The development of competencies for career practitioners and ensuring the quality of career guidance and counseling services were the focus of the Agency for Qualifications' participation in the Euroguidance and Europass conference, held on October 28, 2026, in Belgrade, organized by the Tempus Foundation.
Ivana Čvorović Plavšić, Deputy Director of the Agency for Qualifications, participated in a panel dedicated to the competencies of career practitioners. She emphasized the importance of linking professional knowledge and skills with ethical behavior, understanding the needs of users, and the ability to collaborate with practitioners and organizations from various sectors. Continuous professional development, sharing experiences, and reflecting on one's own practice are the foundation for providing reliable and effective career support.
It was particularly highlighted that the Agency for Qualifications is the only institution conducting the accreditation process for publicly recognized adult education activity organizers (JPOA), which currently represents the only established quality assurance system in the field of career guidance and counseling services. This process assesses the compliance of programs with the Standards for Career Guidance and Counseling Services, the competencies of implementers, and the conditions for carrying out activities, while the quality of work is monitored through external verification. This system represents an important starting point for further development of quality assurance mechanisms and support for practitioners in various sectors.
The discussion emphasized that the development of practitioners' competencies should be accompanied by appropriate support from the organizations in which they work. Quality service implies clear professional and ethical standards, opportunities for improvement and collaboration, as well as conditions for applying acquired knowledge in direct work with users.
The Agency also presented its next steps: preparing a call for career practitioners to join the database of expert collaborators in the field of CVET and collaborating with the European Training Foundation (ETF) on the development of mechanisms for continuous professional development. These activities are aimed at connecting practitioners and strengthening their competencies, so that users have access to comprehensive and continuous career support.
The representative of the Agency also contributed to the conference as a member of the commission for selecting the best example of good practice in career guidance and counseling.