The aim of this article is to investigate how newly arrived immigrants’ career learning is implemented and organized in an education reform that focus on work first. As a case,we chose to study the newly launched Combination Education. From this we specify these research questions: 1) How can career counselling support students career learning? 2)How does cooperation between the counsellors and teachers work? 3) Which are the organizational conditions for career learning? The method used was qualitative. First, we made 29 interviews with career counsellors from 22 different municipalities. These interviews were made over the web using the tool Zoom. In the second part, we made IRL visits to 5 municipalities and interviewed 31 persons, who worked as career counsellors, teachers, headmasters, operations managers, and coordinators. In a labour market paradigm that focus on workfare, incentives, and work first, less notice is given to the transition from school to work and the recruitment practice. In such a labour market paradigm, career learning may be devalued. By using a Program Theory framework and setting up the Program Logic for the education programme, we found its critical points.These are 1) when the student applies to the Combination Education, and 2) when the student ends Combination Education and make the transition to work life. To make sustainable career choices, the individual need to have Career Management Skills (CMS), and to develop CMS, the student must have had the opportunity to develop his or hercareer learning. Further, to develop career learning in a wider and broader sense, the cooperation of different professional groups is needed. This cooperation must have organizational and structural conditions, and not depend on individuals. As several other studies and government reports have noticed (e.g., Parliamentary Committee on Education 2018; Swedish Schools Inspectorate 2013) the governing and management of career guidance and counselling (CGC) is weak, and the career counsellor often left alone and isolated. When it comes to Combination Education, we found that managing documents are rare, which shows a lack of interest from the managing level in the municipality.

Som en konsekvens av, och i linje med, den nya arbetslinjen som växte fram i början av det nya milleniet blev utgångspunkten för kombinationsutbildning att nyanländas etablering i samhället och på arbetsmarknaden ska öka. Utbildningsformen har således en tydlig koppling till arbetsmarknaden. Att göra ett väl övervägt studie- och yrkesval kräver en god kunskap om arbetsmarknaden, vilket kan tillgodoses genom generell vägledning och arbetsmarknadsorientering.I denna studie har vi undersökt vägledningens roll i kombinationsutbildning. En slutsats är att en fungerande och hållbar vägledning kräver organisatoriska förutsättningar och en genomtänkt styrning. Den generella vägledningen bygger på en samverkan mellan olika yrkesgrupper, men även samverkan måste få organisatoriska förutsättningar och rätt styrning. Det kan handla om att strategiska dokument formuleras av kommunledningen (SYV-plan), att yrkesvägledarna placeras tillsammans med den pedagogiska verksamheten, eller att olika yrkesgrupper får i uppdrag att tillsammans utveckla moment med inriktning arbetslivsorientering och generell vägledning.

In this article, we explore the theme of choice in relation to education and work by discussing the notion of “compromise” within career guidance. In particular, we analyse compromises related to career choice in regard to groups and individuals who are restricted — or belong — to a particular geographical place and how this spatial limitation is managed and discussed by career guidance counsellors who work with unem- ployed individuals. The article is based on the following questions: How are compro- mises and restricted choices considered in relation to place and belonging? How do career guidance counsellors and other professionals discuss compromises of choice? The qualitative interviews have been conducted with career counsellors working with unemployed individuals in rural Sweden. Four themes emerge: location as a given/non-issue, location as opposed to interest, location as personal life and location as an obstacle. We argue that belonging can be seen as more available to certain groups. For example, career counsellors view the claims of belonging by young people as less valid than for individuals who can present caring and family obligations as reasons for not being mobile.

Choosing a career can be seen as determining one’s professional life and as a decision reflecting or rejecting a certain (rural) identity and personal life (Smart 2007). The imperative of choice accompanies the area of career guidance, but researchers have noticed the lack of real choice (e.g. Roberts 2009). The imperative of “choosing” carries a strong societal expectation of choosing an employment for financial reasons of self-sufficiency as well as to express a certain interest or use certain skills that suit the individual. However, we show how individuals’ career choices are also framed by constraints and motivations of staying, both in relation to personal limitations and vulnerabilities and more positively in relation to preserving family and friendship ties. We explore the theme of choice by discussing the notion of “compromise” in relation to career guidance in rural coastal areas of Sweden. We discuss compromises related to career choice for groups and individuals with ties to a geographical place, and how this spatial limitation is managed and discussed by career guidance counsellors and other professionals who work with unemployed individuals.

Our study is based on 13 qualitative interviews with career counsellors and local labour market case workers who work with unemployed individuals. Our results indicate that the mobility imperative is challenged by strong ties to place when it comes to young unemployed people in need of career counselling. Rural place is spoken of as a resource for clients and counsellors when it comes to protecting societal embeddedness. We analyse the material within frames of belonging and as actions serving to avoid increased vulnerability by resisting policies of mobility.