This book is based on the Life Design paradigm and discusses the efforts made to overcome the matching paradigm between individuals and their work contexts, in order to guarantee the adoption of an active role for future career planning. Starting from the evolution of career counselling and vocational guidance in the 20th century and then following the more updated reflections in the Life Design paradigm, this book discusses research results from the Larios Laboratory (Padova, Italy) in collaboration with numerous international colleagues and institutions. These results show that career counselling and vocational designing can not only help people to plan their future in agentive ways, but also to help them getting out of the ‘mists of the present’ and to project themselves into a future that is yet to be created. This future is aligned by the world of research and international institutions, such as the UN and WHO, and follows the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with particular attention to Sustainable Development Goals 4, 8 and 12. This book reveals how trajectories can be created from one’s own mission, realized with the help of others and newly acquired strengths. It shows how career counselling and vocational designing can help people to build their own future from an inclusive and sustainable perspective, based on social justice, and to help build a better future for all.
