The trend of a large number of unemployed young people continued in 2024. Summarizing various research findings within the publication of the European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network showed that career guidance has positive effects in terms of unemployment prevention, reduction in the number of those who leave school, successful transition from lower to higher levels of education, and social inclusion. Also, the results of various research conducted in Serbia showed that after career guidance and counseling services were provided, the employability of young people who used these services was higher in all parameters than the employability of young people who did not use these services, and the effects were visible even 12 months after provided services.

To improve the employability of young people, the Belgrade Open School in partnership with the National Association of Youth Offices will implement the project "Step forward towards accessible Career Guidance and Counseling services".

The project's activities are aimed at improving the competencies of career practitioners, but also at strengthening intersectoral cooperation in local communities. The project promotes the policy of non-formal education of young people to acquire practical knowledge and skills and increase the capacity of secondary schools, civil society organizations (CSOs), and youth offices to provide services for young people in the field of career guidance and counseling based on quality standards. Also, the project contributes to empowering young people to make independent career decisions and increase their active participation in society.

As a contribution to the development of the career guidance and counseling system in Serbia, the project will implement the following activities:

• Training to strengthen the capacities of local youth offices, CSOs, and school teams for career guidance and counseling, following Service Standards for CGC
• Career caravan - implementation of local CGC activities
• Empowering young people for career management using ICT resources for career guidance and counseling
• Fair - Organizing a public event for the promotion of quality career guidance and counseling services for young people

The project implementation is supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Youth of the Republic of Serbia, and the activities will be implemented in the period June - November 2024.