Fitting into the concept of lifelong learning, career guidance in schools is only one stage in the system of lifelong guidance; however, it has an important and definitive role in the foundation and development of career building competences. An individual’s life and career is influenced by a number of independent factors: the structural transformation of the economy, the rise of the capital market, the decline in employment, the polarization of salaries, and the generally instable labour market environment make adjustment more and more difficult not only for the individual but for society as well. An individual’s career is hardly plannable, the fast changes in circumstances and the need to perform well in multiple roles results in uncertainty and puzzlement. In such a social and economic environment it is important to prepare the individual – taking their opportunities into consideration – to be able to take advantage of arising opportunities, be able to react to circumstances adequately, to be able to change and make changes, and manage their own learning and career paths. Career building competences, that is, the ability to find one’s way in the world of work, knowledge of professions, job search skills, knowledge of learning paths and training opportunities, and self-knowledge development can help individuals overcome difficulties even if we know that career paths have an objective economic definiteness that individuals cannot change. Career guidance in schools can be one of the pillars of founding and developing the above described competences. 

Who can be considered a cultural mediator in the 21st century? According to Hidy (2001), in a broader sense, everyone is a cultural mediator, since culture belongs to everyone, and everyone can be a culture creator, a culture user and a culture transmitter. If we think of culture in a narrower sense, we can consider as professional cultural mediators the staff of artistic and cultural institutions, the participants in cultural enterprises. However, it is extremely difficult to define who can be called a cultural mediator, so it is perhaps worth looking first at who has been or is being awarded a diploma to perform such tasks. In terms of the qualifications that can be obtained in higher education, it is folklorists, later cultural organisers, and now community organisers, who are being trained as cultural mediators as a main profession. Is it possible to describe a professional cultural mediator? What is the status and role of the cultural organiser, community organiser? What role are they socialised into during their training? What are their perceptions of the role? What is the role set and role complex of the community organiser? Is there and can a common set of norms be described, according to which professional cultural mediators act? How do students of community organisers perceive the value of their degree, how do they describe their training and what do they consider to be the most important elements of their profession? How does cultural mediation work in Hungarian society today?

Whether companies are prepared for the new challenges of digitalisation and whether their employees have the skills to succeed in the future will have a significant impact on their future success. The "accurate" definition of the employee competency profile needed to build a "future-proof" organisation will allow for the development of targeted and more effective HR programmes. To build a more effective people development programme, we need to plan our company's competency needs consciously, so that the focus is on acquiring and developing the knowledge and skills that are really important for the organisation. To do this, we need to know and understand to what extent and in what ways the personal competences that are important for performance are changing in our organisation. By taking a management approach, the organisation can also develop unique characteristics that will differentiate the company in the marketplace and give it a competitive advantage in the long term. Our research shows that forward-looking employee requirements could play an important role in recruitment and employer brand building. Indeed, higher performance expectations and competency requirements make companies more attractive to better-qualified employees. In a talent shortage situation, if an organisation cannot find the right people to meet its expectations, it may lower its standards. We have seen this in our previous research on new jobs requiring specific skills. However, in our more recent research, we have seen that organisations with higher expectations have reported better experiences of the readiness of the recent graduates they recruit.