Different agents of the educational community have participated in the Orientation Plan and they want to guarantee continuous and systematic support so that students have the ability to make decisions about their personal and professional projects.

The Deputy Minister of Education Begoña Pedrosa, the Deputy Minister of Vocational Education Jorge Arévalo and the Director of Diversity and Inclusive Education Lucía Torrealday presented the Orientation Plan for the Basque Education System on February 16. It will be applied in the field of Compulsory Secondary Education, High School and Vocational Education, to help students acquire the necessary and essential skills to direct their personal and professional projects. It is the first plan with these characteristics at the state level.

This plan is designed to strengthen the work of guidance counselors in public and charter schools

Increase their impact and ensure the highest development of all students. For this purpose, the students' needs, characteristics and personal context will be taken into account. In accordance with the Law on Education and the Law on Vocational Education, the plan aims to ensure that the education system will be a change agent for choosing academic and professional careers under equal conditions. The Deputy Minister of Education emphasized the importance of the education system having enough tools to support students in their social, academic and personal development.

On the other hand, as Jorge Arévalo, the Deputy Minister of Vocational Education, admitted, even if the VET students are focused on a more specific field, "orientation will serve to continue with their studies or clarify a job opportunity".

Thus, educational guidance cannot be separated from the act of tutoring; in fact, the school curriculum becomes the framework in which all activities for students are developed, in order to achieve comprehensive development.

Great participation in the preparation of the plan

The Orientation Plan of the Basque Education System is the result of a broad participation process. To begin with, a diagnosis was made involving 6,730 people, among students, guidance counselors and directors from 150 schools. The obtained diagnosis is completed with the contrast of people who are referents in that field. Then, the vision and criteria have been established through workshops that have culminated in specific actions and recommendations.

With regard to the development of the field of Vocational Education, they have collaborated with unions, employers and Integrated Vocational Education Schools. It has also been analyzed in the Social Dialogue Table.

Finally, a system has been designed to monitor and evaluate the plan, which will facilitate the creation of new plans.

Secondary education and high school

For the Secondary Education stage (2023-2026), the Basque Education Orientation Plan I is based on the following principles: protection of children's rights, universality, comprehensive prevention or developing the potential of all students as much as possible.

It has three main pillars: academic and professional guidance, the development of positive coexistence and the response to diversity and educational inclusion. It proposes four strategic objectives:

1. Strengthening, aligning and giving coherence to the work of guidance teachers in chartered public and private schools in the Basque Country.
2. To increase the impact of the guidance intervention, placing students in the school in collaboration with educational professionals.
3. Ensuring the maximum possible development of all students, taking into account their characteristics and personal context.
4. Guaranteeing the educational system, as an agent of change to choose academic and professional careers without gender bias and discrimination, regardless of any type or condition.

Likewise, the development of actions will incorporate a gender perspective in all dimensions of educational orientation, to promote effective equality between women and men, a diversity perspective, inclusion, ethics and personalized attention.

Empowerment of professionals who receive support from families

One of the main lines of work proposed by the plan to achieve the goals is the empowerment of guidance teachers. To this end, it is proposed to establish continuous specialized training and the exchange of knowledge between teachers and counselors, and to put up-to-date tools and support structures at their disposal. And in addition, the creation of alliances with families, the mutual responsibility of parents and people responsible for the students is another pillar that supports the proper development of the plan, and at the same time a key element to put the students at the center of the orientation action. The development of this plan will be able to establish the foundations and inspire other plans, to spread specific guidance and guidelines in other educational stages, and to ensure the continuity of the educational guidance of students throughout their life.

Orientation Plan for Vocational Education in the Basque Country

LH-Euskadi to work in a profession and employ it includes all the training and learning activities aimed at training to obtain gua. Therefore, the VET model, together with vocational education offers, includes innovation, entrepreneurship, internationalization and vocational guidance itself.

Vocational Education orientation is grouped into three areas: psychopedagogical orientation, which aims to guarantee the emotional well-being of students; VET orientation, to provide continuity in studies and employment exits; and mediation, through learning intermediaries, to strengthen lifelong learning. Therefore, professional guidance is a process of informing and assisting in the personal planning of the training and career path, within the framework of the Vocational Education System, and includes the following: vocational education options, choosing a profession, improving it, changing profession, the evolution of the labor market and entrepreneurship opportunities, and developing professional career management skills.

The career guidance process consists of the following actions: interventions for students with learning problems (vocational immaturity and negative attitudes towards development), detection and analysis of specific learning difficulties, social, educational and community agents outside the school and coordination with support, individual attention, personalized, gender-neutral, flexible and committed to people's needs and interests...