Written by Cassandra Wubbels
Young people’s pathways from education and training to working life are rarely shaped by one single decision. They often develop through small steps, encounters, experiences and moments of reflection. For learners in vocational education and training (VET), this process can be especially important, as VET is closely connected to practical skills, professional identities and future employment opportunities.
However, preparing for work does not only mean acquiring technical competences. It also means learning how to understand oneself, explore options, ask for support and make informed choices. This is where career guidance, mentoring and educational networks can make a meaningful contribution.
In line with the aims of the SupportSphere project, supporting VET learners means helping them strengthen their confidence, remain connected to learning and work opportunities, and build more sustainable pathways towards their future.
Career guidance is sometimes understood as the moment when a young person chooses a job or a training pathway. A broader view, however, sees it as a continuous learning process. Through guidance, learners can gradually explore their interests, values, abilities and possible futures. Recent research suggests that structured career interventions, including counselling, career education and group activities, can support young people’s career adaptability and decision-making when they are designed around learners’ real needs (Wang et al., 2024; Thijssen et al., 2026). In VET contexts, this is particularly relevant because students are not only preparing for exams or qualifications, but also for participation in specific professional environments.
A useful theoretical lens for understanding this process is Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory. Bandura (1977, 1986) argued that people’s beliefs about their own capabilities influence how they act, persist and respond to difficulties. In career development, this idea is often expressed through career self-efficacy, which refers to a person’s confidence in managing career-related tasks, such as exploring options, making decisions, planning next steps and dealing with obstacles. Social Cognitive Career Theory further explains that career choices are shaped not only by personal interests, but also by self-efficacy beliefs, expectations about future outcomes, goals and contextual supports or barriers (Lent et al., 1994).
This perspective is useful because it avoids seeing career decisions as purely individual responsibilities. Young people do not build their future in isolation. Families, peers, trainers, mentors, schools, employment services and local communities can all influence how learners imagine their possibilities.
This support may be emotional, when it encourages motivation and confidence; informational, when it helps learners understand opportunities and requirements; or practical, when it facilitates access to internships, company visits, work-based learning or professional contacts. Recent evidence with vocational students suggests that social support may reduce career decision-making difficulties by strengthening career decision-making self-efficacy and clarity in job search processes (Chen et al., 2026).
For VET learners, practical support should therefore combine reflection, experience and relationships. Reflection can be promoted through self-assessment exercises, discussions on personal and professional values, and activities that help students recognise their strengths. Experience can be supported through work-based learning, which includes forms of learning in real work environments such as apprenticeships, internships, traineeships and on-the-job training (Cedefop et al., 2024). Relationships can be strengthened through mentoring, peer activities, role-model encounters and collaboration with families, services and employers.
Insights from SupportSphere also point in this direction, highlighting the value of continuous mentoring, concrete experiences, accessible digital tools and cooperation among the actors involved in young people’s educational and professional pathways.
Supporting VET learners in their transition towards working life requires more than providing information about jobs. It means creating conditions in which young people can explore, reflect, practise and receive meaningful support. Bandura’s theory reminds us that confidence develops through experience, feedback, role models and encouragement.
For this reason, career guidance should be understood as a relational and ongoing process. When trainers, mentors, families, peers, services and employers work together, VET learners can be better supported in building direction, strengthening self-efficacy and approaching their future with greater awareness.
References
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Prentice Hall.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice Hall.
Cedefop, ETF, European Commission, ILO, OECD, UNESCO, & World Bank. (2024). Work-based learning: A leaflet of the Interagency Group on Technical and Vocational Education and Training. Publications Office of the European Union. https://doi.org/10.2816/8011301
Chen, R., Zhang, Q., & Cao, Y. (2026). The impact of social support on career decision-making difficulties: The serial mediating roles of career decision-making self-efficacy and job search clarity, and moderation by proactive personality. PLOS ONE.
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45(1), 79–122. https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.1994.1027
OECD. (2025). Vocational education and training and the green transition in Finland. OECD Publishing.
Thijssen, M. W. P., Baluszek, J. B., Guldbrandsen, A., Helgøy, K. V., Hvalby, L., & Mathiesen, I. H. (2026). Career guidance and career learning interventions in education and educational transitions: A scoping review of empirical research (January 2014–April 2025). Knowledge Centre for Education, University of Stavanger.
Wang, D., Li, Y., & Wang, G. (2024). A systematic review on career interventions for high school students. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, Article 1461503. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1461503
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