If you’re a young person, aged 13-19, in Salford, you have the right to access independent and impartial information, advice and guidance, to support you to make well-informed and realistic decisions about your career choices.
All schools in England have a duty to provide independent careers guidance to all students aged 12-18 (years eight to 13).
- This guidance has to be delivered in an impartial manner; this means that they can’t be biased or show favouritism in any way towards a particular education or work option.
- The guidance should explore a range of different education or training opportunities, including apprenticeships and other vocational pathways.
- The guidance should be provided by a qualified Level 6 IAG Practitioner who is supported through continuous CPD.
All schools must also provide students with the access to careers guidance from outside the school.
- This external support may be in the form of career fairs, mentoring, employer visits and talks, college or university visits, access to careers websites or a telephone and helpline service.
Some schools may also have a member of staff on site that provides this advice and guidance to pupils, however some schools may purchase a service from an IAG provider or another service to give this advice.
Face-to-face careers guidance is usually arranged by the school where it is most suitable for those pupils to make a successful next step. This is particularly so for those at risk of NEET or SEN students.
Please note that if your school has not arranged for you to have a one to one careers guidance session, it may be worth asking about it to get one set up.
If you are a young person in college or further education
Those continuing their studies in further education still have access to IAG support both during their course and towards completion to offer advice and guidance on next step pathways. This support is usually provided through the college or sixth form student services department. It's worth find out where they are located in your college or sixth form and to make an appointment with a qualified careers adviser. Each college or sixth form will either have an on-site adviser or use a service form a local IAG provider.
Connexions are a service in Salford, for NEET young people ages 16 to 18 (or up to 25 for SEN). They offer impartial career advice and information to support the individuals that use the service.
National Careers Service (NCS)
The National Careers Service provides information, advice and guidance across England to help you make decisions on learning, training and work. The service offers confidential and impartial advice and is supported by qualified careers advisers.
If you are over the age of 19 it may be worth checking in with your local Job Centre Plus.
If you are a young person and need support with your health and wellbeing
Turn2us
Turn2us is a national charity that helps people in financial hardship gain access to welfare benefits, charitable grants and support services. It also has information on a range of different financial circumstances for young people.
The Mix
The Mix is a service that gives information, advice and guidance to young people and covers a wide range of different issues that they may be facing. This may be things like work and study, money, sex and relationships, drugs and many more.
If you are a young person with special educational needs and/or disabilities
The Salford Local Offer website contains information about support that is available locally for children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities. Take a look at our Local Offer pages.
Contact – for families with disabled children
Contact is a charity for families with disabled children; it offers advice and support regarding a range of different areas that may be important to your child’s future. This could be relating to education, childcare, health and many more.