Strengthening Career Guidance in the CEE Region: Insights from Finland’s National Competency Framework
On 8 May 2025, the Central and Eastern European (CEE) Guidance Forum hosted a webinar focusing on Finland’s National Competency Framework for Career Professionals. The session featured Professor Jaana Kettunen from the University of Jyväskylä, a leading expert in career guidance and President of the International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance (IAEVG). The discussion was moderated by Tibor Bors Borbély-Pecze, member of the CEE Guidance Forum.
Key Highlights from the Finnish Framework
The framework delineates the essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for effective career guidance across various settings. It comprises three core areas: professionalism, client work, and systemic competency, further divided into 12 specific competence areas. These areas provide a comprehensive foundation for career professionals operating in diverse lifelong guidance contexts .
A notable feature of the framework is its emphasis on self-assessment and continuous professional development. To facilitate this, FIER has developed assessment tools, including competency assessment tables and maps, enabling individuals and organizations to evaluate and plan their competency development effectively
Relevance to the CEE Region
The event also explored the relevance of Finland’s approach for countries in Central and Eastern Europe. While recognising differences in national contexts, participants from Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and the Czech Republic reflected on shared challenges such as fragmented services, unclear role definitions, and uneven training provision for guidance practitioners. The structured and evidence-based nature of the Finnish framework offers a potential model for these countries to strengthen their own systems.
The webinar marked a step forward in knowledge exchange across the CEE region. It underlined the importance of investing in professional standards, not only to improve service quality but to ensure career guidance can respond to today’s complex transitions—whether ecological, technological, or social. Inspired by the Finnish experience, the CEE Guidance Forum will continue to explore how national frameworks can be adapted and used to support meaningful professional development and lifelong career support across the region.