The dissertation is the first time that the field of Austrian educational and vocational guidance and counselling has been examined in depth from a historical point of view. In the subsequent analysis, the author shows that the diversity of counselling work very much has common features. On the basis of historical data and augmented by her own latest, empirical surveys, she establishes the basic skills that educational and vocational counsellors require in order to be able to support people in phases of transition, reorientation and change. The analyses also reveal findings about the specialisation of the counselling setting, use of competence measuring procedures for counsellors and the status of professionalisation in the occupation area of educational and vocational counselling in Austria. The results on quality of counselling including outside Austria are significant because of the link with European discourse on Lifelong Learning.weiterlesen