Careers adviser in schools and colleges

A careers adviser in a school or college gives students impartial guidance about their next steps: sixth form, college, apprenticeships, university or work. In England, schools must provide access to independent careers guidance, and the Department for Education expects every student to have at least one personal guidance interview with a qualified adviser. “Qualified” usually means a Level 6 qualification in careers guidance. Advisers may be employed by the school, a trust, a college, a council or an external careers company.

What the job involves

Most of the work is one-to-one guidance interviews. You help a student think through their interests, strengths and options, explain the routes open to them and agree an action plan. You also run group sessions, support students making post-16 and post-18 applications, and help organise events such as careers fairs and employer talks.

Advisers spend extra time with students who are at risk of not being in education, employment or training after leaving, with care leavers and with students who have special educational needs. That often means working alongside pastoral staff, the SENCO and a learning mentor.

The busiest times are the autumn and spring of Year 11, when post-16 applications are due, and Year 13 for university and apprenticeship applications. Results days in August can also be hectic.

The Gatsby benchmarks and statutory guidance

Schools and colleges in England are measured against the eight Gatsby benchmarks, which set out what good careers provision looks like. They cover a stable careers programme, using labour market information, meeting each student’s needs, linking curriculum learning to careers, contact with employers, experience of workplaces, contact with further and higher education, and personal guidance.

The personal guidance benchmark is where the careers adviser’s role sits most directly. The DfE’s statutory guidance also requires schools to let colleges, apprenticeship providers and training providers speak to pupils about technical education and apprenticeships, and the careers team usually organises those encounters. A careers leader, often a senior teacher, is responsible for the overall programme, and the adviser provides the guidance itself.

Qualifications

The standard professional qualification is the Level 6 Diploma in Career Guidance and Development, or a postgraduate qualification in careers guidance from a university. Schools and providers working to the statutory guidance usually look for advisers who hold a Level 6 qualification or are working towards one, and many expect registration with the Career Development Institute’s professional register.

Routes in vary. Some advisers come from teaching, youth work, recruitment or HR and take the qualification part-time while working in a careers assistant or trainee role. Others take the postgraduate route full-time. The National Careers Service profile gives the main options.

School-based work needs an enhanced DBS check with the children’s barred list, as it does for other school staff.

Who employs careers advisers

There are three main models:

1. The school or trust employs its own adviser, usually as support staff.
2. The school buys in an adviser from a careers company or the local council, who visits on set days.
3. A college employs a careers team, often larger, covering further and higher education students.

Advisers who work for an external provider may cover several schools in a week. That brings variety and a wider view of local options, but less time to get to know each school’s staff.

Pay varies by employer. School and council posts typically use the NJC pay spine, which runs from £25,614 at SCP 3 to £56,293 at SCP 43 in 2026/27, with the grade set by job evaluation. Colleges and private careers companies set their own pay. Check whether a school-based post is term-time only, which reduces the actual salary. The NJC pay spine guide lists every point.

Impartiality and records

The guidance a school gives must be impartial: it should set out every realistic option, including apprenticeships and college courses, and not steer students towards the school’s own sixth form. That can create tension where a school is keen to keep its post-16 numbers up, and an adviser employed by the school may need to hold that line politely. Advisers from external providers sometimes find this easier.

You also keep records of each guidance interview, often in a shared system, and pass information to the local authority about students’ intended destinations so that young people who drop out can be followed up. Data protection rules apply, and students should know what is recorded and who will see it.

Skills that matter

Good advisers listen well, stay impartial and keep up to date with a constantly changing set of qualifications, apprenticeship standards and local employers. You need to be comfortable with students who have no idea what they want to do, and with parents whose expectations differ from their child’s. Students get a lot from an adviser who knows the local labour market, and many advisers build their own contacts with local employers and colleges.

If you are moving from teaching, the guidance interview is a different skill from teaching a class. Expect to unlearn the habit of giving answers and to practise helping the student reach their own. Further education colleges are a good place to look for trainee posts, as are council-run careers services; see how to get a council job for how those are advertised.