The National Guidance Forum -

Background

The National Guidance Forum was established as a joint initiative of the Department of Education and Science and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Chaired by Professor Joyce O'Connor, President of the National College of Ireland, the forum was set up in response to emerging priorities in guidance at both national and international level. These included:

• The Departments’ endorsement of the role of lifelong guidance in lifelong learning and employability
• The importance of guidance in supporting Ireland ’s move towards a knowledge based economy
• The impact of guidance on people’s capacity to attain personal, social, educational and career goals, with special emphasis on social inclusion
• The implications for guidance in the EC Communication on Lifelong Learning and the agreed Employment Guidelines
• The outcomes of the reviews of guidance policy and practice carried out across 36 countries by the OECD, EC and the World Bank

Part of the brief of the Forum is to carry out a consultative process with a wide range of stakeholders on key issues in guidance. Recommendations based on this consultation will be submitted to both the DES and DETE.

Aim of the Forum

The ultimate objective of the Forum is that by placing the client as the central focus, links can be established between the different providers with the aim to make lifelong and life-wide guidance a reality.

Focus of the Forum

The National Guidance Forum will:

• Explore how all individuals at any point throughout their lives can access quality guidance appropriate to their needs;
• Identify collaborative actions across the guidance continuum;
• Agree recommendations in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.

Key Outcomes

• To initiate collaboration as recommended by the OECD report;
• To develop links and exchange information between guidance providers;
• To develop strategies for collaboration between providers;
• To inform national guidance policy through submissions to the DES and the DETE;
• To review core competencies for guidance practitioners and clarify the role of guidance practitioners.

Key Stakeholders

There are 31 members on the Forum including guidance policy makers and guidance practitioners from the education and labour market sectors, trainers of guidance counsellors, employer representatives, trade unions, education managers, parents and consumers.

For more information on the Forum, see www.nationalguidanceforum.ie