Career guidance claims a lineage to "modernity", where individuals carve dignified lives for themselves, irrespective of social origin. Here, "social justice" has particular connotations, relating to the meritocratic redistribution of resources in ways that reward ability and effort. This article explores alternative…

The history of the involvement of the European Union in the development of policy related to career guidance is analysed in terms of three broad periods. In the first two of these, interventions were confined to pilot projects, exchanges and placements, study visits and studies/surveys, with particular attention to young people; whereas the period…

This paper considers some of the debates surrounding the term competence and the relevance that these have for the development of competence frameworks. Such frameworks are increasingly on the agenda, since they purport to support training programme development, to identify competence gaps, to promote self-development, and to ensure common…