e-Course on Europass for Guidance Practitioners

Euroguidance MTG1 European dimension in guidance

Sabina Škarja, Coordinator for Euroguidance Slovenia

Mia Trcol, Coordinator for Euroguidance/Europass Croatia

Four years on from the European Commission's launch of the new and revamped online portal, Europass is holding its position as one of the most recognisable and widely-used tools created by the European Commission, with over 5 million users. 

Europass is a well-known EU tool that has been around for quite some time. Many European users have known it and used it in one of its many incarnations over the past 20 years. Some will remember it when it began in 2004 as a simple Word document, later it became available through an online editor, until it finally took its current shape in 2020.

Today, the Europass online portal, offers a set of online tools and information to help its users in their lifelong learning and career management. This includes the well-known favourites, the Europass CV and Europass Cover Letter editor, as well as the newly-developed Europass Library, “Find courses and jobs” search tool, or the ever-growing collection of self-assessment tests. Users can access the Europass portal as registered users and benefit from the full range of its services, or as guests with access only to the CV and Cover Letter editor. The many possibilities it offers makes Europass an interesting and versatile tool for guidance and career counselling, which was further looked into by the Euroguidance network when developing its eCourse on “Europass for Career Guidance”.

Thanks to its features, Europass can be used in guidance activities carried out by a variety of practitioners, ranging from career counsellors in schools or employment services, to employers and education institutions of different kinds. The eCourse on “Europass for Career Guidance” presents the main features of Europass in a simple and comprehensive way and shows how these features can be used to counsel different groups of users, tailored to their own specific needs.

Which topics are covered in the four sections of the eCourse?

The first section, “Introduction to Europass”, offers a brief presentation of Europass with a wide overview of different contexts in which it is used, such as planning learning, presenting skills and qualifications and searching for job and learning opportunities in Europe.

The following two sections, “Profile, CV and Cover Letter” and “Other functionality”, provide a more technical explanation on how to use different features of the portal with step-by-step instructions and guidelines.

The last section, “How to use Europass with clients” provides practical guidelines on how to use Europass for different groups of target users including applicants, pupils, students, educational institutions or employers.

What will the eCourse users be able to achieve?

The participants who have mastered all the sections of the course will be able to: 

• recognise the purposes for which the Europass tools can be used
• identify different Europass tools and their functions
• create their personal Europass profile, CV and cover letter, identify potential learning and/or work opportunities
• advise different client groups on the Europass tools relevant for their needs
• support clients in developing their own personal Europass profile, CV and cover letter, as needed

Who is the course for? 

The course is designed for guidance practitioners coming from different settings including primary and secondary schools, VET, higher education and employment who want to enhance their guidance skills and understand different ways to use Europass as a tool for guidance. 

Registration on the eCourse platform is completely free and unrestricted which makes eCourse available to anyone interested in using Europass for guidance. These may be members of the school communities including teachers, youth educators, school masters, or anybody who works with clients who need to identify their competences, present them in a transparent way and apply for jobs or find suitable learning opportunities throughout Europe.

Who developed the eCourse? 

The eCourse was developed by a working group of the Euroguidance network, tasked with developing and promoting guidance tools for mobility. A group of colleagues from France, Slovenia, Germany, Latvia and Croatia joined forces in the summer of 2022 to come up with the concept of the course and develop it into texts, videos, practical materials, quizzes and different visuals. The course is hosted on the Euroguidance France online platform, and it is designed as a self-paced and self-learning course. In addition to its current English version, the eCourse will soon be available in Croatian, Estonian, French, Hungarian and Slovenian. To participate fully in the course, users need to register for free on the Europass portal. Registration for the eCourse is free and so are all of the resources referenced in the course.