Career Guidance: Resources

• The Career and Enterprise Company has useful resource for careers and Information, Advice and Guidance.
• Ambitious about Autism has produced a toolkit for professionals which provides information and editable templates for careers and employability professionals to identify young people's aspirations. This includes their likes and interests as well as their skills and experience in employment.
• Ambitious about Autism also have a toolkit for young people designed to help prepare them for successful careers guidance sessions and work experience placements. As well as other helpful toolkits.
• A useful toolkit by National Development Team for Inclusion called Better Off to Work [Size: 347 KB, File: PDF], including case studies and benefit information.
• We have produced an Employer Toolkit [Size: 1,828 KB, File: PDF] which talks about What a reasonable Adjustment is and Access to work.

• Council for Disabled Children has helpful work experience guide for employers and education providers.
• Work experience is an important part of any young person’s journey towards employment. Evidence shows that young people who have four or more quality work experience-type activities, while still in education, are five times more likely to enter the labour market. The National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi) [Size: 889 KB, File: PDF] have produced a document about work experience for employers and education providers.
• NDTi Vocational Profile is a discovery tool to help match a young person up with work, including work experience. It is a discovery document and can be used to complement career education and Gatsby Benchmarks.
• Springpod is a free career network where young people can find virtual work experience, apprenticeships, internships, and graduate schemes. Students can explore hundreds of careers with up-to-date labour market information. Free and inspiring careers talks and the opportunity to interact and engage with the top employers in the UK.

• Amazing Apprenticeships deliver national projects designed to inform and inspire England’s students about apprenticeships on behalf of the National Apprenticeship Service. They have a wealth of informative resources, helping to explain apprenticeships whether you are a parent, teacher or thinking of becoming an apprentice yourself.
• The Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge for schools and colleges programme are a government-funded programme. It provides schools and other educational establishments across England free support to develop and transform how your students think about apprenticeships.
• The Champion Dashboard network consists of over 1000 people working in education and training across England who promote the apprenticeship brand. You can locate your nearest Champion by visiting their website.
• Here are some leading training providers in the Cambridgeshire Region.
• Preparing for Adulthood has produced a helpful apprenticeship toolkit.
• WorldSkills UK is dedicated to raising standards in apprenticeships and technical education, to help more young people and employers succeed. Their career and skill demos are there to help you think about how skills and interests can become careers

Please be aware, if you are under 18’s becoming self-employed, the Youth Employment UK state the following:

• You will have extra challenges ahead of you, because until you're 18 you'll have barriers to setting up your own business bank account, getting credit and raising business finance. As well as balancing business with education you will be limited to the type of work you can do as a minor.
• Under 18’s must remain in learning and so if they were to move into self-employment this would need to also involve learning as defined in the Raising the Participation Age legislation.
• What is an entrepreneur? Developed by the team in the Black Country Careers Hub this short resource is designed to support young people with SEND to understand what an entrepreneur is. This resource features in the My Skills My Future programme.
• Leading disability charity National Star, an ETF Centre for Excellence in SEND Employer Spoke, held a webinar, Self-employment for learners with SEND.
• We have a Self-employment Toolkit on our SEND Hub with other useful links.

• The Preparing for Adulthood 18-25 years guide is separated into different sections so you can easily select the topics that are important to you. The topics included in this booklet are: Moving to University; Building Employability; Volunteering; Adult Learning; Benefits.