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The underlying principles of the ELGPN were agreed in the ELGPN inaugural meeting May, 7-8, 2007 in Helsinki, Finland. The countries participating in this meeting agreed to the establishment of a European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network and will participate in the network as members or observers, subject to written confirmation. The European and international bodies present expressed their willingness to continue their support for and involvement in the process.
The ELGPN Aims, Principles amd Structures of Governance 2011-12 were revised during the 9th ELGPN Plenary meeting 13-14 September in Warsaw, Poland. The current context and mandate of the ELGPN were endorsed as follows:
Over the last decade, a strong political momentum has been established in the field of lifelong guidance. The Resolution of the Council and of the representatives of the Member-States meeting within the Council on ‘Strengthening Policies, Systems and Practices in the Field of Guidance throughout Life in Europe’ (May 2004) invited Member-States to “seek to ensure effective co-operation and co-ordination between providers of guidance at national, regional and local levels in the provision of guidance services”. The Resolution also invited Member-States “to build on and adapt existing structures and activities (networks, work groups, programmes) related to the implementation of the resolution priorities”.
The implementation of the Resolution on Lifelong Guidance was examined by Member-States’ representatives at the Finnish EU Presidency Conference on “Lifelong Guidance Policies and Systems: Building the Stepping Stones” (November 2006). The reports from the country teams indicated that much had been achieved in the Member-States in improving access to guidance and the quality of guidance systems, but that much still needed to be done. The emergence of a knowledge-based society required a paradigm shift in guidance, strengthening the role, quality and co-ordination of career guidance services to support learning at all ages and in a range of settings. It was important that the momentum of development within Member-States be sustained.
The Finnish EU Presidency Conference workshop conclusions stressed that the fragility of lifelong guidance policies at national level called for a strong and stable mechanism at European level to encourage more sustainable development at national level and to support both policy development and implementation. The participating Member-States came to the conclusion that the most effective way to take the work forward would be to set up a network of countries interested in working together to develop lifelong guidance systems.
In March 2007 the Commission invited representatives of the countries eligible for assistance under the Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-13 for a preparatory meeting to explore the potential for the Network. The need was expressed to move from analysis to a more active phase of assisting those Member-States which were interested in developing the lifelong dimension of their respective guidance systems in the context of the 2004 Council Resolution on lifelong guidance. The Commission indicated its willingness to continue to assist this process, with the help of Cedefop (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Education and Training), and also to offer financial support.
An inception meeting was held in Helsinki, Finland, on 7-8 May 2007. The participating countries agreed to the establishment of a European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network. Invited countries would participate in the Network as members or observers, subject to written confirmation. The European and international bodies present at the meeting expressed their willingness to continue their support for and involvement in the process. The ELGPN was formally established by a contract between the Network Co-ordinator and the Commission’s DG EAC in December 2007.
The role of the ELGPN was strengthened and described in more detail in the EU Council Resolution on ‘Better Integrating Lifelong Guidance into Lifelong Learning Strategies’ passed in 2008 under the French EU Presidency. The Resolution invited the Member-States and the Commission, with their respective competences, “to strengthen European co-operation on lifelong guidance provision, in particular through the ELGPN, with the support of the Lifelong Learning Programme, and in liaison with CEDEFOP”. In particular, four tasks were specified:
• “enable Member-States to share information on their policies and practices, and on their evaluation of both, so that each may benefit from the successes of others;
• monitor national and European implementation of activities in the four priority areas under this Resolution, using surveys, studies, reports, and peer learning activities including case studies and conferences at European level;
• endeavour to ensure that lifelong guidance is more consistent and more tightly dovetailed with the various European policy areas and in particular with those of employment and social inclusion;
• consider whether more evidence-based policy on guidance should be developed at European level.”
The Annex to the Resolution specified four priority areas:
• “encourage the lifelong acquisition of career management skills;
• facilitate access by all citizens to guidance services;
• develop quality assurance in guidance provision;
• encourage co-ordination and co-operation among the various national, regional and local stakeholders.”
EU2020 is the successor to the Lisbon Strategy and represents the EU's response to the fall-out from the global economic and financial crisis. The Communication of the Commission (2010) sets down three strategic policy directions/priority areas to re-invigorate economic growth:
• Smart growth – developing an economy based on knowledge and innovation.
• Sustainable growth – promoting a more resource-efficient, greener and more competitive economy.
• Inclusive growth – fostering a high-employment economy delivering economic, social and territorial cohesion.
These three priorities constitute the policy framework for European co-operation in the fields of the economy, employment, education and training, research and social inclusion until 2020. They will also be the political basis for the EU financial programmes from 2013 to 2020, with effects on the Lifelong Learning Programme and the cohesion policies (including the Structural Funds and, particularly, the European Social Fund). Each priority area has several Flagship Initiatives which include references to lifelong guidance.
The ELGPN 2011-12 Work Programme will examine how guidance as an integral element contributes to EU guidance policy development in at least six areas: schools, VET, higher education, adult education, employment and social inclusion. The aim is to deepen the interfaces between the policy areas and to shift the ELGPN activities from conceptual work to policy implementation, with more structured co-operation with particular sectors.
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