CAREER COMPASS is definitely a valuable tool

The use of Career Compass has been one of the successful practices in several countries, amongst others Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and the Netherlands. On Thursday 14th of May we held an online seminar to exchange practices and experience with the career compass, and map possible ways forward regarding the methodology.

What is CareerCompass?

The Career Compass is based on research and practical experiences and is a practical tool for the career professionals in the education or labour sector or in the business community. The driving force behind the description of career competences is Marinka Kuijpers, lector ‘Pedagogy of professional training’ at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. The tool focuses on five career competences, including career reflection, motivational reflection, work exploration, career control and networking. You are welcome to learn more from the original description from 2011

CareerCompass. A Toolkit for Career Professionals.

What did we learn from other countries?

It was wonderful to see the different approaches of how the career compass is used in the different countries in both education and the labour market institutions. We were inspired by the variety, creativity and attractiveness of methods and formats used (for inspiration see the presentations).

The approach often depends on the context (client groups, background or situation). In Denmark they work with a certain order starting usually from strengths analysis and have a certain method for preparation. Estonia has included an additional focus to learning opportunities and compiled a compendium for practitioners, so they can get inspiration from different practices and choose the appropriate approach in service provision. Latvia also stood out with creative solutions - a package of assisting questions has been developed for each of the competence areas and different communication methods have been introduced.  The Dutch approach is very systematic - the areas of their Career Compass competence areas are closely linked to the curriculum.

Way forward

Countries were also asked how they want to take steps forward with the career compass in their own country? In general, all participants were convinced that this is an attractive and useful tool with a strong theoretical basis. Some of the answers from country teams:

  • “Dusting off” the career matt and take a fresh look;
  • Extend existing toolkit with all methods /instruments (in such a way that it is easily transferable/translated and with user-interviews);
  • Digitalizing the compass for use in online career services;
  • Web based trainings for countries that are interested in starting to use the compass;
  • Updating the method compendium for different uses of the compass (compiled in 2014), including examples from other countries.

Given the answers, there are steps to take! As country teams we have identified our next steps to take at national level, but we also want to elaborate the very valuable tool to support career development of people together. Such as organizing a webinar for a wider audience, give a joint presentation at the IAEVG, and work together to extend the toolkit and update the Estonian method compendium and to exchange of practices (especially for use with clients with special needs).

Hence, to be continued!


Karien Coppens from CINOP, Euroguidance Netherlands

Margit Rammo from Archimedes Foundation, Euroguidance Estonia