CAREERS EDUCATION, INFORMATION, ADVICE & GUIDANCE (CEIAG)
Careers education and guidance programmes play a major part in helping young people choose programmes that best suit their interests, abilities and individual needs. A robust careers programme helps to avoid disengagement, puts school learning into a wider and more relevant context, and helps in raising aspirations.
Our service also provides a range of opportunities which encompass the vocational sector, naturally linking education and industry. Our aim is to give young people tasters of the vocational sector to enable them to raise their career aspirations and find a suitable path for future success.
We work towards the The Gatsby Benchmarks that was set up by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and have brought together the best national and international research to ensure high quality CEIAG provision. These are in the form of eight Benchmarks, as set out below.
The Gatsby Benchmarks
A stable careers programme.
Every school and college should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by students, parents, teachers, governors and employers.
Learning from career and labour market information.
Every student, and their parents, should have access to high quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities. They will need the support of an informed adviser to make best use of available information.
Addressing the needs of each student.
Students have different career guidance needs at different stages. Opportunities for advice and support need to be tailored to the needs of each student. A school’s careers programme should embed equality and diversity considerations throughout.
Linking curriculum learning to careers.
All teachers should link curriculum learning with careers. STEM subject teachers should highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of future career paths.
Encounters with employers and employees.
Every student should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be through a range of enrichment activities including visiting speakers, mentoring and enterprise schemes.
Experiences of workplaces.
Every student should have first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities, and expand their networks.
Encounters with further and higher education.
All students should understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them. This includes both academic and vocational routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace.
Personal guidance.
Every student should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a career adviser, who could be internal (a member of school staff) or external, provided they are trained to an appropriate level. These should be available whenever significant study or career choices are being made.
The careers programme is designed to meet the needs of the students. It is differentiated and personalised to ensure progression through activities that are appropriate to the student stages of career learning, planning and development.