Guidance in Education– the educational guidance system in Denmark

Guidance in Education

– the educational guidance system in Denmark

Guidance in Education

– the educational guidance system in Denmark

Published by

Euroguidance Denmark, The Danish Agency for Science and Higher

Education

Graphical design and layout:

Rosendahls

Photos

Jakob Dall

Jacob Brodersen, p. 15

Colourbox, p. 24

Printed by

Rosendahls

5th edition, 1

impression

April 2020, 5,000 copies

Printed in Denmark

ISBN: 978-87-93706-76-7

ISBN Web: 978-87-93706-77-4

Published with support from the European Commission. This

publication reﬂects the views only of the author, and the Commission

cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the

information contained therein.

The Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education is an agency in the Ministry of Higher Education and

Science. The Agency handles tasks within the overall sector for higher education including an enhanced focus

on internationalisation and mobility in education.

www.ufm.dk

Guidance in Education

– the educational guidance system in Denmark

Facts & Figures

– Population: 5,806,081 million; approx. 1.3% of the total EU

population (2019)

– 0-19 years: 22.4%

– 20-59 years: 52.1%

– 60 years + 25.5%

– Percentage of a year group applying for a youth education

programme: 92.1% (2018)

– Percentage of a year group completing a higher education

programme: 61% (Proﬁle Model 2015)

– Labour force: 2,935,000; 52.2% men, 47.8% women (2019)

– Unemployment rate (LFS – Labour Force Survey): 5.2% (2019)

– Gross unemployment rate 16-24 years: 1.8% (2019)

– Gross unemployment rate (25-29 years): 7.0% (2019)

Sources:

Statistics Denmark

Ministry of Children and Education

Ministry of Higher Education and Science

Introduction

Provision of educational and

vocational guidance for young

people is given high priority in

Denmark.

The Danish guidance system

aims to give easy access to

high quality guidance services.

Guidance is regarded as a

continuous process that should

help young people become more

conscious of their abilities,

interests and possibilities, thus

enabling them to make decisions

regarding education and

employment on a qualiﬁed basis.

Today, the Ministry of Children

and Education and the Ministry

of Higher Education and Science

are responsible for guidance

and have a controlling and

coordinating role in relation to

the guidance system.

This publication gives an

overview of the key elements of

the Danish guidance system in

the educational sector, which

is primarily concerned with

guidance services for young

people.

An online version of the present

publication is available at:

www

.ufm.dk/en/euroguidance

Guidance in Denmark

In Denmark, guidance within the

education system is regulated

by a speciﬁc act of parliament.

The Danish Consolidation Act

on municipal provision for

young people under 25 (Lov

om kommunal indsats for unge

under 25 år) covers among other

things educational guidance in

relation to the choice of youth

education. It supports the Danish

Government’s declared goal that

by 2030 90% of all young people

should be completing a youth

education programme before

their 25th birthday. Guidance in

relation to the transition to higher

education is regulated in the Act

on Study and Career Guidance

Denmark (Lov om Studievalg

Danmark).

The Government wishes to make

it easier for citizens to make

realistic decisions about learning

opportunities and careers - for

the individual’s own sake and for

the good of society as a whole.

The Danish guidance system

- and changes made since the

reform in 2004 - should be seen

in this perspective. The Danish

guidance system consists of

various elements, which can be

seen on the following page.

Key elements of the Danish

guidance system are:

– Municipal youth guidance

units, which provide guidance

services for young people

up to the age of 25 years,

focusing on the transition from

compulsory to youth education,

or, alternatively, to the labour

market.

– Study and Career Guidance

Denmark, which provides

guidance for students in youth

education programmes and

for young people and adults

outside the education system

who wish to enter a higher

education programme.

– eGuidance, which can be

reached by e-mail, chat, phone

or text message seven days a

week from morning to evening.

eGuidance is for all citizens –

young persons and adults.

– The national guidance

por

tal: www.ug.dk

is an ICT-

based careers information

and guidance portal. The

portal helps people to ﬁnd

information that enables them

to make qualiﬁed decisions

about education, training and

careers.

General legislation regulating

guidance in Denmark covers

guidance in the educational

sector, with special emphasis

on guidance in connection with

transitions within the educational

system.

The Acts referred to deﬁne seven

main aims of guidance. According

to these aims, guidance related to

the choice of education, training

and career must:

– help to ensure that the choice

of education and career will be

of greatest possible beneﬁt to

the individual and to society,

and that all young people

complete an education leading

to vocational/professional

qualiﬁcations or a job;

– particularly target young

people who, without speciﬁc

guidance, would have

difﬁculties in relation to the

choice and completion of

education or training courses

and career choices;

– take into account the

individual’s interests,

personal qualiﬁcations and

skills, including informal

competencies, previous

education and work

experience, as well as the

projected need for skilled

labour and self-employed

individuals;

–

contribute to limiting, as

much as possible, the number

of dropouts and students

changing from one education

or training programme to

another, and ensuring that the

pupil or student completes

their chosen education

with the greatest possible

academic/vocational and

personal beneﬁts;

– contribute to improving the

individual’s ability to seek and

use information, including

ICT-based information and

guidance about the choice

of education, educational

institution and career;

– help to ensure coherence and

progression in the guidance

support offered individuals;

– be independent of sectoral

and institutional interests.

Therefore, guidance is to be

provided by practitioners

with an approved guidance

qualiﬁcation or competencies

recognised as being of the

same level.

he last objective is to raise the

quality level in Danish guidance,

including an improvement in the

quali ﬁcations and competencies

of guidance counsellors.

Independent Guidance Units

There are three types of units

which are all independent

from sectoral and institutional

interests:

– 98 municipal youth guidance

units (Kommunal ungeindsats)

provide guidance in relation to

the transition from compulsory

education to youth education

and are responsible for

education and training plans

designed to meet individual

needs.

– Stud

y and Career Guidance

Denmark (Studievalg

anmark) provides guidance in

elation to the transition from

youth education to higher

education.

– eGuidance provides guidance

to all citizens via various

virtual communication

channels: chat, telephone,

text message, e-mail and

Facebook.

Compulsory education begins at the age of 7 (form 1) and ends

after form 9 (age 15). The 10th year is optional.

The term "youth education" is used as an umbrella term for

all upper secondary and vocational education and training

programmes (age 16-19).

higher education

No. of years

Regional

guidance centres

Youth

guidance units

PhD

Candidatus *)

MSc/MA

Professional

BSc/BA bachelor degrees Academy

profession degrees

Long-cycle higher education Medium-cycle Short-cycle

Vocational basic

training

Upper secondary education

programmes

Vocational education

and training programmes

Individual

programme

Compulsory education

higher education

Primary and lower secondary school

*) Some programmes last more than 2 years

Youth Guidance Units

Youth guidance units are found

in all the 98 municipalities in

Denmark. Each unit serves a

municipality in terms of quality:

quality as regards the number

and variety of youth education

institutions in the area, as

well as cooperation with other

municipalities. The local councils

are responsible for guidance

services, as well as coordinating

educational, employment and

social efforts in the municipality.

The municipalities can decide

for themselves how they want

to organise the youth guidance

units, as long as they fulﬁl their

purposes and responsibilities.

According to the Consolidation

Act on municipal provision for

young people under 25, all 15-

17 year-olds have an obligation

to be enrolled in some course

of education, some kind of

employment or other activities

designed to ensure that they will

get an education or a job. The

youth guidance units also assess

the extent to which young people

have the academic/vocational,

personal and social competencies

to begin and complete an upper

secondary education.

The municipal youth guidance

units provide guidance services

for young people up to the age

of 25 years, focusing on the

transition from compulsory to

youth education, or, alternatively,

to the labour market. Their main

target groups are:

–

Pupils in lower secondary

school (forms 7 to 9) and pupils

attending the optional form 10.

–

Young people under the age

of 25 who are not attending or

have not completed a youth

education programme, and

are not attached to the labour

market.

– Other young people under the

age of 25 who are seeking

guidance in relation to youth

education programmes or

employment.

–

Young people with a special

need for guidance concerning

the choice of education,

vocation and career. This is a

diverse target group of young

people with various problems

related to the continuation or

completion of an education

programme.

In cooperation with school

principals, the youth guidance

units organise guidance

activities at schools – close

to the pupils. Teachers are

responsible for the provision of

general career education from

form 1 to form 9, but the youth

guidance units serve as a source

of coordination, inspiration and

further development in this area.

Guidance speciﬁcally

related to the transition from

compulsory to youth education

is the responsibility of the

youth guidance units – but

it is provided at the pupils’

schools. The aim of the guidance

process is to develop the pupils’

self-knowledge and ability to

make decisions regarding their

education and career. It concludes

with the drawing-up of an

individual transition plan in form

9, describing plans and objectives

after compulsory schooling. Since

January 1, 2019, it is mandatory

for citizens under the age of 25

to have an educational plan if

they have no upper secondary

education, and are not attached

to the labour market.

Introduction courses to youth

education must take place in

form 8. Bridge-building and

contact person schemes are

important tools in form 9 and

bridge-building also in form 10.

In form 9, bridge-building is an

obligatory activity targeted at

pupils who in form 8 who have

been assessed as not being ready

for youth education. In form 10,

bridge-building is an obligatory

activity for all pupils.

The units are obliged to establish

contact with young people under

the age of 25 who have not

completed a youth education

programme and are outside

the education system or the

labour market. Together with

the individual young person, the

guidance counsellors discuss

different opportunities and

schemes that may help them get

back into education, training or

employment.

The youth guidance units are

based on guidelines from the

municipal councils, who deﬁne

the overall framework for the

guidance activities within the

scope of the Act on Guidance.

Quality assurance is emphasised

in the guidance reform.

Transparency in relation to the

activities and results of the youth

guidance units is important in

order to assure a high level of

quality. For this reason, objectives,

methods, planned activities as

well as the performance of each

unit are required to be published

on the municipality website. It is

the responsibility of the municipal

councils to ensure a continuous

focus on raising the quality and

uniformity of guidance. As a

minimum, this includes ﬁgures

concerning the scope, results and

effects of the guidance provided.

Furthermore, the municipalities

must annually discuss and act

on the search patterns in the

transition between compulsory

and youth education, as well

as making a plan for following

up on the development of the

whole area of guidance, based

on the results and effects of the

guidance provided.

Cooperation across sectors is

a key issue in the Act on Act on

municipal provision for young

people under 25. The aim is to

ensure a coherent guidance

system and a regular exchange

of experiences, knowledge

and best practice. The youth

guidance units are thus obliged

to cooperate closely with primary

and lower secondary schools and

youth education institutions in

the area, as well as with local

businesses, public employment

services and youth guidance

units in other municipalities, if

relevant.

Some facts about the school year 2017/18:

– 67,

455 pupils in form 9 and 35,254 pupils in form 10.

– 66 % in municipal primary and lower secondary schools

(Folkeskoler), 18 % in free elementary schools (Frie

grundskoler), 12 % in continuation schools (Efterskoler) and

3 % in other schools (uddannelsesstatistik.dk)

CASE STORY By the Head of Youth Services and Education, Anders Ladegaard

Provision for young people in the

municipality of Fredericia

The provision for young people

is divided into broad, general

measures targeting all young

people, and speciﬁc measures

targeting young people with

different types of challenges

in relation to education, jobs

and life as a whole. Both target

groups range from form 7 until

the age of 30.

Broad, general measures

These measures are directed

at forms 7 to 10 and consist of

collective counselling, group

counselling, individual counselling

and a number of other activities,

such as introductory courses

and bridge-building courses

between compulsory schooling

and upper secondary education,

business internships, company

visits, educational fairs, etc. In

forms 8, 9 and 10, the counsellors

evaluate the readiness of all

individual pupils for upper

secondary education. The

process ends with a portfolio, an

education plan and enrolment

on a youth education course or

an individual programme. The

professional guidance counsellors

at the youth guidance unit are

responsible for all these tasks

in both municipal and private

primary and lower secondary

schools in the municipality of

Fredericia. The youth guidance

unit coordinates all the efforts

in collaboration with the primary

and lower secondary schools and

youth education institutions in

the municipality.

– The municipality of

Fredericia has a population

of 51,427 people

– 10,100 young people

(12-30 years old)

– 18 primary and lower

secondary schools

–

14 full time guidance

counsellors employed in the

youth guidance unit

– The provision for young

people as a whole consists

of more than 40 employees

with different tasks

Speciﬁc measures

Speciﬁc measures aim to meet

the requirement that all young

people with special challenges

should have a single point of

entry to the municipality, by

ensuring that they have a single

contact person and that all

measures are coordinated in one

educational plan. The provision

for young people in Fredericia

Municipality is divided in a matrix

structure involving the job centre,

the social centre, the schools and

the youth guidance unit.

The focal point of the speciﬁc

measures is the educational

plan drawn up by the guidance

counsellors in cooperation with

the young people and their

All young people with

special challenges should have

a single point of entry to

the municipality

parents in connection with the

transition from compulsory

education to upper secondary

education, or to individual

programmes. In most cases,

the contact person is a

guidance counsellor who is also

responsible for coordinating

efforts involving the job centre,

the social centre, the schools

and the youth guidance unit.

In order to optimise cross-

sectoral cooperation, we have

developed a joint sparring and

meeting design to train all

relevant staff. We also set aside

three hours each week in which

staff meet and coordinate their

efforts. We call it systematic,

relational coordination, where

the goal is to create simplicity

and clarity for the individual

young person through an

educational plan involving all

actors.

Our goal is that 90% of the

young people complete upper

secondary education before they

reach the age of 25 and that the

group of young people who have

neither completed a course of

education nor have permanent

employment will be reduced by

50 %.

Readiness for upper secondary education

In form 8, counsellors biannually

estimate whether pupils will be

able to commence and complete

a youth education after forms 9

and 10, taking into account their

personal, social and academic

competences. In addition to

this assessment, there is an

interdisciplinary evaluation of

the pupil’s competences in terms

of vocational opportunities.

Pupils achieving an average

mark on the Danish grading

system of 04 (and above)

across all subjects are regarded

as possessing the necessary

academic competences in form

8. The school and the guidance

unit in cooperation design a

focused education and guidance

programme for pupils who are

assessed as not ready for upper

secondary education. The goal is

that the pupil should be ready to

attend and complete a course of

education by the end of form 9 or

10. The assessment is repeated

in forms 9 and 10. In forms 9

and 10, academic competences

vary depending on what upper

secondary education is in

question.

Pupils who are not immediately

assessed as ready will, in form

9, participate in a one-week

mandatory bridge-building

course involving the compulsory

school they are attending and

institutions of upper secondary

education, during which they

receive individual as well as

group guidance. The guidance

unit helps this group of young

people to make an informed

decision about educational

choices as well as to apply for a

youth education course.

Pupils who are assessed as

ready for education in form

8 are responsible, along with

their parents, for applying for a

youth education. This group can

search for personal guidance

via the digital education guide

www.ug.dk or by contacting

eGuidance.

Study and Career Guidance

Denmark – seven regional guidance

centres

Study and Career Guidance

Denmark was established on

August 1, 2018 as a new national

guidance institution in the

Ministry of Higher Education

and Science. The organisation

consists of a main ofﬁce

(secretariat) with an executive

director, and seven regional

centres covering all parts of the

country. The new organisation

has gathered the seven centres

that existed as independent

centres from 2004-2018 into

one national organisation.

Study and Career Guidance

Denmark provides guidance

to young people and adults

about the choice of higher

education and prospective

career opportunities. The

guidance offered is independent

of sectional interests.

Study and Career Guidance

Denmark meets the target

group in their local environment;

guidance in upper secondary

education is mostly offered

as individual conversations,

in small groups or through

common activities. The main

objective is to put the students

in a position to be able to make

qualiﬁed decisions about their

choice of higher education

and career. Guidance focuses

on the transition from youth

education to higher education.

The guidance activities give

the students an insight into the

higher education system, help

them reﬂect on making choices

about further education, jobs and

careers and strengthen their self-

awareness.

The counsellors organise a wide

variety of educational and career

guidance activities for students

in upper secondary education,

including workshops, seminars,

careers fairs and individual and

group guidance sessions. These

activities take place at the

students’ schools. The counsellors

cooperate closely with the

management and the teachers at

the school.

Young people (and their parents),

as well as adults, are also

welcome to call or visit the

centres to get information about

higher education opportunities,

or to make an appointment for

a guidance session. On a regular

basis, it is also possible to meet

study and career guidance

counsellors from the centres

at different neutral localities

across the seven regions – e.g.

at a public library – to ensure

that geographical distance does

not prevent people from getting

access to relevant guidance

services.

The organisation is obliged to

develop a quality assurance

system. The quality assurance

system incorporates the voices

of users and is very much aimed

at developing the organisation of,

and guidance provided by, Study

and Career Guidance Denmark, as

well as at assuring a basic level of

quality. Information provided by

the quality assurance system will

be both quantitative, for example

through surveys, and qualitative,

for example through group

interviews.

Study and Career Guidance

Denmark cooperates with relevant

partners at the national, regional

and local levels to ensure a

coherent guidance system and a

regular exchange of experiences,

knowledge and best practice.

Relevant partners include youth

education and higher education

institutions, the social partners

and industry and commerce.

CASE STORY By Head Torben Theilgaard

Study and Career Guidance

Denmark, Centre for the Capital

Region

The Capital Region of Denmark is a region with a total population

of 1.8 million people

121 youth education institutions

45,000 students in general upper secondary education

30,000 students in vocational education and training (VET)

18 study & career guidance counsellors are employed at the

centre for the Capital Region

Our guidance service concerns

the choice of higher education

and paths in working life.

Guidance activities differ

depending on the target group,

but generally speaking our main

objective is to put citizens in a

position where they themselves

are capable of making qualiﬁed

decisions about transitions from

one level of education to another,

from education to working life

and changing paths in their

working life.

In Denmark, general upper

secondary education gives

formal access to the entire range

of higher education programmes,

while vocational education and

training gives access to a broad

number of higher education

programmes. Therefore, study

and career guidance counsellors

visit every youth education

institution to inform the students

on their opportunities regarding

a continuation of their education

at higher levels.

In general upper secondary

institutions in our region, we

work in groups (often individual

classes or classes together)

to encourage students to stay

curious, to have the desire and

courage to explore possible

scenarios and transitions in life

– often focussing on the ﬁrst

transitions they face: higher

education programmes.

To accomplish these goals, we

offer:

– Three obligatory sessions with

each class

– One to two obligatory sessions

with more classes together

– A number of workshops with

themes that help them get an

overview of their situation

–

Individual guidance for

students (at their school)

–

Meetings to which the school

invites parents

Through these events, we ensure

that students are confronted

with different perspectives on

transitions, higher education and

working life several times during

their two to three years in general

upper secondary education.

Each study and career guidance

counsellor is responsible for

a number of schools, and this

ensures that students become

familiar with their guidance

counsellor. But it also means

that the guidance counsellor

remains on ‘neutral ground’, in

the sense that he or she does not

know the students individually

from classes, as teachers do,

something that many students

consider to be an advantage,

because they are not met with

preconceived opinions when

discussing their own thoughts

about their future with the study

and career guidance counsellor.

Young people and adults are

welcome to call, e-mail or book

an appointment at our centre in

Copenhagen. Here we offer both

individual and group guidance

sessions.

All clients need to be empowered

and placed in a position where

they are capable of choosing and

applying for a higher education

programme by themselves

and have some idea of the

opportunities open to them in

their working life.

Our main objective is

to put people in a position to

make qualiﬁed decisions about

transitions from one level of

education to another,

from education to

working life and when

changing paths in their

working life.

This page has been intentionally left blank.

eGuidance By Counselling Coordinator, Else Lücking

eGuidance was launched in

January 2011 and provides

individual and personal guidance

to all citizens via various virtual

communication channels: chat,

telephone, E-mail, webinars and

social media.

eGuidance is for everyone

who wants information and

guidance about education and

employment and may also refer

users to the digital guidance

tools on the national portal,

The Education Guide UG.dk. We

play a central role as guides to

the national guidance portal.

At the outset, eGuidance

was especially targeted at

resourceful young persons and

their parents, to give them

easy access to independent

information and guidance

and hereby motivate them

to continue the search and

clariﬁcation process on their

own. In 2018, eGuidance became

the main career guidance

service for adults looking for

further training or education.

sers can contact eGuidance

in the daytime and evenings,

as well as at weekends. Many

people appreciate the fact

that they can get in touch

with a guidance counsellor

on, for example, a Tuesday

evening or Saturday afternoon.

Users contact eGuidance with

questions relating to youth

education as well as higher

education and adult education.

Because of the high percentage

of Facebook users in Denmark,

eGuidance is also present on

this platform with three different

pages. One page for all citizens,

one especially for parents with

children in secondary school and

one for adults. eGuidance can

also be followed on Twitter and

LinkedIn. Activity on the social

media generally happens on the

front interface or news feed,

where it is public for everybody

to see and share.

Webinars are held as a

supplement and as another

way to offer guidance - on

how to choose and apply for

further education, for example.

Webinars are also held in

English for citizens from other

countries who wish to apply for

admission to a higher education

programme in Denmark.

The communication channels

are used differently by different

user groups. Chat is especially

popular among the young users;

many of them feel that they

express themselves better in

writing and anonymously, and

Extract from a chat guidance session with eGuidance

Date: 30-01-2014,

10:14:53 Linda starts a chat

10:15:37 Counsellor Vibeke: Hi Linda

10:15:38 Linda: I’m desperate right now and really need someone

to tell me that I can get another chance…

10:16:26 Counsellor Vibeke: That doesn’t sound very nice, what

do you mean by another chance?

10:16:33 Linda: I ﬁnished 3.g* in 2010 and have been kicking

myself ever since because I’ve been so stupid. I chose

a direction which was too hard for me and I continued

with it even though I couldn’t keep up with the level.

10:17:10 Counsellor Vibeke: Why do you think you’ve been

stupid?

10:17:46 Linda: Because I continued instead of changing to

another direction… my marks are terrible, so my average

is incredibly low.

10:18:56 Counsellor Vibeke: OK, I understand, but you can still

get admission to a lot of courses if you’ve passed your

upper secondary school exams.

10:19:50 Linda: At all the places I have the slightest interest in

applying to, the average mark for admission is at least 6.

10:20:38 Counsellor Vibeke: OK, where in the country are you

applying?

They investigate the options together.

*last year of general upper secondary school

many wish to be able to save

the answers. Parents and adults

prefer to contact us by phone.

Sessions with eGuidance

take place anonymously.

Consequently, eGuidance

cannot play a role in speciﬁc

cases that, for instance,

the youth guidance units

are responsible for. Clients

appreciate the anonymity, which

in many cases makes it easier

for them to ask their questions.

eGuidance employs a number

of full-time counsellors and a

number of counsellors who work

part-time for eGuidance and

part-time at a youth guidance

unit.

National Guidance Portal

The national guidance portal:

www.ug.dk, la

unched by the

Ministry of Children and

Education, is an ICT-based careers

information and guidance portal.

The portal provides citizens -

young people and adults - with

substantial careers information in

order for them to make qualiﬁed

decisions about education,

training and careers.

The portal provides comprehen-

sive and up-to-date information

on:

– youth education and training

programmes

–

higher education programmes

– occupations/professions

–

labour market issues

– study programmes taught in

English at Danish colleges and

universities

he portal provides different

types of guidance tools that

facilitate the choice of education,

occupation and careers). The

portal also provides speciﬁc entry

points for different target groups:

–

young people seeking youth

education programmes

–

young people seeking higher

education programmes

– persons seeking adult

education programmes

– parents wanting to support

their children in their choice of

education

From the portal you can easily

ﬁnd and reach the regional

guidance centres, the youth

guidance units, eGuidance and

the educational institutions. It

also gives access to important

and updated information,

guidance tools and relevant

websites.

The portal is updated on a day-

to-day basis in order to have

new and updated information

available all the time. Users can

choose to receive electronic

newsletters whenever there

is relevant news concerning

guidance, education and the

labour market.

Guidance in Relation to Completion

of Education within General and

Vocational Upper Secondary

Education

The upper secondary schools

(Gymnasier and VET colleges)

are obliged to offer guidance

to students in a way that

enables them to complete their

education. Students enrolled in

an upper secondary school will

therefore have support from

school staff, such as teachers,

guidance counsellors or other

professional staff members,

who support students in various

ways. Institutions are free to

choose their methods and the

appropriate staff to support

students in completing their

education. The work being done

at institutions by guidance

counsellors, teachers or other

professional staff members is an

important part of the national

effort to reduce drop-outs

in education and to support

students in their efforts to

complete their education.

Educational institutions

cooperate with the youth

guidance units and the regional

guidance centres in order to

ensure coherence in guidance.

This cooperation has both a

general and a more speciﬁc

perspective regarding students

at risk of dropping out of

education.

If students do not complete their

education, it is up to the youth

guidance units to guide them,

so they can ﬁnd another course

or become a part of the labour

market.

Guidance in Higher Education

Guidance at business academies,

university colleges, artistic

higher education institutions and

schools of maritime education

and training

These institutions are obliged

to offer guidance to students

in a way that enables them

to complete their education.

Students will therefore be looking

for support from the school

staff, such as teachers, guidance

counsellors or other professional

staff who can support students

in various ways. The institution

is obliged to prepare guidance

guidelines targeted at potential

dropouts. Furthermore, the

institution is obliged to

encourage these students to

seek guidance at Study and

Career Guidance Denmark.

The institutions are free to

choose their methods and the

appropriate staff to support

students in completing their

education.

Guidance at Danish universities:

Completion and Career Guidance

The universities offer guidance

to students

at bachelor’s and

master’s levels concerning their

current programme,

access

requirements for master’s

and PhD programmes and

subsequent employment

prospects. Each university is free

to decide how and by whom this

guidance is offered. In general,

completion guidance and career

guidance are divided between

different bodies.

The universities publish and

maintain information about

bachelor’s and master’s

programmes with examples of

professions and jobs that these

programmes may lead to. They

also provide information about

options and recommended

conﬁgurations of the programme

of interest to the student,

including the choice of a master’s

programme after completion of a

bachelor’s degree.

Furthermore, the universities

have an obligation to give

students who have been delayed

in their studies special guidance

in order for them to continue

their education.

The universities are obliged to

encourage these students to

seek guidance at Study and

Career Guidance Denmark.

Training of Guidance Counsellors

One of the objectives of the

Danish guidance system is to

improve the qualiﬁcations and

competencies of guidance

practitioners, in order to provide

more professional Danish

guidance services. Consequently,

one common training programme

is offered to guidance counsellors

from all sectors. Guidance

practitioners working in the

municipal guidance units, the

regional guidance centres and

eGuidance are required to

complete the diploma or master’s

programme in educational and

vocational guidance or the

bachelor’s degree programme

in public administration.

Alternatively, guidance

practitioners with extensive

experience in the ﬁeld can apply

for assessment and recognition

of their competencies and prior

learning. The diploma programme

is not a requirement for guidance

practitioners working in other

institutions.

Five university colleges across

the country offer the diploma

programme on a part-time basis.

It is equivalent to 12 months of

full-time studies and consists of

three basic modules, two or three

optional modules and a diploma

project. It has a value of 60 ECTS

points. The training programme

is offered as an adult learning

programme and corresponds

to a diploma degree. Entry

requirements are, as a minimum,

a completed short-cycle

(two-year) higher education

programme and two years of

relevant working experience.

Furthermore, it is possible to

follow a master’s programme in

guidance at Aarhus University.

It is equivalent to 12 months

of full-time studies and has a

value of 60 ECTS points. Entry

requirements are, as a minimum,

a completed medium-cycle

(three-year) higher education

programme and two years of

relevant working experience.

Both training programmes are

offered within the framework

of the Danish adult education

and training system. They are

aimed, and adapted to, adults

who already have another higher

education degree and two years

of relevant work experience.

The university colleges also offer

a 3.5-year full-time bachelor’s

degree programme in public

administration, corresponding

to 210 ECTS. The degree makes

it possible to specialise within

several areas of the public

administration ﬁeld, including

educational and vocational

guidance. The degree contains

compulsory and elective

subjects, a six-month internship

period and a bachelor project.

Admission requirements: upper

secondary education or relevant

vocational education.

International Perspectives

Lifelong guidance is on the

agenda in many international

fora, and the main aims and

components of the Danish

guidance system are very much

in line with the EU and OECD

recommendations on guidance

policies and practices.

The Danish Ministry of Children

and Education is also aware of

the importance of promoting an

international dimension in Danish

guidance. International activities

for guidance practitioners

are initiated by the Danish

Euroguidance centre, part of the

Danish Agency for Science and

Higher Education, which is an

agency within the Danish Ministry

of Higher Education and Science.

The Euroguidance Network

www.euroguidance.eu includes

ational centres in 36 European

countries and is partly funded

by the EU through the Erasmus+

Programme. The network supports

the development of the European

dimension in educational

and vocational guidance and

promotes mobility, mutual

awareness and cooperation

between guidance services in

Europe.

Furthermore, the Ministry of

Children and Education is part

of the International Centre for

Career Development and Public

Policy, www

.iccdpp.org.

This page has been intentionally left blank.

Further Information

The Danish education system:

www.eng.uvm.dk or https://ufm.dk/en/

educ

ation/the-danish-education-system

Stud

ying in Denmark:

www.studyindenmark.dk

Working in Denmark:

www.workindenmark.dk

Denmark in Figures 2019:

www.dst.dk/en/Statistik/Publikationer/

VisPub?cid=28924#

The Euroguidance Centre in Denmark:

www.ufm.dk/euroguidance (in Danish) or

www.ufm.

dk/en/euroguidance

(in English)

quir ies concerning guidance in Denmark

may be addressed to:

euroguidance@ufm.dk

The Euroguidance network:

www.euroguidance.eu