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The purpose of this research on working young adults who are without formal education is to explore how they experience work, their career adaptability and if they view their work as decent. Participants were 154 young working adults, aged 18-29, and unqualified. It was found that participants worked mainly in low-skilled jobs, but many aspired to become professionals or technicians. Participants were significantly lower on concern and control sub-scales of the Career Adapt-Ability Scale (CAAS), compared to peers. Results support a proposition in Psychology of Working Theory that individuals with lower levels of career adaptability are less likely to engage in decent work. Results indicate that self-determination is not met at work, whereas work fulfills financial and social needs.

The lifelong learning system in the Czech Republic and Slovakia share some common traits: traditional model with the dominant role of the initial education, low participation rates, lack of incentives and fragmentation. The results of the narrative research on 15 low-skilled persons demonstrated that negative attitudes towards education are often based on negative experiences of initial education, which is seen as "pure formality" disconnected from career prospects or "real skills". There is very little knowledge among the low-skilled about the possibilities to engage in lifelong learning or in guidance which is often perceived as an expert psychological assessment. There are several implications for the further development of the lifelong guidance system: development of a system of accessible career guidance that goes beyond psychological assessment and takes into account identity-related issues, showing the connection between learning and career development, development of alternative pathways to qualification (recognition of prior learning) and supporting the development of career management skills.

In the contemporary world, many people find themselves confused and challenged by unpredictability of life paths, labour market instability and necessary revisions to vocational careers. They may be helped by professional support institutions. For some people, seeking professional help when facing a predicament is evidence of resourcefulness. Others, however, perceive a request for help as expressive of vulnerability and a lack of self-reliance in coping with life problems. In this article, we examine 15 interviews with low-skilled and low-educated people in Poland about their experiences with educational and vocational counselling as well as the relevance they attribute to past meetings with counsellors. Concluding, we formulate recommendations for Polish educational and vocational counselling.

Individuals who pass through low-skilled work in their careers can represent this phase as showing strength of character as obstacles are overcome. However, continuing to work in low-skilled employment has so many negative consequences that finding ways to assist those individuals' career development is an important challenge for guidance policy and practice. The progress, or lack thereof, by individuals from low-skilled employment in seven European countries is examined in the light of ideas about career adaptability. Do individuals differ in how they envisage the future (concern); the extent to which they take responsibility for their own development (control); explore visions of possible future selves (curiosity); and believe in their ability to succeed (confidence) [Savickas, M. L., & Porfeli, E. J. (2012). Career adapt-abilities scale: Construction, reliability, and measurement equivalence across 13 countries. "Journal of Vocational Behavior," 80, 661-673]?