The CEE Guidance Forum hosted a cross-country webinar on “Career education and guidance in initial vocational education and training (I-VET) in Central and Eastern Europe.” The event gathered practitioners, teachers, and researchers from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania to discuss how vocational schools can better prepare young people for a rapidly changing world of work.
Shared regional challenges
Moderator Klaudia Tölli (Hungary) opened the session by emphasising the crucial role of career guidance in vocational pathways — not only to help students find employment, but also to cultivate lifelong learning attitudes and self-confidence. In Central and Eastern Europe, where vocational education often represents the majority of secondary schooling, guidance is a vital lever for both employability and social inclusion.
Tomáš Šprlák (Slovak Association for Career Guidance and Counselling) presented the Slovak landscape, where around 70 % of secondary students attend VET schools. Career education and guidance are formally recognised in legislation but often implemented under tight resource conditions: counsellors typically combine teaching duties with guidance work, having only a few hours released per week. Despite these limits, regional projects and school–employer partnerships are emerging to promote experiential learning and link guidance to green and digital transitions. Katarína Medzihorská, school psychologist at the Secondary School of Transport in Zvolen, described how she works directly with teachers and companies to help students develop motivation, self-knowledge, and confidence in their career choices. Her holistic approach seeks to prevent early school leaving and connect learning with students’ lived realities.
From Brno, Zuzana Adamová and Mirka Smutná – known as @duo_karierko shared their engaging methods for bringing guidance closer to young people’s everyday lives. Using social media, workshops, and storytelling, they make career learning interactive and youth-friendly, showing how guidance can speak the language of Generation Z while remaining pedagogically sound.
The Romanian contribution highlighted the work of school counsellors and VET teachers who provide guidance within resource-limited contexts. Presenters shared how regional centres collaborate with local authorities and companies to ensure students — especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds or rural areas — receive targeted support. Romanian schools are experimenting with career clubs, mentoring schemes, and short work-based experiences, helping students gain confidence and plan their next steps.
From Kecskemét, Klaudia Tölli illustrated how Hungarian VET schools integrate career guidance into dual education systems, where students alternate between school and company placements. Strong cooperation among schools, employers, and municipal actors allows students to explore real jobs early, reinforcing both career maturity and a commitment to lifelong learning.
Speakers stressed that inclusion remains a major priority: career guidance can play a transformative role in preventing early school leaving and building social cohesion. Across all four countries, speakers agreed on the need to:
- strengthen the professional identity and training of school counsellors,
- make guidance more visible within VET curricula, and
- connect schools more closely with employers and regional development priorities.
The discussions showed that, while national systems differ, practitioners across Central and Eastern Europe share a common vision: making career guidance a bridge between education, work, and citizenship.
Download the presentation here.