Editorial Comment:

Focus of Study

This research was commissioned by the Guidance Council to explore the expectations of, and demand for, information, advice and guidance (IAG) about opportunities for learning and work. Following a literature review and pilot study, the researchers interviewed 1,000 general population working-age adults aged 16-65 in 61 enumeration districts in September and October 2000. 300 users of guidance were subsequently interviewed by telephone in October 2000.

Key Findings

In general, attitudes towards IAG are either positive, or at worst indifferent. Two in three adults agree that information, advice and guidance are useful in helping them to make the right decisions about education, work and training. Nearly half the working age population has accessed IAG about education, training and work opportunities in the last year. Multivariate analysis shows that age is the factor which most influences use of services, with those under 25 - particularly 16-19 year olds - most likely to have used services. Amongst those over 25, those who have formal qualifications are much more likely to access IAG than those without. In turn ABC1s (non-manual occupations), are more likely to use services than C2DEs (unemployed and disabled), as well as those over 45.

Employers are the most common source of IAG - around a third of users accessed IAG through their employer. The majority of users (57%) indicated that they had received IAG from more than one source. Half of users had accessed IAG in person, whilst one in three used the telephone. Almost all adults (93%) who accessed guidance in the last year were satisfied with what they had received. Most users of guidance (86% - of the 300 sample) reported a positive outcome resulting from IAG. Over half (54%) reported learning new skills, or updating existing skills (50%), but this is more likely when IAG was received from their employer. Just over a third (36%) indicated that - as a result of the IAG they had - they gained additional qualifications, and 30% found or took up a job.

Additional Comment

One in four adults (28%) express some unmet demand for IAG. The level of unmet demand is highest amongst unemployed adults – principally for job-search related activities – and non-white adults, and those under 20 are more likely to express an unmet need.