Why Careers Guidance is important
Careers information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG) allows individuals to seek advice about their career path within schools and colleges. From 2012 the provision for careers information underwent radical changes which transferred responsibility to schools and colleges in England under the Education Act 2011.
What is careers guidance and why is it important?
Careers guidance is the process of helping school and college leavers make educational and employment choices with an understanding of how to achieve their end goal. The process identifies areas the individual needs to acquire knowledge, skills and experience. Finding the right career path can be difficult for school leavers. The average person has 12 jobs in their lifetime, some individuals will have more and others may have less. The importance is finding a career which suits the individual which takes time and patience.
The benefits of a professionally qualified careers adviser enable the student to evaluate their own strengths and career aspirations. Guidance is pivotal in identifying suitable career paths and the role of the careers adviser is to help the young person understand which qualifications or standards have to be met to progress, so they are ready for the next stage of education, employment or training.
Source: Zippia
Quality in Careers Standard
Statutory Careers Guidance in schools is for students from year 8 to year 13 and includes those students up to the age of 18. Good quality careers guidance is needed in schools for learners to make informed decisions. The Quality in Careers Standard was launched in March 2017 and is a national quality award for CEIAG in secondary schools and colleges including work-based learning. In December 2021 there were 1,191 English schools and colleges working towards achieving the standard. The standard is aligned to the Gatsby benchmarks which is a framework to improve the careers provision in schools and colleges. The UK Government recommends that all school and colleges work towards the standard to support better careers guidance and leads to better programme delivery.
There are three pillars to assuring the quality of provision available in schools and colleges:
1. Quality standards for schools or college’s programme of CEIAG.
2. UK-wide quality standard for the providers of career guidance services.
3. Professional qualifications for those providing career guidance.
Schools and colleges can gain accreditation for their careers programme through the Quality in Careers Standard. The standard demonstrates to those outside the organisation that a high standard has been reached for careers guidance. We encourage careers leaders who want to to demonstrate the quality and value of their CEIAG provision to contact us and find out more about the Quality in Careers Standard.
Source: Quality in Careers Standard