Understanding careers guidance and access

Careers advice and careers guidance should go hand in hand as both bring enormous benefits. Careers advice involves signposting to further information about learning and employment opportunities while careers guidance is more in-depth and considers things like an individual’s interests, skills and attitudes as well as any potential issues and how to overcome them.

Both should use labour market information (LMI), which explains the current state of the jobs market, the industries and businesses that operate in your location and the types of jobs that exist and what they involve. These details allow young people to make more informed career choices, challenge stereotypes and consider sectors where there may be skills shortages.

Helping young people to explore their employment, education and training options in this way helps to raise their aspirations and boost their confidence, enabling them to aim for opportunities they may not have previously considered.