Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance

Revised Gatsby Benchmarks

The world has evolved; so have the Gatsby Benchmarks for good career guidance

Since the Gatsby Benchmarks were launched a decade ago careers guidance has improved for millions of young people thanks to the efforts and expertise of schools, colleges and independent training providers (ITPs) across the country.

Evidence shows the benchmarks have had a hugely positive impact on the lives of young people across England.

Recent analysis shows students in institutions achieving all eight benchmarks are 8% less likely to be categorised as NEET (not in education, employment or training) compared to peers in schools with either low or no Gatsby Benchmark activity. The research suggests that this relationship is strongest for those institutions with the most disadvantaged young people, with as much as a 20% reduction in NEET rates.

Schools, colleges and ITPs have consistently fed back how useful the Benchmarks are as a framework for delivering world-class careers guidance.

A lot has changed in the past ten years, with a vast technological revolution, incredible innovation in schools and colleges, seismic shifts in the labour market and new jobs and career pathways that didn’t exist ten years ago.

So now, following almost two years of extensive research and stakeholder engagement, the Gatsby Benchmarks have been updated, to achieve even more impact for young people for the next decade.

Here is a reminder of the eight Gatsby Benchmarks:

1. A stable careers programme
2. Learning from career and labour market information
3. Addressing the needs of each young person
4. Linking curriculum learning to careers
5. Encounters with employers and employees
6. Experiences of workplaces
7. Encounters with further and higher education
8. Personal guidance

The core of the eight Gatsby Benchmarks remains the same but the changes that have been made are really important. Many of the updates fall under one or more of five key themes:

• Careers at the heart of education and leadership

• Inclusion and impact for each and every young person

• Meaningful and varied encounters and experiences

• Focusing on the use of information and data

• Engagement of parents and carers

The updated benchmarks, along with details on what updates have been made and why and examples of impressive practice are presented in the Good Career Guidance: The Next Ten Years report.

The report is available here via the Gatsby Benchmarks website

Strategic Careers Network Group - FES Connect 2025/26

The Association of Colleges (AoC) is delighted to be working in partnership with the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) to launch a national network for strategic careers leaders in post-16 education.

As well as being a part of the network and its benefits, CEC is offering network group members access to their data dashboard allowing you oversight of careers education performance relating to your college/college group to compare your performance with the sector.

Online meeting information:

Meeting 1 Strategic Careers Network Group l Tuesday 7 October 2025, 15:30-17:00

Description: In this, our first strategic careers network group, we will set out terms of reference, receive strategic updates from The Careers and Enterprise Company and the Policy Manager for Careers at the AoC. We will share plans for the group and there will be opportunity for sector voice and to shape future work.

Meeting theme: Modern work experience and FE developments, and application of Equalex.

Meeting 2 Strategic Careers Network Group l Tuesday 27 January 2026, 15:30-17:00

Meeting theme: NEET prevention/Disadvantaged

Meeting 3 Strategic Careers Network Group l Tuesday 12 May 2026, 15:30-17:00

Meeting theme: Continuous quality improvements/ Insights from IRL completions and next steps

Full information and sign up here

Over 2,000 Careers Leaders have already completed the fully funded training with 82% of Careers Leaders reporting a faster improvement towards achieving the Gatsby Benchmarks*.The training equips Careers Leaders with all the knowledge they need across leadership, management, co-ordination and networking to implement a strategic, whole school/college approach to careers. This year, The Careers & Enterprise Company has partnered with nine high quality training providers to deliver this training.

• Choose from distant, face-to-face or blended learning courses
• Network and make new connections with other Careers Leaders.
• Improve your knowledge of the role and gain access to a qualification (up to level 7)
• All Careers Leaders are eligible to apply for a fully funded training place.

*source: Impact evaluation of Careers Leader Training, 2018-2020

For more information, view the evaluation report.

CEC Careers Impact Leadership Reviews

The Careers Enterprise Company are excited to share with you the new Careers Impact internal leadership review, an approach that provides a shared language of how careers can be positioned as a driver for college improvement.  The internal leadership review supports Education Leader engagement, allowing you to embed a quality assured, sustainable and strategic approach to careers leadership in your provision. It involves a structured conversation focusing on six themes, each aligned to the Gatsby Benchmarks, and it enables leaders to identify effective action areas to drive continuous improvement. 

The process includes a free digital feature to record and analyse responses in Compass+/Compass, with data visualisations to aid strategic action-planning with SLT and governors.  

Getting started 

1. Visit the Resource Directory to further your understanding of the internal leadership review and how to prepare for one. 

CEC Parental Engagement Action Research Report and Toolkit 2024/25

The careers action research project proposed by CEC and supported by AoC was designed to focus on the provision of CEIAG in FE colleges and independent training providers, with a specific lens on the relationship between parent/carer engagement and careers support in the sector.
Parental engagement has recently been given more prominence in the revised Gatsby Benchmarks, with the relaunch document stating that “parents and carers are one of the biggest influences on young people’s career decision making” and that the updated benchmarks have been designed to support organisations to “embed parent and carer engagement into planning and specify the need to share information with parents and carers and support them to use it with their children.”
This report explores the insights gathered from two further education colleges and one independent training provider who took part in an action research project on parental engagement and highlights how
and why a strategic focus on parental engagement improves the quality of careers advice and guidance, with positive impact on students, parents and the institutions themselves.

Click here to view the Parental engagement report Click here to see the parental engagement webinar