Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Education entitled How well do schools prepare children for their future, published in May 2017, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the recommendation that his Department should investigate ways to further professionalise the careers guidance sector.

The government’s careers strategy is clear that personal guidance is an important element of a high quality careers programme in schools. The government expects all schools to work towards meeting the eight Gatsby Career benchmarks by the end of 2020. The Gatsby benchmark on personal guidance advises that all young people should have a careers interview by the age of 16, and the opportunity for one further such interview by age 18. This will make sure that all young people have opportunities for personal guidance with a careers professional whenever significant study or career choices are being made.

The Career Development Institute (CDI) is doing excellent work to put in place programmes to train and upskill careers professionals, including a new focus on digital skills. The government’s careers statutory guidance encourages schools to search for qualified careers practitioners in their area on CDI’s UK Register of Career Development Professionals.

We are investing £2.5 million to support the development of new cost-effective models for delivering personal guidance to clusters of schools and colleges. The funding will support the provision of personal guidance to young people, the training and ongoing continuing professional development (CPD) of career guidance professionals and the development of a pipeline of qualified career guidance professionals for the future. The Careers & Enterprise Company will shortly publish a prospectus setting out more details. These projects, and the resulting case studies, will be used to showcase successful and affordable delivery of the Gatsby benchmark on personal guidance.