NexPlanner is the second of the two tools on the Counseling Desk, beside NexProfile. It searches for real destinations for a participant — occupations, the route to get there, and what is missing between here and there — and ranks them for this particular person.
There is no mode to choose. Earlier versions of NexPlanner asked you to pick from several separate wizards before it would search anything; that step is gone. One engine now reads the participant's own situation and ranks destinations against it directly, instead of you choosing a tool first.
The brief
Before NexPlanner can rank anything, it needs a short brief on the participant: their situation (in work and content, wants something different, job at risk, not currently working, or studying), their timeline, how much training they are open to, how they want to work — employed or independent — and anything constraining the search. Whoever opens NexPlanner first fills it in: you, as chips, during the session; or the participant, in their own words, with fields suggested back for them to confirm. Either way it is asked once and kept on the person, not re-asked every time NexPlanner opens.
Each field shows where it came from — answered by them, confirmed by a counselor, or AI-suggested from their own words — so you always know whether you are looking at a confirmed fact or a suggestion still waiting on a tap.
How it ranks destinations
One pipeline runs for every participant. The brief just changes its parameters, so the same engine serves someone who needs income next week and someone planning a return to study.
- It filters out what will not work. An occupation drops out if it is too far from the participant's current skills for what they are willing to train for, needs more preparation than their timeline allows, needs a licence they could not obtain in time, does not match how they want to work, or is not a sensible career move. Nothing is removed quietly — every removal keeps its specific reason, which is what you see when you expand Not shown.
- It scores what is left. Each surviving destination gets one score built from four parts: Fit (how well it matches their assessment), Durable (how exposed it is to automation), Market (the labour-market read for the countries you chose), and Ready now (how close they already are). Which part counts most depends on the brief — someone whose job is at risk weighs Durable heavily; someone who needs income fast weighs Ready now instead.
- It shows the top three — and sometimes a fourth. If the participant named their own target occupation, or there is a clear next step from their current one, and it did not make the top three, it is still shown: as a fourth option, greyed out, with the reason it ranked where it did.
- It builds out each destination. For every one shown: the study route to get there, the specific skills still missing and the courses that close them, whether it is a regulated profession and what that takes, the labour-market verdict per country, and how exposed it is to automation.
- It decides what to show first. A diagnosis comes first when the participant's current occupation is at risk or already changing substantially. A self-employment check comes first when they want to work independently. Two options — one that helps now, one that is better but slower — are shown side by side when income is urgent but the strongest destination is still far off. Someone who is content and wants nothing new sees a map of where they could go, not a ranked push toward it. Otherwise, destinations come first.
Where the results go
Whichever destinations you or the participant act on go straight to Suggestions on the Planning Board, tagged as coming from NexPlanner. Adding one commits to nothing — Suggestions is the unsorted pile, and you sort it together from there.
The same output has two views: a matrix for you, with every destination and every part of its score side by side, and cards for the participant, one destination at a time. You can compare any two destinations directly.
What NexPlanner does not do
It does not decide anything. It narrows a very large list down to a handful worth discussing, with its reasons attached. Which of those is right for this person is still the conversation you have with them.
Related
- Your Counseling Desk — the whole surface this sits on
- Working on the Planning Board — where the results go