This report examines school leavers and adult learners’ experiences of careers information, advice and guidance (IAG) in England. Drawing on focus groups with school leavers, adult learners and parents, plus discussions with experts and practitioners, it presents new evidence on the way that people engage with IAG. The report makes policy recommendations in order to increase the personalisation, accountability, and accessibility of IAG.
Key findings:
- The shape and quality of IAG services is patchy, varying substantially across and within schools and colleges
- Support for those pursuing vocational options tends to be weaker, with students carried towards university by inertia
- People tend to favour anecdotal information over hard data, but even those using formal information make limited use of government sources
- There is a mismatch between the grand ambitions of IAG, and what users expect from it. Careers professionals view it as long-term career planning and skills development, whereas receivers tend to just want help with the next step.
- Adults are largely unaware of IAG services and face significant barriers to accessing them
Six actions policymakers can take:
- Ensure every school leaver receives a minimum level of personalised careers support by offering an entitlement to three one-to-one sessions.
- Add careers provision to the four ‘key judgements’ on which schools are graded in Ofsted inspections.
- Set the Careers and Enterprise Company the objective of tackling inequalities between schools in the level and quality of information, advice and guidance.
- Aim to ensure all apprenticeship opportunities are listed on the UCAS system, perhaps by establishing and integrating local platforms.
- Partner with trusted private apps and websites to ensure official government data and information is easily accessible.
- Engage in a large-scale outreach programme promoting adult education and careers services.
