Young People: Vocational Guidance

Question

High quality careers education helps to prepare young people for the workplace by providing a clear understanding of the world of work, including the routes to jobs and careers that they might find engaging and rewarding.

The department is investing £30 million to support the improvement of careers programmes for young people across educational settings.

The department promotes the adoption of the eight Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance as a careers framework based on rigorous national and international research. Over 4,200 schools and colleges are using the Benchmarks to develop and improve their careers programmes.

The department is working with the Careers & Enterprise Company to complete the national rollout of the careers infrastructure, ensuring that every secondary school and college in England has access to a Careers Hub, digital support, Careers Leader training and the Enterprise Advisor Network. By October 2022, 4,500 (90%) of schools and colleges in England were part of a Careers Hub. Over 2,170 Careers Leaders have been trained since training was launched in September 2018. In addition, around 3,416 schools and colleges are partnered with an Enterprise Adviser, a senior business volunteer, with schools and colleges to develop their careers strategies and employer engagement plans.

The department also funds the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme, which provides information, advice and guidance to young people in year 10 to 13 in schools, and further education colleges. At a cost of £3.2 million per year, the programme had a reach of 680,000 young people in academic year 21/22, and over 2,000 schools. It supports young people, parents, carers and teachers into understanding and applying for apprenticeships, T Levels, and Traineeships.

This year, the department has launched a new £2.6 million careers programme that will inspire primary school children about the world of work. The programme will support over 600,000 pupils in over 2,200 primary schools, located across all 55 of the government’s Education Investment Areas. The programme will encourage primary school pupils to think about future jobs from a young age, whilst nurturing their aspirations and challenging stereotypes. In January this year, legislation came into force that means all pupils have the opportunity for six encounters with providers of approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships during school years 8 to 13. This will ensure that every pupil, whatever their ambitions, has the opportunity to explore what it is like to learn at the full range of providers.

The National Careers Service also provides free careers information, advice and guidance to young people aged 13+ and adults through a website and telephone helpline.