PAVING THE WAY
C
areers guidance in secondary schools
Erica Holt-White, Rebecca Montacute, Lewis Tibbs
March 2022
1
About the Sutton Trust
The Sutton Trust is a foundation which improves social mobility in the UK through evidence-
based programmes, research and policy advocacy.
Copyright © 2022 Sutton Trust. All rights reserved. Please cite the Sutton Trust when using material
from this research.
About the authors
Erica Holt-White is Research and Policy Officer at the Sutton Trust
Rebecca Montacute is Senior Research and Policy Manager at the Sutton Trust
Lewis Tibbs is Research, Policy and Communications Intern at the Sutton Trust
2
Contents
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ 3
Foreword ...................................................................................................................................... 4
Key Findings ................................................................................................................................. 5
Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... 7
Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 9
The policy landscape ................................................................................................................... 11
Existing evidence on careers education ......................................................................................... 20
Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 26
Current provision ......................................................................................................................... 28
Young people’s experiences of careers education ........................................................................... 39
Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 50
Appendix 1 ................................................................................................................................. 57
3
Acknowledgements
Case studies for this report were written with contributions from Gemma Collins, Senior Programmes
Manager at the Sutton Trust.
The authors would like to thank David Andrews (Independent CEG Consultant & NICEC Fellow); Tristram
Hooley (Professor of Careers Education at the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, and at the
University of Derby) and Jonathan Kay (Education Endowment Foundation) for reviewing the full report
and recommendations.
The authors would also like to thank Joanna Bailey (Tees Valley Collaborative Trust); Professor Sir John
Holman (University of York); Anna Morrison CBE and Lucy Springett (both Amazing Apprenticeships);
Sue John (Challenge Partners); members of the Career Development Policy Group; and members of the
Sutton Trust’s Alumni Leadership Board for their views on the report’s recommendations.
4
Foreword
Giving young people from all backgrounds the information and experiences to make choices about their
future has been at the heart of the Sutton Trust’s work over the past 25 years.
Young people make important decisions about their education and careers throughout their schooling.
From GCSE and A Level subject choices, to post-16 options and apprenticeships, to which university
and course to apply to. These choices have a big impact on their future education and career.
But not everyone receives the same level of support. Young people in families with highly educated
parents and better networks are more likely to receive the support they need to navigate their way through
competitive pathways. Independent schools and some sixth forms devote substantial resources to
supporting university applications.
Over 25 years, our programmes have given over 50,000 young
people from low and moderate income backgrounds the
opportunity to change their lives and experience a leading
university environment, as well as providing invaluable support for
their applications. But to ensure a more level playing field, we
need to ensure that every school and college – especially those
serving the most disadvantaged pupils – is geared up to delivering
high quality, independent advice and guidance for vital decisions
on university, apprenticeships and jobs.
Careers guidance in England has seen a total overhaul over the
last decade. After years of neglect, a new structure is being built
by the Careers and Enterprise Company to help schools deliver high quality support – but there is more
that needs to be done. Today’s research gives a comprehensive picture on how guidance is working on
the ground and how we can improve it further.
I’d like to thank the Sutton Trust team, in particular lead author Erica Holt-White, for this vital research.
Sir Peter Lampl
Founder and Executive Chairman of the Sutton Trust, Chairman of the Education Endowment
Foundation
“Giving young people
from all backgrounds
the information and
experiences to make
choices about their
future has been at the
heart of the Sutton
Trust’s work over the
past 25 years.”
5
Key Findings
Overview
When the Sutton Trust last looked at careers provision back in 2014, our research found a major decline
in the quality and quantity of careers provision happening in schools, with a ‘postcode lottery’ of
provision.
Our findings here suggest there have been improvements since then, but there is still too often variability
in careers provision, with differences between state and private schools and between state schools with
more and less deprived intakes.
Existing careers provision
• A wide range of career related activities are available in schools. The most common activities
reported as taking place by senior leaders in English state schools include sessions with a
Careers Adviser (85%), careers fairs or events (84%), and links to possible careers within
curriculum lessons (80%).
• Classroom teachers in English state schools are less likely than senior leaders to say links to
possible careers are being made within curriculum lessons, at 59% vs 80%, perhaps reflecting
some ambitions for careers guidance not filtering down into classroom practice.
• Almost all state schools now have a Careers Leader, a role responsible for a school’s careers
programme, with 95% of state school senior leaders reporting their school has such a role.
• 73% of state school headteachers said their school works with the government funded Career
and Enterprise Company (CEC). However, just 48% of headteachers said their school was part
of a CEC Careers Hub - designed to bring together schools, colleges, employers and
apprenticeship providers in a local area.
• The majority (94%) of state school senior leaders are aware of the Gatsby benchmarks, the
current framework for careers guidance. However, awareness is much lower among classroom
teachers in state schools (40%), again showing some elements of guidance are not necessarily
making it into day to day practice.
• Alongside differences in the range of activities available in schools reported by teachers, there
are also differences in students’ self-reported access. Overall, 36% of students in the UK said
they had not taken part in any careers related activities. State school pupils are more likely to
report not having taken part (38%) compared to pupils at private schools (23%).
• Students’ self-reporting of career activities is higher for those in later year groups. For
example, while only 7% of those in years 8-9 report learning about apprenticeships, this was
26% for year 13s. Similarly, while only 2% of those in years 8-9 had visited a university, 42%
of year 13s have done so. But even for year 13s, figures for many of these activities remain
low, with for example just 17% having learnt about career opportunities in their local area, and
just 30% having done work experience.
• Nearly half (46%) of 17- and 18-year olds (year 13) say they have received a large amount of
information on university routes during their education, compared to just 10% who say the
same for apprenticeships.
6
• Less than a third (30%) of students in year 13 have completed work experience.
• Around a third (36%) of secondary school students do not feel confident in their next steps in
education and training, with only just over half (56%) feeling confident. The proportion not
feeling confident is lower, but still sizable, for students in year 13 (22%).
• More pupils in state secondary schools report not being confident in their next steps in
education and training than in private schools (39% vs 29%).
Barriers to good quality provision
• Over three quarters of state school teachers (88%) felt that their teacher training didn’t
prepare them to deliver careers information and guidance to students.
• Over a third (37%) of senior leaders think their school does not have adequate funding and
resources to deliver careers advice and guidance.
• Just under a third (32%) of teachers in state schools report they don’t have enough funding to
deliver good quality careers education and guidance, compared to just 6% saying the same in
private schools. Just over half (51%) of teachers in state schools think there isn’t enough staff
time to do so, compared to just 34% saying the same in private schools.
• Schools in more deprived areas are less likely to have access to a specialist Careers Adviser,
with 21% of teachers in the most deprived areas reporting non-specialists delivered personal
guidance, compared to 14% in more affluent areas.
• 72% of teachers think the pandemic has negatively impacted their school’s ability to deliver
careers education and guidance. This figure was 16 percentage points higher for teachers in
state schools, at 75%, vs 59% in private schools.
Teachers’ views on improving careers guidance
• Almost half (47%) of state school teachers want to see additional funding for careers
guidance, more than four times as many as in private schools (11%). State schools want to
use additional funding to allow a member of staff to fully focus on careers guidance, with
teachers also wanting to see better pay and recognition for the Careers Leader role in schools.
• Many senior leaders in English state schools also want to see additional visits from employers
(47%) and more visits from apprenticeship providers (39%).
7
Recommendations
For government
1. The government should develop a new national strategy on careers education. Provision
would benefit from a clear overarching strategy now that the government’s 2017 careers
strategy has lapsed. The strategy should sit primarily in the Department for Education, but
with strong cross-departmental links, to join up what are currently disparate elements in the
system. The strategy should look at the very start of a child’s education, all the way through to
the workplace. It should be formed in partnership with employers, with a view to help prepare
young people for future labour market trends, and link clearly into the government’s levelling
up strategy.
2. At the centre of this strategy should be a core ‘careers structure’ outlining a minimum
underlying structure for careers provision in all schools. There is too much variation in the
careers provision available to students. This underlying architecture, with adequate funding
behind it, would help tackle this inconsistency, by putting in place the same standard
underlying set up in all schools, to aid them to deliver guidance as set out in the Gatsby
benchmarks.
This offer should guarantee that all schools:
• Have a Careers Leader with the time, recognition, and resources to properly fulfil their
role
• Are part of a Careers Hub
• Have access to a professional career adviser for their students (qualified to at least
Level 6)
3. Greater time should be earmarked and integrated within the overall curriculum, and within
subject curricula, to deliver careers education and guidance, to reflect its centrality to
students’ future prospects. With competing demands on the school day, setting clearer
requirements on the time schools should be spending on careers education, both on overall
careers guidance (for example in PSHE lessons or as a scheduled careers week for pupils), and
for subject specific careers guidance within lessons, would help give the topic the required
priority within schools. This should be accompanied by better training for teachers on careers
education within initial teacher training.
4. All pupils should have access to work experience between the ages of 14 and 16.
Experience in the workplace can be extremely impactful for students, allowing them to gain
important insights into the world of work and develop essential skills, with support given to
help them find relevant placements. This should also be accompanied by additional funding
for schools, to allow them to pay for the staff time needed to support students to organise good
quality placements.
5. Better support and guidance should be made available for schools and colleges on
apprenticeships, with better enforcement of statutory requirements. More investment
should be made in national information sources and programmes on technical education
routes to improve the advice available. Evidence suggests that too many schools are not
meeting their statutory requirements under the ‘Baker Clause’. Better enforcement should be
introduced, for example looking at incentives such as limiting Ofsted grades in schools who do
not comply with the clause.
8
For the Career and Enterprise Company (CEC)
1. All secondary schools should be part of a Careers Hub, with schools serving the most
deprived intakes prioritised. Plans for the Careers Hub network to be expanded are to be
welcomed, but now is the time to expand the network to reach all schools. Given the
disparities in careers provision identified here, it is vital that the most deprived schools are
prioritised in this expansion plan. Evaluation of the programme should continue to ensure that
expansion is impactful.
2. The CEC should continue to roll out pilot programmes of promising interventions based on
evidence, again where possible with a focus on the most deprived schools. We welcome
recent pilot programmes, including partnerships with businesses, to help to give young people
greater insights into the world of work. Further such work should continue, with programmes
likely to benefit the most deprived schools prioritised.
For schools, colleges and their governing boards
1. Additional support for employability and career education should be seen as a key part of
catch-up plans for education post pandemic. Many students have missed out on important
aspects of career education and guidance during school closures, when core learning had to be
prioritised. School catch-up plans should include a strategy on how students will be supported
to make up for the opportunities to learn about careers which they have missed during the
pandemic. This should be accompanied by additional catch-up funds from government to
support schools to do this work.
2. There should be clear responsibility for careers guidance within a school’s senior
leadership team. How this is done may differ between schools, for example by having a
Careers Leader themselves sit within a school’s senior leadership team (SLT), or if this role is
held by a middle leader, by having a member of SLT who is clearly responsible for the school’s
strategy on careers. The member of SLT with responsibility for careers should work with the
school’s Pupil Premium Lead to ensure the school’s career strategy takes into account the
needs of this group of students.
3. Every school should have at least one governor who oversees careers provision. This
governor role should engage with a school’s Careers Leader to give strategic oversight of a
school’s careers programme, as well as potentially helping to link their school up with local
employers through any contacts on the governing board. It should also work together with a
school’s pupil premium governor, again to ensure the school’s strategy is successfully catering
to this group of students.
9
Introduction
High quality careers education, information, advice and guidance is vital to ensure young people can
access jobs that suit their talents and aspirations. For those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, this
advice is particularly important, as they are less likely to have access to support from family and friends,
or to have networks which provide an insight into a wide range of career options. Accessing independent
and impartial advice on education, training and career paths is therefore a central plank of social
mobility, empowering young people to make informed decisions about their future pathways.
In this report, the term careers guidance is used to cover all careers-related activities delivered in schools
and colleges, including under the Gatsby benchmarks. Careers guidance is delivered in a variety of forms,
from in-class workshops to visits from an employer. That advice, when done well, introduces a variety of
potential career paths, and helps to facilitate the transition from secondary education to further
education and employment.
1
When we last published research on careers guidance in our report
Advancing Ambitions
in 2014,
2
guidance was seen too often as a postcode lottery, with significant variability between schools. The
coalition government had made significant changes to provision in 2011, scrapping the Connexions
service (which held the main responsibilities for careers guidance from 2000 until 2011) and giving
responsibilities to schools, but without the necessary funding and guidance to support delivery. This left
behind a fragmented system, with the most disadvantaged students losing out on services that were cut
by their local authority at a time of austerity.
In response to the changes made by the coalition government, our report called for improvements to
statutory guidance, more funding for Careers Advisers in schools and greater recognition of careers
guidance in Ofsted assessments. Since then, the policy landscape has changed considerably, with the
government publishing statutory guidance for schools and colleges in England in 2015,
3
built around
the Gatsby Foundation’s benchmarks for good careers guidance.
4
These were designed to bring the varied
elements of guidance that cover education, training and employment into a coherent whole. The Careers
and Enterprise Company was also founded in 2015 to support schools in achieving the benchmarks, and
to create better networks for schools and colleges to work with employers and share effective strategies.
However, relatively little is known about how well those changes are being implemented on the ground,
and research has continued to find inequalities in access.
Furthermore, since our last report, significant changes have happened in the further education space,
such as the introduction of T-Levels and degree apprenticeships. But evidence so far suggests these
routes have not been treated equally to more academic routes, with technical and vocational pathways
too often given less prominence in careers education. To tackle this issue, the government made it a
statutory requirement in 2015 for education providers to offer a range of education and training providers
the opportunity to inform students in years 8 to 13 about technical and further education routes.
5
But
previous research has found this requirement is not being implemented consistently - two in five students
believe more information and advice would have led to them making better choices, and almost a third
1
Cedefop, European Commission, ETF, ILO, OECD, UNESCO (2021) Investing in career guidance. European Trading
Foundation. Available at: https://www.etf.europa.eu/en/publications-and-resources/publications/investing-career-guidance
2
A. G. Watts, J. Matheson and T.Hooley (2014) Advancing Ambitions. The Sutton Trust. Available at:
https://www.suttontrust.com/our-research/advancing-ambitions/
3
Department for Education (2015) Careers guidance and access for education and training providers. Gov.uk. Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-guidance-provision-for-young-people-in-schools
4
J. Holman (2014) Good careers guidance. The Gatsby Charitable Foundation. Available at:
https://www.gatsby.org.uk/uploads/education/reports/pdf/gatsby-sir-john-holman-good-career-guidance-2014.pdf
5
Department for Education (2015) Careers guidance and access for education and training providers. Gov.uk. Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-guidance-provision-for-young-people-in-schools
10
of students had not received any information about apprenticeships from their school.
6
As there have
been many recent changes in the technical education landscape, it is more important than ever for a
range of post-16 options to be covered in the advice given to young people.
Ensuring equal access to careers guidance is particularly vital as we continue to move through the
economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which many young people’s opportunities to take
part in work experience and other workplace learning were impacted. Our research in July 2020 found a
reduction in work experience opportunities during the pandemic, with 61% of the employers surveyed
saying that they had cancelled work placements for the summer of 2020.
7
Additionally, in more recent
research from the Institute for Employment Studies, interviews with young people revealed that school-
age pupils are concerned about the lack of preparation for the world of work after missing out on work
experience opportunities as well as the increased pool of competition for entry level roles.
8
Against this context particularly, it is essential that from a young age all children and young people can
access high quality careers guidance, regardless of background, so that they can make informed
decisions about their next steps. This should cover a wide range of pathways and take into account up
to date information on changes in the labour market. The Trust’s own programme work - with around
8,000 young people each year – helps young people with high potential from lower income homes to
make choices about their futures that are well informed, and supports them to realise those aspirations.
But a system-wide, well-funded, high quality and impartial careers and advice function is a prerequisite
of a fair and effective education system.
This report looks in detail at the advice now available to young people, engagement with related
opportunities and any barriers to improving provision in schools and colleges, including polling of both
secondary school pupils and teachers.
6
UCAS (2021) Where Next? What influences the choices school leavers make? Available at:
https://www.ucas.com/file/435551/download?token=VUdIDVFh
7
E. Holt-White & R. Montacute (2020) Covid-19 and social mobility impact brief #5: Graduate recruitment and access to the
workplace. The Sutton Trust. Available at:
https://www.suttontrust.com/our-research/coronavirus-workplace-access-and-graduate-
recruitment/
8
C. Orlando (2021) Not just any job, good jobs! Youth voices from across the UK. The Health Foundation. Available at:
https://www.employment-studies.co.uk/system/files/resources/files/Not%20just%20any%20job%2C%20good%20jobs%21.pdf
11
The policy landscape
Careers provision across the UK
The current careers education and guidance system in England is mainly delivered in schools and
colleges, who follow statutory guidance written by the Department for Education, with significant
involvement from external arms-length organisations like the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) and
National Careers Service (NCS).
Policies in the devolved nations are outlined in the box below.
The following section outlines the current legislation in place for careers guidance in England, and
summarises the role of key organisations in this space.
Careers guidance in other UK nations
Wales
- Careers guidance in Wales is offered by schools and the Careers Wales Service. Established in 2012,
the service delivers external support which is funded by government. Young people can interact with the
service’s Careers Advisers online and over the phone.
Careers Wales promote partnerships between schools and local employers to ensure young people are
experiencing the world of work. They also work with schools to train teachers in using their resources and
show how to incorporate guidance into the curriculum. These activities are co-ordinated by a team of Careers
Advisers, with advisers acting as ‘account executives’ for individual schools.
There is no statutory guidance currently in place for careers guidance in Wales, but guidance is currently
being developed by the government and a team of Careers and the World of Work (CWOW) co-ordinators who
sit within Careers Wales.
Scotland -
The key universal careers service for young people in Scotland is Skills Development Scotland.
All state schools partner with the organisation, who can access a team of qualified careers staff to deliver
drop-in services, one to one meetings and group activities as well as a range of online resources for teachers
to use in the classroom. The service also works with employers to deliver targeted outreach activities related
to particular industries.
Various services are funded by the UK and Scottish governments as well as the European Union, including
Skills Development Scotland and Jobcentre Plus, but provision and engagement in careers guidance
activities are significantly variable between regions. A
2020 strategy from the Scottish government sets out
plans to create “a national model for career education, information, advice and guidance services with
shared principles adopted across education, training and employability services”.
Northern Ireland -
All Northern Irish schools have a partnership agreement with the country’s careers
service. Schools and parents are advised to encourage students to use this service, particularly in years 10
and 12.
In 2015, a 5-year strategy was set jointly by the Department for Education and the Department for the
Economy for the whole population. Policy commitments in the strategy include re-introducing the statutory
duty of delivering careers education, improving work experience offered to young people and providing
additional support for disadvantaged groups.
12
The Gatsby benchmarks
In 2013, the Gatsby Foundation, led by Sir John Holman, put together a report outlining the
requirements for high quality careers guidance.
9
The report reviewed existing literature in the field and
visited independent schools to gather information about good practice. The authors also visited 6 other
countries (the Netherlands, Germany, Hong Kong, Finland, Canada and Ireland) who had been identified
as having both good career guidance offers in schools and strong educational results. The organisation
formulated a set of 8 criteria known as the Gatsby benchmarks (shown in Figure 1).
Figure 1: The Gatsby benchmarks
The benchmarks are designed to bring the varied elements of guidance that cover education, training
and employment into a coherent whole. This involves ‘push’ factors (such as individualised guidance
and discussing careers in the classroom) that are based in schools, and ‘pull’ factors (such as offering
visits to the workplace and running group workshops) that come from employers. Each benchmark has
associated indicators which can be used to measure progress. They have formed the core of the most
recent statutory guidance on careers guidance from the Department for Education.
A recent evaluation of the Gatsby benchmarks found that, when integrated into a school’s careers
provision, achieving the benchmarks can contribute to a significant improvement in students’ career
readiness.
10
On a wider level, a positive relationship was also seen with classroom engagement, as
9
J. Holman (2014) Good careers guidance. The Gatsby Charitable Foundation. Available at:
https://www.gatsby.org.uk/uploads/education/reports/pdf/gatsby-sir-john-holman-good-career-guidance-2014.pdf
10
J. Hanson
et al.
(2021) An evaluation of the North East of England pilot of the Gatsby Benchmarks of good careers guidance.
The University of Deby and the International Centre for Guidance Studies. Available at:
https://www.gatsby.org.uk/uploads/education/ne-pilot-evaluation-full-report.pdf
13
students were more aware of why they were learning particular topics and how the skills developed from
lessons link to future careers.
Statutory guidance
In 2015, the government published statutory guidance for schools and colleges for delivering careers
guidance, with an updated version published in 2021.
11
This followed a review led by CooperGibson
which highlighted that whilst a wide range of careers activities were taking place in most schools, the
most common forms of guidance were led by in-school staff during lesson time rather than qualified
careers staff.
12
The review also found that around half of respondents’ schools did not have formal links
with employers, 13% did not offer workplace visits and 8% did not offer work experience opportunities.
The review suggested more work considering students’ experiences with careers provision in schools,
targeted provision for individual needs and improved relationships between schools and employers.
The statutory guidance sets out the duty for all local-authority maintained schools to secure access to
impartial guidance for pupils from years 8 to 13 (ages 12 to 18), with securing independent guidance
for pupils a funding requirement for all further education (FE) and sixth form colleges. Most academies
and free schools also have duties regarding careers guidance in their funding agreements; if they do not,
they are still encouraged to follow government guidance as a sign of good practice.
Only two areas are legal requirements: offering impartial guidance and meeting the Baker Clause
(discussed below). Points preceded with ‘should’ are policies schools should follow unless there is a good
reason not to. One of these points is a recommendation for all schools to work towards a Quality in
Careers Standard award, which is awarded by the Quality in Careers consortium
(partly funded by the
DfE). To gain the award, schools must meet a set of assessment criteria that align to the Gatsby
benchmarks. In their statutory guidance, the DfE recommend that schools work towards achieving this
award. 32% of state secondary schools and 30% of colleges currently hold an award.
13
The work of the Career Development Institute (CDI) is also highlighted in the statutory guidance; a
professional body for all organisations working in the careers guidance field and also offer postgraduate-
level qualifications on careers.
14
Schools and colleges are encouraged to use the organisation’s Career
Development Framework (which clarifies the skills, knowledge and attitudes that individuals should
achieve from careers guidance) to shape their careers programme.
15
The guidance also states that schools
should follow the CDI’s recommendation of Careers Advisers being qualified to at least Level 6.
The guidance sets out suggestions for achieving all 8 of the Gatsby benchmarks and highlights
government policies that will help to facilitate this. The guidance also highlights the importance of a
Careers Leader and the benefits of being part of a Careers Hub; managed by the Careers and Enterprise
Company.
11
Department for Education (2021) Careers guidance and access for education and training providers. Gov.uk. Available at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/748474/181008_schools_stat
utory_guidance_final.pdf and Department for Education (2015) Careers guidance and access for education and training
providers. Available at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/7491
51/Careers_guidance-
Guide_for_colleges.pdf
12
S. Gibson
et al.
(2015) Mapping careers provision in schools and colleges in England. Department for Education. Available at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447134/Mapping_careers_prov
ision_in_schools_and_colleges_in_England.pdf
13
Award Holders. Quality in Careers. Accessed March 2022. Available at: https://www.qualityincareers.org.uk/what-is-the-quality-
in-careers-standard/award-holders/
14
About us. The Career Development Institute. Accessed March 2022. Available from: https://www.thecdi.net/About
15
T. Hooley (2021) Career Development Framework. The Career Development Institute. Available at:
https://www.thecdi.net/write/CDI_90-Framework-Career_Development_skills-web.pdf
14
Careers and Enterprise Company
The DfE set up the Careers and Enterprise Company in 2015 in order to link secondary education
providers and employers to deliver high quality careers guidance. Investment from the Department of
Education has increased since the organisation’s inception, when £6million was awarded, up to an
allocation of nearly £28million for 2021/22 (Table 1).
16
Table 1: Funding allocated by the Department for Education to the Careers and Enterprise
Company (2015/16 – 2021/22)
2015/16
2016/17
2017/18
2018/19
2019/20
2020/21
2021/22 (allocated)
£6m
£16m
£18.8m
£30.2m
£20.6m
£25.9m
£28m
The CEC offer a range of resources and tools to be used by Careers Leaders, as well as wider advice to
schools. The organisation suggest that a Careers Leader should ideally be a senior role within a school,
who oversees a school’s careers programme, ensuring progress is made towards the Gatsby benchmarks
and connecting the school to external partners.
17
The CEC also says that Careers Leaders should manage
or commission a Careers Adviser, who is responsible for delivering personal guidance either to individuals
or groups of pupils. A Careers Leader should also work with all staff and partners that are involved in a
school’s programme; for instance, they should collaborate with an enterprise adviser, who is a volunteer
from a business who can use their external expertise to shape a school’s careers programme.
18
This
voluntary opportunity is managed by a network of enterprise co-ordinators led by the CEC, who connect
business volunteers with schools.
Tools available to Careers Leaders include Compass, which allows a school to evaluate their careers
programme against the Gatsby benchmarks, and Compass+, which can be used to manage, track and
report on careers provision at an individual student level. Training for Careers Leaders is also offered by
CEC, where leaders can develop the skills and knowledge required to lead an extensive careers
programme. Ensuring all schools had a named Careers Leader by the end of 2020 was set as a key target
in the government’s most recent careers strategy, published in 2017 (discussed in more detail below).
Careers Hubs are also managed by the CEC. These are groups of 20 to 40 neighbouring secondary schools
who are joined together to work towards the Gatsby benchmarks; each Hub has a Lead to co-ordinate
activities, access to training bursaries and a central fund of around £1,000 per school or college.
19
They
are designed to connect education providers to employers, working locally to test, trial and evaluate
interventions that can be shared within the wider network of Hubs. As of December 2019, there were
32 Hubs that reached 1,300 schools, with further expansions of the programme announced in 2020
reaching almost half of state schools in England.
20
Being part of a Hub has been associated with a higher likelihood of working with employers; in a review
of the programme one year after its inception, 66% of schools in a Hub run regular encounters with
16
Department for Education Freedom of Information request. Responses received 2nd and 8th of November 2021.
17
The Careers and Enterprise Company. Understanding the role of the Careers Leader. Available at:
https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/media/uhtkww5h/understanding-careers-leader-role-careers-enterprise.pdf
18
The Careers and Enterprise Company. Become an Enterprise Adviser. Accessed March 2022. Available at:
https://enterpriseadviser.careersandenterprise.co.uk/
19
The Careers and Enterprise Company. Careers Hubs. Accessed March 2022. Available at:
https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/about-us/our-network/careers-hubs
20
LEP Network (2020) LEPs drive Careers Hubs extension to boost recovery. LEP network, 24 June. Available at:
https://lepnetwork.net/news-and-events/2020/june/leps-drive-careers-hubs-extension-to-boost-recovery/
15
employers compared to 33% of schools and colleges that are not in a Hub.
21
Research has also shown
that being part of a Hub increases the likelihood of a school holding a Quality in Careers Standard
award.
22
It is therefore encouraging that the rollout of Careers Hubs has been supported in the
government’s recent ‘Skills for Jobs’ white paper,
23
and funding has been awarded to the Careers and
Enterprise Company for a third rollout of the scheme, which will reach nearly half of all state schools.
24
Programme pilots in the primary education space have also been led by the Careers and Enterprise
Company. Working with the Centre for Education and Youth (CFEY), the CEC launched the Primary
Careers Resources Platform, which provides information and resources to help put career-related learning
into the curriculum and engage parents as well as external stakeholders in the area.
25
It also conducts
activities that can be run in primary classes. The CEC feature several reports in this area on their website,
showing that high quality careers guidance from a young age helps pupils to understand the relevance
of what they are learning and broadens pupil’s knowledge of career sectors that they would not typically
gain elsewhere at such an age.
26
In their 2020 review, the organisation highlighted that schools, colleges
and businesses across the country are starting to work together in this area, building good foundations
for economic recovery, but continued investment in the sector focusing on national rollout through
Careers Hubs is vital.
27
The Careers and Enterprise Company release a
‘State of the Nation’
report each year, which typically
looks at progress towards the Gatsby benchmarks and analyses key trends in the careers landscape over
the past year. The most recent report, published at end of 2021, reflected on the past 2 years and how
the Covid-19 pandemic affected careers provision.
28
Progress was seen in terms of coverage of careers
during lesson time and delivery of personal guidance – for example, around 80% of secondary schools
reported providing most students with a qualified Careers Adviser interview by the end of year 11 (up
from 74% in 2019). However, progress towards some benchmarks had receded – 39% of schools
reported that most of their students had access to a workplace experience by the end of year 11,
compared to 57% in 2019, although this is likely at least in part due to impacts of the pandemic. It is
also notable that progress over time is not reported for all benchmarks.
National Careers Service
Outside of provision in schools and colleges, the DfE also funds the National Careers Service (NCS).
Since 2012, the NCS has provided impartial online and over-the-phone advice on career options.
29
Whilst
young people can use this service, the NCS is an information source for anyone of working age, so is not
specifically tailored to an audience of students or school aged children.
21
Hutchinson, J.
et al
. (2019) Careers Hubs: One year on. The Careers and Enterprise Company. Available at:
https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/media/ku0akyn2/careers-hubs-one-year-on.pdf
22
The Careers and Enterprise Company. Compass results for the secondary schools and colleges in England with the Quality in
Careers Standard 2021. Accessed March 2022. Available at:
https://www.qualityincareers.org.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2022/01/Compass-results-and-Quality-in-Careers-Standard-7.1.2022.pdf
23
Department for Education (2021) Skills for jobs: lifelong learning for opportunity and growth. Available at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/957856/Skills_for_jobs_lifelon
g_learning_for_opportunity_and_growth__web_version_.pdf
24
LEP Network (2020) LEPs drive Careers Hubs extension to boost recovery. LEP network, 24 June. Accessed March 2022.
Available at: https://lepnetwork.net/news-and-events/2020/june/leps-drive-careers-hubs-extension-to-boost-recovery/
25
The Careers and Enterprise Company. Primary Careers Resources. Accessed March 2022. Available at: https://primary-
careers.careersandenterprise.co.uk/
26
Research. The Careers and Enterprise Company Primary Careers Resources. Accessed February 2022. Available at:
https://primary-careers.careersandenterprise.co.uk/practice/research
27
The Careers and Enterprise Company (2020) Careers Education in England’s schools and colleges 2020. Careers and
Enterprise Company. Available at:
https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/our-research/careers-education-englands-schools-and-
colleges-2020
28
The Careers and Enterprise Company (2021) 2021: Trends in careers education. Careers and Enterprise Company. Available
at: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/media/xadnk1hb/cec-trends-in-careers-education-2021.pdf
29
National Careers Service. Accessed March 2022. Available at: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/
16
The NCS budget was allocated by the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
(previously the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills; BIS) until 2017. Funding from the DfE
has been variable; £74.5 million was awarded in the 2017/18 financial year, with £70.4 million
allocated for 2021/22.
30
Funding ranged between £57 million and £64 million in the years between.
The skills assessment feature, consisting of an online test that suggests potential careers to users based
on their responses, has been a particularly hot topic in recent months due to job losses during the Covid-
19 pandemic. Those who had lost roles were encouraged to re-skill and re-train, with funding announced
in the government’s Plan For Jobs and a significant revamp of the platform set out in the Skills white
paper.
31
However, a previous government-commissioned review found no evidence of using the service
leading to a higher likelihood of employment (albeit there were more positive associations when
considering education and training pathways).
32
Indeed, after an additional £32 million was allocated to
the NCS in 2020, there have been several concerns around the current funding arrangements,
highlighted in an open letter to Gillian Keegan from over 90 signatories, including Careers England and
the Career Development Institute.
33
As set out in the Skills white paper, the government plans to improve the alignment between the NCS
and the CEC to create a more comprehensive system. However, commentators have flagged that this will
require bringing together two differing ways of working, which could be challenging, - currently, the NCS
works with subcontractors to target provision to specific cohorts of adults, such as NEETs, with the only
part of the service for young people being the website and phone service, whereas the CEC work more
closely with government departments.
34
The service has recently been updated to offer more content for young people – a hub was added in
January 2022 to provide a single hub of information on all post-16 pathways. A recent life skills
campaign,
Get The Jump
, has been launched to attract young people to the website.
35
Policy on technical education and apprenticeships
In January 2018, the Baker Clause was introduced to ensure all schools and colleges are offering
information on apprenticeships and other further education pathways, to recognise the importance of
technical educational routes.
36
The law states that schools should be ensuring pupils from year 8 to year
13 are receiving information advice on technical education and apprenticeships from a range of
employers and providers. This policy statement must be published on a school’s website.
30
Department for Education Freedom of Information request. Responses received 2nd and 8th of November 2021.
31
Department for Education (2021) Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth. Gov.uk. Available at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/957856/Skills_for_jobs_lifelon
g_learning_for_opportunity_and_growth__web_version_.pdf
32
M. Lane
et al
. (2017) An economic evaluation of the National Careers Service. Department for Education, gov.uk. Available at:
https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/28677/1/National_Careers_Service_economic_evaluation.pdf
or for a summary see: FE News (2017) An
economic evaluation of the National Careers Service. FE News. Available at: https://www.fenews.co.uk/fevoices/13607-an-
economic-evaluation-of-the-national-careers-service
33
Careers England, Careers Development Institute, Careers Research Advisory Centre (CRAC), University of Derby and
International Centre for Guidance Studies (2020) An open letter to the secretary of state for Apprenticeships and Skills.
Available at: https://www.careersengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Dear-Gillian-Keegan-Open-lettter-final-2-page.pdf
and
Careers England (2020) Risks to Rishi Sunak’s Extra Investment in Careers Advice in the ‘Plan For Jobs’. FE News, September
30. Available at: www.fenews.co.uk/featured-ar
ticle/55658-risks-to-rishi-sunak-s-extra-investment-in-careers-advice-in-the-plan-
for-jobs
34
J. Staufenberg (2021) Can the government fix the ‘confusing’ careers landscape? FE Week. Available at:
https://feweek.co.uk/can-the-government-fix-the-confusing-careers-landscape/
35
Explore your choices. National Careers Service. Accessed March 2022. Available at:
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-your-education-and-training-choices
36
J. Burke (2017) Baker clause: Schools obliged to let FE providers talk to pupils from January. FE Week. Available at:
https://feweek.co.uk/2017/11/23/baker-clause-schools-will-have-to-open-doors-to-fe-providers-from-january/
17
The Baker Clause also features in the House of Lord’s Skills and Post-16 Education Bill, whereby an
amendment from the government states that pupils should expect two mandatory visits from providers
of technical education and apprenticeships over the course of their secondary education.
37
However, the
plans have been criticised by the creator of the clause, Lord Baker, who has said the fact that the
government have reserved the right to specify further details in secondary legislation weakens the intent
of the proposals. A stronger clause was proposed by Lord Baker to make it obligatory for schools to
arrange three mandatory encounters with technical education and training providers over the course of
their secondary education,
38
however this amendment was scrapped by the government.
39
Information on apprenticeships and other technical education routes is available from the government’s
apprenticeships website, which offers online guidance for prospective apprentices as well as employers.
40
The DfE has also funded the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge for Schools and Colleges (ASK)
programme; a source of support in delivering information about apprenticeships, traineeships and T-
Levels for education providers.
41
Additionally in this space, organisations like Amazing Apprenticeships
offer online support, resources for education providers and conduct outreach activities.
42
The OfS also
has an online guide for degree apprenticeships,
43
and UCAS have a range of information and resources
available on their website.
44
The Sutton Trust itself has also launched its first ever Apprenticeship
Summer School to highlight the benefits and routes into degree level apprenticeships.
The Gatsby benchmarks also cover guidance on further technical education. Benchmark 7 states that all
pupils should understand all academic and vocational routes that are available to them, with the
expectation that by age 16 all pupils should have had at least one meaningful encounter with a provider
associated with each option. The Gatsby Foundation have argued that the embedding of their benchmarks
across different levels of education before post-16 is vital in order for young people to be able to be
prepared and informed to take up roles that arise as technical education as well as UK industry grow.
45
Without this, young people will not be equipped for the large number of technical jobs that are part of
the government’s industrial strategy.
46
Reviews and regulation
In 2017, the DfE published a careers strategy, aiming to improve social mobility, as part of the
government’s long term industrial strategy aiming to raise earning power and productivity.
47
The
document introduces a set of key milestones involving the expansion of programmes supported by the
CEC (notably including a new round of the CEC’s Investment Fund to target support at the most
disadvantaged groups), improvements to the NCS and offering at least one opportunity per year for all
37
Skills and Post-16 Education Bill. Paliamentary Bills, UK Parliament. Accessed March 2022. Available at:
https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/2868
38
S. Chowen (2021) Baker to take on government over ‘inadequate’ careers guidance laws. FE Week. Available at:
https://feweek.co.uk/baker-to-take-on-government-over-inadequate-careers-guidance-laws/
39
S. Chowen (2021) Government strips popular Lords amendments from Skills Bill. FE Week. Available at:
https://feweek.co.uk/government-strips-popular-lords-amendments-from-skills-bill/
40
HM Government. Connecting people with amibition to businesses with vision. Accessed March 2022. Available at:
https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/
41
HM Government. Influencers – the ASK programme. Accessed March 2022. Available at:
https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/influencers/ask-programme-resources
42
Amazing Apprenticeships. Accessed March 2022. Available at: https://amazingapprenticeships.com/about-us/
43
Office for Students. Degree apprenticeships – guide for apprentices. Accessed March 2022. Available at:
https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/degree-apprenticeships-guide-for-apprentices/
44
UCAS. Apprenticeships. Interested in apprenticeships? Find out everything you need to know. Accessed March 2022.
Available at: https://www.ucas.com/understanding-apprenticeships
45
The Gatsby Charitable Foundation. Good careers guidance. Accessed March 2022. Available at:
https://www.gatsby.org.uk/education/focus-areas/good-career-guidance
46
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. (2017) Industrial Strategy: the 5 foundations. Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-strategy-the-foundations/industrial-strategy-the-5-foundations
47
Department for Education (2017) Careers strategy: making the most of everyone’s skills and talents. Gov.uk. Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-strategy-making-the-most-of-everyones-skills-and-talents
18
students to interact with employers. All milestones in the strategy were set out to be achieved by the end
of 2020 – although no evaluation has yet been published to indicate whether the aims of the strategy
have been met.
There has not yet been an updated careers strategy published by the government. However there have
been some significant policy changes outlined in other documents. As part of the government’s recent
Skills for Jobs white paper, careers guidance in schools is set to become compulsory for year 7s upwards,
with updated statutory guidance due to be published.
48
There are also calls for careers guidance to
become mandatory for even younger age groups; for instance, the House of Lords Youth Unemployment
Committee want to see careers education compulsory from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 4.
49
This call comes
alongside a recommendation for the government to ensure that the curriculum covers the knowledge and
skills that are relevant to both emerging and existing sectors in the economy which are currently
experiencing skills gaps and shortages.
The Skills white paper also stated that the Careers Hub rollout would continue and more investment
would be made in Careers Leaders through the CEC, with the work of the CEC becoming more closely
aligned with that of the National Careers Service. Although these new policies have been welcomed,
some MPs want to see better links between the CEC and schools so that pupils can access knowledge of
other careers that their teachers may not know about.
50
Concerns over a lack of clear timelines for
improvements to the CEC in the white paper as well as the level of influence the organisation has over
schools were also flagged in a House of Lords debate in 2021.
51
Careers guidance was also mentioned in a section of the Augar Review, published in 2019 focusing on
post-18 education and funding.
52
Although the review’s main focus is higher education, one of the
recommendations is for the government’s careers strategy to be rolled out nationwide across all secondary
schools, with funding increased to a level which allows all schools to be part of a Careers Hub and all
Careers Leaders to receive further training, so that young people can be well informed about the post-18
options available. The review also calls for schools to be held to account for their provision, ensuring that
the requirement of apprenticeship and technical education providers to visit all schools is being met.
Moreover, the Labour Party have pledged to give all schools access to a professional Careers Adviser at
least one day per week and introduce two weeks of compulsory work experience.
53
Careers guidance is also mentioned briefly in the government’s levelling up strategy document, published
in February 2021.
54
Unifying local delivery partners from the Department for Work and Pensions and the
48
Department for Education (2021) Skills for jobs: lifelong learning for opportunity and growth. Gov.uk. Available at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/957856/Skills_for_jobs_lifelon
g_learning_for_opportunity_and_growth__web_version_.pdf
49
House of Lords, Youth Unemployment Committee (2021) Skills for every young person. Report of sessions 2021-22. Available
at:
https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/506/youth-unemployment-committee/news/159184/urgent-action-needed-to-
tackle-and-prevent-youth-unemployment/
50
Esther McVey- Hansard Extract (Careers Guidance in Schools) Bill. Commons Chamber. Available at:
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2021-09-10/debates/B2372DF6-9B7A-4534-A07D-
3649824F7901/Education(CareersGuidanceInSchools)Bill?highlight=careers#contribution-29F26518-54AC-4831-A016-
C5F06D5DB207
51
Lord Patel – Hansard extract. House of Lords. Available at: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2021-07-
19/debates/AEC59D02-6B02-425C-B795-10908C197C83/SkillsAndPost-16EducationBill(HL)?highlight=cec#contribution-
ADA2B02D-F2F6-463E-94E0-52580B648BCE
52
Department for Education (2019) Post-18 review of education and funding: independent panel report. Gov.uk. Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/post-18-review-of-education-and-funding-independent-panel-report
53
Labour Party (2021) Labour would make sure every child leaves school job-ready and life-ready. Available at:
https://labour.org.uk/press/labour-would-make-sure-every-child-leaves-school-job-ready-and-life-ready/
54
HM Government (2022) Levelling up the United Kingdom. Gov.uk. Available at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1052706/Levelling_Up_WP_H
RES.pdf
19
DfE, including careers services, is pledged in order to support people into jobs that fulfil local skills
needs.
In terms of regulation, the schools inspectorate Ofsted report on personal development, which is where
career information and guidance sits.
55
Schools should be providing an effective careers programme in
line with the government’s statutory guidance on careers guidance that offers pupils information on a
variety of career options and what is needed to succeed in them.
56
The House of Lords Youth Unemployment Committee, the House of Commons Education Select
Committee and the think tank IPPR have all suggested that Ofsted should assess compliance with the
Clause, with suggestions also made that local authorities should work with local employers and directly
contact parents with wide ranging advice not just focussed on technical education. This year, Ofsted
penalised a school for the first time for failing the Baker Clause, indicating that the body may have
listened to the calls for the clause to be a consideration in the inspection process.
57
Indeed, in the recent
Skills white paper, the DfE pledged they will be tougher on schools not complying with the clause.
58
The Covid-19 pandemic has also shaped recent policy developments in the careers guidance field, as
have immigration specific labour market issues following both Brexit and the pandemic. As the country’s
economy recovers from the pandemic, adapts to Brexit, and the government works towards its ‘Levelling
Up’ strategy, the importance of careers guidance has also come to the forefront, with increased funding
for careers guidance being part of the chancellor’s Plan For Jobs. An extra £32 million was announced
for the National Careers Service as part of the Covid-19 recovery package, which came with a pledge to
reach over 250,000 more young people (although, the way that this funding was allocated made it
difficult for the service to actually spend it).
59
New Youth Hubs have also been set up for young people
to find training and job opportunities.
60
These changes are vital to ensure young people have the right
information and advice for an ever-changing job market.
Gaining an insight into the current state of play in the careers guidance space is key to understanding
the feasibility of achieving the aims set out in these documents. It is clear that there has been a large
amount of change since the Sutton Trust last looked at this policy area, including the creation of the
Careers and Enterprise Company and the introduction of new statutory guidance for schools and colleges.
While many of these individual strands of careers guidance are positive, as it stands, there is not a clear
careers strategy that brings all of the important aspects of careers advice and guidance together, and
how these changes are translating into the provision available within schools is less clear.
55
Ofsted (2018) Ofsted: schools, early years, further education and skills. Building confidence, encouraging aspiration. Available
at: https://educationinspection.blog.gov.uk/2018/06/12/building-confidence-encouraging-aspiration/
56
Ofsted (2019) School inspection handbook. Gov.uk. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-
inspection-handbook-eif
57
B. Camden (2020). Ofsted raps first school over Baker Clause. FE Week. Available at:
https://feweek.co.uk/2020/05/15/school-slammed-by-ofsted-after-failing-baker-clause/
and F. Whieldon (2021) Pressure mounts
on Ofsted to limit grades by Baker Clause compliance. FE Week. Available at: https://feweek.co.uk/pressure-mounts-on-ofsted-to-
limit-grades-by-baker-clause-compliance/
58
F. Whittaker. (2021) DfE to toughen up Baker Clause and extend careers requirement to year 7s. Schools Week. Available at:
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/dfe-to-toughen-up-baker-clause-and-extend-careers-requirement-to-year-7s/
59
T. Hooley. (2020) Gillian Keegan needs to free the National Careers Service to do its job. FE Week. Available at:
https://www.fenews.co.uk/exclusive/gillian-keegan-needs-to-free-the-national-careers-service-to-do-its-job/
60
Department for Work and Pensions (2021) Over 110 new Youth Hubs offer job help. Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/over-110-new-youth-hubs-offer-job-help
20
Existing evidence on careers education
The following section looks at what is known in the research literature on what makes for good quality
careers guidance, existing issues with provision and potential barriers, with a focus on guidance in
schools.
For disadvantaged young people, a significant barrier to their desired career is having access to
information about what a particular path involves and the best subjects to study in order to access it.
Those from poorer backgrounds are also less likely to know about the range of career choices on offer in
the first place. Knowledge of particular careers or subject choices can often come from sources both
inside and outside of the classroom, such as friends and family, but it is those from the poorest
backgrounds who are least likely to receive such insights. As a result, they may have lower aspirations
for their future career that do not reflect their potential.
High quality careers guidance from a school or college can open the door to a post-16 pathway that a
young person from a lower socioeconomic background would not have otherwise known about.
Alternatively, when it comes to the most competitive careers such as law, politics or medicine, they may
be aware of the roles but not be sure of the pathway to reach them. Indeed, previous research has found
that careers guidance in schools is the main source of guidance for students who grew up in families
where the top earners were in low-skilled roles and-or had not gone to university,
61
and advice received
can overcome barriers that are created by socioeconomic background. But currently, access to such
provision appears to be a postcode lottery.
62
The value of careers guidance
Receiving high quality careers guidance can have an effect not just on the years following education but
also much further into the life course. In a comprehensive, international literature review by the
Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), 67% of the papers reviewed provided robust evidence that
activities like work-related learning positively impacted economic outcomes and 62% found a positive
association with social outcomes such as career maturity (the level of preparedness for making career-
related decisions) and career identity (the ability to link interests and skills to particular careers).
63
Furthermore, the review concluded that disadvantaged students were more likely to be unsure regarding
choosing the correct qualifications to match their ideal career. The research makes it clear that careers
guidance provided in education settings has the potential to reach all students and, when tailored to
individual needs, can meet the needs of students looking for guidance regarding their next steps.
The OECD have also produced a wealth of research in this space. A recent report on teenagers’ career
expectations, analysing data from 41 countries, has found that there is a misalignment with young
people’s aspirations and the qualifications they think are required to access them.
64
It also finds that
high attaining disadvantaged young people are less likely to hold ‘ambitious’ aspirations compared to
high attainers from privileged backgrounds. The report highlights the need for careers guidance to cover
the qualifications required for particular pathways, as well as opportunities to experience encounters
61
G. Haynes
et al
. (2012) Young people’s decision making; the importance of high quality school-based careers education,
information, advice and guidance. Research Papers in Education. Available at:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02671522.2012.727099
62
A. G. Watts, J. Matheson and T.Hooley (2014) Advancing Ambitions. The Sutton Trust. Available at:
https://www.suttontrust.com/our-research/advancing-ambitions/
63
D. Hughes
et al.
(2016) Careers education: international literature review. The Education Endowment Foundation. Available
at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Presentations/Publications/Careers_review.pdf
64
A. Mann
et al.
(2020) Dream Jobs? Teenagers career aspriations and the future of work. The OECD. Available at:
https://www.oecd.org/education/dream-jobs-teenagers-career-aspirations-and-the-future-of-work.htm
21
with employers. Additionally, the OECD highlighted the importance of covering the labour market
changes associated with the Covid-19 pandemic in the guidance delivered in schools, and recommended
that individual guidance should be tailored to account for this.
65
They have warned that in previous times
of economic turbulence it was disadvantaged students who were more likely to experience poor levels of
career readiness.
The importance of starting early
The evidence review from the OECD concluded that careers guidance is most successful when advice is
personalised to individuals and is accessed from an early age, before starting secondary school. The
value of careers guidance activities from an early stage is also made clear in a large-scale, global study
by the charity Education and Employers, which found that the patterns in ideal jobs of 7 year-olds are
often reflected in the choices made by 17 year olds.
66
The study identified that nearly 2 in 5 (36%) of
primary school children under the age of 7 base their aspirations on people they know, with a significant
proportion on the remaining children (45%) saying they were influenced by the media, such as TV and
film. Less than 1% of children said that visitors to their school had told them about a career. In the UK
specifically, whilst career aspirations were similar across levels of deprivation overall, several high-
earning professions (such as engineers, lawyers and vets) are more likely to be aspired to by students in
more affluent schools.
These findings are particularly concerning, given that disadvantaged young children are less likely to
have friends and family from a wide range of careers (particularly those that are paid highly) to influence
their aspirations at a young age and, as the Education and Employers report discusses, this could
negatively impact their labour market choices later on in life. By educating children about careers from
a young age, connections between the classroom and careers as an adult can be established, and any
stereotypes associated with gender, ethnicity and class can be broken down.
67
Guidance on options for the future is important not only in primary school, but also in the early years of
secondary school. Based on analysis of a survey of 18 to 20 year-olds in the UK, UCAS found that 1 in
3 students begin to think about higher education when in primary school, with disadvantaged students
1.4 times less likely to do so compared to more affluent peers.
68
The report also highlighted the
importance of individual guidance when it comes to deciding which subjects to study at school - two in
five students felt more information and advice would have led to them making better subject choices to
match their degree, with these students almost three times as likely to report not being able to study a
degree course that might have interested them at university or college due to not holding the necessary
subjects (30% of students vs. 11% of students). Based on their findings, UCAS have called for broader,
personalised guidance to be available from a young age, with more targeted outreach activities taking
place in primary schools and the lower years of secondary school.
65
A. Mann, V. Denis and C. Percy (2020) Career Ready? How schools can better prepare young people for working life in the era
of COVID-19. Available at: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/career-ready_e1503534-en
66
N. Chambers
et al.
(2018) Drawing the future. Education and Employers. Available at:
https://www.educationandemployers.org/drawing-the-future-report-published/
67
P. Musset and L. Mytna Kurekova (2018)Working it out: Career Guidance and Employer Engagement, OECD Education
Working Papers, No. 175, OECD. Available at:
https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/working-it-out_51c9d18d-
en;jsessionid=cHcPcm6vhEE-YBCs9kJx_G5y.ip-10-240-5-92
68
UCAS (2011) Where next? What influences the choices school leavers make? UCAS. Available at:
https://www.ucas.com/file/435551/download?token=VUdIDVFh
22
Regional inequalities
The fragmented nature of careers guidance, across not just England but the whole of the UK, often
appears in the literature, with regional patterns of careers provision often mirroring patterns of social
class, which could be exacerbating inequalities.
69
Regional variation has also been seen in previous
research looking at engagement with employers, with levels of recalled engagements by those under the
age of 25 who have left school 22% higher in the South East of England than in Scotland and North
East England.
70
There are also sector specific challenges. For example, in a report on innovation and invention, NESTA
found that less than 1.5% of schools are currently involved in schemes aimed to attract students to
inventing, with those in the South twice as likely to have taken part compared to students in the
Midlands.
71
It was also found that schools with better-off pupil populations were more likely to be involved
and are six times as likely to send pupils to invention competitions and then reach the final. Although
this research only considers one particular area, it provides insight into the regional inequalities in STEM-
related provision, and highlights important improvements. The organisation has called for better co-
ordination between schools and providers; one way of doing this could be for businesses to create long-
term relationships with local schools. Similarly, the Local Government Association (LGA) have called for
funding and control of employment schemes to go to back to local authorities to bring the ‘patchwork’
of careers activities to an end (they previously held responsibility before the implementation of the 2011
Education Act and the dissolution of the Connexions service).
72
Previous research has also identified a link between Ofsted ratings and Gatsby benchmark performance,
with higher-rated schools performing better,
73
further emphasising the view that careers guidance is a
postcode lottery. But it may be wrong to assume that lower-rated schools do not have any careers
education provision in place; it is common to see that careers services have self-referral systems, which
could disadvantage those who are less aware of the value of careers guidance and the variety of advice
available.
74
Guidance can also be affected by biases of both schools and careers staff, such as
encouraging children to choose post-16 options at the school they are currently at,
75
or unconscious bias
leading to lower-ability pathways being suggested for students that are in fact capable of more.
76
Insight to the workplace
A key part of careers guidance is young people getting to speak to employers and visit workplaces to find
out what particular careers are like. This is particularly important for those interested in an
apprenticeship, as they will be entering a workplace whilst also studying. Previous research has shown
69
J. Moote and L. Archer (2018) Failing to deliver? Exploring the current status of career education provision in England,
Research Papers in Education, 33:2, 187-215. Available at:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02671522.2016.1271005
70
A. Mann
et al.
(2016) Contemporary transitions: Young Britons reflect on life after secondary school and college. Education
and Employers. Available at:
https://www.educationandemployers.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Contemporary-Transitions-30-
1-2017.pdf
71
M. Gabriel
et al.
(2018) Opportunity Lost: How inventive potential is squandered and what to do about it. Nesta. Available at:
https://www.nesta.org.uk/report/opportunity-lost-how-inventive-potential-squandered-and-what-do-about-it/
72
LGA (2019) Thousands of young people missing out on vital careers support, Councils warn. Policy Mogul, 29 October.
Available at:
https://policymogul.com/key-updates/5441/thousands-of-young-people-missing-out-on-vital-careers-support-
councils-warn
73
R. Long and S. Hubble (2018) Careers guidance in schools, colleges and universities. House of Commons Library, Briefing
Paper 07236. House of Commons. Available at: https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/30886/1/CBP-7236%20.pdf
74
J. Moote and L. Archer (2018) Failing to deliver? Exploring the current status of career education provision in England,
Research Papers in Education, 33:2, 187-215. Available
at:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02671522.2016.1271005
75
N. Foskett
et al.
(2008) The influence of the school in the decision to participate in learning post-16. British Educational
Research Journal 34, no. 1: 37–61. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01411920701491961
76
G. Haynes
et al.
(2005) Equality and pathfinders, Occupational Segregation Working Paper Series No. 36. Manchester, NH.
Equal Opportunities Commission. Available at: https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/7285/1/RW37.pdf
23
that significant interaction with employers whilst at school is associated with higher likelihood of
optimism surrounding job prospects after leaving school;
77
notably, careers talks at ages 14 and 15 have
been particularly associated with improved wage outcomes in later life.
78
When education providers and
employers work collaboratively, these interactions are particularly impactful.
79
Furthermore, engagement
with employers between ages 14 and 19 has been found to add 4.1% to a young person’s salary, with
those who had at least four occasions of engagement seeing a 16.4% boost to their income as young
adults.
80
With fewer young people gaining labour market experience and interaction with employers
through paid work (in 1997 42% of 16-17 years olds had a part time job whilst in education compared
to only 18% in 2014),
81
schools and colleges have an increasingly important role, so that young people
do not miss out on the opportunities interactions with employers can provide.
Completing work experience is another great way to gain an insight into the workplace, and to develop
the skills required to succeed at work. Indeed, the importance of work experience was previously
highlighted in a government social mobility strategy.
82
A piece by the organisation Education and
Employers found that completing work experience can also help students to make decisions about
particular careers; experiencing a workplace environment can help to break down stereotypes and
perceptions of a particular industry and may also highlight to someone whether a particular career is for
them, allowing them (if the placement is undertaken early) to change their education plans.
83
It also
highlights the value that competing a placement can have to young people in terms of skill development,
including communication and teamwork.
Furthermore, careers guidance can help young people understand the labour market and the kinds of
jobs they can access. As part of their research on young children’s career aspirations (discussed
previously), Education and Employers raised concerns that aspirations of children in the UK did not
mirror projected workforce needs, which could have economic consequences particularly for engineering
and nursing.
84
Additionally, a survey of over 7,000 14 to 18 year olds in the UK found that the careers
many young people aspire to do not match the opportunities available in the labour market; for example,
the number of respondents who aspire to work in the arts sector is five times higher than the average
number of roles available.
85
The research also finds association between participating in a range of
careers-related activities and having career aspirations that are better connected to the labour market. It
is highly important that careers guidance efficiently covers a range of labour market sectors, particularly
those where there is likely to be a wide range of available roles in the coming years.
77
Deloitte UK & Education and Employers Taskforce (2010) Helping Young People Succeed: How
Employers Can Support Careers Education. Education and Employers. Available at:
https://www.educationandemployers.org/wp-
content/uploads/2014/06/deloitte-eet-young-people-succeed-report-final.pdf
78
E.T. Kashefpakdel and C. Percy (2017) Career education that works: an economic analysis using the British Cohort Study.
Journal of Education and Work, 30:3, 217-234 Available at:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13639080.2016.1177636
79
M. Kuijpers(2019) Career guidance in collaboration between schools and work organisations. British Journal of Guidance &
Counselling, 47:4, 487-497. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03069885.2018.1548007
80
A Mann
et al.
(2017) Contemporary transitions: Young Britons reflect on life after secondary school and college. Education
and employers research. Available at:
https://www.educationandemployers.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Contemporary-
Transitions-30-1-2017-1.pdf
81
DR D. Hughes OBE
et al.
(2016) Careers education: International Literature Review. Education Endowment Foundation.
Available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Presentations/Publications/Careers_review.pdf
82
Cabinet Office and Deputy Prime Minister’s Office (2011) Opening doors, breaking barriers: a strategy for social mobility. HM
Government. Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/opening-doors-breaking-barriers-a-strategy-for-social-
mobility
83
A. Mann (2012) Work Experience: Impact and Delivery – Insights from the Evidence. Education and Employers Taskforce.
Available at:
https://www.preparingforadulthood.org.uk/downloads/employment/work-experience-impact-and-delivery--insights-
from-the-evidence.htm
84
N. Chambers
et al.
(2018) Drawing the future. Education and Employers. Available at:
https://www.educationandemployers.org/drawing-the-future-report-published/
85
N. Chambers
et al.
(2020) Disconnected: Career aspirations and jobs in the UK. Education and Employers. Available at:
https://www.educationandemployers.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Disconnected-Career-aspirations-and-jobs-in-the-UK.pdf
24
The Sutton Trust has previously published a guide for employers to improve social mobility in their
workforce,
86
covering how best to work with schools and colleges to offer work placements and insight
opportunities. The guide advises employers to look beyond their local area, working with both teachers
and organisations already working with young people where possible to ensure disadvantaged students
are targeted appropriately.
Further and technical education
High quality careers guidance should cover a range of pathways through education, including T-Levels
and apprenticeships, and should demonstrate the potential value of taking such paths. However, current
evidence suggests that young people are not receiving sufficient information about these different
qualification routes. Our recent report on apprenticeship outreach found that 1 in 4 apprentices aged
between 16 and 24 thought the application process was difficult to navigate, 14% had received no
information before starting their apprenticeship.
87
Furthermore, our previous research in 2018 found
that 64% of teachers would rarely or never advise a high performing student to opt for an apprenticeship,
and 37% of these teachers stated that this was because of lack of information.
88
The most recent review
of the Baker Clause from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in 2019 additionally found that
only 2 in 5 schools were complying by the clause’s requirements.
89
In their report, the organisation called
for an online toolkit to be created for technical education advice.
Aside from apprenticeships, a study looking at careers guidance 14–19 Diploma (offered from 2008 to
2013 in England (designed to offer a more applied learning style) found that only 26% were aware of
the careers that were accessible by completing the diploma and 19% knew the courses that graduates
could do.
90
Furthermore, only 46% of a sample of 477 students believed they made the correct
qualification choices in year 9 by the time they had finished their diploma studies, and a strong
correlation was also found between the quality of careers guidance and levels of satisfaction with the
diploma. Although students can no longer take this qualification, the context applies to other vocational
qualifications, such as an apprenticeship. Without the appropriate advice, students may lack
understanding of a particular qualification, which could negatively impact both engagement and take
up.
Wider support
Outside of education, social and cultural capital, such as parental influence, also shapes young people’s
aspirations and awareness of career pathways. This influence can work both ways, with potential for
young people to be exposed to careers they may not have heard of before whilst alternatively being
persuaded to choose another path, which could be a positive or negative influence. A paper from the
Cabinet Office, drawing on data from the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE),
concluded that household and extended family members have a significant influence on a child’s career
aspirations, with low aspirations associated with growing up in a deprived environment.
91
Indeed, analysis
86
The Sutton Trust (2020) Social mobility in the workplace: an employer’s guide. Sutton Trust. Available at:
https://www.suttontrust.com/our-research/social-mobility-in-the-workplace-an-employers-guide/
87
K. Doherty and E. Holt-White (2021) Apprenticeship outreach. Sutton Trust. Available at: https://www.suttontrust.com/our-
research/apprenticeship-outreach/
88
The Sutton Trust (2018) Apprenticeship polling 2018. Sutton Trust. Available at:
https://www.suttontrust.com/ourresearch/apprenticeship-polling-2018/
89
D. Hochlaf and J. Dromey (2019) The Baker Clause: One Year One. IPPR. Available at: https://www.ippr.org/files/2019-01/the-
baker-clause-one-year-on-january19.pdf
90
G.Haynes
et al.
(2013) Young people’s decision-making: the importance of high quality school-based careers education,
information, advice and guidance. Research Papers in Education, 28:4, 459-482. Available at:
https://www.tandfonline.com/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1080%2F02671522.2012.727099
91
Cabinet Office (2008) Aspiration and attainment amongst young people in deprived communities. Communities and Local
Government. Available at: https://lx.iriss.org.uk/sites/default/files/resources/Aspiration%20and%20attainment.pdf
25
of PISA data found that children from more advantaged backgrounds are more like to aspire to
professional roles, whilst disadvantaged students are more likely to want to be technicians.
92
Activities outside of school can also have an influence on the decisions young people make regarding
their education. For instance, in a study using data from the Understanding Society cohort study on
pupils aged 10-16, below average participation in cultural activities was associated with a 14% increase
in the odds of not wanting to go to university and a 20% increase in perceiving GCSEs to be
unimportant.
93
Above average participation in cultural activities was associated with a 23% decrease in
the odds of choosing a non-education post-16 pathway, such as employment or training. However,
participation in these cultural activities, like visiting a museum, were more likely in wealthier families,
an issue which has also been explored in previous Sutton Trust research.
94
Guidance should also be tailored to support students from different socioeconomic backgrounds.
Sometimes young people from poorer families can regard the views of their family and other connections
more highly than the views of other sources, which may be challenging if their families’ information
sources are limited.
95
Indeed, it has been argued that whilst careers provision in schools can act as a
proxy for the guidance more advantaged students may receive from their family and friends, social capital
from families often has a stronger influence, particularly in disadvantaged families where there may be
more pressure on securing earnings or to go into a certain career.
96
Guidance that bridges between what
is offered during education and the social capital offered by family, friends and others is seen to be the
most impactful for disadvantaged students.
97
It is therefore important to not only investigate the quality
of careers services in education providers but also to consider other sources of guidance, such as family
and friends, to truly understand the differences in careers advice and guidance between students of
different social classes.
92
P. Musset and L. Mytna Kurekova (2018) Working it out: Career Guidance and Employer Engagement. OECD Education
Working Papers, No. 175. OECD. Available at:
https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/51c9d18d-
en.pdf?expires=1612542190&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=F6215D4D8ED4C34D8B8BA9399D832D68
93
D. Hartas (2016) Young people’s educational aspirations : psychosocial factors and the home environment. Journal of Youth
Studies, 19 (9). pp. 1145-1163. Available at: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/77073/
94
C. Cullinane and R. Montacute (2017) Life Lessons. Sutton Trust. Available at: https://www.suttontrust.com/our-research/life-
lessons-workplace-skills/
95
A. Houghton
et al.
(2020) Delivering careers guidance in English secondary schools: Policy versus practice. British Journal of
Educational Studies. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00071005.2020.1734533?src=recsys
96
A. Mann
et al.
(2018) “Socialised social capital? The capacity of schools to use careers provision to compensate for social
capital deficiencies among teenagers.” In Essays on Employer Engagement in Education. Eds, A. Mann
et al.
(pp. 68–83).
London: Routledge. Available at: https://www.educationandemployers.org/research/socialised-social-capital/
97
A. Mann
et al.
(2018) Socialised social capital? The capacity of schools to use careers provision to compensate for social
capital deficiencies among teenagers (summary page). Education and Employers. Available at:
https://www.educationandemployers.org/research/socialised-social-capital/
26
Methodology
The data section of this report examines current provision in secondary schools. Primary data has been
collected from teachers (with breakdowns here for sub-groups of teachers including senior leaders and
Careers Leaders) and secondary school students from the sources outlined below.
Teachers
Teachers in England were polled between the 22
nd
and 26
th
of October 2021 using the platform Teacher
Tapp. The sample is made up of 3,140 teachers; out of those where the relevant information is available,
2,884 work at state secondary schools and 249 work at private secondary schools. Overall figures apply
to state schools only, unless otherwise stated. The sample is weighted to represent the teaching
population of England.
School affluence is determined by the proportion of the school’s pupils who are eligible for free school
meals, with schools being divided into quartiles.
Questions for teachers on resources for giving guidance and advice were taken from a wider set of
questions that were part of a National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) survey. NFER
surveyed teachers across England in March 2021 as part of the Teacher Voice Omnibus Surveys run
three times a year, in the autumn, spring and summer terms. The panel is representative of teachers
from the full range of roles in primary and secondary schools, from head teachers to newly qualified class
teachers. A panel of 1,535 practicing teachers from 1,349 schools in the publicly funded sector in
England completed the survey.
Teachers completed the survey online between the 12th and the 17
th
of March 2021. 719 were
secondary school teachers whilst the remainder worked at primary schools, which were excluded from
the sample. 524 respondents were classroom teachers and 195 were members of senior leadership.
Here, free school meal eligibility data was used to divide schools into quintiles.
Careers Leaders
The views of Careers Leaders were gathered in two ways; through an online survey, and as a sub-group
from the Teacher Tapp data outlined above. Both methods resulted in small sample sizes, so conclusions
from this data should be treated with caution.
59 self-identifying Careers Leaders working in a secondary school or college completed a voluntary survey
on the platform Form Assembly between the 3
rd
and 23
rd
of November 2021. The survey was advertised
on the Careers and Enterprise Company’s newsletter as well as the company’s social media platform.
Respondents had to self-confirm their Careers Leader status to be able to complete the survey, which
consisted of a combination of both open and closed questions. 31 worked in a secondary school and 7
worked in a college or sixth form, with the remainder of the sample working in both. Findings were
exported into Excel, and open questions were then analysed to identify common themes. For closed
questions, percentages were calculated to identify the most common responses.
Additionally, results from the polling carried out by Teacher Tapp were filtered to only include teachers
who had identified themselves as Careers Leaders. This reduced the sample to 65 responses.
Findings from both the Careers and Enterprise Company survey and the Teacher Tapp polling were
compared to ensure that any themes identified were similar across both datasets. The questions used
were largely consistent across the two surveys, but the following additional topics were a part of the
Careers and Enterprise Company survey only: the strength of provision in particular areas (GCSE options;
27
A level options; apprenticeships and technical qualifications; higher education; STEM subject specific
guidance for future careers and key employment sectors in the local area) and how careers guidance
could be improved nationally.
Students
In order to investigate careers guidance across secondary education, we surveyed school and college
pupils from years 7 to 13 and the equivalent year groups in the devolved UK nations.
The polling sample was made up of 1,083 pupils aged between 11 and 18, surveyed between the 4
th
of
November 2021 and the 10
th
of November 2021. The sample was selected from the YouGov panel, with
questions answered online. Questions covered the careers guidance activities participants had previously
taken part in, the school years during which they received guidance and how useful participants thought
the guidance was in relation to particular topics, such as choosing school subjects and future career
paths. The data has been weighted to be representative of 11- to 18-year-olds as a whole.
In order to calculate breakdowns by socio-economic background, those taking part in the survey were
asked about the occupation of the main earner in their household when they were 16 years old. The
responses were then used to determine a social grade, a classification based on occupation, developed
for the National Readership Survey. Social grade is one of the most common ways to determine
socioeconomic status based on occupation, splitting responses into two groups; ABC1 and C2DE. ABC1
represents ‘middle’ class (here also referred to as higher socio-economic class, or as individuals from
better-off backgrounds), and C2DE - 'working' class (also referred to here as those from lower socio-
economic or poorer backgrounds). When interpreting results from these groups, it should be noted that
as these are two broad groups; it is likely they underestimate the diversity within them.
For one question, where respondents were asked if particular sources of guidance had been helpful when
deciding which subjects and qualifications to choose, the sample was re-contacted in order to have the
correct base of just those in years 10 to 13. The recontact sample was again made up of 1083 students,
422 of which were in years 10 to 13.
28
Current provision
Activities on offer
Senior leaders
Teachers were asked to state whether a set of 10 key activities, that align largely with the Gatsby
benchmarks, currently take place at their school. We focus first on senior leaders (SLT), as the teachers
likely to have the best view of activities across a school.
As shown in Figure 2, at least two thirds of state school senior leaders said that the majority of the
careers activities listed took place in their school or college, with the most common being sessions with
a Careers Adviser (85%) and the least common being teacher-led careers sessions (52%).
Figure 2: Senior leaders on the career activities available within their school
Only 14% of senior leaders said that all 10 of the activities listed took place in their school or college;
47% said at least 8, 36% said 5 to 7 and 16% said that only 1 to 4 of these activities took place.
Variation also appeared when looking between regions. Most notably, college/training provider open days,
visits or events were 29 percentage points less likely to be reported in London (45%) compared to the
North West (74%). Whilst 57% of teachers working in the South West said work experience placements
were arranged for pupils through the school, 46% said the same in the South East.
1%
52%
55%
62%
64%
68%
71%
73%
80%
84%
85%
None of these
Teacher-led careers sessions
Work experience placements arranged
through the school
A structured careers programme with a
member/team of staff responsible
Mock interviews/CV workshops
University open days, visits or events
Visits, talks or events on
apprenticeships
College/training provider open days,
visits or events
Links to possible careers within
curriculum lessons
Employer talks, career fairs and/or
events
Pupils have sessions with a careers
adviser
29
Careers Leaders
Looking only at responses from Careers Leaders (in both the Teacher Tapp and the self-selecting survey
delivered via the Career and Enterprise Company), responses were broadly similar to those seen for senior
leaders, although reporting of some activities were higher amongst Careers Leaders.
For example, while 77% of senior leaders said links to potential careers were occurring within curriculum
lessons, this was higher, at over 85% for Careers Leaders. Similarly, while 69% of senior leaders said
talks or events on apprenticeships were taking place, again this was over 85% for the group of Careers
Leaders surveyed.
These differences may be due to the self-selected sample of Careers Leaders used in the Careers and
Enterprise Company survey, and the fact that Careers Leaders may have greater awareness of activities
taking place in their school.
Careers Leaders in the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) delivered survey were also able to report
other activities which weren’t listed in our polling questions. Other activities they reported to be taking
place included alumni talks, destination tracking of alums, sessions for parents and work shadowing.
Teachers
Looking at all teachers (excluding senior leaders), the proportions reporting each activity were lower
overall, most likely because not all teachers have the same level of insight on what is happening across
the school as those in senior roles. However, for some activities where classroom teachers would be
expected to have better insight that senior leaders or Careers Leaders, reported levels were also lower.
For example, while 80% of senior leaders and over 85% of Careers Leaders said links to possible careers
were made within curriculum lessons, this was just 59% for classroom teachers. Similarly, only 38% of
classroom teachers said that their school delivered teacher-led careers sessions. This is lower than the
figure reported by members of SLT – it may be that SLT expect teachers to be delivering guidance in
their lessons, but that not all teachers in a school feel prepared to do so or have adequate time.
Indeed, as shown by Figure 3, around two thirds of all teachers (including senior leaders) surveyed (67%)
strongly disagreed that their teacher training prepared them to deliver careers information and guidance
to students, with responses on this question similar across school type and level of deprivation in the
school.
Figure 3: The proportion of all state teachers (senior leaders and classroom teachers) who feel
their teacher training has prepared them to deliver career information and guidance to students
7%
1%
5%
21%
67%
Don't know/cannot answer
Strongly agree
Slightly agree
Slightly disagree
Strongly disagree
30
Staff delivery of careers education
Nearly all members of SLT surveyed (95%) said that their school has a Careers Leader, though classroom
teachers were slightly less likely to be aware of one.
When asked who delivers
personal
guidance at their school, just over half (53%) of SLT said a specialist
Careers Adviser employed by their school did so (Figure 4). 29% said that
personal
guidance was
delivered by teachers who have responsibility for careers advice and have received training to deliver it,
27% said a specialist Careers Adviser that works with multiple schools and 13% said teachers who did
not have specific responsibility for careers advice and have not received training to deliver it were doing
so. Schools in more deprived areas were less likely to have access to a specialist Careers Adviser, with
21% of teachers in the most deprived areas reporting non-specialists delivered personal guidance,
compared to 14% in more affluent areas.
Figure 4: Who delivers personal guidance in schools (Senior leader responses)
In the Careers Leader survey, the proportion of respondents saying a specialist adviser employed by their
school or shared across schools delivered advice was even higher than the figure reported by SLT, and
nearly half said they themselves deliver personal
guidance.
The Career and Enterprise Company
Careers Leaders
Over two thirds of Careers Leaders surveyed via the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) said that they
work with the CEC in at least one of the following ways: part of a Careers Hub, by using their Compass
tool to measure progress towards the Gatsby benchmarks, as a connection to employers (such as through
the Enterprise Adviser Network), or by using both their provider and resource directories.
Other common ways Careers Leaders worked with the CEC include using the Compass+ tool (just under
half), which allows for planning, tracking and measuring of careers interventions at a student level; and
being part of the CEC Community of Practice (around 2 in 5), which is a group of individuals and delivery
providers offering careers education, information, advice and guidance to schools and colleges. These
5%
4%
13%
27%
29%
53%
Not relevant/don't know
Other
A teacher/teachers who do not have specific
responsibility for careers advice and have not
received training to deliver it
A specialist Careers Adviser that works with your
school as well as others (e.g. across a local
authority or MAT)
A teacher/teachers who have responsibility for
careers advice and have received training to
deliver it
A specialist Careers Adviser employed by your
school
31
figures were lower when looking at Careers Leaders surveyed via Teacher Tapp, likely because this survey
is self-selecting via the CEC, and so likely to over represent more engaged Careers Leaders.
Teachers (including senior leaders)
73% of headteachers reported their school works with the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) in
some capacity, although this figure was much lower for senior leaders excluding the head (37%), and
for classroom teachers (8%); again likely reflecting a lack of general awareness of careers activities.
Just 48% of heads said their school was part of a Careers Hub - designed to bring together schools,
colleges, employers and apprenticeship providers in a local area. The other ways in which headteachers
say they work with the CEC are shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Ways in which headteachers report that their school works with the Careers and
Enterprise Company
Gatsby benchmarks
Whilst a significant majority (95%) of headteachers and senior leaders (93%) in state schools said they
were aware of the Gatsby benchmarks of good careers guidance, far fewer general teachers were aware
of the benchmarks, with only 62% of middle leaders and 40% of classroom teachers aware (Figure 6).
This is to some extent to be expected, as many of the benchmarks apply to activities beyond the
classroom. However, some are applicable to all teachers (particularly benchmark 4; linking curriculum
learning to careers). Interestingly, those in private schools were less likely to say that they knew about
the benchmarks. Nearly all Careers Leaders surveyed were aware of the Gatsby benchmarks.
8%
19%
10%
11%
12%
14%
28%
48%
Don't know/not relevant
No
Yes, through training of Careers
Leaders
Yes, through other activities not
listed
Yes, by using their toolkits to
support delivery
Yes, we work with employers through
them
Yes, by using Compass to measure
our progress towards the Gatsby
benchmarks
Yes, as part of a Careers Hub
32
Figure 6: Teacher awareness of the Gatsby benchmarks, by seniority
Funding and resources
(37%) of senior leaders working in state schools disagreed with the statement ‘Our school has adequate
funding and resources to deliver careers education and guidance’. Around half of Careers Leaders
surveyed disagreed with the statement, with a quarter saying they strongly disagree.
Whilst 38% of state school teachers agreed with the statement, over a quarter (35%) disagreed (Figure
7). This is more than twice the proportion of private school teachers who said the same (14%). In a
separate NFER survey, SLT were less likely to say they had enough resources for apprenticeships (75%)
and further education (81%) compared to university (88%).
95%
93%
62%
40%
4%
5%
31%
51%
2%
2%
7%
10%
Headteachers
SLT (excl. Head)
Middle leaders
Classroom teachers
Yes
No
Unsure/cannot
answer
33
Figure 7: Teacher views on whether their school has adequate funding and resources for careers
guidance, by school type
When asked about the barriers to delivering good quality careers education and guidance, around 3 in 4
of those surveyed said ‘not enough staff time’. Approximately half of the sample said ‘not enough
funding’, and around a quarter said careers education was ‘not seen as a priority’. When asked for more
details about the barriers those surveyed experience, particularly for disadvantaged students,
respondents mentioned lack of funding for group trips and events as well as timing to fit activities into
the school day.
Considering the whole sample of state school teachers, when asked about the barriers to delivering good
quality careers education and guidance, 54% of SLT (including headteachers) said that there was not
enough staff time compared to 47% of classroom teachers.
Those working at state schools were more likely to say that all barriers listed in the question were a
problem for them; only 14% said that their school faced none of the issues listed compared to 31% of
those working in private schools (Figure 8). Strikingly, teachers at state schools were five times more
likely to say that funding was a barrier to delivering high quality guidance, at 32% compared to 6% of
teachers at private schools.
32%
8%
40%
30%
15%
28%
13%
27%
1%
8%
Private schools
State schools
Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree
34
Figure 8: Barriers to delivering careers education and guidance, by school type
Improving provision
Teachers were asked what would most help to improve career education and guidance provision in their
school or college, with each able to select up to three top priorities from a list. When looking at responses
from members of SLT specifically, additional funding was again the most popular response, at 56% .
47% prioritised any or more visits from employers, 39% from apprenticeship providers, 33% from
universities and 29% chose better resources to inform students of different paths.
Nearly half (47%) of state school teachers chose additional funding (Figure 9). This is more than 4 times
higher than the percentage of private school teachers choosing more funding as a top priority (11%).
Other common choices were any/more visits from employers (43%) and any/more visits from
apprenticeship providers (40%).
15%
31%
2%
3%
5%
6%
17%
15%
19%
6%
34%
15%
14%
4%
8%
12%
13%
19%
19%
22%
32%
51%
Not relevant / cannot answer
None of the above
Poor working relationships and
partnerships with employers
Difficulties accessing high-quality
resources (e.g. websites)
Difficulties accessing high-quality
training
Lack of employers to work with in local
area
Not seen as a priority
Students do not engage with the
provision on offer
Careers staff/teachers lack knowledge
about different career paths
Not enough funding
Not enough staff time
State schools
Private schools
35
Figure 9: Priorities of teachers for improving careers provision, by school type
An example of how an employer can provide a range of opportunities to connect with schools is discussed
in the following case study.
18%
16%
6%
21%
16%
33%
29%
30%
11%
12%
4%
4%
24%
32%
39%
40%
43%
47%
Not relevant / cannot answer
None of the above
Other
Access to a specialist
Careers Adviser
Any/more visits from
universities
Better resources to inform
students of different paths
Any/more visits from
apprenticeship providers
Any/more visits from
employers
Additional funding
State schools
Private schools
36
The majority of Careers Leaders surveyed also selected ‘additional funding’ as their top priority. The other
top priorities were better resources to inform students of different paths; visits from employers; and visits
from universities.
When asked about how careers education and guidance could be improved nationally, as part of the
Careers Leader survey, responses often referred to funding and investment. Several respondents thought
this would allow a school or college to have one full time member of staff to fully focus on careers
guidance, with some highlighting that this would need to involve both better pay and recognition of the
Careers Leader role. Some comments were also made regarding making careers lessons mandatory and
setting more specific requirements for the amount of time careers-related activities should occur. An
example of how a careers team can be structured is mentioned in the case study overleaf.
CASE STUDY: PwC social mobility community programme
As part of their social mobility community programme, PwC work with disadvantaged pupils to help
them develop confidence and employability skills relevant to their career of choice. To reach
socioeconomically disadvantaged students, PwC work with several partner organisations including the
Princes Trust, the Social Mobility Foundation and the Sutton Trust. They target schools with a higher
than average proportion of students in receipt of free school meals and schools in local authority cold
spots. All included activities have been matched to the Gatsby benchmarks and the Skills Builder
essential skills framework.
The
New World. New Skills – Virtual Schools Series
covers topics to help students develop key
employability skills such as teamwork and problem solving. The learning materials have been designed
for use by teachers and Careers Leaders in the classroom, and include short pre-recorded videos as
well as materials to assist with further learning on the topics covered. The programme is available for
years 7 to 9 as well as years 10 to 13. Each programme consists of six sessions, designed to be
delivered over a period of six weeks, with all videos available ‘on demand’ to give both Careers Leaders
and teachers the flexibility to use the materials in a way that best suits them.
PwC also work with students in person. The
New World. New Skills - Schools Series
is a hybrid
programme where students have a virtual introduction session and then can visit company offices to
connect with employees and develop employable skills. Only schools who meet the organisation’s
social mobility criteria can be involved in this programme - those with proportions of students eligible
for free school meals above the regional average, or which are in social mobility cold spots. In the
Autumn 2021 term this programme reached over 1300 students from 50 schools and took place in
offices across the UK.
Furthermore, the
New World, New Skills work experience programme
offers a week of paid work
experience for disadvantaged students. In their last cohort in August 2021 195 students took part,
with 46% of the students involved being eligible for free school meals and 77% from ethnic minority
groups.
A range of online resources have also been created by PwC for teachers and careers professionals. The
Employability Toolkit
contains a wide selection of lessons, suitable for students aged 13-18, that can
be easily accessed online. Topics include technology, financial literacy and wellbeing as well as access
to resources such as the Employability Hub. All sessions have easy-to-
follow lesson plans,
presentations and engaging activities.
37
Impact of the pandemic
The pandemic has had a considerable impact on children and young people’s educations, an issue that
has been explored in detail across several Sutton Trust reports throughout the pandemic.
98
Repeatedly,
this research has found that disadvantaged children have faced the most severe impacts, as they have
struggled to work remotely.
Teachers were asked how the pandemic had affected the careers guidance provision offered at their
school or college. 83% of senior leaders working in state schools said that the pandemic has negatively
impacted their school’s ability to deliver careers education and guidance.
Findings were similar for Careers Leaders. When asked to explain their answer, thinking about
disadvantaged students specifically, many respondents highlighted the negative impacts of losing out on
face to face activities both inside and outside of the classroom; and poor engagement with online
98
Coronavirus response. The Sutton Trust. Accessed February 2022. Available at: https://www.suttontrust.com/coronavirus/
CASE STUDY: Southmoor Academy, Sunderland
Southmoor Academy is a secondary school in Sunderland in the Northeast of England, with an above
average proportion of students eligible for free school meals (28.3%, compared to the national average
of 18.9% in state secondaries in England).
In 2018, the academy launched a 10-year aspirations programme, led by a full-time co-ordinator at
the school. The programme is part of a careers strategy led by the school’s Careers Leader, who is
themselves a member of the school’s senior leadership team. The school also has access to a Level 6
qualified Careers Adviser, who works full time between Southmoor and Sandhill View academies in
Sunderland.
Southmoor have developed an approach to support students from KS2 through to KS5, working
together with local primary schools in the area. The structural principle of the programme is to allow
collaboration between multiple phases and across multiple institutions, with the long- term goal to
raise achievement at GCSE level and A-level, and improve destinations once students have left school.
The programme also aims to replicate the networks of advice and influence that more affluent children
are able to access.
The scheme is divided into five programmes. The Aspirations and Insight programmes involve primary
school pupils, with activities aiming to increase awareness of the range of careers available and
particularly focusing on the skills and qualifications that are needed. The Connections programme,
which is currently being planned, will offer students in years 5, 7 and 10 the opportunity to visit a
local university with their parents to learn what university is like and which career paths are associated
with particular courses.
Two aspects of the programme, Scholars and OxNet (a partnership with the university of Oxford’s
access programme), aim to raise aspirations to A-level and university study, particularly for high ability
disadvantaged students in years 10 to 12. Activities involved include weekly guest lectures from a
range of universities and an opportunity for selected year 12 students to attend a 5-day summer school
at Oxford.
Sixth form students can learn about apprenticeships through workshops and events such as the UCAS
Discover Apprenticeships fair. A careers fair is also run each year, which is attended by universities,
apprenticeship providers and employers.
38
activities (often due to digital access issues). Other comments included a breakdown of relationships
with employers during lockdowns and having less time due to curriculum catch-up activities.
Careers Leaders who saw positive impacts of the pandemic on delivery noted the successful move of 1:1
appointments online and the move to digital increasing the number of opportunities on offer to students
(and improving reach to groups such as SEND students; although some respondents said being online
was a barrier for some SEND pupils).
A considerable proportion, 72% of all teachers (in both state and private schools) also thought the
pandemic had negatively impacted careers guidance activities in their school. This is likely to be related
to the missed class time during school closure periods as well as cancellations of visits both to and from
employers, apprenticeship providers and universities. The proportion of state school teachers who
thought the pandemic had a negative impact on careers provision was 16 percentage points higher than
in private school, at 75% compared to 59% respectively (Figure 10).
Figure 10: Teachers’ views on the impact of the pandemic on careers guidance, by school type
14%
39%
45%
36%
39%
21%
2%
3%
1%
2%
Private schools
State schools
A large negative impact A small negative impact No impact/unsure
A small positive impact A large positive impact
39
Young people’s experiences of careers education
Whilst teachers may report that activities are available to students in schools, students’ actual
experiences may differ. The following section looks at which careers activities young people at secondary
school or college state they have taken part in and when; how useful young people have found the careers
guidance that they have received; and whether careers guidance from sources both inside and outside
of the classroom have influenced decisions about their future.
Activities students have taken part in
Pupils were asked if they had experienced any of a list of careers related activities during their education.
31% of pupils surveyed said that they had learnt about a particular career in their lessons, 25% said
that they had spoken to a teacher about careers, and 23% reported having at least one session with a
Careers Adviser.
However, less than 1 in 5 reported experiencing the following activities: a college or training provider
open day, visit or event (16%); employer talks, careers fairs and/or events (13%); a visit, talk or event
about apprenticeships (13%); visiting a university open day or event (11%); a work experience placement
arranged through their school (8%); advice on job or career opportunities in their local area (8%); and
other careers activities not listed (5%). State school and college students were less likely to say that they
had taken part in the majority of activities (Figure 11); most notably, sessions with a Careers Adviser
(32% vs 22%) and sessions or career conversations with a teacher (24% vs 32%).
Figure 11: Activities students have taken part in, by school type
1%
23%
5%
9%
4%
15%
15%
11%
16%
32%
32%
33%
4%
38%
5%
7%
8%
11%
12%
13%
16%
22%
24%
30%
Don't know
None of these
Other careers activity not listed
Advice on job or career opportunities
in my local area
Done a work experience placement
arranged through your school
Visited a university open day or event
Attended employer talks, careers fairs
and/or events
A visit, talk or event about
apprenticeships
College or training provider open day,
visit or event
Session(s) with a Careers Adviser
Sessions(s) or career conversations
with a teacher
Found out about a particular career in
my usual lessons
State schools
Private schools
40
For all categories, older students were more likely to report that they had ever experienced each activity,
with activities taking place throughout their time in school (more detail can be found in Appendix 1
Table 1). For example, while only 8% of those in year 9 reported attending a visit, talk or event about
apprenticeships, 26% of year 13s said the same (Figure 12). Similarly, while only 1% of those in year
8-9 had visited a university, 42% of year 13s have done so.
Figure 12: Participation in careers activities, by year group
Note: Figures reflect whether a respondent had ever taken part in a particular activity
A sizeable proportion, 36% of students, said that they had not taken part in any of the activities listed.
State school pupils were 15 percentage points more likely than those who attended a private school to
say so, at 38% compared to 23%. Furthermore, those from working class backgrounds were more likely
to report this, at 40%, compared to those from middle class backgrounds, at 34%. Those whose parents
did not go to university were 8 percentage points more likely to report this compared to those who had
at least one parent who attended university, at 41% compared to 33% for those whose parents had
attended.
Less than a third, 30%, of year 13 students said that they had ever taken part in work experience
arranged by their school. This was even lower, at 10% of students in Key Stage 4, which is notable given
this is the age group who would have previously largely have completed work experience in England when
different guidance was in place.
Work experience can also happen outside the school context, including through family networks and
connections. Third sector organisations also play a major role in this space, offering work experience
opportunities to students outside of school time, who may not otherwise find a placement.
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13
College or training provider open day, visit or event
Attended employer talks, careers fairs and/or events
A visit, talk or event about apprenticeships
Visited a university open day or event
Done a work experience placement arranged through your school
41
An example of this, the Sutton Trust Pathways programme, is discussed in the following case study.
When support was received
Students were also asked which school years that they had received careers guidance whilst in education.
Considering only those in year 11 (or the equivalent year group) and above, only 2% of the said that they
received guidance when at primary school, despite the reported benefit of starting early when it comes
to careers education (Figure 13). Similarly, just 2% reported receiving advice in year 7. Greater increases
are seen in years 10 and 11 in particular.
CASE STUDY: Sutton Trust Pathways programme
The Sutton Trust run a suite of Pathways to the Professions programmes which aim to support talented
young people from less advantaged backgrounds to enter competitive careers such as law, banking &
finance, medicine, engineering, and consulting. Students from state schools in the UK are eligible for
the programme, with priority given to students meeting social mobility markers, such as being in
receipt of free school meals, having attended schools with a lower than average progression to higher
education, or a higher than average proportion of students who qualify for Free School Meals, or who
would be the first generation of their family to attend university. More information on selection criteria
are available
here. Pathways programmes are available both in person and online, with opportunities
available for young people across the UK. Students apply directly to the Sutton Trust, with many
hearing about the opportunity through their school.
Pathways programmes are made up of a range of activities to enable participants to gain the skills,
knowledge, confidence and experience they need to better understand their chosen sector and make
informed decisions about their futures. To deliver them, the Sutton Trust works closely with
universities, employers and third s
ector partners. Students receive mentoring, networking
opportunities, residentials and guaranteed work experience placements as part of the programme.
Students consistently highlight work experience as a core part of the programme, with a Pathways to
Banking and Finance student saying that
“this experience has broadened my vision of the financial
sector. I have learned more about my fellow pathways friends but most importantly the different variety
of jobs in [the organisation]. I have gained skills
such as being proactive and always keeping my
options open. I am definitely more confident.”
Similarly, a former Pathways to Law student commented that
“my favourite part of the experience was
being able to improve my confidence by working alongside professionals that I admire and hearing all
their different stories… This has given me the motivation to plan for my future and… it has helped
me to broaden my views on how I would personally like to enter the profession.”
Programmes like Pathways are important for opening up access to work experience placements, as
well as giving access to careers advice and guidance. Recent evaluation of the Pathways programmes
by external evaluators, The Bridge Group, found that 95% of Pathways to Law students agreed that
they now feel more motivated to achieve their career goals, and 96% of Pathways to Banking & Finance
students agreed that following work experience, they have a better understanding of the different
careers within the profession.
42
Figure 13: Whether guidance received in each school year
Note: Responses are only from those in years 11 to 13.
Considering only those in their final year of education (i.e. in year 13 or the equivalent year), 52% said
they received guidance in year 12 and 51% said so for year 13.
Topics covered
When asked if they had received information and advice covering particular topics, 41% of pupils said
they had not received any information about apprenticeships at all, with 32% saying the same about
other further education routes. 31%, said that they have not received any information about work options
and 26% said the same about university-related information.
Those in younger year groups are far more likely to say that they haven’t received information about these
topics. For example, while nearly three quarters (72%) of respondents in year 7 said that they have not
received any information about apprenticeships, the percentage is much smaller for those in year 11
(20%) and again even smaller (12%) for year 13s (more detail can be found in Appendix 1 Table 2).This
is notable, considering the evidence discussed in this report highlighting the influence of guidance on
particular routes received even at younger ages.
Only 9% of students in year 11 say that they have received a ‘large’ amount of information about
university – this compares to 9% for further education, 4% for work options and 2% for apprenticeships.
Provision was better for later age groups, but coverage of particular topics was varied. Looking at those
in year 13, for work options, apprenticeships, and further education, the most common response from
pupils was that they had received only ‘a little amount’ of information.
As shown by Figure 14, those in year 13 were more than 4 times more likely to say that they received a
large amount of information about university during their education (46%) compared to a much lower
2%
2%
4%
13%
30%
53%
At primary school Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11
43
figure for apprenticeships (10%); work options after finishing education (10%); and other Further
Education or training routes (7%).
Figure 14: Proportion of year 13 students who had received guidance about particular routes
during their education
There were some differences in the provision of advice in different areas of the country. 47% of pupils
living in the East said that they had not received any information on apprenticeships, compared to 43%
in the South, 40% in London, 40% in the North or Scotland, and 39% in the Midlands or Wales. Those
living in rural areas were the most likely to say that they had never received information about
apprenticeships (48% vs 39% in urban areas).
As shown by Figure 15, state school and college students were more likely than private school students
to say that they had not received any information and advice regarding work options after education
(32% v 24%) and university (28% v 16%).
7%
10%
10%
46%
35%
28%
30%
26%
4%
4%
2%
4%
42%
47%
46%
19%
12%
12%
12%
5%
Other Further
Education or
training routes
Work options
after finishing
education
Apprenticeships
University and
Higher Education
A large amount A medium amount Don't know A little amount None at all
44
Figure 15: Information received on different routes, by school type
Access to advice from different sources
Pupils were asked whether they had received advice from particular sources, and if it had been helpful
for making decisions about the future.
As shown in Figure 16, 27% of students said that they had not received any form of advice from their
school, with substantial variation by school year. For example, 53% of year 7s had not received any
advice, compared to 32% of year 10s, 10% of year 12s and an even smaller proportion, 5%, of year
13s. Those at state schools were slightly more likely to report not receiving guidance from their school,
at 27% compared 20% of private school students.
Half (50%) of the young people surveyed said that they had not received any advice from services in
their local area, such as their local council, and 43% said that they had not received advice from other
sources, including the National Careers Service website, Unifrog, All About School Leavers, and Bitesize
Careers. Advice from family and friends was far more common, with only 7% saying they had not received
advice from this source.
9%
4%
24%
10%
22%
19%
21%
21%
1%
7%
3%
4%
33%
39%
33%
38%
34%
31%
20%
27%
Private schools
State schools
Private schools
State schools
A large amount A medium amount Don't know A little amount None at all
University and higher education
Other further education or training routes
45
Figure 16: Proportion of students not receiving information from particular sources, by year
group
Usefulness of advice
Out of those who said that they had received advice on the topic in question, students tended to find
information from family and friends as the most useful, followed by the advice and guidance from school
(Figure 17).
Figure 17: Views on helpfulness of advice and guidance for the future from different sources
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13
School, such as meetings with a Careers Adviser or teacher
Family and friends
Services outside of school in your local area (e.g. Connexions/services offered by your local council)
Other resources (e.g. the National Careers Service Website)
10%
11%
12%
27%
25%
39%
49%
56%
30%
23%
11%
6%
22%
20%
20%
10%
14%
8%
8%
2%
Services outside of school in your local area (e.g.
Connexions/services offered by your local council)
Other resources (e.g. the National Careers Service
Website)
School, such as meetings with a Careers Adviser or
teacher
Family and friends
Very helpful Fairly helpful Don't know Not very helpful Not at all helpful
46
There was variation in responses by region, ranging from 35% of those living in East England finding
guidance from school unhelpful, compared to 18% of those in London.
A smaller figure, 7%, of students surveyed said that they had not received any information from family
and friends – again, those in younger age groups were more likely to say this.
Choosing qualifications
Students in years 10 to 13 were also asked if the guidance they had received from particular sources
was helpful when deciding which qualifications and subjects to take. Again, advice from family and
friends was the source that students were most likely to say was helpful (Figure 18).
A large proportion of students in London (84%) thought that the guidance from their school was helpful,
but this was lower, at 60%, for those in the South, 64% of those in the Midlands or Wales, 65% of those
in the East, 69% of those in the North or Scotland.
Figure 18: Views on helpfulness of advice and guidance from different sources, specifically for
choosing qualifications and subjects
The majority of those surveyed (87%) said that the guidance they had received from family and friends
was helpful when it came to choosing which subjects and qualifications to study. 67% found advice
from their school helpful. Fewer students found guidance from services outside of school and resources
like the NCS helpful, however it is worth noting that 38% and 28% of students surveyed said that they
did not know how helpful each source was respectively.
4%
6%
15%
32%
19%
33%
52%
55%
38%
28%
7%
3%
18%
22%
20%
8%
21%
12%
6%
2%
Services outside of school in your local area (e.g.
Connexions/services offered by your local council)
Other resources (e.g. the National Careers Service Website)
School, such as meetings with a Careers Adviser or teacher
Family and friends
Very helpful Fairly helpful Don't know Not very helpful Not at all helpful
47
Many businesses, not just careers organisations, have online resources which could be promoted to young
people. An example from British Airways is presented below.
CASE STUDY: British Airways Inspire Programme
British Airways has a two-pronged approach to supporting careers development for young people, by
offering programmes to students as well as teachers and parents.
For students, British Airways runs the ‘Inspire Programme’, which is designed to create and motivate
the next generation, by giving students a taste of the world of work within the aviation industry. Their
work experience programme acts as a stepping-stone between education and the workplace, aiming to
introduce young people to workplace etiquette, help them to develop their soft skills, and show them
how British Airways works to challenge perceptions and break down stereotypes.
A range of information is made available to those seeking work experience via their student website
‘Speedbird-Z
’, which is dedicated to providing pupils with detailed information on their programme
offerings, as well as educational resources. Students can use the website to access several learning
modules, covering British Airways, employability, and personal development, allowing them to learn
in their own time. They can also directly speak to staff who currently work for British Airways in a
range of roles – known as Mentors. Biographies are provided for Mentors so that students can find out
more about them and they are encouraged to message them asking any question they want to know
the answer to.
For teachers, British Airways has many resources and opportunities available to help them support
their students and children. Teachers are invited to take part in one-day work experience sessions in
various departments in British Airways known as ‘Teacher Take Off Days’. These programmes allow
teachers to find out more about what different departments and colleagues do at the airline, enabling
them to bring their first-hand experience back to the classroom and apply real life working examples
to the topics that students are learning about in class. Schools can also request for British Airways to
deliver a virtual talk for their school. Colleagues can provide further information about student
opportunities including apprenticeships and showcase aviation, sharing their insights on the industry,
communicating vital information to students.
48
Plans for the future
Next steps in education and training
As discussed throughout, informative careers guidance is vital to allow young people to make well
informed decisions about their future.
When asked how confident students currently feel about making their next steps in education and
training, 56% said they feel ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ confident (Figure 19), but around a third (36%) feel
unconfident in taking these next steps.
Figure 19: How confident students feel about making decisions on their next steps in education
and training; and in their career and work
When comparing results by school year group, perhaps unsurprisingly, younger groups are more likely to
feel unconfident. But sizable proportions of students still reported not feeling confident towards the end
of their time in school, with 25% of those in year 12 and 22% of those in year 13 saying they feel
unconfident.
Those at a state school or college were 10 percentage points more likely to say that they felt unconfident
making their next steps in education than those at private schools, at 39% compared to 29% respectively
(Figure 20).
7%
10%
35%
46%
10%
8%
36%
26%
12%
9%
Future career/work
opportunities
Education and training
Very confident Fairly confident Don't know Not very confident Not at all confident
49
Figure 20: How confident students feel about making decisions on their next steps in education
and training; and in their career and work, by school type
Next steps in career and work
Looking at career or work opportunities, whilst 42% of students said that they felt confident about
making their next steps, a sizable proportion, at 47%, said that they did not feel confident (also shown
in Figure 20 above).
There were small differences by school type - just under half (49%) of state school pupils said that they
felt unconfident about making their next steps into the world of work, 6 percentage points higher than
the 43% of private school students that said the same.
8%
6%
15%
9%
41%
35%
53%
44%
8%
10%
4%
9%
33%
37%
22%
29%
9%
12%
7%
10%
Private schools
State schools
Private schools
State schools
Very confident Fairly confident Don't know Not very confident Not at all confident
Education and training
Future career/work opportunities
50
Discussion
Having access to high quality, impartial careers guidance is vital for young people. Such guidance can
give them vital insights into the pathways available to them and allow them to understand the range of
roles on offer in a rapidly changing economy. For disadvantaged students particularly, who are less likely
to have advice available through family or other connections, receiving guidance from school can open
doors to a breadth of industries that otherwise would have been difficult to navigate, understand and
access.
Back in 2014, the Sutton Trust’s report ‘
Advancing Ambitions
’ found a postcode lottery for careers
provision, with at the time recent major reductions in the services available for guidance.
99
Since then,
there has been a considerable amount of change, including the government setting targets for schools
built on the Gatsby benchmarks for good careers guidance and the establishment of the Careers and
Enterprise Company, the national body for careers education in England.
This report has found that progress has been made in the years since, with most schools now having a
Careers Leader, and a wide range of career related activities taking place in schools. However, the report
has highlighted that despite improvements, the careers guidance available to young people is not
consistent across schools, with disadvantaged schools – where high quality provision can make the
biggest difference – particularly in need of more support for their careers programme, and with state
schools still facing larger barriers to good quality careers provision than those in the private sector.
This lack of provision also appears to be having a detrimental impact on young people’s decision making,
with many saying they do not feel the advice they receive is helpful in making decisions about their
career or future education.
Many of the issues identified in this report stem from a lack of joined up thinking on careers guidance.
While there are many individually good elements in existing provision, there is no over-arching system to
link them together. The government published its most up to date careers strategy in 2017, but it only
ran until 2020, and there is currently no government strategy in place for careers.
100
The government should produce a new national strategy for careers guidance, which should make clear
how the various elements, such as the CEC and the National Careers Service, fit together, and which
should set out clearly the aims for the overall system. Such a strategy should sit primarily in the
Department for Education, but should also have strong cross-departmental links, joining up thinking
across different areas, for example by bringing in the important views and expertise of departments like
the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
The strategy should cover the full lifecycle, from the very start of a child’s education, all the way through
to the workplace, and should be formed in partnership with employers, with a view to help prepare young
people for future labour market trends. The strategy should also explicitly tie in to other key existing
government strategies, particularly the Levelling Up agenda, with an aim to ensure that careers guidance
is improved nationally, but with a particular focus on improvements in the most disadvantaged parts of
the country.
At the centre of this strategy should be a core ‘careers structure’ which should be put in place across all
secondary schools. At the moment there is too much inconsistency, with no standard expectation of what
99
A. G. Watts, J. Matheson and T.Hooley (2014) Advancing Ambitions. The Sutton Trust. Available at:
https://www.suttontrust.com/our-research/advancing-ambitions/
100
Department for Education (2017) Careers strategy: making the most of everyone’s skills and talents. Gov.uk. Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-strategy-making-the-most-of-everyones-skills-and-talents
51
schools should have in place to equip them to successfully deliver the Gatsby benchmarks of good careers
guidance. While most schools have a Careers Leader, this is not universal, and the role can vary
considerably within schools, with many Careers Leaders not having the time or space needed to do their
role successfully. Many schools are not in a Careers Hub, which bring schools and colleges together with
local businesses, apprenticeship providers and in-work training providers. And not all schools have access
to a Careers Adviser for their students, either full time or shared across schools. These three elements
should be seen as a minimum careers structure for all schools, to improve the consistency of the offer
across the country.
Whether fulfilled by one person or shared across multiple individuals, the Careers Leader should be
established as a key role and be given equivalent time off-timetable to other similarly vital roles, such as
a Head of Year. Careers Leaders need adequate time and resources to enact a clear strategy across their
school, and many of the roles of a Careers Leader, for example going off site to develop relationships
with local employers, or providing training to staff, require time to be done successfully. The role should
also come with a Teaching and Learning Responsibility pay increase, to reflect the importance of this
role within every school. Additional funding from government will be needed to ensure schools are able
to offer this time off-timetable, and that they can provide the appropriate salary adjustment.
Careers Hubs play a key part in improving the way employers interact with schools, as well as allowing
schools to connect with each other to share best practice; which is particularly important for schools
looking to improve their provision. But only around half of schools are currently in a Careers Hub, with
no further immediate plans for growth beyond this following a recent expansion.
101
Every secondary school
should have access to the benefits that being part of a Careers Hub brings.
Finally, this core careers structure should also include access to a professional Careers Adviser, qualified
to at least Level 6 or higher - as is recommended by the Career Development Institute - ideally with a
qualification specifically tied to careers guidance. Careers Advisers could work with individual schools,
or be shared across schools, for example over a local authority or across a Multi Academy Trust. However
this is done, the hours of advice provided should ensure enough time is available for at least two one-to-
one meetings with a Careers Adviser during a student’s time in secondary education (as recommended
in Gatsby benchmark 8).
102
Currently there is no ring-fenced funding for Careers Advisers, and any already in place are paid for from
school’s general budgets. A move to directly funded universal provision would be challenging due to
issues of dead-weight in new spending (giving money for Careers Advisers to schools who have already
managed to prioritise and afford them within existing budgets). However there is a need both for fairness
in the funding given to all schools, and to provide incentives to ensure greater coverage in provision. We
suggest that any additional funding to ensure universal access to advisers in the short term is focused
on schools without an adviser currently in post, with a particular focus on schools with the highest levels
of deprivation, where there is the greatest need for high quality advice. But, with funding levels identified
as a key barrier to better provision, in the longer term, to ensure fairness to all schools, the government
should look to ensure there is enough funding for all secondary schools to provide this service.
Alongside these changes to the structure and core resources for careers guidance available to schools,
there are other changes government could implement to improve existing provision. Findings here
demonstrate that teachers do not feel enough time is available to deliver careers guidance. While there
are always multiple competing demands on teaching time, the importance of careers guidance is such
101
LEP Network (2020) LEPs drive Careers Hubs extension to boost recovery. LEP network, 24 June. Accessed March 2022.
Available at: https://lepnetwork.net/news-and-events/2020/june/leps-drive-careers-hubs-extension-to-boost-recovery/
102
The Gatsby Foundation (2014) Good career guidance. Gatsby Available at:
https://www.gatsby.org.uk/uploads/education/reports/pdf/gatsby-sir-john-holman-good-career-guidance-2014.pdf
52
that a greater time for it should be built into the curriculum. Doing so would reflect its importance, and
help teachers to prioritise it in the face of many competing demands. Content should be delivered both
in careers-specific lessons, such as PSHE, as well as in individual subjects, where specific links can be
made between course content and career paths.
This report has also found that many teachers do not feel prepared to deliver careers guidance from their
existing training, which is concerning given the key role of classroom teachers as influencers on young
people. To upskill teachers, additional CPD and NPQ opportunities should be available on careers
content. Careers Leaders should deliver continuing professional development (CPD) on careers education
to all teachers in their school, as well as monitoring availability of such training for staff in their setting.
Delivering training in school will allow teachers to receive real-time knowledge of the current landscape
which reflects the local context of resources and partnerships. This should also be accompanied by
improved training for teachers on careers education within initial teacher training.
There are also changes which government could make to improve the delivery of specific elements of the
Gatsby benchmarks and other statutory guidance related to careers. Research here has found most young
people do not complete work experience, despite the known benefits of these important interactions with
employers, and the need for these interactions being outlined within the benchmarks. Ideally, all pupils
should have access to work experience between the ages of 14 and 16. This age range are old enough
to likely have ideas on potential future careers but are still at a point where, if they gain experience and
decide a specific career is not for them, that they can still alter their educational path accordingly, with
students about to make key decisions about their steps post-16.
When work experience was previously more common (whilst it was never compulsory per se, there was a
requirement for all schools to provide work-related learning,
103
which was largely met through work
experience placements and made it in essence de facto compulsory), there were criticisms that too many
placements were of a low quality. This was an issue for lower income students particularly, who if not
given adequate support from school to arrange a placement, were less likely to have external contacts in
a wide range of professional fields to draw on for potential placements. But good quality work experience,
as outlined previously in this report, has the potential to be transformational for students. To allow
secondary schools to provide work experience for all students, government funding for careers should
take into account the staff time needed to support students to organise good quality placements. Careers
Hubs could potentially play a key role in co-ordinating placements between schools and employers. It is
also vital for employers to be supported in offering placements that are suitable and beneficial to students
without creating logistical and insurance difficulties.
Additionally, research here has also shown that too many young people are still not getting enough
information on apprenticeships, and that far more pupils are reporting they are receiving information on
university than on these alternative routes. This is despite the Baker Clause requiring schools to allow
colleges and training providers to access every student in years 8-13 to discuss non-academic routes
that are available to them. Indeed, the Institute for Public Policy Research found that only 40% of
schools were meeting the clause in 2019.
104
Research from the Careers and Enterprise Company found
that schools who provide most or all of their students with apprenticeship information saw a 16% higher
103
The statutory duty for work-related learning was removed by statutory instrument in the explanatory memorandum to the draft
Education (Amendment of the Curriculum Requirements for Fourth Key Stage) (England) Order 2012
104
D. Hochlaf and J. Dromey (2019) The Baker Clause: One Year One. IPPR. Available at: https://www.ippr.org/files/2019-
01/the-baker-clause-one-year-on-january19.pdf
53
uptake of apprenticeships by their students compared to the schools providing guidance only to a small
minority.
105
Better enforcement of the Baker Clause is vital to ensure that young people are receiving the same level
of information about both technical and academic routes. This is also important for the government’s
existing goals - if the expansion of further education opportunities, as set out in the ‘Skills for Jobs’ white
paper and their ‘Levelling Up’ agenda, is to be met. Enforcement could be improved by limiting Ofsted
grades in schools who do not comply with the clause, a move which has previously been suggested by
the Education Select Committee.
106
Schools must also be better supported in delivering the clause, through expansion of programmes like
the Careers Hub network which connects schools with employers, and through coordination with Local
Enterprise Partnerships. Schools should be given access to a wide range of information on
apprenticeships and other technical routes – the government’s ASK programme offers this information,
but currently has no long-term funding,
107
which makes it difficult for the organisation to form strong
partnerships with schools. Long-term investment in services like the ASK programme would make it
easier for schools to find relevant information and training that they can build into their own strategies
to increase awareness and take up of technical education pathways. Schools and colleges also should
be encouraged to use tools like the CEC’s Compass+, which provides information on available
placements.
Looking to the work of the Career and Enterprise Company, given the success of the model, as previously
discussed their Careers Hub programme should now be expanded to all secondary schools. Given the
specific challenges facing schools in the most disadvantaged communities, it is vital that the most
deprived schools are prioritised in this expansion plan. Evaluation of the Careers Hub programme should
also continue, to ensure that any expansion remains to be impactful.
It is also important that the CEC continue to invest in programmes which target disadvantaged students
specifically. The company already has a Provider Directory for schools and Careers Leaders to access,
which highlights organisations who are running programmes specifically designed for disadvantaged
young people.
108
This resource should be more actively promoted to increase uptake on the opportunities
on offer, alongside promotion of the organisation’s other tools like Compass+, which can allow careers
professionals to identify and track disadvantaged students (use of this tool and others was not always
reported by Careers Leaders in this report).
Furthermore, the organisation has identified a set of key principles to ensure that career support is
impactful for disadvantaged young people, including connecting students with employers to improve
their social capital, and holding recurring rather than one-off sessions to maintain influence.
109
Investment should be made into programmes which meet these principles – for instance, it is welcome
that a pilot between the Careers and Enterprise Company and the company JP Morgan has recently been
105
The Careers and Enterprise Company (2021) The benefits of Gatsby Benchmark achievement for post-16 destinations.
Careers and Enterprise Company. Available at:
https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/our-evidence/evidence-and-reports/the-
benefits-of-gatsby-benchmark-achievement-for-post-16-destinations/
106
F. Whieldon (2021) Pressure mounts on Ofsted to limit grades by Baker Clause compliance. FE
Week, 21 June. Available at:
https://feweek.co.uk/pressure-mounts-on-ofsted-to-limit-grades-by-baker-clause-compliance/
and House of Commons Education Committee (2021) The forgotten: how White working-class pupils have been let down, and
how to change it. House of Commons. Available at:
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmeduc/85/8502.htm
107
The ASK Programme. Apprenticeships. Accessed March 2022. Available at:
https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/influencers/ask-programme-resources
108
Provider directory. The Careers and Enterprise Company. Accessed February 2022. Available at: https://find-activity-
provider.careersandenterprise.co.uk/search
109
J. Hunt
et al.
(2021) Effective Careers Interventions for Disadvantaged Young People. The Behavioural Insights Team and The
Careers and Enterprise Company. Available at: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/media/3ogdxqu1/bit67-cec-report_v3.pdf
54
announced, which involves £2 million of investment into 10 projects across the country, including a
work experience programme in Lancashire and a business partnership in Leeds offering coaching and
work experience opportunities to girls eligible for free school meals.
110
However, guidance that truly
delivers in these areas (particularly in STEM subjects) should be a key part of the careers guidance
package on offer, not just through funded programmes, and it is telling that the current system relies on
charitable donations from employers, rather than these efforts being funded by government. Increasing
the number of pilots, ideally through government funding but through similar partnerships where this is
not possible, could help to ensure that the most impactful interventions are identified, allowing them to
be expanded so that high quality provision can reach all disadvantaged young people where it is needed
most.
The National Careers Service is another important part of the country’s career infrastructure, but it is
concerning that findings here show that many students have not used the platform or other similar online
services, and that a large proportion of those who have done so did not find the information helpful. We
welcome the recent changes to the website that were outlined in the government’s skills white paper,
which provide more information on technical education routes.
111
But these changes must be closely
evaluated to ensure that awareness and use of the platform improves, with content regularly updated to
reflect available opportunities. The service must also be correctly resourced so that the service is
appropriate and has content that is of value to young people specifically. Aligning the service to the work
of the Careers and Enterprise Company should also ensure that there is a more coherent careers system
overall, an issue which should be covered in any new careers strategy developed by government. Careers
Hubs could play an important role in bringing the two services together.
112
As outlined earlier in this report, good careers guidance starts early. But findings here show that students
in younger year groups are much less likely to experience careers activities. Whilst it is reassuring to see
that a large proportion of older students are receiving information, guidance from a young age is key, as
this can play a key role in shaping decisions made later in life. This is particularly important for
socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils, who are less likely to be receiving advice and guidance outside
of the classroom. Current legislation is likely to change in the upcoming months, meaning that statutory
guidance will apply from year 7 rather than the current start point in year 8.
113
It is important that this
new requirement is monitored, and for any future developments and programmes in careers guidance to
recognise this change. Additionally, careers guidance in primary schools must continue to be evaluated
and be a part of any future careers strategies – the Careers and Enterprise Company have a hub of
research and evaluations in this field that will be useful to shape future proposals.
114
Schools and colleges can also make changes to improve provision now, even without government action.
For example, having clear responsibility for careers guidance within a school’s senior leadership team
(SLT). Depending on the exact needs and context of the school, this could include having a Careers
Leader themselves sit within a school’s SLT, or if this role is held by a middle leader, by having a member
of SLT who is clearly responsible for the school’s strategy on careers, overseeing the work of the school’s
110
The Careers and Enterprise Company (2021) New £2m project to turbo-charge careers education for disadvantaged young
people in England. Careers and Enterprise Company. Available at:
https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/news/jpmorgan-chase-
and-the-careers-enterprise-company-launch-2m-project-to-turbo-charge-careers-education-for-disadvantaged-young-people-in-
england/
111
Education & Skills Funding Agency (2022) Get the Jump’ Skills for Life campaign: introduction and background. Gov.uk.
Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/get-the-jump-campaign-introduction-and-background/get-the-jump-
skills-for-life-campaign-introduction-and-background
112
J. Staufenberg (2021) Can the government fix the ‘confusing’ careers landscape? FE Week. Available at:
https://feweek.co.uk/can-the-government-fix-the-confusing-careers-landscape/
113
R. Wheeler (2022) MPs back law to guarantee careers advice to pupils from age of 11. The Evening Standard,14 January.
Available at: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/mps-england-conservative-schools-david-lynch-b976745.html
114
Research. The Careers and Enterprise Company Primary Careers Resources. Accessed February 2022. Available at:
https://primary-careers.careersandenterprise.co.uk/practice/research
55
Careers Leader. The member of SLT with responsibility for careers should also work together with the
school’s Pupil Premium Lead, to ensure the school’s career strategy is developed taking into account the
specific needs of this group of students.
To be impactful for disadvantaged students particularly, parental involvement should be integrated into
careers activities where possible. As this report has shown, the majority of students discuss their future
choices with their family, but parents may not be as well informed about choices that were not an option
when they were growing up, including T-Levels and degree apprenticeships, or those that they have not
seen individuals in their social circle complete.
115
Involving parents in activities can improve their
knowledge, thus improve the guidance they are able to pass on as a trusted source to their child, whilst
also bridging the gap between advice given inside and outside of the classroom.
Schools, colleges and their governing boards should also ensure there is clear strategic oversight for
careers within the institution’s governing board, by having at least one governor who oversees careers
provision. Although there is no current requirement to have this, there is encouragement to do so in the
Department for Education’s governance handbook.
116
This governor role should engage with a school’s
Careers Leader to give strategic oversight of a school’s careers programme, as well as potentially helping
to join their school up with local employers through any contacts on the governing board. It should also
work together with a school’s pupil premium governor, again to ensure the school’s strategy is
successfully catering to this group of students.
Finally for schools and colleges, the pandemic has had a considerable impact on careers provision, and
should be considered as part of a school’s catch-up efforts. While the CEC did find more teachers
reported discussing careers in the classroom during the pandemic,
117
as highlighted previously, many
teachers feel like they have not been correctly prepared to deliver guidance in their training, so the advice
is unlikely to have been as high quality as the advice that would usually be delivered by a professional.
Furthermore, this report has outlined teacher’s thoughts on how the pandemic has negatively impacted
face to face interaction with employers and education providers. This is similar to Sutton Trust research
from earlier in the pandemic, which found that employers were offering reduced work experience and
internship opportunities in the first months of lockdown.
118
As students have missed out on vital careers
education and outreach activities during the pandemic, schools should ensure they include careers
guidance as a part of their catch-up efforts. Schools may find resources published by the OECD designed
to support teachers and careers staff deliver guidance that reflects the Covid-19 labour market useful in
planning this catch-up work.
119
However, for schools to be able to do these important catch-up efforts,
it’s vital that government provide funding to the scale of the challenge on catch-up. The Sutton Trust,
alongside many others, have criticised the level of funding government has provided for covid recovery
efforts. Given this, existing funding is likely to struggle to meet the need for core aspects of catch-up,
and is therefore very unlikely to be able to cover wider but still important issues, such as catch-up efforts
on careers.
115
J.Hutchinson
et al
. (2011) All things being equal? Equality and diversity in careers education,
information, advice and guidance. University of Derby and National Institute of Economic and Social Research. Available at:
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/research-report-71-all_things-being-equal-equality-and-diversity-in-
careers-education-information-and-advice.pdf
116
Department for Education (2020) Governance Handbook: Academy trusts and maintained schools. Department for Education.
Available at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/925104/Governance_Handboo
k_FINAL.pdf
117
The Careers and Enterprise Company (2021) 2021: Trends in careers education. Careers and Enterprise Company. Available
at: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/media/xadnk1hb/cec-trends-in-careers-education-2021.pdf
118
E. Holt-White and R. Montacute (2020) COVID-19 Impacts: Access to the workplace. Sutton Trust. Available at:
https://www.suttontrust.com/our-research/coronavirus-workplace-access-and-graduate-recruitment/
119
Career readiness. OECD. Accessed March 2022. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/education/career-readiness/
56
Offering high quality careers guidance to all individuals in every school and college is vital for social
mobility. The changes outlined here have the potential to improve provision, so that all students can
make informed decisions about their future. For disadvantaged students specifically, high quality and
impartial guidance whilst in education can provide an invaluable insight into career paths which they
otherwise may not see and help them to successfully fulfil their potential.
57
Appendix 1
Table 1: Activities ever taken part in, by year group
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Year 11
Year 12
Year 13
Total
Found out about
a particular
career in my
usual lessons
20%
29%
24%
32%
34%
35%
39%
31%
Session(s) with a
Careers Adviser
3%
3%
12%
14%
35%
47%
46%
23%
Sessions(s) or
career
conversations
with a teacher
3%
11%
16%
22%
38%
40%
44%
25%
College or
training provider
open day, visit or
event
3%
3%
8%
11%
29%
24%
34%
16%
Attended
employer talks,
careers fairs
and/or events
5%
5%
6%
7%
13%
22%
33%
13%
Advice on job or
career
opportunities in
my local area
1%
6%
3%
9%
8%
10%
17%
8%
A visit, talk or
event about
apprenticeships
2%
4%
8%
12%
25%
14%
26%
13%
Visited a
university open
day or event
2%
2%
1%
6%
6%
14%
42%
11%
Done a work
experience
placement
arranged through
your school
2%
1%
1%
4%
7%
14%
30%
8%
Other careers
activity not listed
1%
6%
7%
6%
5%
6%
7%
5%
None of these
69%
56%
51%
35%
19%
14%
8%
36%
Don't know
8%
4%
3%
4%
2%
2%
1%
4%
58
Table 2: Reporting of having received no guidance on particular topics from school/college, by year
group
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Year 11
Year 12
Year 13
Total
Work options after
finishing education
58%
38%
43%
29%
18%
20%
12%
31%
Apprenticeships
72%
58%
56%
43%
20%
26%
12%
41%
Other Further
Education or
training routes
70%
44%
38%
32%
10%
17%
12%
32%
University and
Higher Education
54%
39%
38%
25%
14%
10%
5%
26%
1
The Sutton Trust
9th Floor
Millbank Tower
21-24 Millbank
London, SW1P 4QP
T: 020 7802 1660
F: 020 7802 1661
W: www.suttontrust.com
Twitter: @suttontrust
