The Coalition Government's policies on career guidance are analysed. Its rhetorical concern for career guidance provision is based largely on its support for social mobility, and its recognition of the role of career guidance in moving towards a demand-led skills system. Initial policy statements affirmed its intention to establish an all-age…

Three trends in the evolution of the UK Learndirect advice service are identified: the partial migration from telephone to web-based services; the trend within the telephone service from information/advice-oriented interventions to more guidance-oriented interventions; and the move from a mainly learning-oriented service to a more career-oriented…

The devolution instigated in the United Kingdom in 1997 was a further stage in a long historical process. Nonetheless, prior to the 1990s, the basic structures of career guidance services were broadly similar across the UK. But the marketisation of careers services that took place under the Conservative government in the mid-1990s went further in…

A programme designed to develop the capacity of voluntary agencies and community groups to deliver information, advice and guidance (IAG) on learning and work to their clients and members is outlined. Four forms of capacity building are distinguished: internal IAG capacity building, based on developing IAG resources within the agency or group…

The UK Learndirect helpline is the largest telephone helpline service in the guidance field. The development of the helpline is placed in the context of the transformations in service delivery in other sectors. Reviews the use of the telephone in career guidance, and describes the evolution of Learndirect, with particular attention to its policy…