This article, co-authored by Dr Sally-Anne Barnes and Professors Jenny Bimrose and Alan Brown, reports the findings from a phenomenographic study of career experts’ conceptions of systems development in lifelong guidance settings. The results show that conceptions of systems development in lifelong guidance varied from minimal, aspirational, strategic to systemic. By exploring the logical relationship between qualitatively different conceptions, it provides policymakers and other stakeholders with a way of holistically viewing the varying levels of lifelong guidance systems development. The matrix presented in this article may serve as a catalyst for reflection on crucial elements, such as legislation, leadership and cooperation, that have the potential to improve systems development in lifelong guidance.

The article is one outcome of a project carried out by IER and the University of Jyväskylä’s Finnish Institute for Educational Research for the European Commission DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion which reviewed lifelong guidance policy and practice in the EU. The study looked at how these policies and practices could be promoted by the Commission providing an evidence base for priority-setting; improved organisational knowledge and supported dialogue with stakeholders on lifelong guidance and, more widely, skills strategies; and identified potential, relevant EU interventions in the area of lifelong guidance.