Who We Are?

The World Organization for Vocational and Educational Guidance (WOVEG) is an international nonprofit that, in partnership with other countries, aims to facilitate universal access to vocational guidance through fair and high-quality services, so that each person can build a meaningful life project aligned with the evolving demands of the labor market and education systems.

WOVEG offers an accessible approach for all, combining a fresh and engaging style with respect, seriousness, and professionalism.

VISION

WOVEG focuses on shaping public policies in participating and affiliated countries to ensure that vocational and educational guidance begins in the early years of schooling by identifying children’s skills—and extends all the way to those who are about to retire or already retired.

MISSION

To facilitate universal access to vocational and educational guidance so that every individual can build a meaningful life project aligned with the transformations in the labor market and education.

OBJECTIVES

To become the leading global organization that brings together policies, tools, and key stakeholders so that every person, regardless of background, has access to quality vocational guidance and can build a life project connected to 21st-century opportunities.

GLOBAL OBJECTIVE

CORE OBJETIVES

In collaboration with governments, ministries or secretariats of education, technology, economy, and labor; educational institutions; vocational guidance specialists; students; working professionals; parents; the private sector; professional organizations; unions; and multilateral agencies, WOVEG strives to:

• Establish global standards in vocational guidance.

• Provide technical advice and training to professionals in the field.

• Promote inclusion and equity in access to educational and employment opportunities.

• Research labor market trends and future training needs.

• Foster regional cooperation networks and knowledge transfer on guidance policies.

• Develop theoretical frameworks applicable to diverse cultural contexts.

• Create international research strategies focused on vocational and educational guidance.

• Offer direct support to students with vocational assessments and build support networks for their career development.

• Advise parents on vocational and labor-market issues.

• Promote the sale of educational materials produced by partner organizations.

• Advocate for consulting services provided by WOVEG affiliates.

ALIGNMENT WITH THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs)

WOVEG directly contributes to the 2030 Agenda through:

• SDG 4: Quality Education. Ensuring equal access to result-oriented education with tools for informed decision-making in one’s learning journey.

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. Aligning training with labor-market needs to close gaps between education and employment.

• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities. Guaranteeing guidance services for populations traditionally excluded from educational or work systems.

BACKGROUND

WOVEG was formally established in 2025, building on the experience and achievements of Vocación Central, a civil-society organization based in Mexico that has run specialized vocational and educational guidance programs since 2012. Key initiatives include:

An annual event that has gathered over 5,000 in-person educators and 50,000 online participants to share tested tools and strategies for vocational guidance. Partners have included:

• Mexico’s Ministry of Public Education

• International bodies such as OAS, UNICEF, UNESCO, and the UN

• Education ministries from Argentina, Spain, Peru, Chile, and the United States

• Representatives from educational institutions in Finland, Argentina, Spain, Colombia, and Ecuador

International Vocational Guidance Forum (FIOV)

ENCAUCE Platform (encaucetotal.com)

A gamified digital tool for vocational guidance serving students across Latin America and Spain. It features five missions covering:

1. Learning styles.

2. Strengths and competencies.

3. Skills and interests.

4. Life purposes.

5. Career choice and educational options
   The platform has reached over 50,000 students and 15,000 educators.

Launched in 2012, student brigades visited public and private upper-secondary schools to deliver guidance workshops. The tour reached up to 100,000 students per year until 2018.

Vocational Tour

INTERNATIONAL DIAGNOSIS AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES

Various reports highlight the urgency of strengthening guidance systems worldwide:

• The OECD estimates that 40% of current jobs could be automated within the next decade.

• UNESCO reports that 6 out of 10 students choose majors without information on employability.

• UNESCO (2022) finds that 1 in 3 students drops out of higher education due to poor vocational decisions.

• The World Economic Forum (2020) states that 65% of future jobs do not yet exist.

THEORETICAL FOUNDATION AND SCIENTIFIC FRAMEWORK

WOVEG’s approach is grounded in scientifically validated and institutionally tested conceptual frameworks:

• Holland's theory: vocational typologies according to interests and environments.

• Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT): career decisions influenced by self-efficacy, goals, and context

• Super’s Life-Span, Life-Space Theory: viewing guidance as a continuous process

• Carl Rogers and non-directive counseling: a person-centered approach.

• Historical-Cultural Perspective: emphasizing sociocultural context and equity.

WOVEG also promotes interdisciplinarity, drawing from educational psychology, critical pedagogy, labor economics, and neuroscience.

Founder

Ana Paula Rodríguez, a journalist educated at the prestigious Carlos Septién García School, discovered early on that her true calling is vocational guidance for all human beings, believing that personal development and inner well-being are the cornerstones of happiness and helping others find theirs.

Experience

Journalism

For years, Ana Paula worked in journalism until 2002, when she shifted her focus to designing and leading special programs on vocational guidance and pedagogy.

Education

During that phase, I developed over 30 strategies, each meticulously designed to address the needs and particularities of the subsystems and systems of Upper Secondary Education in Mexico.

Location

Our organization has a presence in Mexico and seeks to expand its impact internationally in vocational and educational guidance.

Address

Unión 37 interior 7 colonia escandon alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo C.P. 11800 Ciudad de México

Schedule

Monday to Friday