A Review of National Career Development Support Systems – Armenia, Moldova, Panama and Viet Nam
Among international organisations, there is a consensus that career guidance and career development have an essential role in meeting the changing character of skills demand for skills in labour markets around the world. As part of the recovery, career guidance and career development can enhance re-employment and longer-term labour market engagement by supporting individuals in their efforts to retrain, find new jobs or develop new businesses. ILO (2020) recommends that targeted labour market interventions and broader access to PES are critical to maintain the employability and job-readiness of most vulnerable groups. Lifelong learning and labour market participation can also be encouraged with inclusive and gender-sensitive approaches.
Ultimately, such investments in career development provide positive economic, educational and social returns to both individuals and society.
As career development in most countries is a responsibility of more than one government agency or policy domain, comprehensive national reviews are an important mechanism to provide a comprehensive overview of key system features, existing strengths, and priorities for further action. As a participatory process, national reviews provide opportunities to bring together the key stakeholders to initiate a process of policy enhancement that can be adapted to national contexts and conditions, including low-income countries.
This report presents a rationale and a model for country reviews of career development support systems. The features of the review model reflect a Theory of Change approach, with a focus on five key elements that reflect a comprehensive national career development system: coordination, funding, quality, access, and the use of technology. Based on four country reviews (Armenia, Moldova, Panama, and Viet Nam) the report introduces examples of national career development practices and policies in accordance with the review model key features, remaining challenges and recommendations for further actions. The report illustrates the added value of ongoing national review processes and how they are already contributing to system and policy development.
A Review of National Career Development Support Systems – Armenia, Moldova, Panama and Viet Nam
