Services for Young People has been delivering personal careers guidance interviews in schools and colleges for over two decades. We continue to be the trusted provider of this service for most schools and colleges in Hertfordshire. It is our most popular traded service, enabling schools and colleges to fulfil their statutory duty to provide all Year 7 to Year 13 students with access to impartial careers guidance.
What is a personal careers guidance interview?
Personal careers guidance interviews are one-to-one meetings with students during which an SfYP CEIAG Adviser provides information, advice and guidance tailored to the student’s circumstances and best interests. The young person’s strengths, skills and aspirations are identified, and an Action Plan is produced which records the main points of the discussion and the actions and outcomes agreed. This is emailed to the student and reviewed and updated at subsequent meetings.
Feedback from a student in East Herts
"I can't stress enough how helpful this meeting was… and how wonderful [the SfYP Adviser] was at taking into consideration all of what we discussed in the meeting; [my Action Plan] is extremely thought out and [it] has taken such a weight off my shoulders due to the reassurance, feedback on my previous plan and clear next steps of what I should be doing to inform my future decisions."
Our careers guidance interviews also enable schools and colleges to meet Gatsby Benchmark 8.
Gatsby Benchmark 8
"Every pupil should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a careers adviser, trained to an appropriate level. These should be available whenever significant study or career choices are being made. They should be expected for all pupils and be timed to meet their individual needs."
Our Advisers
All SfYP Advisers who work in schools and colleges are qualified to Level 6 in Careers Guidance and Development (or in training to achieve this qualification) and are supported by comprehensive SfYP and HCC Children’s Services training and ongoing learning and development.
More about who delivers our services for schools and colleges.
SfYP Advisers work alongside the professionally trained Youth Workers in their team to provide the highest-level holistic support for each young person. Barriers to progression can be identified and further support provided where appropriate. For example, a referral to an emotional wellbeing youth work project.
Impactful guidance interviews and Action Plans
In accordance with the statutory duty*, Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) and Career Development Institute (CDI) recommendations, Services for Young People encourages careers guidance interviews to be a minimum of 45 minutes to ensure that they are impactful, and result in a full typed SMART (specific; measurable; attainable; relevant; and time bound) Action Plan based on goals, discussion points and agreed actions.
* See the Department for Education's statutory guidance document, page 40.
Interested in finding out more?
To discuss your personalised package and costs, please contact us:
- SfYP@hertfordshire.gov.uk
- 0300 123 7538
Alternatively, complete the enquiry form on the Contact us page.
