Young people experience several transition points during their educational journey before securing a job. These include among others school-to-college, school-to-university, school-to-work transitions. It is therefore very important that they make an informed decision that is best suited to their interests, ability and career ambitions. Hence impartial information, advice and guidance (IAG) in relation to their post-16 choices is essential (Fuller and MacFadyen, 2012).  Some young people have a more linear progression to university taking a general route, while others might enter and exit various programmes before they find a suitable course. Vocational routes and ways into further education colleges are often considered complex and unstable, and are impacted by frequent policy reforms (Hupkau,et al., 2017). In England, about 50 percent of young people do not pursue university studies, but mostly engage with vocational training. In March 2023, there were also about 11 percent of young people who were not in education, employment or training (NEET). The combination of the maze of the vocational education and training (VET) system, and the proportion of young people taking a VET path makes information, advice and guidance and generally holistic support of young people a must (Maragkou, 2020). To ensure successful and smooth transitions for all young people and to help them make an informed decision about their future, Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) can play a decisive role. IAG should not only entail information about opportunities in relation to education and training, but IAG of high quality also should be based on, and linked to labour market intelligence (LMI). In an ideal world career advisors would encompass and draw on all this information, and make it available in a tailored, selective manner when advising young people. As recommended by Barnes and Bimrose (2021), among other things there is a clear need to improve LMI in relation to VET: it has to be simplified, it has to be relevant for young people, and it has to be built into the preparation and continuing professional development of ‘intermediaries’ (teachers and career practitioner). Broadly, this is what we plan to unpack in this paper.

This paper draws on findings from  a 5-year Economic and Social Research Council funded project, Young Lives, Young Futures which is investigating how England’s vocational education and training (VET) system can better support the school-to-work transitions of the 50 per cent of young people who do not go to university. Specifically, it draws on insights into CEIAG provided by interviews and discussions with researchers, practitioners and policy makers from six European countries, France, Germany, Norway, Scotland, Sweden and Switzerland, which are being undertaken to help inform evaluative readings of transition processes and systems in England in the light of lessons from other national contexts. All these countries have developed industrial and post-industrial economies and have well-established VET systems. However, they vary in terms of their economic and welfare systems and ideologies, involvement of social partners, approaches to VET provision, careers education, information and guidance, and rates of youth unemployment.

We aimed to answer the following question: How do the guidance systems in the chosen countries help young people make school-to-work, school-to-VET and VET-to-work transitions?

The aim of this paper is to identify and provide insights from national CEIAG systems as they relate to provision made for those young people who do not intend to enter university. Although generally speaking, CEIAG provision is for all young people, we are particularly interested in the provision made for those not taking a university route. Part of our research has entailed looking at national CEIAG systems to see if the quality of provision for those intending to enter the workplace and/or a VET differed significantly from what was available for those intending to go to university. Six countries, France, Germany, Norway, Scotland, Sweden and Switzerland were purposefully chosen demonstrating similarities and differences with each other and with England offering a base for comparing and contrasting approaches, processes and systems. All these countries have developed industrial and post-industrial economies and have well-established VET systems. However, they vary in terms of their economic and welfare systems and ideologies, involvement of social partners, approaches to VET provision, careers education, information and guidance, and rates of youth unemployment. We have interviewed 16 experts between September 2022 and December 2022. These consisted of: 1 French, 3 German, 1 Norwegian, 1 Scottish, 2 Swedish and 2 Swiss experts and 6 experts from England (4 with considerable international knowledge). We interviewed a combination of researchers, practitioners and policy makers. Interviews lasted between 60 and 70 minutes and were transcribed verbatim. In January 2023 we also ran a two-hour workshop with experts contributing short presentations followed by small group discussion. Alongside the interviews, this paper draws on data from this workshop. Our data does not offer a comprehensive overview of the national systems in the six counties. However, through analysis of the data, we have identified common themes.

We will discuss six themes: 1. The balance between centralisation and decentralisation of CEIAG provision. 2. The quality of provision for vulnerable groups, including SEND, NEET, migrants and low-achievers at school. 3. The quality and availability of labour market intelligence at different levels of national systems. 4. The architecture of and interaction between different levels and parts of the national CEIAG system (eg school/out of school; adult/young person) 5. The quality of CEIAG for those intending to embark on and those on a VET rather than higher education route. 6. Qualifications and professional preparation for CEIAG professional. Examples of findings include there being some evidence to suggest that well-resourced CEIAG, organised at the national level, but with regional and local presences, is a contributory factor to enabling young people to access VET and employment, but not a sufficient condition for doing so. None of those countries that we examined which had such systems had solved problems of transition, which in many cases remain complex. This remains particularly true for vulnerable groups of young people. Good CEIAG support for vulnerable groups is the biggest challenge facing the systems of all the countries in the study, even those with relatively low levels of youth unemployment. There are major problems facing CEIAG when catering for these groups. These include identifying, then tracking and supporting members of vulnerable groups, putting in place provision that successfully caters for these groups and ensuring that they can exit into a VET programme without having to undergo more than one cycle of support within a transition system. Finally, supporting those who cannot access a Level 3 or even Level 2 VET programme into meaningful employment and, possibly Continuing VET (CVET). This paper will discuss the six themes and reflect on their implications for IAG and VET in England.

Fuller, C., & MacFadyen, T. (2012). “What with your grades? ’Students’ motivation for and experiences of vocational courses in further education”. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 64(1), 87-101. Hupkau, C., McNally, S., Ruiz-Valenzuela, J., & Ventura, G. (2017). Post-compulsory education in England: choices and implications. National Institute Economic Review, 240(1), R42-R57. Maragkou, K. (2020). Socio-economic inequality and academic match among post-compulsory education participants. Economics of Education Review, 79, 102060. Barnes, S-A., and Bimrose, J. (2021). Labour market information and its use to inform career guidance of young people. An overview of the Labour Market Information System for Careers Guidance in England. Coventry: Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick. Retrieved from: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/research/lmicareerguidanceofyoungpeople/ier_gatsby_lmis_landscape_2021_final.pdf