Careers Advice and Guidance

It is important that young people have access to advice and guidance when making career choices. These are important processes in helping young people to establish broad career goals, review their career decisions, identify any barriers to progress and work out how to tackle them. Advice and guidance cover the wide range of conversations and interventions that tutors, teachers, mentors, personal advisers, parents, carers and others have with young people. They range from giving basic help (e.g. explaining what a 14-19 Diploma is, clarifying entry requirements and progression routes and helping to complete an application form) to providing in-depth and impartial guidance (e.g. working with young people who have no career goals, inappropriately low aspirations or multiple problems).

Local consortia and their partners should ensure that there is effective delivery of advice and guidance so that young people receive the right kind of support at the right time. Effective delivery:


differentiates between three broad levels of need – check that existing arrangements for assessing young people’s advice and guidance needs distinguish between:

  • level 3 – all young people
  • level 2 – young people at risk of disengagement
  • level 1 – young people with multiple problems


provides different kinds of support for different levels of need – check that support arrangements provide appropriate responses to the three broad levels of advice and guidance needs. At level 3, all young people will require help from tutors, subject teachers and others to review and confirm their choices and implement their progression plans. Some young people at level 2 and all young people at level 1 will require a detailed needs assessment – using the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) – in order to identify their additional support requirements. Meeting those requirements will involve the use of the planning, implementation and review elements of the APIR framework. At level 2, additional support might include targeted careers information, tailored interventions and regular one-to-one support. At level 1, it may include intensive help, continuous support and the involvement of specialist agencies.


ensures that everyone knows how to access advice and guidance – check that:

  • existing arrangements (including careers education) tell young people, parents and carers how and when they can access help
  • young people know when and how to use self-referral procedures
  • staff, mentors and other relevant adults know what might trigger a referral and how subsequent support will be managed.


ensures that there are efficient recording systems to support advice and guidance activities – check that:

  • suitable paper-based or electronic documents are used to record the outcomes of advice and guidance sessions
  • young people contribute to and have access to these records
  • young people, parents, carers and authorised personnel have access to full or partial records as appropriate


ensures that people understand and receive help to fulfil their role in advice and guidance – check that:

  • existing arrangements help staff, parents and others understand how advice and guidance contribute to young people’s progress and future success
  • parents and carers have opportunities to find out how they can support their children and the resources available to help them
  • those involved in advice and guidance are clear about their roles and responsibilities and that those providing in-depth guidance are appropriately qualified
  • everyone involved understands and applies the principles  governing good quality delivery of advice and guidance
  • tutors, teachers and other staff have access to training in basic advice and guidance skills

 

Questions to ask yourself

  • Do the careers advice and guidance that young people receive link with the careers education and careers information elements of provision?
  • What are the strengths and weaknesses in the current provision of careers advice and guidance?
  • How do you know?
  • How could the current situation be improved and who could help?

 

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