Careers guidance in schools, colleges and universities (England)

This briefing applies to England only.

Overview

State-funded schools and further education colleges in England are required to provide careers guidance to their pupils from ages 11-18. This duty has been steadily extended over recent years.

In September 2012 local authority-maintained schools became subject to a statutory duty to provide impartial careers guidance to pupils in years 9 to 11.0F0F[1] In September 2013, this statutory duty was expanded to cover pupils in school years 8 to 13,F1F[2] and in September 2022, following the passage of the Education (Careers Guidance in Schools) Act 2022, it was extended to children in year 7, and also to academy schools.

The Department for Education has published statutory guidance for education providers on their duty to provide careers guidance (most recently updated in January 2023).2F2F[3] 

Higher education institutions are not required to provide careers advice, but nonetheless this service is offered across institutions.

DfE Careers Strategy and the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022

The Department for Education’s Careers Strategy was published in December 2017.  It set out a series of measures to be implemented between 2018 and 2020 to improve careers guidance in England, including the introduction of new benchmarks for careers education, an investment fund for disadvantaged pupils, and a named Careers Leader in every school and college.

The Government’s ‘Skills for Jobs’ white paper on further education and skills, published in January 2021, included further plans to strengthen careers advice. This informed changes included in the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022.

Education (Careers Guidance in Schools) Act 2022

On 16 June 2021, Mark Jenkinson presented the Education (Careers Guidance in Schools) Bill, which would extend the duty to provide careers guidance in schools. In his announcement of the Bill, Mr Jenkinson stated that the Bill would extend the requirements to provide careers guidance to children in year 7, and also implement the proposals in the Skills White Paper. The Bill was supported by both the Government and the Opposition, and received Royal Assent in March 2022. It came into force in September 2022.