Career and student counselling is a complex task that requires a high level of professionalism. This book introduces basic counselling skills in vocational and educational guidance. It is based on important scientific models. The book presents internationally recognized counselling approaches which include among others micro counselling, solution focused brief counselling and competence oriented counselling. It also addresses possibilities for the use of artificial intelligence.

The book offers direct guidance for the consulting practice and supports competence development through case studies, tasks and didactically designed exercises. It is suitable as a guide for the training of consulting professionals in the field of career guidance.

Bernd-Joachim Ertelt, Ph. D. is Professor of Vocational and Business Education at the University of Applied Labour Studies of the Federal Employment Agency, Mannheim (Germany), at the University of Czestochowa, Poland (UJD), and (until 2020) at the Catholic University of Lublin, Poland (KUL). He works also as a lecturer at the University of Mannheim. Since 2018, he is visiting Professor at the National University of Mongolia (NUM). Furthermore Prof. Ertelt has since 1972 been involved in the development and implementation of academic qualifications programmes for professional counsellors in Germany and also internationally. He has published numerous articles on counselling and education and has participated in many international and European projects related to counselling and educational guidance.

William E. Schulz, Ph. D. is Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba (Canada). Since 1971, he has conducted many research projects on counselling and created a series of training programmes for counsellors at Human Resources Development, Canada. Professor Schulz has contributed significantly to the development of counselling ethics in Canada and other countries. He has been a co-editor of professional journals and is the author of numerous publications on counselling methodology and ethics at national and international levels. He has been an expert in training programmes for educational and vocational guidance in various countries. He recently received the Manitoba Career Development Award of Excellence for Lifetime Achievement in Career Development, renamed in his honour.

Dr. habil. Andreas Frey is Professor of Vocational and Business Education at the University of Applied Labour Studies of the Federal Employment Agency in Mannheim (Germany), Visiting Professor at the University of Czestochowa (Poland), and at the Swiss Federal University of Vocational Education at Zollikofen (Swizzerland) He is a co-editor of professional journals and is the author of numerous publications on diagnostic, education, and competence development at national and international levels. He has received various national awards for his research achievements.