National Workshop on Career Services

Careers Guidance in England

Mark Jarvis
Assistant Director, Pathways to Higher Skills

New Delhi,11 March 2014

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Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Purpose
‘To connect people to opportunity and
prosperity across the country’
Priorities
• Knowledge and Innovation - Promote excellent universities and
research and increased business innovation
• Skills - Build an internationally competitive skills base and promote
more opportunities for individuals in realising their potential
• Enterprise - Boost enterprise and make this the decade of the
entrepreneur; and rebalance the economy across sectors and across
regions
• Trade and investment - Stimulate exports and inward investment
• Markets - Create a positive business environment; and protect and
empower consumers
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Evolution of Careers Services in England May 2012

April 2012
January 1999 local November 2007 National
National Careers
adult IAG services Strategy – integrating Careers
Service
commissioned Employment & skills Council

Autumn 2004 August 2010 October 2014

nextstep service Next Step service National Careers
Service

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

April 2001 Education Act

Connexions Services 2011 September 2013
1990s IAG Extended to 13-18
responsibility of 2008 Connexions year olds
local authorities Services transfer to September 2012
Local Authorities Schools responsible
for careers guidance September 2013
Education Act 1997 for 14-16 year olds Inspiration Vision
Directly contracted statement
careers services
Careers Education
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Who is responsible for what now….

• Schools – careers guidance for age 13 -18

• Further Education colleges – careers guidance for 14-18
• Work based learning providers – may provide
guidance if they choose to
• Universities – careers guidance to graduates
• Local Authorities – support to those not in school, education,
training or employment (NEET) up to age 18 and people with
disabilities up to age 25
• National Careers Service – age 13 upwards
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National Careers Service

• Started April 2012
• 3 delivery channels
– Face to face
– Telephone
– Digital
• Face to face is for adults age 19 +, or 18 if
unemployed
• Digital and telephone for age 13 plus
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National Careers Service

• Universal face to face service, everyone can have

a guidance session
• Priority Groups - 3 face to face sessions
• Telephone – no limit, includes guidance
• Website and other digital routes – no limit
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How’s it going?
• National Careers Service in its first year delivered
• ca 660,000 new adult customers face to face
guidance sessions;
• 183,000 unemployed aged 18 to 24 received
guidance sessions.
• ca 310,000 telephone advice sessions for adults;
• ca 35,000 telephone advice sessions for young
people;
• 7 million website visits. Now averaging over 1.2
million each month.
• Now over 1 million Lifelong Learning Accounts
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The Current Policy Context

• Latest Ministerial priorities
– Tackling youth unemployment (18-24 years old)
– An effective system of careers support for young
people, especially in schools
– Improving employer engagement with young people
– Linking welfare benefits to personal commitment to
better your situation
– Improving links between skills and employment.
– Improved social mobility
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Ministerial priority on careers guidance ….

“We need to provide more
inspiration for young
people, more real-life
contact with the world of
work so that when they
come to make big
decisions, they
understand where
different choices could
take them in the future.“
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Challenges
• “There is a challenge to schools and colleges to meet their new
duties. But there is also a challenge to us all: to government, to
careers professionals and to employers, to respond to the world as
it changes, to find new ways of working together. And above all, to
inspire, to motivate, to encourage and to strengthen people to meet
their full potential.”
• National Careers Service – primary focus adults, new role for
young people
• Big role to upgrade service in response to technology and
expanding remit.
• Lack of visibility amongst schools, pupils and parents
• Lack of understanding of what the National Careers Service
delivers
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Funding approach

• Funds for schools, colleges, universities and local

authorities not specified
• National Careers Service budget £108m per year
= 11,066.328 million INR
• £8.5m from European Union
• Only 4.4% dedicated to those aged under 19
years
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Funding approach – National Careers Service(1)

• BIS passes all funds to Skills Funding Agency

• Agency contracts competitively with Prime
Contractors to deliver telephone service, and
regional face to face services
• Currently 13 contractors; 2 for telephone, 11 for
regional face to face
• Have been paid on volumes of sessions delivered,
with 10% management fee and 15% on outcomes.
• Website development and maintenance managed
in house
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Funding approach – National Careers Service(2)

• Changes from October 2014

• 12 regional contracts and one telephone contract
• 95% of payment on outcomes; 5% for delivering
partnership activity including engaging with
employers
• New outsourced digital and web contract
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Funding approach – National Careers Service(3)

• Three main outcomes

– Customer satisfaction
– Getting a job or achieving a qualification
– Career management
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Workforce - qualifications
• Career Development Institute
• Careers development profession career
framework
• NVQ Level 6 (= degree) as the benchmark
• Currently many are qualified to NVQ level 3 or 4
(A levels)
• In NCS all staff must have or be seeking a careers
guidance relevant qualification.
• Vision that 50% must have L6 by April 2015
• In Jan 2013 had 2500 advisers; 16% L6; 64%
L3/4; 13% working towards L6
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Quality Assurance
• All contractors and sub contractors must have
Matrix Quality Standard.
• Ofsted Inspection of Prime Contractors, using
framework developed for further education,
adapted for careers service.
• Evaluation and customer feedback
– 84% satisfied with service
– 46% progress in employment; 63% in learning
– 50% say adviser contributed to their success
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matrix
‘The matrix Standard is the unique quality
standard for organisations to assess and
measure their advice and support services,
which ultimately supports individuals in their
choice of career, learning, work and life goals’

• Government owned, used by over 1700

organisations in UK and internationally
• Three year cycle, with annual reviews against
areas for improvement.
• Self financing contract
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matrix
The matrix Standard is made up of four
elements:
• Leadership and Management
• Resources
• Service Delivery
• Continuous Quality Improvement
• Each element supported by criteria 25 in all
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Mark Jarvis
Pathways to Higher Skills, Vocational Education Directorate

Mark.jarvis@bis.gsi.gov.uk