Benchmark 8: Personal Guidance

The term ‘career guidance’ is used by both Gatsby and the Career Strategy to describe the full range of career-related interventions which support young people to make choices and to develop their career thinking. ‘Career guidance’ therefore describes all eight of Gatsby’s Benchmarks. The eighth of these Benchmarks are concerned with ‘personal guidance.’

Personal guidance describes the one-to-one interactions, which take place between a career adviser and a young person. Within Benchmark 8 schools and colleges are to provide young people with access to personal guidance intervention. This should be with a careers adviser who should be trained to a minimum of level 6. Careers advisers usually have sole responsibility for the delivery of personal guidance. However, it is important to recognise that they are also typically involved in the delivery of many of the other Gatsby Benchmarks.

What impact does personal guidance have?

There is good evidence, which demonstrates the impact of personal guidance. It is associated with a range of short and long-term impacts on an individual’s:

  • personal effectiveness e.g. self-awareness and self-esteem

  • career readiness e.g. career planning and decision making

  • educational outcomes e.g. improved attendance and attainment

Effective personal guidance is:

  • integrated into a whole school careers guidance programme, which is supported by senior leadership and involves all staff in the school or college

  • in line with Gatsby, it needs to be delivered by a qualified professional on a 1:1 basis

  • students are prepped prior to sessions and followed up afterwards

  • professional careers advisers create strong relationship with their client using a range of core skills to customise the interview to a young person’s needs

  • Available on request and when needed, as well as at the key decision points highlighted by Gatsby.

Personal guidance – what works

The Career Development Institute (CDI) state that: ‘Career development professionals’ should be:

  • career information and assessment experts: Helping individuals to assess their own strengths and connect them meaningfully to the labour market and the education system

  • career educators: Using pedagogic approaches to develop individuals’ career management skills

  • career counsellors: Using counselling, coaching and advice work approaches to help individuals to understand their situation and to progress in the labour market and education system

  • programme and service managers: Working with individuals and organisations to design and deliver career development programmes

  • social systems intervenors and developers: Using networking, consultancy and advocacy skills to develop organisations and systems and help individuals to succeed within them.

There are key differences between the Career Leader role and a Careers Adviser. Careers Leader is the person who is responsible for the strategic plans and delivery of the whole school careers programme, the Careers Adviser delivers personal guidance to students individually or in group. It is possible that the Careers Leader also acts as the Careers Adviser if suitably qualified.