The economic benefits of career guidance
Abstract
The career guidance profession has been trying to establish its economic benefits and usefulness for decades. There is little working relationship between career guidance professionals and evaluating economists, while the financial issue of career choice, the series of career decisions that support life paths, is repeatedly brought to the fore. Little is known to date about the real economic benefits, direct and indirect outcomes of guidance. Although, in technical terms, there is no longer any need to organise a classical attempt to understand the mechanism of action. This article is an attempt to review and present the available, but not nearly sufficient, literature on the subject.
References
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MAGUIRE, M.–KILLEEN, J. [2003]: Outcomes from Career Information and Guidance Services. OECD, Párizs.
MANN, A.–DENIS V.–PERCY, C. [2020]: Career ready? How schools can better prepare young people for working life in the era of COVID-19. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 241. https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/e1503534-en.
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PÁLVÖLGYI LAJOS [2025]: Pályaedukációs tanulási program hatásvizsgálata gimnáziumban. Neveléstudományi disszertáció. ELTE PPK, Budapest.
SULTANA, R. G.–WATTS, A. G. [2006]: Career Guidance in Public Employment Services Across Europe. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, Vol. 6. 29–46. o. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10775-006-0001-5.
TAYLOR, L. [2013]: Cost to the Economy of Government Policy on Career Guidance. A Business Case for Funding and Strengthening Career Guidance in Schools. Careers England.
TENHAKEN, V. [2016]: Lessons from Century Club Companies. Managing for Long-Term Success. Spinner Press.
WATTS, A. G. [1999]: The economic and social benefits of guidance. Educational and Vocational Guidance Bulletin, Vol. 63. 12–19. o. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED436671.
APPADURAI, A. [2004]: The Capacity to Aspire: Culture and the Terms of Recognition. Stanford University Press. https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/cec854f8-en.
AZRIN, N. H.–FLORES, T.–KAPLAN, S. J. [1975]: Job-finding club: a group assisted programme for obtaining employment. Behaviour Research and Therapy, Vol. 13. 17–27. o.
BRYNDÍS, D. S.–KARIN, S.–JAN KETIL, A.–ANDERS, D. [2023]: Career transitions and career success from a lifespan developmental perspective: A 15-year longitudinal study. Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol. 140. 103809. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2022.103809.
BORBÉLY-PECZE TIBOR BORS [2010]: Életút-támogató pályaorientáció. Neveléstudományi disszertáció. ELTE PPK, Budapest, https://edit.elte.hu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10831/45497/Kd_11527.pdf.
BORBÉLY-PECZE TIBOR BORS–GYÖNGYÖSI KATALIN–JUHÁSZ ÁGNES [2013]: Az életút-támogató pályaorientáció a köznevelésben. 1. rész. Új Pedagógiai Szemle, 63. évf. 5–6. sz. 32–49. o. https://epa.oszk.hu/00000/00035/00158/pdf/EPA00035_upsz_2013_05-06_032-049.pdf.
BOURDIEU, P. [1999]: Gazdasági tőke, kulturális tőke, társadalmi tőke. Megjelent: Angelusz Róbert (szerk.): A társadalmi rétegződés komponensei. Új Mandátum Könyvkiadó, Budapest, 156–177. o.
COVACEVICH, K.–MANN, A.–SANTOS, C.–CHAMPAUD, J. [2021]: Indicators of teenage career readiness: An analysis of longitudinal data from eight countries. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 258. OECD Publishing, Párizs, https://doi.org/10.1787/cec854f8-en.
CRISCUOLO, C.–GAL, P.–FREUND, L. [2024]: Human capital at work: Five facts about the role of skills for firm productivity, growth, and wage inequality. OECD Productivity Working Papers, No. 36. https://doi.org/10.1787/486c0289-en.
EC [2008]: Resolution on better integrating lifelong guidance into lifelong learning strategies. 2905th Education, Youth and Culture Council meeting. Council of the European Union, Brüsszel, november 21. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/educ/104236.pdf.
ELGPN [2015]: European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network. Guidelines for Policies and Systems Development for Lifelong Guidance. A Reference Framework for the EU and for the Commission. University of Jyvaskyla. https://www.elgpn.eu/publications/browse-by-language/english/elgpn-tools-no-6-guidelines-for-policies-and-systems-development-for-lifelong-guidance/.
EUROSTAT [2024]: Duration of working life. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Duration_of_working_life_-_statistics.
FARKAS ZOLTÁN [2013]: A társadalmi tőke fogalma és típusai. Szerzői kézirat, Szellem és Tudomány, 4. évf. 2. sz. 106–133. o https://real.mtak.hu/26709/1/FarkasZ_Tarsadalmi_toke.pdf.
FREDERICK, S.–LOEWENSTEIN, G.–O’DONOGHUE, T. [2002]: Time discounting and time preference: A critical review. Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 40. No. 2. 351–401. o. https://doi.org/10.1257/002205102320161311.
HÁRS ÁGNES–TÓTH GÁBOR [2010]: A pályaorientációs tanácsadás hatékonysága és költségráfordítása – gazdasági szempontú vizsgálati lehetőségek. Életpálya-tanácsadás, 2. évf. 3–4. sz. 6–9. o. https://epa.oszk.hu/02500/02512/00003/pdf/EPA02512_eletpalya_tanacsadas_2010_3-4.pdf.
HOOLEY T.–DODD, V. [2015]: The Economic Benefits of Career Guidance. Careers England. https://repository.derby.ac.uk/item/924qx/the-economic-benefits-of-career-guidance.
HUGHES, D. [2004]: Investing in Career: Prosperity for Citizens, Windfalls for Government. The Guidance Council, Winchester, https://dmhassociates.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Investing-in-Career-Final-Version2-June.pdf.
HUGHES, E. C. [1937]: Institutional office and the person. American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 43. 404–413. o. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/217711.
KILLEEN, J.–KIDD, J. M. [1991]: Learning Outcomes of Guidance. A Review of Recent Research. Department of Employment, London.
MAGUIRE, M.–KILLEEN, J. [2003]: Outcomes from Career Information and Guidance Services. OECD, Párizs.
MANN, A.–DENIS V.–PERCY, C. [2020]: Career ready? How schools can better prepare young people for working life in the era of COVID-19. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 241. https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/e1503534-en.
MAYSTON, D. [2002]: Evaluating the Benefits of Careers Guidance. Centre for Performance, Evaluation and Resource Management Department of Economics, University of York, http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/econ/documents/research/djm021a.pdf.
MURRAY, A. [2010]: The State of Knowledge on the Role and Impact of Labour Market Information: A Survey of the International Evidence. Centre for the Study of Living Standards, Ottawa, https://www.csls.ca/reports/csls2010-05.pdf.
OECD [2004]: Career Guidance and Public Policy: Bridging the Gap. Párizs, https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/files/OECD_overview_EN.pdf.
PÁLVÖLGYI LAJOS [2025]: Pályaedukációs tanulási program hatásvizsgálata gimnáziumban. Neveléstudományi disszertáció. ELTE PPK, Budapest.
SULTANA, R. G.–WATTS, A. G. [2006]: Career Guidance in Public Employment Services Across Europe. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, Vol. 6. 29–46. o. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10775-006-0001-5.
TAYLOR, L. [2013]: Cost to the Economy of Government Policy on Career Guidance. A Business Case for Funding and Strengthening Career Guidance in Schools. Careers England.
TENHAKEN, V. [2016]: Lessons from Century Club Companies. Managing for Long-Term Success. Spinner Press.
WATTS, A. G. [1999]: The economic and social benefits of guidance. Educational and Vocational Guidance Bulletin, Vol. 63. 12–19. o. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED436671.
Published
2025-04-15
How to Cite
Borbély-PeczeT. B. (2025). The economic benefits of career guidance. Hungarian Economic Review, 72(4), 405-417. Retrieved from https://ojs3.mtak.hu/index.php/kszemle/article/view/18752
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