Careers education is a compulsory topic in the Danish primary and lower secondary school from form 1 to 9. It is not taught as a separate subject with a certain number of hours per week but has to be integrated as an interdisciplinary topic in connection with other subjects such as Danish, civics or history. Careers education constitutes the basis for individual and group guidance sessions, which guidance counsellors from a local Youth Guidance Centre organise for the pupils in forms 6 to 9.

The Ministry of Education has defined the intermediary targets for careers education after form 3 and form 6, as well as the final targets after form 9. The final targets are long-term goals that set the direction for careers education activities through all of primary and lower secondary school. The intermediary targets are short-term goals used in relation to planning and evaluating careers education activities and in relation to assessing to what extent the pupils have benefited from these activities.

Both the intermediary targets after forms 3 and 6 and the final targets after form 9 are divided into three central knowledge and skills areas, being 1) The personal choice, 2) Education, training and vocations and 3) The labour market.

The knowledge and skills areas are to be developed throughout the primary and lower secondary school and aims at preparing students for their individual choices. Along with the compulsory topic the schools provide individual and collective guidance from the 6th to 9th/10th form, which aims at the development of the student’s individual educational plan. The educational plan is finalized in the 9th and 10th form levels in connection with the transition to a post-compulsory education.

In addition to the curricular topics, the compulsory schools arrange study visits to local/regional trades and industries and company placements at one week duration, which gives the pupils a ‘hands-on’ experience from the world of work. Finally the oldest students in the 9.th or 10.th form are offered various Bridge-building courses, which are sandwich type courses teaching the pupils subjects from both compulsory and secondary courses.