Visitors to the Broad Street Connexions Centre please note...

From Monday 5 November 2012 the Broad Street Connexions Centre will be open from 12.30pm to 4pm, Monday to Friday. If you are visiting Connexions Birmingham, full details — including maps — are in our Contacting us/Staying in touch webpages.

What you thought about the future of Connexions - 2012

In early 2012, Connexions Birmingham ran a major consultation exercise to find out what you thought about our proposals for the future of the Connexions service. We had to make these proposals because of changes to the law about careers guidance, and because Birmingham City Council needs to save money. We had views from young people, parents, and schools and colleges. We have a summary of the proposals and what you told us about how you felt about them on our website.
As well as asking what you thought about the proposals, we asked how satisfied you — young people, parents and schools — were with the Connexions Birmingham service. It was great to see that, overall, 88.4% of people joining in the consultation were either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” and the figure for just young people rises to 91.3%.

National Careers Service launched today

The new National Careers Service was launched on 5 April 2012 — if you’re aged between 13 and 19, you get the website at nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk and the phone helpline 0800 100 900, plus careers advisers via webchat and email. Remember that Connexions Birmingham is now becoming a service which offers careers information advice and guidance to targetted groups of young people who might need extra support. We will only be offering “universal” careers information advice and guidance to wider groups of young people if your school/college is buying that service from us. You’ll be able to find out more about these changes soon on our website.

National survey finds that one in three schools has no plan to deliver careers advice

“Children & Young People Now” is reporting that a third of schools are yet to decide how to fulfil their new duty to provide careers advice for pupils, and changes to Connexions services have adversely affected four out of five schools across the country. Ths is based on a survey by the Institute of Career Guidance (ICG).

From September, schools will have a legal duty to “secure access to independent and impartial” careers guidance for pupils. Schools will be free to decide how to meet the new duty, but will not receive additional funding to pay for careers guidance, which has until now been funded by local authorities.

The ICG survey questioned 238 schools on how they are preparing for the changes. Asked what provision they plan to put in place from September, 8% said they intend to either do nothing, or refer pupils to websites and other online services, while one in three said they were yet to decide.

Almost everyone in the survey believes that face-to-face guidance is “very important” or “quite important”, but less than half said their school is planning to purchase impartial career guidance services from external careers guidance providers or independent careers advisers.

Nationally, the changes to Connexions services have adversely affected four out of five schools, half of which said they now have a “reduced” or “seriously reduced” careers service for pupils. A further 13% said careers guidance services for pupils have ceased completely since the changes to their local Connexions.

Here in Birmingham, Connexions is proposing that from April 2012 we continue to deliver a free careers information advice and guidance service to young people in schools who have learning difficulties or disabilities or who are in other vulnerable groups. Schools in Birmingham may also meet their new legal duty by purchasing additional careers information, advice and guidance services from Connexions Birmingham.

Connexions is changing

From April 2012 onwards, Connexions Birmingham will be changing quite a lot. On our website we have a “Connexions is changing... for young people” page where we try and explain what’s going on and how it will make a difference to people who have used Connexions Birmingham before. We’ll update this page whenever we can add some new or more detailed information so it’s worth checking back there from time to time.

Why is all this happening? Why are you changing things?

There are two reasons:

• The law has changed. From September 2012 it becomes the responsibility of schools to make sure that their pupils get impartial careers information, advice and guidance. Up until now this has been the role of Connexions. 
• As part of the City Council, Connexions Birmingham needs to make budget savings for next year (2012-2013).

Connexions in Birmingham needs to change — have YOUR say!

We need to change from April 2012, because of changes to the law about careers guidance, and because Birmingham City Council needs to save money.
WE WANT YOUR VIEWS on the service that we will provide from April onwards — so please fill in OUR ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE (it’s quick and anonymous). [Survey ended - link now removed]
The survey closes on Friday 27 January 2012 so please have a look soon. We'll publish the results here and on our website in early April. Thank you!
ADDITIONAL NOTE: a summary report is now available at What you thought about the future of Connexions - 2012 on our website.