Careers Leader
Careers Leaders are responsible and accountable for the planning, delivery and impact measurement of their school, special school or college’s strategic careers plan and progressive careers programme.
It’s a key role that involves aligning careers provision to the strategic priorities of the school, special school or college and overseeing work towards meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks in a meaningful way for young people.
The Careers Leader needs to be someone who can:
- Take responsibility for continuous improvement of the strategic careers plan and the progressive careers programme, which should be planned and implemented to ensure positive outcomes for young people.
- Coordinate and manage the various elements of the careers programme informed by a strategic careers plan aligned to school, special school or college priorities.
- Liaise with external partners, such as employers, learning providers and career guidance services.
- Pay careful attention to feedback from all stakeholders and to the destinations of pupils.
Developed with you in mind, we’ve made it easy to quickly find the trusted, high quality resources you need to make a difference. We’ve identified, and regularly update, key resources that can directly support you as you plan, implement and measure the impact of your strategic careers plan and progressive careers programme and as you work towards achieving the Gatsby Benchmarks.

Careers Impact internal leadership review
The Careers Impact internal leadership review supports a quality assured, sustainable and strategic approach to careers leadership.
The review forms part of the Careers Impact System, which is a process that drives continuous improvement in careers education. It sets clearly defined standards as to what good looks like in careers leadership and is directly linked to wider school and college improvement.
Spotlight
Careers Leader Induction: Free Online Learning
Careers Leader Induction: Free Online Learning
Guided Learning Hours: 2-4 hours
Careers Leader training
Transform your careers programme and develop your skills as a Careers Leader to strategically embed careers in the curriculum.
Gatsby Benchmark 1 Module 1: Creating a Strategic Careers Plan
The following resource and support are designed to support a Careers Leader to create a strategic careers plan. The resource and support include ‘Building a Strategic Careers Plan’ guidance document and a Careers Leader recorded webinar on this element of Benchmark 1.
Gatsby Benchmark toolkit – schools
Access case studies of best practice in schools, as well as tips and practical suggestions for successfully implementing the eight Gatsby Benchmarks.
Gatsby Benchmark toolkit – colleges
Identify what ‘good’ looks like across all eight Gatsby Benchmarks, see useful case studies, and follow practical suggestions for putting the benchmarks into practice.
Gatsby Benchmark toolkit – SEND
If you are working to deliver the Gatsby Benchmarks for young people with SEND – in any setting – you will find lots of practical help in this toolkit.
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Careers Leader training
Transform your careers programme and develop your skills as a Careers Leader to strategically embed careers in the curriculum.
My Week of Work Careers Leader Guide
This guide supports the use of the My Week of Work resources.
Careers and enterprise provision in England’s colleges in 2019: Detailed Gatsby Benchmark results
This report builds on the national results from the State of the Nation Report 2019 with additional analysis of the Compass data for colleges specifically, to provide Careers Leaders, college leaders and their external partners with the insights needed to make further progress.
IGD Work Experience week
If you are interested in helping your students learn about the food and grocery industry, we would recommend IGD Feeding Britains Futures. It is a free initiative that brings the industry together to develop students’ employability skills and learn about the wide range of roles in the industry.
Intern Video Resource
The Careers & Enterprise Company hosted two students from School21 as interns as part of the Real World Learning Programme. As the first ever year 10 interns, Adil and Uyiosa bring to you their video resource on what young people want to know learn and experience when transitioning from education to the world of work.
Employer engagement in careers education: Insights 2020/21
This report draws out key insights from some of the employers most involved in careers education across the country, analysing how practice is evolving and what activity is generating impact. It draws on survey data from ninety businesses of different shapes, types, sectors and in each region of England, and analyses their experiences of preparing students for the world of work.
AET - Let’s Talk Futures
This resource was created by AET to equip parents to have informed career conversations with their child by providing ongoing access to resources, guidance and key sources of information that will support them.
Arrange and prepare for an independent training provider visit
This is a template resource that can be adapted locally to help Careers Hub support their institutions to prepare for an ITP encounter.
Black Country Careers Hub SEND resources
The Black Country Careers Hub have developed a number of resources to support those working with young people with SEND in the different settings. Many of these resources are featured in the My Skills My Future programme.
Causeway and STAR Academies - Year 7 Curriculum Resources
Developed by Causeway in partnership with Star Academies.
These resources have been created by curriculum subject experts to engage students as practically as possible in fully resourced classroom-based packs which teachers can use to showcase the application of curriculum topics to real job roles.
Causeway and STAR Academies - Year 9 Curriculum Resources
Developed by Causeway in partnership with Star Academies.
These resources have been created by curriculum subject experts to engage students as practically as possible in fully resourced classroom-based packs which teachers can use to showcase the application of curriculum topics to real job roles.
Get Set Progress - Internship Programme
Get Set Progress run by Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT), provides paid internships for blind and partially sighted people (over the age of 18) to secure that first run on the career ladder or who are returning to work following a career break.