The Policy Background

The Government’s careers strategy, published on 4 December 2017, and updated in January 2023, aims to help young people and adults choose the career that is right for them. To deliver this outcome, all young people in school and/or college must receive a programme of stable, structured advice and guidance, delivered by appropriately trained and skilled individuals.

To develop and improve careers provision, every education provider should use the Gatsby Benchmarks. Although not a statutory framework, the Gatsby benchmarks provide educators with a guide to providing a range of opportunities and varied careers programme for their students. Click here to view the eight Gatsby benchmarks.

For a comprehensive Gatsby benchmark guide and toolkit, including benchmark explanations and case studies we recommend reading The Careers & Enterprise Company’s Gatsby Benchmark Toolkit and SEND Gatsby Benchmark toolkit.

When planning an opportunity programme for your students, use our opportunity directory to search for a variety of experiences – including assemblies, workshops, mentoring programmes and workplace visits.

There are numerous tools for schools to assess how their careers support compares against the Gatsby Benchmarks and the national average, such as Compass. Read our ‘Tools for careers leads and teachers’ guide for more information.

Statutory duties, requirements and expectations

For more information, read Department of Education’s careers guidance and access for education and training providers - statutory guidance for governing bodies, school leaders and school staff. The Careers and Enterprise Company have also prepared a useful guide to the role of the careers leader.