape Today

Today, each international organization contributes to career guidance from its own angle and with varying levels of engagement. OECD links career readiness to its PISA framework for ages 15–16. ILO approaches it through labor market surveys and analysis. ETF conducts research with young people and country case studies. CEDEFOP focuses on inclusion and professionalization across diverse groups. The European Commission produces policy directions and handbooks for policymakers. ICCDPP maintains an international inventory, organizes events, and conducts research on public employment. The World Bank was very active in the 2000s but has since pulled back, with its last newsletter on the topic published in 2023. UNESCO plays a comparatively limited direct role, though it coordinates the Inter-Agency Group on TVET. This group is an important recent collaboration of several multilateral organizations that produced a joint statement in 2021 and has ongoing publications.

Achievements and Limitations

Despite their differences, the collective impact of these organizations on career guidance has been meaningful. They have highlighted the importance of policy and systems, introduced career guidance as an instrument for achieving social and economic goals, developed evaluation methodologies and guidelines, provided a compass for nations, enabled mutual support through shared expertise, stimulated national reforms, and promoted evidence-based thinking.

That said, the limitations are real. Both human and financial resources are constrained, and career guidance remains a very small part of these organizations’ overall goals. The recommendations by such organizations are not binding and the national implications remain voluntary, since there is no monitoring. The priorities of these organizations are externally driven by current policy winds, meaning their interest in career guidance is not constant. That creates persistent challenges around corporate memory.

So where does the wind go from here? The strength of this landscape lies in organizations operating as a network but that is also what makes the wind unpredictable.

This leaves us with some questions worth thinking about: Do nations need the external push of international organizations to embed career guidance into national policy? If not, how can such agendas be formed from within? And if they do, how can consistency be sustained across shifting international and national priorities?

We look forward to exploring these conversations and more at our 3rd Webinar on 14 April 2026. Join us as a speaker by submitting your proposal, or simply tune in as an audience. Stay tuned for details!