There is no universal entitlement to face-to-face career guidance and support in the UK – and no careers equivalent to the NHS.

Public sector support is currently centralised in England and Wales around two providers. Learndirect offer a free telephone advice service seven days a week. Further details are available on their website - http://www.learndirect-advice.co.uk

Nextstep is a network of organisations who provide services on a local basis. Nextstep can only usually offer free face-to-face advice to those who have less than 5 GCSEs or have not yet achieved an NVQ level 2 qualification. If you fall outside this category, whether you can access support for free may depend on where you live and your current situation. The starting point for finding out about nextstep services is http://www.nextstep.org.uk

If you have studied at Higher Education level, you may be able to get help from a local university. Universities all have careers professional to support their students and graduates and many also offer support to alumni – those who studied some time ago – but usually charge for this client group. The attitude of institutions to requests for help from graduates of other universities

is now quite variable. Some will offer limited help for free to those within a time period. Others – particularly those in central London – now have a policy of disallowing free access to any but their own. It’s best to check directly with any universities that are near you – a full list of university careers services is available at Prospects: http://www.prospects.ac.uk

There is a growing private market for careers guidance and support. The biggest operators are firms of occupational psychologists who provide outplacement, selection and professional development services. Often their main clients are organisations rather than individuals. There are also some careers and Human Resource professionals who have become self-employed to offer services directly to the public.

If you decide to consider the private sector, you might be wondering what quality checks or measures you can look for. Matrix is a quality standard for organisations working in the advice and guidance sector. You might also take notice of membership of professional bodies such as the Institute of Career Guidance

Next

Back