This Estyn report looks at how well Careers Wales targets the 14-16-year-olds most in need of independent advice and guidance for their career pathways.
It's not always clear how leaders and managers measure impact and effectiveness of their services and overall strategy, which impedes the company’s ability to base improvement planning on a reliable or rigorous analysis of its service strengths and areas for improvement.
The report found that most careers advisers are well-prepared for the guidance session at the schools and settings visited, particularly where relationships with schools are good. They provide clear advice, often challenging risky or unrealistic ideas through sensitive questioning.
Most of the young people eligible for a guidance session respond well to their adviser. They consider questions around their initial ideas and plans and are willing to work towards the action plan they create with support. However, young people’s starting points range widely, often due to the quality of career support from their schools they have had before the session.
The report found that Careers Wales are not always clear about measuring the impact and effectiveness of their services and overall strategy. Overall, the company’s processes for evaluating the impact of its services are underdeveloped, with too much focus on client satisfaction and not enough analysis of what impact the service has on improving the quality of clients’ planning or decision-making. This limits the company’s ability to base its improvement planning on a reliable or rigorous analysis of service strengths and areas for improvement.