This report examines the strengths and weaknesses of educational and career guidance in seven Organisation for Economic Development (OECD) countries. Chapter 1 defines educational and career guidance as embracing three key elements: educational, career, and personal/social guidance. Described in chapter 2 is the role of educational and career guidance in helping young people understand their abilities/aspirations and make a successful school-to-work transition. Chapter 3 explores the possible role of educational and career guidance in the labor market policies of OECD member countries and in helping individuals adapt to the changing world of employment. The emergence of lifelong learning as a dominant educational and economic theme is discussed along with the policy implications of the idea of continuous learning in a flexible labor market. The remaining two-thirds of the report focuses on selected career/educational guidance-related issues in the following countries: Austria (adding flexibility to traditional approaches); Canada (multiple recipes for success); Finland (a mass system moving toward individuals); Italy (the need to turn rhetoric into a more consistent reality); Japan (the need for guidance in a changing labor market); Mexico (adding the career element to educational guidance); and Scotland (whether privatization will deliver what clients want). Contains 41 references. (MN)