In the Netherlands, a growing number of vocational education and training institutions have recently implemented new vocational career guidance practices in their competence-based approaches to learning. Vocational career guidance refers to services intended to assist people, of any age and at any point throughout their lives to make educational, training and occupational choices and to manage their vocational careers. While personal interviews are still the dominant tool, vocational career guidance includes a wide range of other services, like group discussions, printed and electronic information, school lessons, structured experience, telephone advice and on-line help. The study reported in this thesis particularly focuses on the effectiveness of vocational career guidance in Dutch higher vocational education.