Helping You Make Better Career Choices: What the National Career Guidance Network Has Been Doing
Choosing a career, changing direction, or finding the right training opportunities is not always easy. Throughout their professional lives, people encounter situations where they could benefit from clear, unbiased advice. They may be choosing a field of study, considering a career change, re-entering the workforce, or simply trying to better understand the opportunities available to them. In many of these situations, the process can quickly become overwhelming, filled with questions about what options exist, how to move forward, and which paths might be the right fit.
This is where the National Career Guidance Network (NCGN) comes in, with one clear goal: to make it easier for people of all ages to get the support they need when making education, training and work decisions. Want to know more? Explore the NCGN here.
What is the NCGN?
The NCGN, coordinated by the National Skills Council, brings together schools, training providers, employers, guidance professionals, and public bodies. By connecting these groups, the network ensures that career guidance services are better aligned, more accessible, and based on real labour market needs.
Whether you’re a student, a parent, someone already working, or thinking about a career change, the NCGN aims to make guidance clear, relevant, and practical, helping you take confident steps toward your goals.
What the Network Has Been Doing in Its Early Years
Throughout its first year, the NCGN focused on building strong foundations.
It started by listening. More than 30 meetings were held with organisations involved in education, employment and career guidance to identify gaps, shared challenges and practical ways to improve services for the public.
Dialogue also took place on a wider scale. In 2024, the first edition of CareerScape brought together career guidance professionals, educators, vocational training providers, employers and public bodies from 13 different sectors. The discussions focused on how education, industry and policymaking can work better together to respond to the future of work.
In December 2024, the NCGN was officially launched alongside the presentation of new OECD research on teenage career development in Malta. The findings offered insight into how young people think about careers and future pathways, helping improve early career support.
Since the first committee meeting in March 2025, members have committed to meeting on a quarterly basis. These regular meetings bring together representatives from education, employment, industry and guidance services to share updates, coordinate efforts and keep career guidance initiatives aligned across sectors.
Making information easier to find
One practical step was the launch of the NCGN webpage. This serves as a single point of reference where people can find information about career guidance services available in Malta and Gozo. While the NCGN does not provide guidance directly, the webpage makes it easier to direct individuals to the right support, without having to search across multiple organisations.
The website also shares news, reports and resources to help people better understand education and work options.
Supporting adults and career changers
Career decisions do not stop after school. In 2025, the NCGN supported a national survey on Adult Career and Training Choices. This study looked at what motivates adults, what holds them back, and how guidance services can better support people who want to upskill, reskill or change direction.
The findings are helping shape future policies and programmes, with a strong focus on lifelong learning and fair access to opportunities.
What’s next?
Work is now under way to develop Malta’s first National Career Guidance Policy. This policy will translate evidence into clear priorities and actions, strengthening how career guidance works across different life stages and making support easier to access and more aligned with people's needs.
Career guidance will also play an important role in Malta’s upcoming National Skills Strategy, with clear action points entrusted within the NCGN to implement.
Why this matters to you?
At different points in your life, you will face decisions about your education, career, and future direction. Good career guidance can help you navigate those moments with confidence, avoid unnecessary detours, and find opportunities that are right for you. The National Career Guidance Network is working to make that support easier to access and more relevant to your needs.
And this is only the beginning.
Watch how the Network is shaping career guidance in practice. Hit play.