Gatsby welcomes the focus on emerging skills development and the adoption of the skills value chain approach set out today (22 July 2021) in the Government’s new Innovation Strategy.

Today's (15 July 2021) release of updated statutory guidance for schools, further education colleges, and sixth form colleges on the delivery of career guidance brings the welcome news that the Gatsby Benchmarks will continue as the single organising framework for career guidance in England.

This week, the government published the response to its consultation on the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3.

Unfinished business: business support services and further education  Government’s recent white paper, Skills for jobs: lifelong learning for opportunity and growth, sets out an ambition for College Business Centres to work with employers to drive innovation and productivity.

An independent evaluation of the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance Pilot has been released. The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) played a central role in the Pilot and Skills Director Michelle Rainbow reflects on this and how even after the Pilot was completed, the Benchmarks have remained at the heart of the North East Ambition programme.