AEIAG0045
Written evidence submitted by The Career Development Institute
The current system
Young people do not know where to go for careers support. Under the Education Act 2011 responsibility in England for providing pupils with independent careers guidance rests with schools and colleges.
To better serve young people we need:
Programmes aimed at preventing long term unemployment should include CEIAG support for relevant young people to ensure they:
As an essential component of socio-economic development, careers guidance should be reflected in the title of the service and an entitlement to access qualified Careers Advisers integral to service provision, in line with the Career Guidance Guarantee (https://careerdpg.co.uk/career-guidance-guarantee ).
Yet, rather than a National Skills Service, the CDI would like to see movement towards a National Careers and Skills System or youth transitions system, co-ordinating careers, skills and employability provision across the DfE, DWP and BEIS.
Crucially, developments must be aligned under a coherent over-arching strategy, based on social and economic goals, that sets the purpose and direction for careers, with clear responsibilities for each part of the system, regardless of where it sits, and a design that ensures effective integration and collaboration between the parts.
Baker Clause
The Baker Clause is helpful but it is not enough: each skills provider and employer will only be presenting their specific opportunities. All young people need a clear and unambiguous entitlement to career guidance and must know where to find it. This entitlement should include easy access to a professional and independent Careers Adviser; someone who is on the UK Register of Career Development Professionals.
The engagement of career professionals and the CDI Career Development Framework, plus attaining the Quality in Career Award, will help schools and colleges to be more successful in embedding career-related learning in the curriculum.
Valuing our career development professionals
The tremendous added value qualified Careers Advisers bring to all the elements of CEIAG must be acknowledged and funding provided to support the necessary workforce development. They are the qualified professional career development experts.
Underpinned by a programme of careers education offering information and advice, personal career guidance from qualified advisers is the linchpin for young people making sense of meaningful careers activities, reflecting on encounters with employers and determining the best course of action for achieving their potential, creating social cohesion and contributing to economic growth.
The CDI (Career Development Institute) is the UK-wide professional body for everyone working in the fields of career education; career education, information, advice and guidance; career coaching, career consultancy and career management.
It is governed by a Board and has a Professional Standards Committee and Council, all of which represent the institute’s over 4,600 members.
Its overarching purpose is to promote the value of using professionally qualified career development professionals that have the knowledge and skills required to enable young people and adults to make informed decisions about learning and work pathways; and have the ability to manage and plan their career and personal development.
Beyond the CDI’s work in the UK, the professional body is a member of international careers groups and hosts and attends regular international conferences, equipping it to comment not just on the need for high-quality career guidance to help young people, but also the potential for a comprehensive careers strategy to support the United Nations Sustainability Goals and key initiatives such as levelling up (social mobility) and developing the pipeline of skills of the future.
The CDI welcomes this inquiry. Our members are actively engaged in the provision of CEIAG in under the system specific to each of the four nations, giving the CDI a unique insight into the extent to which young people receive sufficient guidance about career choices, employment, training, and further and higher education opportunities across the UK. With 76% of its members working in England, this makes it well-placed to advise on how arrangements for CEIAG in England could better support disadvantaged or left-behind groups to access career opportunities that may otherwise not be available to them.
Career guidance in England is defined in statute as the full range of activity delivered under the eight Gatsby Benchmarks[1]. When referring to career guidance for children and young people, the Commons Education Committee is using the phrase ‘careers education, information, advice and guidance’ (CEIAG). Each component is integral to career guidance and should be regarded as having equal value.
Currently, under the Education Act 2011[2] responsibility in England for providing pupils with independent careers guidance rests with maintained schools, academies, pupil referral units, further education colleges and sixth form colleges. It does not extend to schools established in a hospital, independent schools or those young people sitting outside formal education.
The Government’s strong recommendation that schools and colleges in England work towards the single national Quality in Careers Standard to support the development of their careers programme is welcome[3]. Similarly, the introduction of the Career Leaders Training in 2018 by the Careers Enterprise Company. These developments have impacted positively on individual participants and their schools and colleges[4], supported by the development of career-related resources and the CDI Career Development Framework[5], building links with employers and the implementation of ‘Compass+’ to manage, track and report progress against the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks[6].
However, to better serve young people, reinstating careers education in the school curriculum remains a necessary step[7]. We know from recent research[8] that 20% of secondary schools in England fail to provide students with an interview with a qualified Careers Adviser by the end of Year 11 and 42% do not provide students with a further interview by the end of Year 13. In special schools an even lower proportion of students access a qualified Careers Adviser. Likewise, although 95% of colleges offer interviews with qualified Careers Advisers to their students when significant career choices are being made, only 33% report that most of their learners have an interview by the end of their studies.
Statutory guidance recommends the CDI minimum of 45 minutes for an interview, yet we know interview times vary widely between schools – with some as low as 15 minutes. As well as the broader Gatsby benchmarks, we need a stronger and higher minimum expectation of all schools and colleges – both in terms of access to interviews as well as length and young people with key needs having more than one interview. Equally, without an underpinning programme of careers education, career guidance interviews are less effective.
Despite government recognition of the increasing need for schools and colleges to work in partnership with Careers Advisers to support students to prepare for the workplace and to make informed choices[9], without the reinstatement of careers education in the curriculum and a recognised funded entitlement to personal guidance (Gatsby Benchmark 8) from a qualified Career Adviser, employers will continue to struggle to get the competent staff and young people will remain unaware of the skills needed to progress their careers within the workplace.
Personal guidance interviews underpinned by a programme of careers education and provided by a Careers Adviser trained to at least Level 6[10] in Career Guidance and Development are a vital for pupils to make an informed decision about their future career, navigate choices between technical and academic pathways, and develop the career management skills that can be used throughout their working lives.
A key weakness of the existing statutory CEIAG provision in England is that it is limited to pupils at the relevant phase of their education who are registered at a school or college. Those not in education, training or employment and in need of CEIAG are dependent on the local authority wishing to ensure services for young people[11].
Hence, the system is not serving any young person engaged in an approved educational activity but not registered at a school or college. Such young people have no entitlement to career guidance. This includes home-educated pupils, those attending schools established in a hospital, independent schools, pupils who have been permanently excluded[12] young people who are NEET and those aged 16-18 in employment.
Many experiencing this loss of entitlement are from disadvantaged backgrounds, are known to the care system, have a special educational need or disability or are from different ethnic minority backgrounds. Recent ONS data reveals that those among 16- 24-year-olds, 10% of white people were unemployed, compared with 19% of people from all other ethnic groups combined[13].
A DfE report likewise found that ‘young people more likely to be missed by post-16 IAG were those eligible for free school meals while at school, those who went to state schools (compared to independent schools), those with special educational needs (SEN), those who had been in care while at school, those who had a long-term disability, and those who entered paid work post-16. (DfE, 2021, p.3)[14].
This strongly suggests that the current system is not providing these young people with sufficient access to guidance about career choices, employment, training, and further and higher education opportunities. We are missing an opportunity to address persistent disadvantage by engaging these young people with professional career guidance that can not only enable them to make the first step in their career, but set them on a healthier and more productive path for their future and equip them with the career management skills to overcome barriers later in their career, increasing the likelihood of continued employment, benefiting their wellbeing, the economy and society more generally.
For as long as access is restricted to pupils registered in education, recommended improvements such as increasing provision to at least one interview of 45 minutes[15] in years 11 and 13 per pupil per year, ensuring that every secondary school is able to be part of a careers hub, a trained Careers Leader in every setting, and more young people having access to meaningful careers activities and encounters with employers[16] will fail to address this inequality.
The SEND Code of Practice stipulates that pupils from Year 8 until Year 13 are provided with independent careers guidance[17]. Similarly, legal duties placed on local authorities under the Children Act 1989 extend to looked-after children’s educational achievement. All must have a Care Plan which includes a Personal Education Plan (PEP) to ensure that a record is maintained regarding their educational progress. In addition, some will have a Pathway Plan which must include information about their continuing education or training when they cease to be looked after[18]. Many will be supported through local authority virtual schools, set up under The Children and Families Act 2014[19]. Young people cared for under ‘special guardianship’ are excluded from even these support arrangements. But crucially, in contrast with the SEND Code, none of these provisions include an entitlement to CEIAG or access to a professionally qualified Careers Adviser. We recommend they do.
All young people aged 13 and over and in need of CEIAG, including those not registered as pupils, can access the National Careers Service (NCS) which provides support by a website, a web chat service and telephone helpline[20]. However, a recent NCS survey [21] confirms that this system is being little used by our young people. Moreover, the system’s reliance on ‘self-referral’ is not best serving them because it places sole responsibility on the young person to be sufficiently aware of their need, to recognise how career guidance can support them and to initiate contact. We recommend that: NCS referral is more effectively built into the careers system; the NCS is widely promoted to make it more visible; and changes are made to allow more of those who need support to access it simply.
To support disadvantaged or left-behind groups to access career opportunities that may otherwise not be available to them, the government has a number of employment and training schemes. Examples include KickStart, Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP), Traineeships, Supported Internships for learners with an Education, Health and Care Plan, and the Care-Leaver covenant. Yet, in England none of the schemes give young people an entitlement to access a qualified Careers Adviser to support them in considering the labour market and to make informed decisions about what to apply for. Although JCP work coaches play an important role they are not qualified Careers Advisers and may not be seen by those they advise as independent.
Enhanced services are limited by cost – not a lack of willingness on the part of career professionals. When it comes to supporting our young people with their futures, we need impartial, lifelong careers advice and guidance to be available when they need it (regardless of age, circumstance, or background) better alignment between The Careers & Enterprise Company and the National Careers Service, and an entitlement to an interview with a qualified Careers Adviser.
As an essential component of socio-economic development, careers guidance should be reflected in the title of the service and an entitlement to access qualified Careers Advisers integral to service provision, in line with the Career Guidance Guarantee (https://careerdpg.co.uk/career-guidance-guarantee).
A root and branch review of the current system of CEIAG in England should aim to bring greater cohesion to the present piecemeal approach. It would do well to look at provision in other UK nations: Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, as well as best practice globally. Although these systems differ, each respective all-age career service in the other UK nations brings responsibility for independent and impartial CEIAG under one body, with provision successfully delivered at local centres, in partner locations, online, over the phone and via social media.
Of note, service coherence and ease of navigation are founded on the principles of integration and collaboration evident in their working effectively with the devolved and UK governments, schools, colleges, training providers, employers and businesses. Also placed at the heart of the delivery models is young people’s clear preference for face-to-face careers guidance and coaching.
Most importantly, underpinning these services is investment in a professional, skilled and dedicated workforce with a visible presence and easy access. Increasing young people’s access to support will enable them to identify opportunities and overcome barriers to fair and decent work with improved long term prospects, and ensure the economy has an abundance of highly skilled, motivated young people ready to fulfil their potential.
Comparing these to England’s very fragmented approach to careers provision, with individual schools, colleges, universities and the NCS (through numerous providers) making independent decisions on careers support services, statutory guidance which has too much ‘recommended’ rather than ‘mandatory’ specifications, plus a lack of earmarked funding sufficient to compensate properly for enough time of qualified professionals, it is clear why there is a lack of consistency and coherence in the current system.
The CDI does not necessarily advocate for all careers provision to be delivered by one body, but we do believe it needs to be designed and implemented as a coherent system of provision across all areas of delivery, with clear expectations and appropriate funding to consistently achieve them.
Rather than a National Skills Service, the CDI would like to see movement towards a National Careers and Skills System or youth transitions system, co-ordinating careers provision (helping young people develop their career goals and understand the pathways to reach them), skills provision by FE and other skills providers (to gain the required skills) and careers/employability support (to gain employment and put the skills to use).
Underpinning this or any changes to the careers system must be a coherent, long term careers strategy based on social and economic goals. It should state the macro objectives of the careers system – to reduce inequality, to develop a future skills pipeline, to maximise those in productive and satisfied employment, etc. – as well as the delivery functions so that each part of the system is working towards a common overall aim.
Where to best place such a National Careers and Skills Service is a knotty question. Although the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DW&P) have distinctly different areas of responsibility, there exists a complex intertwining between the welfare and benefits system, providing assistance into employment through Job Centre Plus and skills development through education or training. Account should also be taken of the role of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy in supporting businesses and communities across the UK.
On balance to take forward a careers strategy that puts ‘skills, skills, skills, first and foremost’[22], a National Careers and Skills System would best be led by the DfE with integration between departments across the DfE, DWP and BEIS. This is because the DfE defines its priority as education and skills training, while recognising DW&P as having a supporting role. Also at its heart is protecting the vulnerable and enabling learners to thrive. These are essential factors in ensuring young people can realise their potential, and are critical to increasing fairness, strengthening society and the economy.
Moreover, the CDI has concerns about extending the employability remit of the DWP to include careers support, partly due to their lack of experience in providing personalised careers support – separately and differently to employment advice, and partly due to the DWPs historical focus on benefits and getting people into work, which is too near-term and risks being driven by employment targets, putting it at odds with the underpinning ethos of careers guidance being to enable the individual at all life stages. The DfE is seen as more of an enabling department.
Developmental activities must be strongly linked by an over-arching strategy setting the purpose and direction for careers, with clear responsibilities for each part of the system, regardless of where it sits, and a design that ensures effective integration and collaboration between the parts that provides complete national and local coverage. The history of juvenile employment and welfare services[23] evidence that where responsibilities are divided joint memorandums are critical to services operating effectively.
Furthermore, since the formation of the Association of Juvenile Employment and Welfare Officers in 1922, career development professionals have acknowledged a common identity and the need to apply the use of professional expertise and theory to the needs of young people[24].
Career guidance acts primarily on and for the individual, enabling them to make informed choices, to engage in learning, and make successful transitions into employment. This leads to economic outcomes such as increased labour market participation and an enhanced skills and knowledge base[25]. Addressing skills mismatches, improving labour market signalling and discussing effective deployment of qualifications and skills are core functions of CEIAG – of which the elements of good practice in schools and colleges are defined by the eight Gatsby Benchmarks and endorsed by Ofsted.
The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) provides vital data measured against the Benchmarks on the state of CEIAG in 78% (3,893) of all state-funded schools and colleges in England; data which indicates schools and colleges are paying strategic attention to their careers work. Also, by 2020 it had connected 3,010 schools and colleges with employers through its National Enterprise Adviser Network (EAN). Support offered by the EAN facilitates faster progress in meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks than schools or colleges achieved outside the EAN. Similarly, being in a CEC Career Hub and achievement of the Quality in Careers Standard are statistically associated with better performance on the Gatsby Benchmarks.[26]
In addition, CEC investment has driven the upskilling of Careers Leaders in schools supported by the CDI who are the largest provider of Careers Leader training for the CEC. This training, combined with the development of career-related resources founded on evidenced-based practice, has led to Careers Leaders being more skilled, empowered to raise the career guidance agenda with their senior leadership team and improving their school or college’s careers provision[27].
In terms of value for money, it is evident their investment of public funds has enabled substantial progress against the Gatsby Benchmarks. Thereby enabling more pupils to experience careers programmes that help them to make more fully considered decisions about their future and improve sustained positive destinations in education, employment, or training[28], although in 2020/2021 investment funds targeting disadvantage ceased[29].
Careers education is an important part of CEIAG and has benefitted from raising the status of Careers Leaders in schools and colleges. While the CDI welcomes the improvements brought about by funding Careers Leader training, Career Hubs and the Enterprise Adviser Network, of immense concern and to the detriment of improvements in the smooth running of the labour market and realistic choices about technical and higher education, is a lack of acknowledgement of the tremendous added value qualified Careers Advisers bring to all the elements of CEIAG and the absence of responsibility for funding to support the necessary workforce development. They are the qualified professional career development experts. In addition to supporting the school to meet Gatsby Benchmark 8, qualified Careers Advisers work with the Careers Leader and contribute to the achievement of most, if not all, Benchmarks through their knowledge, skills and networks[30].
The National Careers Service (NCS (England) provides anyone aged 13 and over with access to up-to-date, impartial information and advice on careers, skills and the labour market; through an online service and telephone helpline.
Yet, there is no face-to-face service for young people under 19 years of age, including those in employment. It is limited to those age 18 who are NEET. Where this service exists, it is primarily the responsibility of Local Authorities and essentially administered through work-based programmes such as Kickstart. Such programmes do not include an entitlement to career guidance.
Where NEET young people are supported by frontline staff in JCP and project officers, they are rarely a qualified Careers Adviser, so the level of service may not equal that received by pupils in school. If providing careers information and advice, staff should hold a careers IAG qualification at level 4 or higher, and if providing personal careers guidance they should be qualified at level 6 or higher.
Part of the National Careers Service is the ‘Inspiration Agenda’. Its role is to broker relationships between schools, colleges and employers creating links between industry and educational institutions. This seemingly duplicates the CEC Enterprise Adviser Network; a point previously raised in parliamentary business in 2016[31]. Anecdotal evidence suggests it is poorly promoted, under-resourced and has limited availability.
The last econometric analysis of the National Careers Service recorded that only 4% of clients were age 19 and under but this was published in 2017 and so is out-of-date. In January 2021 the DfE sought expressions of interest to evaluate and calculate the Value for Money of the National Careers Service but as yet, no report has been published.
Young people do not know where to go for careers support. A recent PSI MORI survey (2018)[32] found that 24% of on-line contact was with young people aged 19 and under. Most were likely to find the NCS website through recommendations from a friend or relative. This supports a recent finding that pupils did not know where to turn to for careers advice beyond parents, teachers and friends[33], revealing an over-reliance on ‘word of mouth’ to promote the service.
This is disappointing as young people aged 18- 19 found personal contact with an NCS adviser played a part in positive change and increased motivation, suggesting many more would benefit if the service was more visible, better understood and easier to access This would simultaneously improve its efficiency and effectiveness; two key ‘value for money’ assessment criteria.
While a third of young people accessed the NCS site from school or college, of note is the increased use of smart phones, reflecting the NCS responding positively to developments in technology. Also revealed is the importance of access from public spaces such as libraries especially for NEET young people who are less likely to have internet access at home.
In addition, the survey found that the majority of young people were satisfied with the service although this was less so for those with SEND or from an ethnic minority.
What needs to change: The NCS is a hidden resource and its services require much greater investment and marketing (for example on prime time TV, social and print media). Unlike the CEC, the NCS is inspected by Ofsted and prime contractors must hold the matrix Standard. Both factors are likely to enhance value for money. In terms of service development and engaging young people, the NCS would do well to learn from Careers Wales where all its Careers Advisers are trained to level 6 or above in careers guidance and are members of the UK Register of Careers Development Professionals.
In terms of measuring value for money for the taxpayer, a recent study[34] has shown that for each £1 the government invests in personal guidance, it should be confident of recouping at least £3 and most likely much more. This suggests that, so long as high quality careers support is provided, it will generate value. A key question is whether more benefit could be achieved for the money if the shortcomings highlighted to date were addressed.
The CDI would also like to see higher-level tracking of the impact, to avoid falling into an efficiency over effectiveness trap. The risk – and one of the concerns should services move into the DWP – is that targets become set on activities or outputs, driving efficiency potentially at the expense of outcomes.
For example, the statutory guidelines note that the CDI recommend a minimum 45 minutes for a personal career guidance interview[35], but we are aware that few schools achieve this with examples of as little as 15 minutes being applied. This maximises the number of pupils accessing an interview for limited resource, but those interviews are less likely to add the value and lead to the outcomes that some young people will need.
The CDI wishes to see more trialling and piloting of career guidance schemes in target areas with higher level objectives for an area, such as addressing social mobility/levelling up challenges, persistent NEET or unemployment levels, and so on. In this way, local systems can be trialled that demonstrate the broader, longer-term impact rather than the measurement of activity.
At all levels of learning, the embedding of careers in the curriculum is central to broadening horizons, challenging assumptions and stereotypes and so aiding social mobility and future employability. In schools and colleges, the training of Careers Leaders has improved provision although it is disappointing no action has been taken to ensure teachers encounter CEIAG during initial teacher education.
To support the embedding of career-related learning (CRL) in schools and colleges, based on extensive consultation and research, the CDI launched a new Career Development Framework[36] in 2021 which describes the six career development skills that people need in order to have positive careers. These six skills are the learning areas that career development programmes and interventions should focus on: Grow through life; Explore possibilities; Manage Career; Create opportunities; Balance life and work; See the big picture.
A handbook structures the framework around the Key Stages 3, 4 and post-16 providing a basis for a career education curriculum and the outcomes that should be observable at the end of the programme.
In addition, the CDI has produced a Careers Framework Handbook for Primary which explains how learners from 3-11 would benefit from personal development activities and experiences and the relevance of career related learning within the existing primary curriculum. The Primary Handbook complements the CEC ‘Introduction to primary career-related learning’[37].
The framework handbooks are designed to support schools and colleges in embedding careers in the curriculum across the whole learning journey, and provide resources that ensure the more formal aspects of learning provide opportunities for personal growth, enjoyment and challenge, so preparing young people for the world of work.
Providing discrete careers-related activities are also of value, especially in tailoring opportunities to the needs of each pupil, and fall within the skills-set of Careers Advisers. Similarly, commitment to the Quality in Careers Standard supports the school or college in taking CEIAG a step further and offers impartial quality assurance.
Attaining the Quality in Careers Standard, the engagement of career professionals and CDI Career Development Framework will help schools and colleges to be even more ambitious in embedding career-related learning in the curriculum. It also needs a strong response from government, business and key stakeholders in the education system and could be further strengthened by reinstating careers education in the curriculum.
Plus teachers need to receive training on what career guidance is and how to provide career-related learning as part of ITT.
The CDI supports lowering the age for careers related experiences and discussions, and recommends that careers education begins in primary schools to counteract the risk of young people narrowing their options based on their personal contexts. Embedding careers thinking from an earlier age will drive benefits at the later stages of school and college life.
However, we need to recognise that Careers Leader training does not include the provision of individual careers advice and guidance and we need to see complementary investment in qualified Careers Advisers to ensure young people have the access they need.
The ‘Baker clause’ requires schools to provide opportunities for every pupil, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, to meet apprenticeship providers and learn about technical education options.
This requirement aligns with the CDI Code of Ethics[38] which covers the professional behaviour and practice demanded of all CDI members, in particular the principles of impartiality and inclusivity; offering advice based solely on the best interests of and potential benefits to the client. Members should also work towards the removal of barriers to personal achievement resulting from prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination.
The Baker Clause is helpful but it is not enough: each skills provider and employer will only be presenting their specific opportunities. Young people need a clear and unambiguous entitlement to career guidance. This should include easy access to a professional and independent Careers Adviser; someone who is on the UK Register of Career Development Professionals[39]. Trained to be objective and impartial, Careers Advisers help people make realistic and informed career decisions taking into account all the options available.
Critically, to ensure more young people have access to a professional and independent Careers Adviser and increase the take-up of the Lifetime Skills initiative, the CDI firmly believes that career guidance needs to be guaranteed for all young people[40]. This requires:
The Skills for Jobs White Paper is a missed opportunity; it is poor on its analysis of the issues and weaknesses in the current CEIAG system. If the government is serious about an all-age career guidance system, it needs to look at this in a holistic way. Encouragingly, there does seem to be is a clear consensus across government that we need impartial, lifelong careers support available to people when they need it, regardless of age, circumstance, or background. This requires quality relationships between bodies on the ground and an open exchange of information.
For example, if the National Careers Service website is to become a single source of government-assured careers information - young people need to know about it, have internet access and find the site engaging and informative. Moreover, young people will still often require the support of a trained Careers Adviser to interpret the information, assess its relevance and apply it to their situation.
Trained Careers Advisers have an in-depth knowledge of all the learning and careers routes available to people. They understand the value of work experience, how to apply for roles, research and use labour market information intelligently, and can tailor the information, advice and guidance to meet the needs of the individual far more effectively than any website. Crucially, they actively listen and advocate, so enabling the young person to reach the outcome best for them.
However, any analysis of wage returns from data available for apprenticeships, will confirm that qualified Careers Advisers, a number of whom will have entered the profession through the Career Development Professional Higher Apprenticeship are greatly undervalued. A recent CDI Survey[41] reveals over a quarter of respondents are likely to leave the profession within two years, with poor pay and benefits being the biggest driver.
A more robust system of CEIAG funding is needed that allows organisations to reward career guidance professionals in line with their skills and qualifications. Also worthy of consideration are government bursaries and scholarships akin to those associated with initial teacher training, especially to encourage more people into the sector from currently under-represented groups.
Funding also needs to be at sufficient levels for a higher minimum level of provision within schools, colleges and NCS providers, to cover not only personal careers guidance interviews of a minimum 45 minutes, but also the other activities that constitute high quality careers provision in schools (work related experiences, group careers planning, information and advice, etc.).
The CDI supports the careers objective[42] cited in the Skills for Jobs White paper[43] that every secondary school is able to be part of a careers hub and that training is available to all Careers Leaders. But given Careers Leaders are not trained or qualified to provide careers guidance, to effectively address current challenges in the CEIAG system, careers education should be reinstated into the curriculum. We also need more recognition and more investment in career development professionals, with an entitlement to ensure that all young people have access to personal guidance.
The CDI believes that for improvements to the current careers system to be effective, all these changes must be driven by and aligned through an overarching careers strategy. This needs to set out the economic and social goals to be supported by the activities, so that the delivery – whether as one service or a system, is cohesive and guaranteed for everyone who requires support, regardless of their background or situation.
March 2022
CDI written submission to The Commons Education Committee CEIAG Review March 2022 16
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-guidance-provision-for-young-people-in-schools
[2] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/21/contents/enacted
[3] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-guidance-provision-for-young-people-in-schools
[4] https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/our-evidence/evidence-and-reports/evaluation-of-the-careers-leader-training/
[5] https://www.thecdi.net/New-Career-Development-Framework
[6] http://www.gatsby.org.uk/uploads/education/reports/pdf/gatsby-sir-john-holman-good-career-guidance-2014.pdf
[7] Under the 1997 Education Act, Careers Education was part of the statutory curriculum. This provision was removed under the Education Act 2011.
[8] https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/our-evidence/evidence-and-reports/trends-in-careers-education-2021/
[9] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-for-jobs-lifelong-learning-for-opportunity-and-growth
[10] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-guidance-provision-for-young-people-in-schools
[11] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/participation-of-young-people-education-employment-and-training
[12] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusion
[13] https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/work-pay-and-benefits/unemployment-and-economic-inactivity/unemployment/latest
[14] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/young-peoples-experiences-of-careers-information-advice-and-guidance
[15] Personal career guidance interview of 45 minutes with a qualified careers adviser
[16] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/post-18-review-of-education-and-funding-independent-panel-report
[17] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25
[18] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/959/schedule/8/made
[19] https://childlawadvice.org.uk/information-pages/education-for-looked-after-children/
[20] https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/pages/about-us
[21] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-careers-service-satisfaction-and-progression-surveys-2018-to-2019
[22] Robert Halfon MP, Chair of the Education Committee
[23] Peck, D. (2004) Careers Services – History, policy and practice in the United Kingdom, Routledge/Falmer
[24] Peck, op. cit.
[25] Hooley T. and V. Dodd (2015) Economic Benefits of Career Guidance https://derby.openrepository.com/handle/10545/559030
[26] https://www.qualityincareers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Compass-results-and-Quality-in-Careers-Standard-7.1.2022.pdf
[27] https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/our-evidence/evidence-and-reports/enterprise-adviser-network-and-careers-hubs-evaluation-report/
[28] https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/our-evidence/evidence-and-reports/the-benefits-of-gatsby-benchmark-achievement-for-post-16-destinations/
[29] CEC Value for Money Report 2020/21 https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/who-we-are/governance-key-documents/
[30] https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/our-evidence/evidence-and-reports/personal-guidance-fund-evaluation/
[31] https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmese/205/20506.htm
[32] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-careers-service-satisfaction-and-progression-surveys-2018-to-2019
[33] https://dmhassociates.org/research-studythe-big-conversation-with-young-people-in-england
[34] https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/our-evidence/evidence-and-reports/personal-guidance-in-english-secondary-education-an-initial-return-on-investment-estimate/
[35] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-guidance-provision-for-young-people-in-schools
[36] https://www.thecdi.net/New-Career-Development-Framework
[37] https://primary-careers.careersandenterprise.co.uk/introduction
[38] https://www.thecdi.net/Code-of-Ethics
[39] https://www.thecdi.net/Professional-Register
[40] https://www.thecdi.net/Career-Guidance-Guarantee
[41] https://www.thecdi.net/CDIBigListen
[42] https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8577/
[43] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-for-jobs-lifelong-learning-for-opportunity-and-growth