Currently, in the field of guidance, relevant stakeholders including guidance practitioners, educators and policy makers, have identified progression for adults in education and employment as one of the key outcomes of educational guidance. Lifelong guidance is now inextricably linked with lifelong learning as a mechanism to enhance individual mobility in the workforce for future economic growth. However, the current policy requirement for measurable data through positivistic methods of analysis may not provide a true reflection of individual progression. The author argues that methodologies generating extensive qualitative data in the longitudinal tracking of clients in adult guidance provision are now required. This is the topic of current research by the author which aims to determine whether progression can be effectively measured within the framework of longitudinal tracking systems in adult guidance.