If you had told me 10 years ago we would have successfully established a careers company in the ‘private’ sector’ I wouldn’t believe it!
14 years ago I joined a team of five Curriculum Advisers and a Manager at Connexions Lincolnshire and Rutland. Our work was to support schools with their statutory responsibility for careers education. The ethos of our team was to enable individuals to make successful transitions. We supported schools to facilitate this through:
- Helping Lincolnshire schools to achieve the then East Midlands quality award Career Mark (and assessing schools outside of Lincolnshire against the award)
- Delivering accredited and non-accredited training for careers coordinators to help them fully understand and fulfil their role in school
- Providing consultancy support to help schools with their statutory responsibilities and best practice in careers.
Fast forward to present day and these are very much still services we provide with these key differences:
- We are now a leading provider of careers guidance services
- Instead of supporting (Lincolnshire) and assessing (East Midlands) against Career Mark, we now own it and have successfully led the transition into a leading Licensed Awarding Body of the national Quality in Careers Standard, as well as introducing Career Mark Primary and Career Mark International
- The majority of our paid work is national, rather than local.
We established Complete-Careers LLP in November 2015 following redundancy from the county council as the support role for schools was no longer statutory (for local authorities) and the public sector was implementing austerity measures. The national position of careers at this time was as low as I have ever known (in close to 20 years in the profession) yet it was then we decided to set up the partnership. With an investment of approximately £100 per partner Complete-Careers LLP was born!
Through hard work, commitment and drive we have created a sustainable, fully self-reliant partnership that is committed to our values and the impact of what we do and why. I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved to date and the work we have undertaken. I must dispel a myth that life in the private sector is far more financially rewarding, as this has been far from the case to date, but the autonomy and commitment to the cause has more than compensated.
The journey to date would not have been possible had it been for:
- A truly dedicated career professional who has given her all to the development of Complete-Careers LLP and the importance of career education, information, advice and guidance
- Committed partners that alongside full-time employment elsewhere have dedicated countless hours of their own time to help steer and support the partnership
- Dedicated career leaders/coordinators that know, trust and value what we do and have supported us through the transition (you know who you are!)
Soon we may no longer be able to refer to ourselves as a micro employer. We are learning every single day and don’t always get it right but our expertise, desire and reputation grows by the day. Bring on the next 4 years!