Academic guidance

Information, counselling, and guidance on adult education programmes and activities are intertwined and provided by competent professionals.

Information counselling activities for adult education were established in the ISIO centres or Adult Education Information and Guidance Centres as part of the development and professional activities of the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education (ACS). Since 2021, ISIO centres have operated as part of the adult education public service. The ISIO Centres' activities include, as a public service, counselling on entry and continuation in education, and on the identification and documentation of adults' knowledge and skills.

The counselling activities are carried out by public adult education organisations in accordance with the Act on Adult Education. Information and counselling are available to all Slovenian citizens, as 35 organisations across Slovenia provide them.

The information and counselling activities are pursued by professional staff with a diploma in one of the following study programmes: andragogy, defectology, pedagogy, psychology, social pedagogy, social work, sociology, organisation and management.

Within the scope of guidance and information on lifelong learning, one organises various projects and activities to support adult education, such as the Independent Learning Centres (SSU) Network (map). Independent learning counselling provides adults with an organised learning environment and professional support for their learning, provided by a counsellor SSU.

Psychological counselling

To improve interpersonal and academic performance, psychological counselling may include a variety of professional services to increase learners' capacity to overcome academic, personal, and social problems that hinder their success in learning.

Adult Education Guidance (Smernice za izvajanje svetovalne dejavnosti v izobraževanju odraslih) defines the basic principles of counselling services in adult education: accessibility, voluntariness, professionalism, development orientation, integration and cooperation, transparency and documentation, quality and evaluation of own work.

The guidance encompasses the following three areas of guidance:

• enrolment in education and continuation of education,
• identification and documentation of knowledge and skills,
• organised self-directed learning.

Counselling can be done individually or in groups, in person, by phone, by email, by post or online. It can be carried out in different ways depending on the location and place of delivery: at the headquarters, at a deployment, through mobile counselling or through an information point. Adult education (IO) counselling activities outside the headquarters of the IO public service provider are organised according to the specificities of the local or regional environment (Smernice, pp. 35-38).

The Slovenian Institute for Adult Education (ACS) provides counselling to education staff in adult education.

Career guidance

The Employment service of Slovenia runs career centres where individuals can access job search and career development tools on their own or with the help of counsellors. Basic careers advice and monitoring of job search activities, participation in skills workshops and meetings with employers are available.  

The National Expert Group for Lifelong Career Guidance (VKO točka) is engaged in the systemic regulation of lifelong career guidance, the development of the profession and staff, quality assurance, networking and cooperation with various partners at national and international level, dissemination of project results, materials, recommendations and other activities.

Guidance, counselling and information on career, career training and development are provided by adult education organizations and other institutions, such as the Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational Education and Training, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chamber of Craft and Small Business, and others.