National Careers Service satisfaction and progression survey
Source: data.gov.uk (2017-02-09)

Data from a report that presents findings of a survey of National Careers Service (NCS) users. The research looked at customer satisfaction with the service and their progression after their telephone call, meeting with an adviser or visit to the website. The survey took place between April 2012 and March 2013.

1

BIS RESEARCH PAPER NO. 152

National Careers Service:
Satisfaction and Progression
surveys: Annual report (April 2012-
March 2013 fieldwork)

NOVEMBER 2013

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

The views expressed in this report are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of
the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
1 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0ET
www.gov.uk/bis

Research paper number 152

November 2013
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Contents
Contents...........................................................................................................................................3
Chapter 1: Executive Summary .....................................................................................................4
Chapter 2: Introduction and Methodology..................................................................................13
Chapter 3: Customer Profile and their reasons for contact ......................................................18
Chapter 4: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) ..........................................................................34
Chapter 5: Operational aspects of face-to-face and telephone adviser sessions, and
satisfaction with how handled .....................................................................................................40
Chapter 6: The National Careers Service website: Tools and features used, and satisfaction
with aspects of the website..........................................................................................................50
Chapter 7: Key drivers of satisfaction.........................................................................................58
Chapter 8: Customer progression following their dealings......................................................64
Chapter 9: Results by Prime Contractor.....................................................................................83
Chapter 10: Chapter Differences between JCP and non-JCP customers................................90
Appendices....................................................................................................................................94
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Chapter 1: Executive Summary
This report presents findings of research conducted among National Careers Service
customers that received advice via the service’s telephone and face-to-face channels
and/or visited the National Careers Service website. This is the second year of research of
telephone and face-to-face customers (although in the first year the service was branded
as Next Step1). This is the first year that research evidence has been collected of
customers’ experience of using the National Careers Service website. The research
examines customer satisfaction with the service and their progression subsequent to their
call / meeting with an adviser or visit to the website. The fieldwork was undertaken from
April 2012 to March 2013. The research involved two distinct elements:
The Satisfaction survey:

Face-to-face and telephone customers: 8,808 interviews were conducted by
telephone in the month after the adviser session (hence covering adviser sessions
taking place from March 2012 to February 2013).

Online customers: 6,504 responses were completed by visitors to the National
Careers Service website from August 2012 to March 2013 – all completed a pop-up
survey when they visited the site.
The Progression survey:

Face-to-face and telephone customers: telephone interviews were conducted six
months after the adviser session (hence covering adviser sessions taking place
from October 2012 to September 2012). A total of 6,395 interviews were
undertaken for this element of the research.

Online customers: this was conducted via an online survey sent by e-mail to online
customers 3 months after completing the pop-up survey. 293 customers completed
this survey between November 2012 and March 2013.
It should be noted that this research survey includes some customers who had sessions
delivered under the Next Step brand although the service will be referred to throughout
this report as the National Careers Service.
The customer profile and reasons for contact
At the time of their adviser meeting almost three-quarters (73%) of face-to-face customers
were unemployed and looking for work. In contrast only around a third of telephone
customers and website visitors were unemployed and looking for work (47% of telephone

1 The report for the Year 1 survey was published at: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/BISCore/further-education-
skills/docs/N/12-p161-next-step-satisfaction-and-progression-surveys-2012.pdf
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
customers and 43% of website visitors were in work). It is also noticeable that those
accessing different parts of the service have different qualification levels: of those where a
qualification level can be determined from their responses, face-to-face customers split
relatively evenly between those qualified to Level 2 or above (55%) and those with lower
level qualifications. In contrast the vast majority of online and telephone customers (just
under four-fifths) have higher level qualifications (at level 2 or above).
These two factors (employment status and qualification level) mean that those accessing
different parts of the service have very different ‘starting points’. This is borne out in their
reasons for accessing the service. Overall the most common reasons for contacting the
National Careers Service were to obtain information to help find a job (73%), general
careers advice and guidance (66%), to get information about courses to do with a current
or future job (65%), to get information or advice about a specific career or industry (61%)
or for help with writing a CV (60%). When asked about their main reason for contact,
however, face-to-face customers were most likely to mention help with their CV (32%) or
information to help find a job (17%), whereas telephone customers were most likely to say
the main reason was to obtain information on funding of courses (31%) or information
about courses to do with a current or future job (16%). This suggests that face-to-face
customers have a work focus, while telephone customers have more of a learning focus.
Similar to face-to-face customers, online customers were more career and job oriented
than learning oriented: over half said they visited the site to get information or advice on
jobs or careers (56%), twice the proportion that mentioned looking for information or
advice about courses and learning (27%). More than a fifth (22%) stated that they were
visiting the website in order to access their Lifelong Learning Account.
That said, most customers were looking for assistance across a range of areas.
Overall Customer Satisfaction
Customers continue to rate the service very highly. As many as 94% of face-to-face and
telephone customers agreed that the service was good; and 84% were satisfied overall,
with 41% very satisfied, compared against 6% dissatisfied. There has been little change
since Year 1 of the survey when the service was Next Step (then 93% agreed the service
was good, the satisfaction figures were the same as found for the current study). This
clearly indicates that the change from Next Step to the National Careers Service has not
negatively impacted on overall views of the service being delivered.
Results among recipients of face-to-face and telephone advice were more positive than
average: 85% of face-to-face customers and 84% of telephone advice customers were
satisfied. In comparison 79% of telephone information customers and 76% of website
visitors were satisfied overall.
Most users were satisfied overall with the National Careers Service website (76%)
compared with 7% dissatisfied.
Service delivery – telephone customers
The vast majority of customers were satisfied with the time taken for the call to be
answered (84% v 3% dissatisfied), hence there is negligible evidence of people being kept
on hold in queues, a common complaint among those contacting call centres.
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Most people were handled in a single call (71%). Those handled in a single call were more
likely to be satisfied overall (83% compared with 74% among those requiring multiple
calls). This suggests that where possible everything should be done to try and deal with
callers there and then.
Where more than one call was required, most customers were dealt with by different
advisers (60%). Those having multiple calls dealt with by a single adviser were more likely
to be satisfied overall (81% compared with 70% when they spoke to different advisers).
This suggests, where feasible, that the service should try to enable the customer to talk to
the same adviser each time.
Around half (49%) were told information would be sent. Although most said they had
received this information, 12% said it had not (yet) arrived. Customers expecting
information which had not arrived were far less often very satisfied (26%) than those
receiving their information (55%).
Service delivery – face-to-face customers
For the face-to-face element of the service:

Two-thirds (67%) of customers had a single meeting with an adviser. In contrast to
the situation with telephone customers, face-to-face customers who had more than
one meeting with an adviser were more satisfied overall (48% very satisfied) than
those having a single meeting (37%).

Most customers who had more than one meeting saw the same adviser (73%).
These customers were more likely to be very satisfied overall than those seeing
different advisers. This suggests that seeing the same adviser may be considered
good practice.

A third of customers (34%) recalled undertaking the Skills Health Check, while 59%
recalled a Skills Action Plan being developed. (As a note, all face-to-face customers
in the sample will have participated in the development of a Skills Action Plan,
hence there is clearly an issue of recall.) Customers recalling experiencing each
were more likely to be very satisfied than average (for example 46% of those who
recalled a Skills Action Plan being developed were very satisfied compared with
32% of other face-to-face customers).

A small proportion of customers opened a Lifelong Learning Account during a
session (7%), and while some had opened one since (6%), already had one (3%) or
were offered one (11%) most said it had not been discussed (64%). The proportion
of customers who reported that a Lifelong Learning Account was not discussed has
fallen significantly from the Year 1 survey result (70%).
It is worth noting that, as discussed in a later section of this Executive Summary (and
discussed more fully in Chapter 9), for a number of these measures results varied quite
widely by Prime Contractor.
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Rating of advisers and the information and advice
Across both telephone and face-to-face customers, satisfaction with the adviser for their
professionalism, helpfulness, knowledge, and understanding of the client’s needs was high
(approximately 90% satisfied on each, with 55% to 65% very satisfied, compared with 5%
or fewer dissatisfied). Telephone information customers were less likely to be very
satisfied than telephone advice customers, possibly reflecting the less intensive nature of
the sessions.
Customer satisfaction with the information and advice being clear and easy to understand
(93% satisfied), useful (87%), and helping customers to make an informed choice about
what to do next (84%) were also very positive. On each measure the proportion of very
satisfied customers was two to three percentage points higher for face-to-face customers
and three to five percentage points higher for telephone customers compared with the
Year 1 survey.
Service delivery – website customers
The most common website features and tools used were the Skills Health Check (36%),
CV Builder (33%) and Job Profiles (24%), with around a fifth also accessing their Lifelong
Learning Account (21%) or looking at the Careers Advice pages (18%). In contrast many
tools or features had been used by fewer than 5%. One in seven respondents (rising to
21% for first time visitors) said that they had just browsed the site, not using any of the
tools or features that were on offer.
Three general conclusions stand out:

All features were seen as useful by the vast majority of users

Job Profiles and CV Builder are by far the highest rated with over half thinking each
very useful (62% and 56% respectively – for other tools around two-fifths thought
them very useful)

The Course Search and the Action Plan functions were the least well rated of the
main tools / features: 20% of users of Course Search and 14% of users of Action
Plans thought these had not been useful (for most other tools 6-7% of users thought
each had not been useful).
Most users of the website said that on their current or recent visits they found all (30%) or
most (30%) of the information they wanted. This compares with 20% only finding some of
the information they wanted and 8% finding none of what they had been looking for.
Results suggest the site could be clearer with regard to advising people that they can
contact an adviser and how to do this. Among those finding just some or none of what they
had been looking for, only half (49%) felt it was clear from the website how to contact an
adviser for further support, with the remainder either feeling this was not clear (15%) or not
sure (36%), the latter figure implying that this aspect is not given prominence.
Just over four in five users of the web service expressing an opinion on each measure
thought that the information was clear and easy to understand (86%), of high quality (84%)
and easy to find (82%), and that the website was easy to use (84%) and the design of the
website was good (82%). On each measure around 5% thought the website poor.
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
The top four suggested improvements put forward by website users were:

Make the site more user-friendly by making it easier to find the information needed.

Improving the CV Builder. Website users liked this function but noted problems with
it timing out and losing work as a result of this. They liked the templates but many of
the comments referred to this not always working, whilst others wanted more
examples of CVs available.

Having a good facility where skills, interests and abilities could be matched with
careers / available jobs.

For job descriptions to be more detailed.
Key drivers of satisfaction
Correlation analysis examining the extent to which ratings on individual measures
influences overall satisfaction indicate that for face-to-face and telephone customers, two
measures of high importance and relatively low satisfaction, (hence areas for
consideration as to how satisfaction can be improved) are: the usefulness of the
information, advice and guidance, and getting IAG to help make an informed choice about
what to do next. These appear to be much more important than logistical factors such as
the convenience of the meeting time or the speed of answering the phones, which though
they perform well are much less critical to overall views of the service. It needs to be noted
that mystery shopping research conducted by the National Careers Service indicates that
these logistical factors can be important to people contacting the organisation, hence it
may be that these factors are best considered as ‘hygiene factors’ which can cause
dissatisfaction if not well performed, but contribute relatively little to positive customer
satisfaction.
Among online customers the two key aspects that emerged as being important (highly
correlated to overall satisfaction) but having relatively low satisfaction (and thus need
focus) are: the effectiveness of site search and the ease of finding the information needed.
These two aspects tie in with the improvements suggested by website visitors.
Progression among face-to-face and telephone customers
In terms of progression achieved 6 months after the advice session, results are very
positive:

Just under half (46%) had progressed in employment, through changing jobs /
getting a job (29%), taking up voluntary work (17%), changing career (16%) or
achieving a pay rise or promotion (11%) – these categories are not mutually
exclusive. The figure was a little higher than average among those unemployed at
the time of the advice session (48%) and among young NEET (55%). Levels of
progression were generally similar across telephone and face-to-face customers.
However, face-to-face customers were more likely to have moved into new
employment since the session (30% compared with 21% among telephone
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
customers), possibly reflecting the higher proportion of these customers that were
out of work at the time of the session.

Around half of the customers experiencing an employment progression said the
adviser played a big part (16%) or some part (36%) in helping them achieve the
progression. Where the adviser’s help had the most impact was related to
improving the customer’s CV or job search skills, helping the respondent’s
confidence and motivation, and making them take stock of their skills and their
plans for the future.

Nearly two-thirds (63%) had progressed in learning, through undertaking formal or
informal learning since the advice session. Learning progression was higher among
telephone customers (72%) than face-to-face customers (62%) reflecting the fact
that telephone customers are more focused on learning when contacting the
service.

Just over three-fifths (61%) of these customers felt that the adviser had played
some part in helping then achieve learning progression, including a quarter (26%)
who felt the adviser played a big part. Face-to-face customers were more likely to
attribute their learning progress to the help they received – 63% felt the adviser had
played a part compared with 51% of telephone customers, possibly suggesting that
telephone customers often already had a good idea of the learning they wanted to
undertake.

Most (84%) had achieved personal added value in the six months since the
session, by developing skills, improving their confidence, and increasing their ability
to make decisions about their future. More than half felt that their CV writing or
interview skills had improved since their adviser session (61%), as well as their self
confidence (58%), and/ or skills related to current or future employment (49%).
Results were generally fairly similar for face-to-face and telephone customers.

Most of these customers felt the adviser played a part in achieving these
developments (74%)

Overall 93% had progressed in at least one of these areas (employment, learning or
personal added value). Figures for progression in employment, learning, and
personal added value (and for progress across any of these measures) are virtually
unchanged from the Year 1 survey.
Overall 18% of those not progressing in learning and 13% of those not progressing in
employment felt the adviser could have done more to help them achieve progress in those
areas. For learning, customers mentioned being made more aware of training options,
getting more or better information about training courses, more follow-up (such as a call
back), being more encouraging and having more information about funding. For
employment, customers tended to want more options in general, better advice or
information on specific jobs or courses, and more follow-up.
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Progression among online customers
Almost nine in ten (86%) website users, who had not had any other dealings with the
National Careers Service (‘web-only’ respondents), experienced some form of progression
in the three months following their website visit. The low base size (142 web-only
respondents) means results should be treated as indicative only, but they suggest learning
progression levels are on a par with those seeing/meeting an adviser.

34% of web-only users had progressed in employment

Three in ten (30%) of these customers felt that visiting the National Careers Service
website had helped them achieve these changes (equivalent to 11% of all web-only
respondents).

65% of web-only users had progressed in learning.

Again three in ten (29%) of those who had done some learning or training attributed
the decision to do so, at least in part, to visiting the National Careers Service
website (equivalent to 20% of all web-only respondents).

60% of web-only customers had added personal value in the three months since
visiting the website: half of all customers reported an increase in confidence making
decisions regarding their future (46%) or about planning their next career move
(38%). Sizeable minorities reported feeling more confident about applying for jobs
(37%) or about applying for courses or training (34%).
Prime Contractor
The National Careers Service face-to-face offer is delivered by 11 Prime Contractors
operating across 12 regions in England, though with some regions having more than one
Prime Contractor. Results are relatively consistent across the different Prime Contractors,
although customers who accessed the service in London were significantly less positive
about the service (as was found in Year 1). They were less likely to agree that the overall
quality of the service was good, less satisfied with the service overall and less likely to
recommend the service. While the London results are significantly lower than average,
they need to be considered in the context of the atypical customer profile: in particular
London had more mid-age customers (25-49), more females, more higher qualified
customers, the lowest proportion of White British ethnicity, and the fewest in work at the
time of their session. However, differences on some specific measures were quite large:
for example 52% of London customers were very satisfied with the knowledge of their
adviser whereas in the North West GMCP Cumbria the figure was as high as 66%.
In Year 1 GMCP in Merseyside performed above average on a number of measures. The
two areas performing above average on the most measures this year were the North East
and the West Midlands.
In terms of progression, however, customers of the London Prime Contractor were no
more or less likely to have progressed than the average across all Prime Contractors.
Customers of CSW in the South West were the most likely to have progressed and
customers in the East Midlands the least.
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
There were quite wide differences by Prime Contractor in how the service is delivered. For
example customers in London, the North East, the South West Tribal and in the North
West (who were seen by GMCP) were more likely than average to have one session only
with their adviser (71%-73%), whereas customers in the West Midlands and those in the
North West dealt with by Economic Solutions were much more likely than average to have
multiple sessions (both at 40%).
Similarly there was quite wide variation in how often customers reported the Skills Health
Check was used, or recalled a Skills Action Plan being drawn up (this is discussed in detail
in chapter 9). Typically contractors which had lower recall of one being used also had
lower recall for the other.
Clearly the National Careers Service needs to consider the extent to which variation is
acceptable, and potentially reflecting local needs, compared against a more uniform
service being delivered nationwide.
Recommendations
The survey results suggest a number of elements of good practice, which should be
adopted or encouraged:

For the telephone channel, where possible and appropriate, effort should be made
to deal with callers in a single conversation. Where more than one call is required,
effort should be made to attempt to let the customer speak to the same adviser
where feasible.

In the telephone channel, if information has been promised to customers then calls
to check that this information has arrived and was appropriate, and whether any
further information is required, should be considered.

For the face-to-face channel, those receiving more than one adviser meeting were
more satisfied, and where multiple meetings are required, it is good practice for
customers to see the same adviser as for their initial session.

A third of customers (34%) recalled going through the Skills Health Check and
three-fifths of face-to-face and telephone advice customers (59%) recalled a Skills
Action Plan being developed. Customers experiencing either of these are more
likely to be very satisfied, indicating that wider use of the Skills Health Check tool
should be encouraged. (All face-to-face customers receive a Skills Action Plan,
however recall of this fact appears to be variable.)

Analysis shows that two areas of high importance but where satisfaction is relatively
low are the perceived usefulness of information, advice and guidance and it helping
customers to make informed decisions about what to do next. We suggest that as
standard advisers round off the session asking customers if the assistance has
been helpful, if any more information would be useful, and encouraging them to get
back in contact if required.
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Given that overall measures of satisfaction were similar between face-to-face
customers and telephone advice customers, it may be worth trialling channel
migrating from face-to-face to the telephone channel after the initial face-to-face
session has taken place. Indeed, encouragement to use the website (while
emphasising the facility to still contact an adviser) should be made given the high
levels of satisfaction with the website.

The main area for improvement of the website is in regard to the search function,
and also better direction to as to how to contact an adviser for further support. Also,
one of the key improvements suggested was ‘having a career matching programme’
– this already exists on the website as the Skills Health Check, but perhaps could
be better signposted or described.

While still very positive, ratings are consistently lower than average in London.
While noting that the London customer profile is somewhat different to the average,
assessing how the service is being delivered across the capital, and how it could
potentially better meet the needs of its customers, should be considered.

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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Chapter 2: Introduction and
Methodology
Overview and Research Aims
The Skills Funding Agency is responsible for the commissioning, contracting and
performance management of the National Careers Service (formerly, pre-April 2012, Next
Step) which provides information, advice and guidance to help individuals make decisions
on learning, training and work opportunities. The service offers confidential, helpful and
impartial advice, supported by qualified careers advisers.
The National Careers Service is delivered via three integrated channels: face-to-face,
telephone and online (the latter provides information and the facility to e-mail advisers).
Figures for February 2013 showed that around 115,000 advice sessions were delivered
through the face-to-face service, compared with around 11,000 sessions delivered via the
telephone service, of which around 2,800 were advice sessions. The National Careers
Service website has very much greater coverage: in February 2013 there were around
975,000 visits to the site, and 38,000 Lifelong Learning Accounts created.
An extensive programme of research has been developed to understand customer views
of the service and to help develop actions for improvement. This involves continuous
monthly research to:

Measure satisfaction, with face-to-face and telephone customers interviewed in
the month after their session, and website visitors asked about their views of the
site at the time they access it (via a pop-up survey).

Assess customer progression, with face-to-face and telephone customers
interviewed 6 months after their last adviser session, and website visitors assessed
3 months after visiting the site.
This annual report covers fieldwork conducted from April 2012 to March 2013. For face-to-
face and telephone customers this means the Satisfaction Survey covers sessions with an
adviser in the period March 2012 to February 2013, while customers interviewed for the
Progression Survey had a session six months previously (i.e. October 2011 to September
2012). It should be noted this includes some sessions delivered under the Next Step
brand. The research among web visitors covers those accessing the site in the period
August 2012 to March 2013 for the Satisfaction Survey, and August to December 2012 for
the Progression Survey.
In places in the report comparisons are made with Year 1 of the study, which covered only
those receiving the face-to-face and telephone service, and with fieldwork conducted in
the period September 2011 to March 2012 when all sessions would have been delivered
under the Next Step brand.
The overall aims of the research are:
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

To provide full analysis of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the National
Careers Service, which look at specific measures of how satisfied customers are
with the service and the progression that customers experience following their
contact with an adviser

To understand customer views of the service, for example what are the overall
levels of satisfaction, how does this differ by type of customer, what are the key
factors which influence satisfaction, and what are the causes of dissatisfaction, to
thereby provide actionable feedback to help identify areas for improvement

To measure variation in performance among the Prime Contractors that deliver the
service of behalf of the National Careers Service. The research also allows a
comparison of those receiving the face-to-face service at Jobcentre Plus locations
with those seeing the adviser in other locationsTo track changes over time.
Methodology
This report centres on Year 2 of the study covering fieldwork conducted from April 2012
through to March 2013.
For face-to-face and telephone customers this involved a total of 8,808 interviews for the
Satisfaction Survey and 6,395 interviews on the Progression Survey.
The interviews were split evenly across the three months of each quarter.
The fieldwork pattern is shown in the following table which also shows comparative
sample sizes and fieldwork dates for Year 1.
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Table 2.1: Achieved interviews by Quarter (Face-to-face and telephone customers)

Satisfaction Survey
Progression Survey

Fieldwork
dates
Month
of Adviser
session
Number
of
interviews
Month of
Adviser
session
Number
of
interviews
Quarter 1
September
2011
August 2011
2,217
March 2011
1,601
Quarter 2
October –
December
2011
September -
November
2011
2,195
April – June
2011
1,599
Quarter 3
January –
March 2012
December
2011-
February
2012
2,198
July –
September
2011
1,638
Year 1
total

6,610

4,398
Quarter 4
April – June
2012
March – May
2012
2,211
October –
December
2011
1,599
Quarter 5
July –
September
2012
June –
August 2012
2,199
January –
March 2012
1,598
Quarter 6
October -
December
2012
September –
November
2012
2,199
April – June
2012
1,599
Quarter 7
January – March
2013
December 2012
– February 2013
2,199
July –
September
2012
1,599
Year 2
total

8,808

6,395

All interviews among those having a session face-to-face or by telephone were conducted
by telephone using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), with these
undertaken from IFF’s telephone centre in London. The sample of customers was supplied
by the Skills Funding Agency.
Quotas for each month’s fieldwork were set on the following demographic factors in strict
proportion to the profile of those having contact with advisers in the corresponding month:
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Employment status at the time of the call: employed; unemployed; neither
(economically inactive or retired)

Age: 19 or under; 20 to 24; 25 to 49 and 50+

Gender.
Targets were also set each month based on the type of service they received,
namely:

Face-to-face National Careers Service customers

Telephone customers who received the ‘information’ service - referred to as
‘telephone information’ customers

Telephone customers who received the ‘advice’ service (an enriched offer that
builds on the Information service for customers who have more complex needs or
require skills assessment activity) - referred to as ‘telephone advice’ customers.
The targets on the type of service received involved oversampling telephone customers in
order to ensure sufficient numbers for reliable analysis each month.
At the analysis stage data was weighted by type of service received to match the monthly
customer profiles. The profile of unweighted and weighted responses is shown in Table
2.2.
Table 2.2: Weighted and unweighted customer profile (face-to-face and telephone)

Satisfaction survey
Progression survey

Base:
Unweighted
%
Weighted
%
Base:
Unweighted
%
Weighted
%
Total
8,808
100
100
4,838
100
100
Face-to-face
5,592
63
88
3,993
62
88
Telephone
3,216
37
12
2,402
38
12
Telephone advice
1,204
14
3
901
14
2
Telephone information
2,012
23
9
1,501
23
10

In total 6,504 website users took part in the pop-up (Satisfaction) survey in the period from
August 2012 to March 2013. The pop-up survey appears to 1 in 20 people that access the
site, with the survey closing each month once 1,000 interviews have been completed. Use
of cookies means that someone accessing the site from the same computer will only be
16

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
asked to participate once. No weighting has been applied to the web Satisfaction Survey
data (as the demographic profile of the population of web users is not known).
The Progression Survey for website users involves an online self-completion approach,
with respondents sent an e-mail with a click through link to the online questionnaire. The
e-mail is only sent to respondents to the pop-up Satisfaction Survey that were individuals
(rather than employers or careers advisers) accessing the site on their own behalf that
were willing to be re-contacted and who supplied a valid e-mail address (this is 35% of
completers of the pop up survey). One reminder is sent to non-responders.
From the 1,150 eligible respondents from August to December 2012 pop-up survey, 293
completed the online Progression Survey, a response rate of 25%. This is clearly a low
overall number of responses, and caution is needed in interpretation. The data for the Web
Progression Survey is weighted to reflect the age, gender and employment profile of the
web users indicated from the pop-up survey.
Reporting conventions
Wherever differences are discussed between respondent sub-groups or between results in
Year 1 and Year 2, these are statistically significant at the 95 per cent confidence level,
unless otherwise stated.2

2 95% confidence means that statistically we can be 95% confident that the difference is a real difference, not one
resulting from the fact that we spoke to a sample of those having dealings with the service.
17

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Chapter 3: Customer Profile and
their reasons for contact
This chapter examines the profile of Year 2 customers accessing the service from March
2012 to February 2013 and those accessing the National Careers Website from August
2012 to March 2013. It examines demographic factors such as gender, age, and ethnicity
of customers, their work status at the time of the call / meeting / visiting the website and
their reasons for contacting the National Careers Service or visiting the website.
The demographic profile of learners
Table 3.1 below shows the age, gender and ethnicity profiles of National Careers Service
face-to-face and telephone customers from March 2012 to February 2013 as well as the
profiles of online visitors from August 2012 to March 2013. Figures for face-to-face and
telephone customers are based on weighted data from the Satisfaction Survey element of
the study whilst figures for online customers are based on the data from the pop-up
satisfaction survey (which is unweighted).
18

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Table 3.1: Demographic profile of National Careers Service customers

Type of service

Face-to-
face
Telephone
Telephone
advice
Telephone
information
Online
Base: All
5,592
3,216
1,204
2,012
6,504

%
%
%
%
%
Gender

Male
57
47
43
48
37
Female
43
53
57
52
63
Age

19 or younger
10
4
4
4
9
20-24
18
25
19
27
8
25-49
52
62
67
60
59
50 or over
20
10
10
10
23
Ethnicity

White British
79
64
64
65
73
White Other
7
8
6
8
10
Black/Black British
6
12
12
12
5
Asian/Asian British
5
9
11
9
4
Mixed / Other
3
4
5
5
3
Prefer not to say
1
2
1
1
3
English not first
language
10
16
14
16
13
Long term illness /
health problem /
disability
20
12
13
12
14

There is a difference in gender profile between the two adviser services with the majority
of face-to-face customers male (57%) and the majority of telephone customers female
(53%, rising to 57% among the telephone advice service).
Most face-to-face customers (52%) and telephone customers (62%) are aged 25-49
although a greater spread of age is seen within the face-to-face service: for the face-to-
face service more customers are over 50 (20% vs. 10% of telephone customers) and more
customers under 20 (10% vs. 4%).
19

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
The profile of website users, as taken from data provided by respondents to the pop-up
survey, was predominantly female (63%) and aged 25-49 (59%, though it is interesting
that almost a quarter were aged 50 plus). (No MI data is collected on the demographic
profile of website users, so it is hard to know how representative the sample of
respondents to the pop-up survey is.)
In terms of ethnicity, the vast majority of customers are White British, though this incidence
is higher among face-to-face customers (79%) than among telephone customers (64%)
where there is greater ethnic diversity. A high proportion of website visitors are also White
British (73%). Non-White British customers are spread fairly evenly between Black/Black
British, Asian/Asian British, White Other and Mixed/Other across all three channels.
Twenty per cent of customers who accessed the face-to-face service had a disability or
long term illness compared to 12% who used the telephone service. This in part reflects
the higher proportion of face-to-face customers aged 50 plus: among these older
customers 32% had a disability or long term illness that affects their daily activities. One in
seven website visitors had a long term illness or health disability (14%), a similar
proportion to telephone customers.
A higher proportion of telephone customers (16%) than face-to-face customers (10%) or
website visitors (13%) did not have English as a first language, which is likely to reflect the
greater ethnic diversity of telephone customers.
Table 3.2 shows further characteristics of March 2012 to February 2013 National Careers
Service face-to-face and telephone customers, and August 2012 to March 2013 online
customers.
20

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Table 3.2: Demographic profile of National Careers Service customers March 2012
to February 2013 at the time of their call

Type of service

Face-to-
face
Telephone
Telephone
advice
Telephone
information
Online
Base: All
5,592
3,216
1,204
2,012
6,504

%
%
%
%
%
Highest qualification
level:

Level 4 plus (degree etc)
18
44
38
47
37
Level 3 (A levels)
18
20
22
19
16
Level 2 (5 GCSEs A*-C)
16
11
12
11
19
Level 1 / entry level
25
13
17
12
13
No qualifications
17
7
5
7
7
Level unclear
7
5
6
5
7
Below Level 2
42
20
22
19
20
Level 2 plus
52
75
71
76
73

NEET

18-24 NEET
22
10
8
10

18-24 Jobseekers
Allowance
19
4
2
5

18-24 Jobseekers
Allowance / Incapacity
Benefit / Income Support
21
5
4
6

A key client group for the National Careers Service is those with low level qualifications,
defined as those having their highest qualification below Level 2 (Level 2 being equivalent
to 5 GCSEs grade A*-C). The majority of all customers / website visitors already had
qualifications at Level 2 or higher. The face-to-face profile, where just over half had
achieved a qualification at Level 2 or above (52%), differed from telephone customers and
website visitors who were much more highly qualified: around three-quarters were
qualified to at least Level 2 (75% and 73% respectively) and around two-fifths qualified to
degree level (44% and 37% compared to 18% among face-to-face customers).
A number of demographic groups were more likely than average to be qualified to below
Level 2 (as taken from the survey data among face-to-face and telephone customers):

Those aged 50 plus (51%)
21

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Men (42% vs. 36% among women)

White British (43% vs. 27% among other groups) and those where English is their
first language (41% vs. 25% among those where English is not their first language)

Those with a disability (52%).
Around one in five face-to-face customers (22%) were aged 18-24 and not in employment,
education or training (NEET) at the time of their meeting and most of these (19% of all
face-to-face customers) were on Jobseekers Allowance. Fewer telephone respondents
were aged 18-24 and NEET at the time of their call (10%) and only half of these people
were on Jobseekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit or Income Support (5% of all telephone
customers). The following section looks in more detail at the employment status of
customers.
Employment Status
Table 3.3 provides an overview of the employment status of customers at the time of their
adviser session or visit to the website.
22

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Table 3.3: Economic activity of the customers at the time of the call / meeting with
the National Careers Service adviser / web visit

Type of service

Face-to-
face
Telephone
Telephone
advice
Telephone
information
Online
Base: All
5,592
3,216
1,204
2,012
6,504

%
%
%
%
%

In work
15
47
49
47
43
Full time employment
7
28
27
28
28
Part time employment
6
15
16
14
11
Self-employed
1
5
6
4
4

In learning
3
12
7
14
9
Full time learning
2
10
5
12
8
Part time learning
1
2
1
2
1

Neither working nor in
learning
82
41
44
40
48
Unemployed and looking
for work
73
32
33
31
34
Unable to work due to
health
4
3
4
3
3
Looking after home or
family
3
5
6
4
6
Retired
*
1
*
1
1
Other
1
1
*
1
3
*= <0.5% but >0%

23

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Face-to-face customers have a very different employment profile overall to both telephone
customers and online customers. The vast majority of face-to-face customers are
unemployed and looking for work (73%) compared to only a third of other customer types
(32% of telephone customers and 34% online customers). Between two-fifths and half of
telephone and online customers are in work (47% and 43% vs. 15% of face-to-face
customers) and around one in ten are in learning (12% and 9% vs. 3% of face-to-face
customers).
The following groups were more likely to be unemployed and looking for work at the time
of their adviser session (as taken from the face-to-face and telephone survey data):

Under 20s (76%)

Men (74% v 61% among women)

Those with highest qualifications below Level 2 (74% vs. 64% with higher
qualifications)

White British (69% v 65% among other ethnic groups).
Those who were in work at the time of the call/meeting were more likely to be qualified to
Level 2 or above (23% vs. 12% those with a qualification of below Level 2). They were
also more likely to be aged 25-49 (20%).
Around one in twenty face-to-face and telephone customers (4%) were in learning when
they had their session with the adviser. This was higher among those aged under 20
(11%) or 20-24 (8%).
Among customers not in employment at the time of their call/ meeting, there was a great
deal of variation in the length of time out of work: 15% had worked in the last 3 months
and 41% (cumulatively) in the last six months, compared with 54% that had not worked for
at least 12 months. On a similar theme one in five of all face-to-face and telephone
customers (21%) said they had recently been made redundant and a further 4% felt they
were under threat of redundancy.
Reasons for contact with advisers (telephone and face-to-face
customers)
Before asking respondents for their detailed reasons for contacting the National Careers
Service, respondents were asked if they had wanted to discuss career options, learning or
both. As seen in Figure 3.1, which shows results from last year’s annual Next Step survey
and the results in the current study between face-to-face and telephone customers, more
people who accessed the service in Year 2 (April 2012 to March 2013) were looking for
work than in Year 1 (56% vs. 51%).
Slightly more were seeing an adviser to explore career options (77%) than about a course
or some learning (67%) – clearly many wanted to look at both options, and some of these
people were also looking for work (56% of all customers in Year 2).
24

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Telephone customers (83%) were much more likely to be thinking about doing a course or
some learning than face-to-face customers (83% vs. 64% respectively), whilst more face-
to-face customers were looking for work (60% vs. 37% telephone) reflecting the fact that a
high proportion were unemployed and looking for work at the time of their adviser session.
Results differed little between telephone advice and telephone information customers.

Figure 3.1: Situation of telephone and face-to-face customers at the time of the call /
meeting with the National Careers Service adviser (prompted)

0.4%
15%
83%
83%
37%
4%
22%
76%
64%
60%
4%
21%
77%
66%
56%
5%
18%
77%
67%
51%
Facing redundancy
Recently made redundant
Looking to explore career
options
Thinking about doing a
course or some learning
Looking for work
All customers (Year 1)
All customers (Year 2)
Face to face (Year 2)
Telephone (Year 2)
Base: all customers – Satisfaction survey (8,808)

NB: Responses for each customer type will add to more than 100% because multiple
responses are allowed.
Respondents were read a long list of potential reasons for contacting the National Careers
Service. Figure 3.2 shows the ten most common responses on this prompted question.
Results are shown for all customers, those using the face-to-face service, and those
speaking to the adviser over the phone. Clearly most customers are getting in touch for a
number of reasons.
25

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Figure 3.2: Reasons for customers contacting National Careers Service (prompted)

17%
4%
16%
62%
63%
22%
50%
67%
54%
45%
19%
28%
44%
38%
48%
65%
63%
65%
67%
77%
19%
25%
40%
41%
49%
60%
61%
65%
66%
73%
Obtain information about leisure courses
Keep receiving benefits
Develop job interview skills
Find out about sources of funding for
studying and training
Obtain information about studying for
qualifications
Help with CV
Information or advice about a specific
career or specific industry
Obtain information about courses to do
with a current or potential job
General careers guidance or advice
Obtain information to help find a job
All customers
Face to face
Telephone
Base: all customers – Satisfaction survey (8,808)

The most common reason for contacting the National Careers Service was to obtain
information to help find a job (73%). Also frequently mentioned were general careers
guidance (66%), to get information about courses to do with a current or future job (65%),
to get information or advice about a specific career or industry (61%) or for help with
writing a CV (60%). Clearly there is quite a variety of reasons for contacting National
Careers Service covering both careers/jobs and learning, and ranging from general
information or advice (e.g. about careers or to help to find a job) to more specific enquiries
(e.g. in regard to a specific career or information about how to fund courses) or a need for
practical support (e.g. help with their CV or with job interview skills).
The reasons customers had for contacting the service over the last 12 months mirrored
those from the year before. One marked difference however was that customers who
accessed the service more recently (March 2012 to February 2013) were more likely to do
so as a way to keep their benefits (25% vs. 17% of those who accessed the service from
August 2011 to February 2012).
There were wide differences in the reason for contact between customers using the
different service channels. Face-to-face customers tended to be much more focussed on
seeking employment outcomes such as:
26

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Obtaining information to help find a job (77% vs. 45% of telephone customers)

Getting help with their CV (65% vs. 22%) and developing job interview skills (44%
vs. 16%)

Getting general careers guidance or advice (67% vs. 54%)

Getting information or advice about a specific career or specific industry (63% vs.
50%).

Telephone customers, on the other hand, were more focussed on learning
outcomes such as:

Finding out about sources of funding for studying and training (62% vs. 38% of
face-to-face customers), and

Obtaining information about studying for qualifications (63% vs. 48%).

The difference in focus between telephone and face-to-face customers was also apparent
when customers were asked for their single main reason for contacting National Careers
Service. Among face-to-face customers the top four main reasons had an employment
focus:

Help with their CV (32%)

Information to help find a job (17%)

Getting information about courses to do with a current or future job (12%)

General careers advice (11%).

The top four main reasons telephone customers cited were largely learning focussed:

Getting information on funding courses (31%)

Getting information about courses to do with a current or future job (16%)

General careers advice (13%)

Information about studying for a qualification (10%).

These top four reasons for contacting each channel type were the same as found in Year
1.
27

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Telephone advice customers were more likely to have employment related reasons for
calling than telephone information customers. For example, telephone advice customers
were very likely to want to get general careers guidance (76% vs. 46% of telephone
information), obtain information to help find a job (59% vs. 40%) and/or to get information
or advice on how to get a job in a specific career (71% vs. 43%) whereas telephone
information customers were more learning focussed in their reasons for contact. In
particular, 67% of Information customers were exploring sources of funding for training
and studying and 39% cited this as their main reason for contact (compared with 47% and
10% respectively among telephone advice customers).
Although telephone advice customers were similar to face-to-face customers in that they
commonly cited employment reasons for contacting National Careers Service, looking at
the detail of these reasons reveals a slightly different focus between the two groups.
Telephone advice customers were more likely to have been looking for general careers
advice (76% vs. 67% of face-to-face customers) or advice about getting into a specific
career (71% vs. 63%). Face-to-face customers, on the other hand, were more likely to be
after practical help such as information on how to find a job (77% vs. 59% of telephone
advice) and help with their CV (65% vs. 25%).
Predictably, reasons for contact varied by employment status. Customers who were
unemployed and looking for work at the time of their call/meeting were more likely than
other customers to have contacted National Careers Service for an employment-related
reason such as to obtain information to help find a job (78%) or to get help in writing a CV
(65%). Those in work were significantly more likely than average to have sought
information or advice about courses to do with a current or future job (70%), studying for a
qualification (56%), funding learning (49%), to understand how to use existing skills in
another job (47%) and to help them progress and succeed at work (41%).
How and why people accessed the National Careers Service website
Web users were asked a number of questions about their use of the website, covering:

How they first heard about the website

How many times they had visited the site

Whether they had also had face-to-face or telephone discussions with advisers

Where and how they accessed the site

Reasons for visiting the site.

Online sources were the most common way of hearing about the website (38%), followed
by hearing about it via Jobcentre Plus (21%) or via a National Careers Service adviser
(11%). Few people had first heard about it via the radio (4%) although hearing about it
through this medium had increased to 7% in the most recent quarter covering January-
March 2013 from 1% in the first two quarters (August to September 2012 and October to
December 2012). Very few had heard about the site through other traditional media such
as TV, newspapers and magazines (each mentioned by only 1%).
28

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Figure 3.3: How first heard about the National Careers Service website (prompted)
6%
9%
1%
1%
4%
5%
7%
11%
21%
38%
Can't remember
Other
Newspaper or magazine
TV
Radio
From employer / a colleague
Friend or relative
From a National Careers Service
adviser
JCP (adviser / leaflet or poster)
Online
Base: All website users (6,504)
Those unemployed and looking for work were particularly likely to have heard about the
website via Jobcentre Plus (42% vs. 21% of site visitors overall) or from a National
Careers Service adviser (18% vs. 11% of site visitors overall). Relatively speaking, friends
and relatives were more important than average as a source of information for 16-19 year
olds (15%) and those in learning (14%). However among all groups, online sources were
the most commonly mentioned means by which they first heard of the National Careers
Service website. The majority of those who mentioned online sources specified that they
had come across the National Careers Service website through a search engine (most
commonly Google) when searching for such things as ‘careers advice’, ‘job tips’, ‘CV
advice’ or ‘CV builder’. Fewer (around one in eight of all users) recalled coming across the
National Careers Service website through the Direct Gov website. Other online sources
that were mentioned included the Jobcentre Plus website and various college websites
and careers websites (such as NHS careers).
Most visitors to the website (72%) had not had previous dealings with a National Careers
Service adviser. If there had been contact this had more often been face-to-face (23% of
web users) than over the telephone (8%). Website visitors who were unemployed and
looking for work were far more likely than average (47% vs. 31%) to have had dealings
29

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
with advisers (with most of these - 39% of all those unemployed - having had face-to-face
sessions).
Overall almost half of respondents (47%) were having their first dealings with the National
Careers Service when they visited the website and completed the pop-up survey i.e. this
was their first visit to the site and they had not previously spoken to a National Careers
Service adviser.
The vast majority of individuals appear to access the National Careers Service website
from home (81%) and via laptop or desktop computers (58% and 44% respectively). It was
relatively uncommon though for people to access the site from work (11%) and via less
traditional devices such as smartphones, tablets and netbooks (each 3% - 6%). Website
users under 25 were more likely to access it by laptops (64%), smartphones (10%) or
netbooks (5%) than older age groups whilst those aged over 50 were more likely to access
it through a desktop computer (51%).
Table 3.4: How and where accessed the National Careers Service website
(prompted)
Base: All website users (6,504)
%
How have EVER accessed the National Careers Service website

Laptop computer
58
Desktop computer
44
Smartphone
6
Tablet
6
Netbook
3
TV
1
Other
1
Where they were when they accessed the National Careers Service website on
the day of the interview (prompted)

Home
81
Work
11
School / college / university
4
Library or other public facility
4
Other
3
Internet cafe
1
30

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

The vast majority of visitors to the website were individuals looking for information or
advice for themselves (88%) or for someone else (6%), with a very small proportion
accessing it in a professional role (3% were careers advisers and 1% were employers).
The main reason for visiting the site was to get information or advice on jobs or careers
(56%), with a smaller proportion of visitors (though still relatively large) after information
about courses and learning (27%). Just over a fifth (22%) were visiting the website in order
to access their Lifelong Learning Account, although this was higher among those
unemployed and looking for work (31%). Results on this prompted question (with
respondents selecting from a list of possible reasons) are shown in the figure below.
Figure 3.4: Reasons for visiting the National Careers Service website (prompted)
15%
1%
3%
4%
11%
22%
27%
56%
Other
To give feedback about the service
To get information about a particular provider
To contact an adviser
Just browsing
To access their Lifelong Learning Account
Information or advice about a course or learning
Information or advice on jobs or careers
Base: All website users (6,504)

Women were more likely than men to have been looking for advice/information on jobs
and careers (58% vs. 53% of men), whilst men were more likely than women to have
visited the site to access their Lifelong Learning Account (27% vs. 19% of women).
The following groups were more likely than average to have visited the site for information
and advice about a course or learning:

Those with a highest qualification below Level 2 (31%)
31

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Those of non-White ethnicity (34%); and those for whom English is not a first
language (38%)

Those aged 20-24 (31%) or 25-34 (30%).
Those who had had contact with an adviser before visiting the website, either face-to-face
or over the phone, were more likely than average to be visiting the site to access their
Lifelong Learning Account (40% vs. 14% those who had had no contact), whilst those
whose first interaction with the service was via the website were more likely to be just
browsing (13% vs. 8% of those who had had contact).
In addition to the prompted list of reasons for visiting the website, visitors could also type
in other reasons they went onto the site. Around one in seven (15%) chose to write in
other reasons for visiting the website, the most common of which was searching for help
with building/updating their CV (10% of web users overall). Others had accessed the
website in order to undertake a skills assessment or to set up a Lifelong Learning Account
whilst some had sought to find out more about funding available, or to get interview advice
and techniques (including advice on how to write covering letters).
Follow-up questions were asked about the specific nature of the information and advice
wanted in regard to jobs and careers, and then learning and courses. Results on these
questions are shown on the following two tables, each based on those seeking that broad
type of assistance.
Table 3.5: What those looking for information or advice about jobs and careers were
specifically looking for (prompted)
Base: those looking for information or advice about jobs and careers (3,649)
%

Information about different careers
61
CVs
39
Applying for jobs
37
Information about progressing in a career
29
How to get back into work
26
Information about the jobs market
26
Interview skills
20
Voluntary work
11
Issues around redundancy
5
Other
5
32

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Those seeking information about jobs and employment were most commonly looking for
information about different careers (61%), followed by practical help with finding work such
as advice about CVs (39%) and applying for jobs (37%).
Results differed by the employment status of the individual, with those who were
unemployed and looking for work much more likely than average to have been seeking
help regarding CVs (48%), applying for jobs (49%), how to get back into work (46%) and
interview skills (26%). The findings also differed by age, with younger site visitors (aged
under 25) more likely to be seeking information about different careers (65%) and
information about progressing within a career (36%), and older site visitors (aged 50 plus)
more likely to be seeking help in developing their CVs (44%), how to get back into work
(42%), and looking for information about the jobs market (33%).
Table 3.6: What those looking for information or advice about courses and learning
were specifically looking for (prompted)
Base: those looking for information or advice about courses and learning (1,754)
%

A specific course
43
Different ways of learning
38
How to get back into learning
35
Paying for a course
28
Apprenticeships
15
Childcare
7
Other caring responsibilities
7
Other
10

Those looking for support about learning tended to want information about a specific
course (43%), about different ways of learning (38%), on how to get back into learning
(35%) or about paying for a course (28%). Overall 15% seeking support on learning were
looking for information about Apprenticeships, rising to 30% among those aged 16-24.
Those who had no qualifications or qualifications below Level 2 were more likely to have
visited the website for information on different ways of learning (43% vs. 37% of those with
qualifications of Level 2 or above) and how to get back into learning (43% vs. 32%).

33

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Chapter 4: Key Performance
Indicators (KPIs)
This chapter looks at headline Key Performance Indicators, covering satisfaction
measures, as well as progression levels six months following the adviser sessions, among
customers having an interaction with an adviser face-to-face or over the telephone, hence
excluding those responding as a result of visiting the National Careers Service website.
Comparisons are made with results from the Next Step Satisfaction and Progression
Survey, which covered adviser session from August 2011 to February 2012 (for the
Satisfaction Survey) and March 2011 to September 2011 for the Progression Survey).
One further KPI relates to the proportion of face-to-face customers with a long term illness,
health problem or disability, with the target being a minimum of 15%. This target has been
exceeded, and among survey respondents 20% of face-to-face customers indicated that
they had a long term illness, health problem or disability. The figure varied from 14%
among customers in London to 26% among customers of the Tribal Prime Contractor in
the South West.
Satisfaction
KPIs from the Satisfaction Survey focus on three key areas:

Overall quality of the service (agreeing the service was good)

Satisfaction with the service overall

Advocacy (whether have or would recommend the National Careers Services).

Agreement that the overall quality of the service was good
Figure 4.1 shows results for the percentage of telephone and face-to-face customers who
agree that the overall quality of the service was good. The top bar shows the comparative
Year 1 (Next Step) figure.
The vast majority (94%) agree that the overall service was good, and half (50%) agree
strongly that this was the case. Results are little changed from Year 1 when the service
was delivered as Next Step (when comparative figures were 93% and 50%), indicating
that there has been no negative effect from the transition from Next Step to the National
Careers Service.
Face-to-face customers were significantly more likely than telephone customers to feel the
service was good (94% vs. 91% respectively), though telephone customers, particularly
telephone advice customers) were more likely to agree strongly that this was the case.
The figures were high among all groups. Customers aged 18-24 in receipt of out of work
benefits (Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Incapacity Benefit
or Income Support) and those aged 18-24 NEET at the time of their call/meeting were
34

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
significantly more likely than average to think the quality of the service was good (98% and
97% respectively).
Figure 4.1 Agreement that the overall quality was good by delivery channel
6%
5%
5%
8%
7%
8%
44%
44%
45%
39%
35%
40%
50%
50%
49%
52%
57%
51%
All March 2012-
Feb 2013
customers (8,808)
Face to face
customers (5,592)
Telephone
customers
(3,216)
Telephone advice
customers (1,204)
Telephone
information
customers
(2,012)
Disagree / disagree strongly
Agree
Agree strongly
AGREE
91%
92%
91%
94%
93%
All August 2011-
Feb 2012
customers (6,610)
94%

Overall satisfaction
Customers were asked to indicate their overall satisfaction with the service. More than
four-fifths (84%) of customers were satisfied with the service that they received, with 41%
very satisfied. Overall 6% were dissatisfied. These figures are identical to those reported
for the study of Next Step customers covering adviser sessions from August 2011 to
February 2012. Results are shown on the following chart – those answering neither
satisfied nor dissatisfied or don’t know are not shown, hence results add to less than
100%.
As with views on the quality of the service, face-to-face customers were more satisfied
overall than telephone customers (85% vs. 81%) and telephone advice customers were
more satisfied than telephone information customers (84% vs. 79%). This suggests that
the more resource intensive, in-depth adviser sessions tend to generate higher levels of
satisfaction.
The following groups were more satisfied than average: under 25s (89% satisfied), those
with lower qualification levels (86% of those qualified to below Level 2 satisfied), and
White British respondents (85%). It was also higher among those going through the Skills
35

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Health Check (89%), those recalling a Skills Action Plan being drawn up (89%), those
having multiple face-to-face sessions (89% vs. 83% among those receiving a single
session) and telephone customers dealt with in a single call (83% vs. 74% among those
having multiple telephone calls).
Figure 4.2 Overall Satisfaction by type of service received

6%
6%
6%
8%
6%
9%
43%
44%
45%
39%
36%
39%
41%
41%
40%
42%
48%
40%
Face to face
customers (5,592)
All telephone
customers (3,216)
Telephone
advice
customers
(1,204)
Telephone
information
customers (2,012)
Not satisfied
Satisfied
Very satisfied
SATISFIED
84%
85%
81%
84%
79%
All March 2012-
Feb 2013
customers (8,808)
All August 2011-
Feb 2012
customers (6,610)
84%
Recommending the service
In keeping with the high satisfaction levels, the vast majority of customers had or would
recommend the service (88%), slightly higher than found in the previous research among
Next Step customers (87%). Many more would recommend the service (61%) than had
actually yet done so (27%).
Customers groups more likely to recommend the service reflect those more likely to be
satisfied. Hence for example those under 25, those given a Skills Health Check and those
recalling developing a Skills Action Plan were more likely than average to say they had or
would recommend the service (91%, 93% and 92% respectively).
36

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Progression KPIs
This section looks at the progression levels of customers six months after their
call/meeting. This is measured by three core Key Performance Indicators:
1.
Learning progression – whether customers have undertaken formal or informal
learning or training in the six months since the call/meeting.
2.
Employment progression – examining whether customers have entered new
employment, changed career, were promoted or improved their salary, and/or have taken
up voluntary work.
3.
Personal added value – whether customers have achieved one or more of a range
of ‘softer’ outcomes such as improved work-related or more personal skills (IT skills, team
working skills etc.), improved their self-confidence, increased ability to make decisions for
the future regarding work or learning, increased job satisfaction, or achieving a new and/or
higher level qualification.
These performance indicators measure progression since the adviser session but cannot
imply that these changes necessarily came about as a result of the contact with National
Careers Service.
As in Year 1, nearly all customers (93%) experienced some form of positive outcome in
the six months since their call/meeting, and there was no difference in this overall measure
across telephone and face-to-face customers. Figure 4.3 shows results for the different
elements of progression measured. Developments in personal added value were most
common.
37

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Figure 4.3: Progression KPIs
93% - any positive
employment or
learning outcome or
personal added value
77% - employment
or learning
progression
46% - employment
progression
63% - progression in
learning
88% - personal
added value
74% if exclude voluntary work
34% if exclude voluntary work
Base: Progression Survey‐ All (6,395)

Learning Progression
As in Year 1, just over three-fifths of customers (63%) had progressed in learning by
undertaking some learning or training in the six months since their call/meeting with an
adviser. Telephone customers were particularly likely to have progressed in learning (72%
vs. 62% among face-to-face customers) particularly telephone information customers
(74%).
Customers with prior qualifications of Level 2 or above were more likely to have
progressed in learning in the six months since the session (67%) than customers with
lower level qualifications (55%). Non-White British customers were also more likely to
have experienced learning progression (70% vs. 61% among White British customers).
Employment Progression
In the six months following the intervention 46% of customers had experienced
employment progression, exactly the same proportion as found with the Year 1 research
among Next Step customers. Employment progression varied little by the type of service,
but did vary by customer demographics, with this higher among:

Customers with a Level 2+ qualification (51% vs. 36% of those with a qualification
below Level 2);
38

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Those aged under 25 (55%);

Customers aged 18-24 in receipt of out of work benefits and those 18-24 NEET
(53% and 55% respectively);

Non-White British customers (48%); and

Those in learning when they access the service (51%).

Personal Added Value
Almost nine in ten customers in the current survey (88%) reported experiencing some form
of personal added value in the six months following their session (slightly higher than the
87% found among Next Step customers in Year 1). As with employment progression,
there was little difference between telephone and face-to-face customers but some
differences across a number of demographics, with younger, higher qualified customers
(Level 2 or higher) and those in learning when they had their session more likely than
average to experience personal added value.

39

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Chapter 5: Operational aspects of
face-to-face and telephone adviser
sessions, and satisfaction with how
handled
In this chapter issues are explored which examine how the telephone and face-to-face
sessions were handled and customer satisfaction with elements of the adviser sessions.
This includes such issues as:

For telephone customers, how quickly calls were answered, how often multiple calls
were required and views on this, and how often information was promised and
received, and the usefulness of any information sent

For face-to-face customers, how often multiple meetings were required and why,
and how often these customers see the same adviser, and whether this matters

How often the Skills Health Check diagnostic tool was used, Skills Action Plans
were drawn up and Lifelong Learning Accounts opened and activated, and views on
the usefulness of each

Satisfaction with a whole range of aspects in relation to the adviser (their
professionalism, helpfulness etc) and the advice (it being clear and easy to
understand, useful etc).
Results are based on customers answering the Satisfaction Survey.
Telephone sessions
The vast majority of callers were satisfied with the time taken to answer the call (84%) and
just 3% were dissatisfied, indicating that a typical call centre complaint of being held in a
queue is not a significant issue for the National Careers Service. Satisfaction was higher
among those seeking advice (87%) as opposed to information (83%).
More of an issue for customers who spoke to more than one person when they called is
the time it took to get through to the person who actually helped them, although even here
a relatively small proportion of telephone customers speaking to more than one person
were dissatisfied with this (12% vs. 76% satisfied).
Just under three-quarters of telephone customers (71%, comparable to the 73% found in
Year 1) were handled in a single call. Unsurprisingly, customers seeking information only
were more likely to have their query dealt with during a single call (75%) than telephone
advice customers (61%).
40

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
The results suggest that whether multiple calls are required has an impact on overall
satisfaction with the service: 83% of those who required only one call were satisfied
overall, compared with 74% of those who made more than one call. This suggests that it is
good practice for telephone enquiries to be handled where possible in a single call.
Most customers needing more than one call ended up speaking to more than one adviser
(60%). The results indicate higher customer satisfaction levels when customers spoke to
the same adviser each time they made contact with the service. Among those customers
making multiple calls, 81% of those who spoke to a single adviser were satisfied overall,
compared with 70% among those who spoke to more than one adviser.
Around half (49%) of telephone customers were told by the adviser that they would be
sent information by post or email outlining the conversation and potential next steps. This
was at its highest level in Quarter 5 (56%) when customers were accessing the service in
summer time (June to August 2012) and is comparable to the high level of 53% found in
the summer before (Quarter 1 - August 2011).
Among those who were told that they would be sent information by post or email, the vast
majority (86%) had received it, but still 12% said they had not yet received the information.
Unsurprisingly, whether the promised information was received has an impact on overall
satisfaction, and those receiving the information were twice as likely to be very satisfied as
those still waiting (55% vs. 26%). Hence we recommend that where resources allow
follow-up calls or e-mails are made to customers where a commitment has been made to
send information to check that it has been received, and if not to check address details
and if the information is still desired. It also, of course, offers the opportunity to check the
information received was as required and if any further action is needed.
The majority of telephone customers who received the information found it to be useful
(92%), with only 7% saying that it was not useful.
Face-to-face sessions
Two-thirds (67%) of face-to-face customers had a single meeting with a National Careers
Service adviser, with a fifth (21%) reporting two meetings, and 11% having three or more.
Customers with no or low qualifications (below level 2) were more likely to report multiple
meetings (36%), as were older customers aged 50 plus (36%).
There was significant variation by Prime Contractor, with North East, North West GMCP,
London and South West all considerably more likely to deliver via a single meeting (70%
to 72%). By contrast, only just over half of those who used South East (56%), North West
Economic Solutions (58%) and West Midlands (57%) reported a single meeting. This
suggests quite varied practices by Contractor.
The most common reason why customers reported having more than one meeting was in
order to review or amend their CV (41%). Around a quarter reported that it was at their
adviser’s suggestion that they returned for another meeting (29%) or that it was because
there was insufficient time to discuss everything they wanted to at the first meeting (25%).
One in six having multiple sessions reported that the adviser needed information which
they did not have to hand at the initial meeting (17%).
Where multiple meetings took place, this had a positive effect on overall satisfaction: 48%
of customers who had more than one meeting were very satisfied overall, compared with
41

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
37% of those who had only one meeting. It is interesting that this is the reverse of the
situation among telephone customers, among whom overall satisfaction is highest among
those dealt with in a single call.
In around three-quarters (73%) of cases where customers had more than one meeting,
they saw the same adviser on each occasion. The majority of those who saw more than
one adviser said this was not a problem (77%), but a fifth (22%) would have preferred to
see the same adviser each time. Customers who saw the same adviser were more
satisfied overall than those who saw multiple advisers (51% very satisfied compared with
40%). This suggests that where multiple meetings are required efforts should be made to
have customers see the same adviser.
Skills Health Check
A third of face-to-face customers recalled going through the Skills Health Check diagnostic
tool during their meeting (34%), no significant change to the proportion found in Year 1 of
the survey (33%). Customers who were unemployed and looking for work (36%) and those
who accessed the service through JCP (36%) were significantly more likely to have gone
through the Skills Health Check. Having a Skills Health Check was most likely to be
recalled by those whose Prime Contractor is the North West Economic Solutions (41%). In
contrast, in the East Midlands (29%) and Yorkshire (29%) less than three in ten could
recall it.
The vast majority of customers who went through the Skills Health Check found it useful
(88%), with young people aged 18-19 (94%), and 18-24 year old NEETs (93%) particularly
positive. In the small minority of cases where the Skills Health Check was not considered
useful, this was likely to be because the customer did not find the questions relevant
(41%) or because it told the customer what they already knew (34%).
Where appropriate the use of the Skills Health Check tool should be encouraged as those
who undertook a Skills Health Check were more likely to be very satisfied overall with the
National Careers Service (48% vs. 37% of all other face-to-face customers).
Skills Action Plans
Both face-to-face and telephone advice customers were asked if, as part of their
interaction with National Careers Service, a Skills Action Plan had been drawn up for
achieving their goals and targets. Among both groups, more than half recalled doing so
(59% of face-to-face customers and 58% of telephone advice customers). Older
respondents were less likely to recall a Skills Action Plan being utilised (53% of the over
50s compared with 62% of under 20s.
For face-to-face customers, there was significant variation by Prime Contractor in the
recall of Skills Action Plans being utilised: 71% using South West Tribal and 67% at South
West CSW recalled drawing up a Skills Action Plan, compared with only 49% in Yorkshire
and 53% in North West GMCP Mersey. Again this suggests some variation in the
emphasis placed on Skills Actions Plans by different Prime Contractors.
Clearly a Skills Action Plan is most likely to be effective where there is buy-in from the
individual, rather than it being ‘imposed’ on them. This approach is being adopted in the
vast majority of cases: where customers recalled a Skills Action Plan being created, more
42

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
than nine in ten reported that they had a great deal (55%) or some (36%) involvement in
drawing it up.
The content and focus of Skills Action Plans varied according to different groups within the
sample. For face-to-face customers, Skills Action Plans were likely to be based around
development and improvement of CVs (34%) or exploring course options (20%).
Telephone advice customers were more likely to report that their plan included exploring
course options (30%), and much less likely to mention CV development (14%). This
reflects the different needs and focuses of the two customer groups as discussed in
Chapter 3; face-to-face customers are more likely to be seeking practical assistance with
employment, whereas telephone customers are more focused on learning. There were
also some variations by age: customers aged 50 plus were significantly more likely to have
CV development included in their plan (38% compared with only 30% of those aged under
25).
The vast majority (88%) found their Skills Action Plan useful, indeed almost half (46%)
found it very useful. Younger customers were particularly likely to find the Skills Action
Plan useful (94% aged under 20 compared to 85% aged 50 plus) as were 19-24 NEET
customers (92%). Younger people were more likely to say that the plan would help them
decide what to do next (62% aged under 20 vs. 53% aged 50 plus), whilst older people
were relatively more likely to find it helpful because it increased their understanding of the
options of what to do next (25% of 50 plus vs. 14% of under 20).
Telephone customers were more likely to say that the plan helped them to decide what to
do next (69% vs. 56% of face-to-face customers) whilst face-to-face customers were more
likely to say that it helped them with their CV (21% vs. 6% of telephone customers).
Customers recalling a Skills Action Plan being drawn up were more likely to be very
satisfied with the National Careers Service overall (46%) than those who did not recall this
aspect of the service (31%).
Lifelong Learning Accounts
The majority of customers did not discuss Lifelong Learning Accounts during their National
Careers Service intervention (64%, and 8% could not remember if it was discussed or
not). Overall 7% opened an account during the meeting or call, and a further 6% opened
one subsequently. These findings are an improvement from Year 1 when a higher
proportion of customers (70%) did not discuss Lifelong Learning Accounts with the
adviser. As more customers have had discussions about them, more have opened an
account during or following the session (13% in Year 2 vs. 9% in Year 1).
43

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Table 5.1: Lifelong Learning Accounts

YEAR 1
YEAR 2
Base: All face-to-face and telephone customers (satisfaction
survey)
6,610
8,808

%
%
Already had one
2
3
Opened one during the session
6
7
Opened one since
4
6
Offered but not interested
8
11
Not discussed
70
64
Can’t remember
8
8

Lifelong Learning Accounts were slightly more likely to be discussed in face-to-face
meetings than they were in telephone calls (63% of face-to-face customers said that they
were not discussed compared to 67% of telephone customers) though a similar proportion
opened an account during the session (7% face-to-face, 6% telephone).
There was some variation by Prime Contractor among face-to-face customers: 70% using
the London Prime Contractor and 68% using the Yorkshire Prime Contractor did not recall
Lifelong Learning Accounts being discussed, compared with only 55% using the South
West Tribal and 58% using the West Midlands.
Among those who had opened an account during their meeting or call, around three-fifths
(61%) had since activated it.
Satisfaction with adviser sessions
Customers were asked for their views on a number of specific aspects of their session with
the National Careers Service adviser. Figure 5.1 shows that face-to-face customers were
highly satisfied with the situational and logistical aspects of their meeting including the time
and date of the meeting, the waiting time before being seen, and the location and venue.
For each around nine in ten were satisfied (and just over half very satisfied) and 3% or
fewer dissatisfied. These results mirror those found in Year 1.
Those who had accessed the service through JCP were less satisfied than average with
the convenience of the time and date of their meeting (91% vs. 94% those who had not
accessed it through JCP) and less likely to be very satisfied with the waiting time before
their appointment (53% vs. 56%). Otherwise, there was very little difference by
demographic sub-group or by Prime Contractor.

44

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Figure 5.1: Satisfaction with situational and logistical aspects of face-to-face
meeting
2%
3%
3%
35%
36%
35%
57%
54%
54%
Convenience of
the date and time
of the meeting
The waiting time
before the
appointment
The location and
venue
Not satisfied
Satisfied
Very satisfied
92%
90%
89%
SATISFIED
Base: Satisfaction survey – face to face customers (5,592)

Customers were highly satisfied overall with their experience of National Careers Service
advisers. The results in Figure 5.2 suggest that National Careers Service advisers are
representing the service well and delivering a positive customer experience. On each
measure around nine in ten customers were satisfied, a half to two thirds very satisfied,
and typically just 2 to 4% were dissatisfied. The proportion of those very satisfied with
each of these aspects has increased since Year 1 with an increase of 2-3% for face-to-
face customers and 2-4% among telephone customers.

45

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Figure 5.2: Satisfaction with the adviser
2%
3%
3%
5%
3%
6%
4%
3%
4%
6%
26%
27%
26%
27%
30%
32%
37%
36%
31%
30%
68%
66%
66%
62%
61%
52%
52%
52%
59%
56%
Professionalism
Knowledge
Helpfulness
Not satisfied
Satisfied
Very satisfied
Base: Satisfaction survey – face to face customers 5,592, telephone customers 3,216
Understanding
of needs
Length of time
with adviser
94%
SATISFIED
92%
92%
89%
90%
83%
89%
86%
89%
88%
Face to face
Telephone
Face to face
Telephone
Face to face
Telephone
Face to face
Telephone
Face to face
Telephone

Face-to-face customers were more positive than telephone customers on each measure
shown in Figure 5.2. The difference was most marked for the adviser's knowledge (90% of
face-to-face customer satisfied vs. 83% telephone).
Again reflecting the more intensive interaction, telephone advice customers tended to
have more positive views than telephone information customers: the differences were not
particularly large for the percentage satisfied (c. 3 percentage points) but were larger when
looking at the percentage very satisfied. This was particularly the case regarding
‘professionalism’ (73% of telephone advice customers very satisfied vs. 63% of
information customers) and ‘the length of time they spent speaking to the adviser’ (60% of
advice customers very satisfied vs. 50% among information customers).
Among face-to-face customers, levels of satisfaction with aspects of the meeting varied by
Prime Contractor as shown in Table 5.2. Clearly on a number of measures customers in
London and the East of England give lower than average ratings.
46

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Table 5.2: Variation in Satisfaction with the adviser by Prime Contractor
Factor (and proportion satisfied among
all face-to-face customers)
More likely to be satisfied
Less likely to be satisfied
The adviser’s professionalism (94%)
North East (96%)
East of England (92%),
London (90%)
Helpfulness of the adviser (92%)
-
London (85%)
The adviser’s level of knowledge
(90%)
North East (94%)
West Midlands (93%)
East of England (87%),
London (84%)
Length of time speaking with adviser
(89%)
West Midlands (92%),
South West CSW (92%)
East of England (85%),
London (82%)
That the adviser(s) understood your
needs (89%)
-
East of England (86%)
London (80%)

Whether face-to-face customers were seen at a Jobcentre Plus office or not made very
little difference to their views of the adviser. The one exception was that those seen in a
JCP office were slightly (though statistically significantly) more positive about their
adviser’s knowledge (62% very satisfied vs. 59% among non-JCP customers).
Customer satisfaction with the advice they received, presented in Figure 5.3, showed a
similar pattern to views regarding advisers, with around nine in ten customers satisfied
with each aspect of the advice, face-to-face customers more positive than telephone
customers, and telephone advice more positive than telephone information customers.
Results are particularly positive in relation to information and advice being clear and easy
to understand.
The results are similar to those found in Year 1 but with a higher proportion of customers
being very satisfied with each aspect: the increase was more evident among telephone
customers (which saw an increase of 3-5 percentage points for those very satisfied
compared with Year 1) than face-to-face customers (an increase of 2-3 percentage
points).
As shown in Figure 5.3 relatively high levels of telephone customers were dissatisfied with
getting the information, advice and guidance to make an informed choice about what to do
next (11%) and the usefulness of the information, advice and guidance (9%).
47

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Figure 5.3: Satisfaction with the information and advice provided
2%
4%
5%
9%
6%
11%
33%
31%
35%
32%
35%
30%
60%
59%
52%
49%
50%
48%
Info and advice
clear and easy to
understand
Got IAG to help make
informed choice
about what to do next
Usefulness of info,
advice and guidance
Not satisfied
Satisfied
Very satisfied
Base: Satisfaction survey – face to face customers 5,592, telephone customers 3,216
Face to face
Telephone
Face to face
Telephone
Face to face
Telephone
93%
SATISFIED
90%
87%
81%
85%
78%

Face-to-face customers in London were less satisfied than average with the usefulness of
the information, advice and guidance (82% vs. 87%) and getting the information, advice
and guidance in order to make an informed decision (77% vs. 85%). Customers from the
North East were significantly more likely than average to say they received the
information, advice and guidance they needed to make an informed decision (90%).
Regarding the usefulness of the information, advice and guidance and getting the
information they would need to help them make an informed decision about what to do
next, the following groups were more positive than average (the figures shown are for the
usefulness of the information, advice and guidance, although the same pattern exists for
getting the information, advice and guidance to help make an informed choice):

Younger respondents (e.g. 90% aged under 20 vs. 84% aged over 50 were
satisfied with the usefulness of the information, advice and guidance).

Those with lower level qualifications (e.g. 88% of those qualified to below Level 2
vs. 85% of those with a Level 2).

White British (e.g. 87% vs. 85% non White British).
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Face-to-face customers having more than one meeting (91% vs. 86% of those who
had one meeting).

Telephone customers who had the one call (84% vs. 75% of those who had multiple
calls)

Those who recalled a Skills Action Plan being utilised (91% vs. 79% of other
customers)

Those who went through a Skills Health Check (91% vs. 83% of other face-to-face
customers).

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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Chapter 6: The National Careers
Service website: Tools and features
used, and satisfaction with aspects
of the website
This chapter examines use and views of the tools and functionality of the website, and
customer satisfaction with various aspects of the site. This includes such issues as:

How many visitors used each feature and how useful these were

Whether the online visitors found the information they wanted

Satisfaction with a range of specific aspects of the website.
Results are based on customers answering the Pop-up Satisfaction Survey.
Online sessions
Three-fifths of customers who visited the National Careers Service website were doing so
for the first time (61%), compared with 25% who had accessed it 2-4 times and 13% that
had accessed it on 5 or more occasions. Those with lower level qualifications (below Level
2) were more likely to be first time visitors (67%).
The most common website features and tools used were the Skills Health Check (36%),
CV Builder (33%) and Job Profiles (24%), with around a fifth also accessing their Lifelong
Learning Account (21%) or looking at the Careers Advice pages (18%). In contrast many
tools or features had been used by fewer than 5%. One in seven respondents (rising to
21% for first time visitors) said that they had just browsed the site, not using any of the
tools or features that were on offer.
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Figure 6.1: Features and tools of website used on current or recent visits
(prompted)
14%
9%
9%
10%
16%
18%
21%
24%
33%
36%
Just browsed
Site Search
Job Market Information
Action Plan
Course search
Careers Advice pages
Their Lifelong Learning Account
Job Profiles
CV Builder
Skills Health Check
Base: All website users (6,504)
Other tools or features used
E-mail an adviser 3%
Learning Record 3%
Government Contributions Funding
Check 3%
Videos 2%
Request a call from an adviser 2%
Learner Statement 1%
Webchat 1%
Discussion forums 1%

Younger website users aged under 25 were more likely to have accessed the website’s
Job Profiles (37% compared to 18% among those aged 50 plus) whilst those aged 25-49
were particularly likely to have utilized the Skills Health Check (39% vs. 26% of those aged
under 25). Those unemployed and looking for work were more likely than average to use
the Skills Health Check and CV Builder (43% and 36% respectively) and less likely to have
looked at the Job Profiles listed on the site (20%).
The main tools and features used were felt to be useful. Results are summarised in the
following chart, which shows their perceived usefulness (on a scale of very useful, quite
useful, not very and not at all useful – for simplicity the last two of these have been
merged on the chart). Base sizes are shown in brackets. The tools are ranked in
descending order of perceived usefulness.
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Figure 6.2: Usefulness of the website features and tools
20%
14%
6%
7%
6%
7%
4%
40%
40%
45%
40%
40%
31%
31%
35%
38%
41%
44%
43%
56%
62%
Not
Quite
Very
Base: users of each tool/feature
Skills Health Check (2,349)
CV Builder (2,149)
Careers Advice pages (1,152)
Lifelong Learning Accounts
(1,375)
Job Profiles (1,555)
Course Search (1,024)
Action Plan (661)

Three general conclusions stand out:

All the features and tools are seen as useful by the vast majority of users

Job Profiles and CV Builder are by far the highest rated with well over half thinking
each very useful

The Course Search and the Action Plan functions are the least well rated of the
main tools / features: as many as a fifth of users of Course Search felt this had not
been useful.

Whether found the information they wanted
Most users of the website said that on their current or recent visits they found all (30%) or
most (30%) of the information they wanted. This compares with a fifth only finding some of
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
the information they wanted (20%) and one in twelve (8%) finding none of what they had
been looking for – 11% stated that they had not been looking for information.
Respondents aged under 25 were the most likely to have found all the information they
had been seeking (35% vs. 25% among those aged 50 plus).
Those only finding some of none of what they were looking for were asked what
information they had been unable to find. Information not found tended to be (illustrated by
the verbatim comments below):

Information on a specific career

Jobs that match skills, abilities and location

Information on different types of courses available locally
“Information about wanting to go back into higher education with funding when you are
currently paying back a student loan, and how to get into childcare/primary school
teaching”
“In depth information about educational psychology. In depth information about speech
therapy. I was very surprised that there was not more information on these two common
careers.”
“What jobs careers are there where it is ideal, even an advantage, to being over 45, given
a previous professional very IT-literate career but now seeking a less stressful career path
without the demanding long hours.”
“The course search function does not allow you to specify the single most important
feature - the course level. I was looking on behalf of a friend wanting to get back into
education for part-time A level courses in the area or by distance/on-line study. It only
came up with degree courses, which I could find easily anyway: it is FE providers which
are difficult to find. A very poorly designed search tool.”
Results suggest the site could be clearer with regard to advising people that they can
contact an adviser and how to do this. Among those only finding some or none of what
they had been looking for, only half (49%) felt it was clear from the website how to contact
an adviser for further support, with the remainder either feeling this was not clear (15%) or
not sure (36%), the latter figure implying that this aspect is not given prominence.
Overall views of the National Careers Service website
Respondents were asked to rate a number of aspects of the website, using a scale of very
good, good, neither good nor poor, poor and very poor. Results are summarised on the
following chart: for simplicity those answering neither good nor poor, or don’t know, are not
shown (hence figures on each chart add to less than 100%), and those answering very
poor or poor have been merged. The factors are ranked in descending order in terms of
the percentage giving a very good rating.
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Figure 6.3: Rating of specific aspects of the website
9
7%
6%
4%
5%
6%
4%
42%
45%
45%
43%
41%
44%
35%
36%
38%
39%
41%
42%
Poor
Good
Very good
Info clear & easy to understand
The design of the website
Quality of the info (relevant etc)
Ease of finding info
Base: all website users excluding don’t knows
How easy the website is to use
Effectiveness of site search

Just over four in five users of the web service expressing an opinion on each measure
thought that the information was clear and easy to understand (86%), of high quality
(relevant, up-to-date etc) (84%) and easy to find (82%), and that the website was easy to
use (84%) and the design of the website was good (82%). On each measure around 5%
thought the website poor. Ratings on most measures were fairly similar with slightly more
rating each aspect ‘good’ rather than ‘very good’.
The effectiveness of the site search was rated a little less positively than other aspects,
although is higher among those who have visited the website 5+ times (70% rated it as
good or very good compared with 66% of those who were on the website for the first time).
On every measure older respondents aged 50+ were less positive than average. As just
one example, in terms of the quality of information, 68% thought it was good or very good,
compared with 76% respondents overall.
Women were more positive than men, particularly in regard to the effectiveness of the site
search (69% vs. 60%) and the design of the site (81% vs. 75%).
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Overall satisfaction with the website
Most users were satisfied overall with the National Careers Service website. Three-
quarters were satisfied (76%) compared with 7% dissatisfied. The remainder were either
neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (13%) or were unsure (5%).
Figure 6.4: Overall rating of the website
7%
6%
8%
9%
6%
7%
40%
41%
40%
38%*
38%
41%*
35%
38%*
32%
29%*
36%
36%
Dissatisfied
Satisfied
Very satisfied
Base: All website users (6,504)
Men (2,434)
Women (4,070)
All (6,504)
Aged 50 + (1,497)
Below Level 2 (1,292)
Level 2 + (4,754)

Note: * signifies a significant difference from the total for all other customers

The following groups were all more satisfied overall than average:

Those aged 16-24 (85% satisfied vs. 67% aged 50 plus)

Women (78% satisfied vs. 72% men)

Those in work (78% satisfied vs. 73% unemployed and looking for work)
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Those qualified to Level 2 or higher (77% vs. 74% of those qualified to below Level
2).
There was a clear correlation between overall satisfaction with the site and whether users
found all the information they had been looking for. Among the 429 dissatisfied
respondents three-fifths (60%) had not found any of the information they had been looking
for (and just 10% found all or most if it), whereas among those satisfied three-quarters
(74%) found all or most of the information they had been seeking.
Reasons for dissatisfaction centred on:

Web pages not loading properly or CV builder crashing, often resulting in
information being lost.

Not finding the information they were looking for.

“I want to see what courses are available in Ipswich on anything but most
especially in the IT field. It cannot be done. I either have to scroll through
over 2,000 courses from all around the country or go into advanced
search and specify WHAT course offered at WHICH facility in a
SPECIFIC location.”
“I cannot see any advice regarding training or course suggestions or
anything that will enable me to get back into a new career / long term
employment”
“Attempting to build a CV which locks you out every 30 minutes resulting
in losing all the valuable information you have spent time typing which
was extremely frustrating! I read that it will lock you out after 30 minutes
but I had thought this meant if you had left it inactive for 30 minutes, not if
you were mid typing, no warning box comes up asking you if you want to
save it, it just locks you out and everything you have typed disappears.
Very poor design and very time consuming on what would otherwise be a
very useful tool to use.”
Over four in five web users would recommend the website to friends, family of colleagues
(83%). Of the remainder, more said that they were unsure (13%) than said they would not
recommend it (4%). Predictably there is a clear link between overall satisfaction and
likelihood to recommend their site: almost half of those dissatisfied (47%) would not
recommend it, while among those very or quite satisfied overall nearly all (96%) would
recommend the site.
Those aged 16-19 (89%), women (85%) and those whose first language was not English
(89%) were particularly likely to recommend the site.
Suggested improvements to the site
A quarter (25%) of web users had suggestions for how the website could be improved,
rising to three-quarters of those dissatisfied overall (74%).
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
The top four suggested improvements put forward were:

Make the site more user-friendly by making it easier to find the information needed.

Simplified layout - there are several clicks before you reach the section you want
and sometimes I see quick links to a section which is useful but I can never find that
page again by navigating through the website

Improving the CV builder. Website users liked this function but noted problems with
it timing out and losing work as a result of this. They liked the templates but many of
the comments referred to this not always working, whilst others wanted some more
examples of CVs available.
“When putting together my CV, it wasn't clear to me that I could include
e.g. more than one recent job, until I saved the first entry. A step by step
guide on how to use the CV Builder would be useful (I didn't see this
included on the website).”


Having a good facility where skills, interests and abilities could be matched with
careers/ available jobs.

For job descriptions to be more detailed like they are, for example, on
www.prospects.co.uk
One thing to note is that one of the key improvements (having a career matching
programme) already exists on the website as the Skills Health Check. However, the fact
that many users cited this as an improvement shows that they were not aware that this
tool is already available which suggests that its existence and its functionality needs to be
flagged more clearly to website users. On the front page, for instance, it may be worth
adding a description of what the Skills Health Check is and what it can do (rather than just
having its title displayed) since the title ‘Skills Health Check’ does not mention careers and
may mean people do not investigate how the tool might help them.

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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Chapter 7: Key drivers of
satisfaction
The previous chapters examined levels of customer satisfaction with specific aspects of
their call / meeting / visit to the website and revealed high levels of satisfaction. This
chapter examines customer satisfaction with these aspects of the call / meeting / website
further and aims, through correlation analysis, to identify key priorities for improvement.
First discussed are the key drivers of satisfaction of face-to-face and telephone customers
before going on to discuss the key satisfaction drivers of online customers.
Face-to-face and telephone customers
The specific aspects of the call / meeting tested were:

The location and venue of the meeting (face-to-face customers only)

The waiting time before the appointment (face-to-face customers only)

The convenience of the time and date of the meeting (face-to-face customers only)

The time it took for someone to answer the call (telephone customers only)

The time taken to get through to the person who helped (telephone customers only)

The length of time spoken with the adviser

The professionalism of the adviser

The helpfulness of the adviser

The adviser’s level of knowledge

The adviser understanding the customer’s needs

The information and advice being clear and easy to understand

The usefulness of the information, advice or guidance

That the customer got the information, advice or guidance to make an informed
decision about what to do next.
Correlation analysis: Face-to-face customers
Correlation analysis investigates the level of association between different variables and
gives an indication of each variable’s relative importance. Here we test the correlation
58

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
between satisfaction with each individual aspect of the National Careers Service and
overall satisfaction with the service. This gives an indication of the importance of each
aspect in driving overall satisfaction.
Results of this analysis for face-to-face customers are shown in Figure 7.1. The x-axis
shows the mean satisfaction score for each aspect of service: the further right on the chart
a factor appears, the higher the level of customer satisfaction. As can be seen, face-to-
face customers were most satisfied with the professionalism of the adviser and relatively
least satisfied with getting the information, advice or guidance to make an informed
decision about what to do next.
The vertical, y-axis shows the correlation of an individual factor with overall satisfaction
with the service. The higher a factor appears the more closely correlated it is with overall
satisfaction. Therefore, the waiting time before the meeting was shown to correlate the
least with overall satisfaction and the usefulness of the information, advice or guidance
was shown to correlate the most with overall satisfaction.
Figure 7.1: Correlation with overall satisfaction: face-to-face customers
Length of time
spoken with the
advisor
Professionalism of
adviser
Helpfulness of
adviser
Adviser’s
knowledge
Adviser
understood
needs
IAG clear & easy to
understand
Usefulness of
IAG
Got IAG to help make
an informed choice
about what to do
next
Location and venue
Waiting time
Convenience of time
and date
0.3
0.35
0.4
0.45
0.5
0.55
0.6
0.65
0.7
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
Correlation with overall satisfaction
Mean satisfaction score
Base: Satisfaction survey‐ face to face customers (5,592)
High importance & high
satisfaction
High importance & relatively low satisfaction

The lower half of the chart shows that logistical, operational aspects of face-to-face
meetings (waiting time, the location and venue, and the convenience of the date and time
of the session) tend to have a very weak correlation with overall satisfaction, (as was
found in Year 1). This suggests that any improvement in these aspects would be unlikely
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
to bring about an increase in overall satisfaction. They may though be ‘hygiene factors’
which are expected to be performed well and can cause dissatisfaction if poorly delivered).
The top right quadrant of the chart shows factors that are highly correlated with overall
satisfaction and have comparatively high satisfaction scores. These include several
aspects relating to the adviser (helpfulness, professionalism and level of knowledge), as
well as the information and guidance being clear and easy to understand. These aspects
of the meeting may not require improvement, but it will be important to maintain
satisfaction levels in these areas in order to maintain overall satisfaction.
The top left quadrant shows factors that are highly correlated with overall satisfaction
and have comparatively low satisfaction scores. Of particular note are the usefulness of
the information and guidance and whether the information and guidance helped customers
to make an informed choice about what to do next. Because satisfaction with these
aspects of the meeting is comparatively low, these aspects offer the most potential for
increasing overall satisfaction and should be a key focus of attention.
Improving customers’ experiences of the usefulness of the information, advice and
guidance may be down to the management of customers’ expectations of the service and
better informing them of how any advice and guidance can best be used.
Correlation analysis also revealed groups of customers for whom the issues of the
usefulness of the information, advice and guidance and getting the information, advice and
guidance to help make an informed choice about what to do next are more key than
average: those aged 25+ (particularly those aged 50+) and those in work were less
satisfied with these two factors than average and yet for these groups these aspects were
more highly correlated with overall satisfaction.
Correlation analysis: Telephone customers
Figure 7.2 shows the same analysis for telephone customers.
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Figure 7.2: Correlation with overall satisfaction: telephone customers
Time taken to
answer call
The time taken to
get through to the
person who helped
Length of time
spoken with
Professionalism of
adviser
Helpfulness of
adviser
Adviser’s level
of knowledge
Adviser understood
needs
IAG clear and easy to
understand
Usefulness of IAG
Got IAG to help
make an informed
decision about what
to do next
0.35
0.4
0.45
0.5
0.55
0.6
0.65
0.7
0.75
74
76
78
80
82
84
86
88
90
Correlation with overall satisfaction
Mean satisfaction score
High importance & high
satisfaction
High importance & relatively low satisfaction
Base: Satisfaction survey‐ telephone customers (3,216)

The results of the correlation analysis for telephone customers are very similar to the
results for face-to-face customers and again were similar to what was found in Year 1.
Operational aspects (time taken to answer the call, time taken to get through to the person
who helped), shown in the bottom half of the chart, correlate very weakly with overall
satisfaction. Increasing satisfaction with these aspects is therefore not likely to improve
overall satisfaction, although a significant decrease in satisfaction with these factors could
have a negative effect overall.
As with face-to-face customers, aspects relating to the adviser (helpfulness,
professionalism and understanding of customer needs) are highly correlated with overall
satisfaction and have high satisfaction ratings as do the length of the call, the adviser’s
knowledge and the advice being clear and easy to understand. These results suggest that
these aspects of the telephone service may not need improvement, but efforts should be
made to maintain customer satisfaction with each aspect in order to maintain the high
levels of overall satisfaction with the service.
As with face-to-face customers, the usefulness of the information and guidance and
whether the information and guidance helped to make an informed choice about what to
do next correlate highly with overall satisfaction and have comparatively low
satisfaction ratings. As satisfaction with these aspects of the call is comparatively low and
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
they offer the most potential for increasing overall satisfaction, a key objective should be to
improve customers’ experiences of these aspects.
Once again, these aspects are particularly important to improve among those in work and
those aged 25+ (particularly those aged 50+) as satisfaction with getting the information,
advice and guidance and the usefulness of this information/guidance was lower than
average and yet correlation of these aspects with overall satisfaction was higher than
average for this group. Thus attention needs to be paid to these groups in particular in
order to raise overall satisfaction with the service.
Correlation analysis: Online customers
The specific aspects of the website measured were:

How easy it was to find the information needed.

The information being clear and easy to understand

The quality of the information (it being up to date, relevant, accurate etc)

How easy the website was to use

The design of the website

How effective the site search was.

Correlation analysis tested satisfaction with each individual aspect of the National Careers
Service website with overall satisfaction with the website. Results of this analysis among
online customers are shown in Figure 7.3.
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Figure 7.3: Correlation with overall satisfaction: Website users
Ease of finding the
information needed
Information being
clear and easy to
understand
Quality of
information
Ease of using
the website
Design of the
website
Effectiveness of site
search
0.5
0.55
0.6
0.65
0.7
0.75
0.8
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
High importance & high
satisfaction
High importance & relatively low
satisfaction
Base: All website users (6,504)
Correlation with overall satisfaction
Mean satisfaction score

Aspects of the website that were rated highly and were also highly correlated with overall
satisfaction were the information on the site being of high quality, being clear and easy to
understand, and the ease of using the website. These aspects of the website may not
require particular improvement, but efforts should be made to maintain these high
satisfaction levels in order to maintain overall satisfaction.
The design of the website, shown in the bottom half of the chart, correlates more weakly
with overall satisfaction than the other aspects measured. Improving the overall
design of the site is therefore not as likely to improve overall satisfaction as much as the
other measures.
Aspects of the website that emerged as correlating highly with overall satisfaction but
having comparatively low satisfaction ratings were the effectiveness of the site search and
the ease of finding the information needed (as shown in the top left hand quadrant of the
chart). As satisfaction with these aspects of the site is comparatively low particular effort
should be made to improve them in order to increase customer satisfaction overall.

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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Chapter 8: Customer progression
following their dealings
This chapter details the extent to which National Careers Service customers have
progressed since their call or meeting with an adviser, or their visit to the website. For
face-to-face and telephone customers progression is measured six months after the
intervention whereas for online customers progression is measured three months after
visiting the website.
The chapter begins by considering how the employment status of face-to-face and
telephone customers had changed from the time of their intervention to six months after
the call/meeting, and then assesses customer progression in terms of employment,
learning and personal added value.
Progression among customers accessing the National Careers Service website is
discussed in the final section of the chapter.
Change in employment status
At the time of the initial intervention, customers interviewed for the progression survey
were most likely to be unemployed and seeking work (69%3). Just under a fifth were in
work (18%), with the remainder in learning (5%) or in some other situation (8%, covering
those unable to work due to ill health (4%), those with home / family responsibilities (3%)
and the retired (1%)).
Six months later, there was a large fall in the proportion of customers who were
unemployed and looking for work (of 25 percentage points), and a large increase in the
percentage in work, particularly in full time employment (an increase of 11 percentage
points) and part time employment (an increase of 7 percentage points).
Results are summarised on Figure 8.1. The top bar in each pair is the proportion in that
situation at the time of the initial meeting/call with the adviser, while the lower bar is the
proportion in that situation six months later (at the time of the Progression Survey).

3 This is very similar to the figure among the larger number of respondents completing the Satisfaction Survey, where
68% were unemployed and looking for work, 18% were in work, 4% were in learning, and 8% in other situations.
Because the results on work status at the time of adviser session were so similar across the Satisfaction and
Progression surveys we can be confident in using Progression Survey results to describe the change in employment
status.
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Figure 8.1: Employment status at the time of the call / meeting and six months later
11%
3%
4%
3%
14%
21%
44%
8%
2%
3%
2%
7%
10%
69%
Other
Part time education or learning
Full time education or learning
Self-employed
Part time paid employment
Full time paid employment
Unemployed and looking for work
Time of session
After 6 months
Base: Progression survey (telephone and face-to-face customers – all customers 6,395

Younger customers in the 20-24 age bracket were particularly likely to have moved out of
the unemployed and looking for work category: among this age group this percentage fell
by 31 percentage points in the six months following the session (compared against the
average 25 percentage point fall).
There were marked differences between face-to-face and telephone customers in their
work status at the time of the call/meeting and their status 6 months later, though the net
change in their situation six months later was broadly similar between the two customer
types.
Face-to-face customers were particularly likely to be unemployed and seeking work (73%)
at the time of their initial meeting while only 15% were in work and 3% in education or
learning. Six months later a large proportion had moved out of the ‘unemployed and
looking for work’ group (a fall of 26 percentage points), while the percentage in
employment had increased (by 11 percentage points for full time employment, 8
percentage points for part-time employment, and 2 percentage points for self-
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
employment). Overall a third of face-to-face customers (33%) were in paid employment six
months after the session compared with 15% at the time of the session with the adviser. In
line with Year 1, the proportion of face-to-face customers in education or learning had not
changed significantly over the subsequent six months.
Results are summarised on the Figure 8.2.

Figure 8.2: Employment status of face-to-face customers at the time of the call /
meeting and six months later
12%
3%
2%
3%
14%
19%
47%
8%
2%
2%
1%
6%
8%
73%
Other
Part time education or learning
Full time education or learning
Self-employed
Part time paid employment
Full time paid employment
Unemployed and looking for work
Time of session
After 6 months
Base: Progression survey – face-to-face customers (3,393)

Telephone customers have a very different profile to face-to-face customers, and more
were working at the time of their call with an adviser (44%) than were unemployed and
looking for work (34%). Around one in eight (13%) were in learning.
However, like face-to-face customers, six months after the adviser session, there were
large falls in the proportion unemployed and looking for work (a 15 percentage point fall),
and increases in the proportion in paid work (an increase of 8 percentage points) or in full
or part time learning (7 percentage points). Hence whereas for face-to-face customers the
change is mainly a movement from unemployment to employment, among those using the
telephone service the movement from being unemployed and looking for work is equally to
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
employment outcomes and learning outcomes. Results among telephone customers are
shown in Figure 8.3.
Figure 8.3: Employment status of telephone customers at the time of the call /
meeting and six months later
9%
5%
15%
5%
16%
31%
19%
9%
2%
11%
5%
14%
25%
34%
Other
Part time education or learning
Full time education or learning
Self-employed
Part time paid employment
Full time paid employment
Unemployed and looking for work
Time of session
After 6 months
Base: Progression survey – all telephone customers (2,402)

Summary of the extent of employment progression, learning
progression and personal added value
The following sections in the chapter look at the extent of extent and nature of employment
progression, learning progression and personal added value achieved among face-to-face
and telephone customers in the six months following interactions with the National Careers
Service (results among online customers are presented as a discrete section later in the
chapter). Figure 4.3, presented earlier, summarised results on progression, and showed:

63% had progressed in learning

46% had progressed in employment

77% had progressed in learning and/or employment
67

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

88% had gained ’personal added value’

93% had benefitted in at least one of these ways.

The results described above are very similar to Year 1 results (when the service was
branded as Next Step), indeed all the figures were identical except personal added value
being 1 percentage point higher this year than last.
Employment progression among telephone and face-to-face customers
Customers were asked about a number of possible employment outcomes which they may
have achieved over the six months since the National Careers Service call or meeting.
Overall, almost half (46%) of customers had achieved any employment progression during
this six months period (note, this can include those getting a job and then returning to
unemployment within the six months). Over a quarter (29%) had progressed into new
employment (i.e. from having been in learning, unemployment or another out-of-work
situation or in previous employment that was different), 16% had achieved a career
change, and one in nine (11%) had achieved a promotion or pay rise. Almost a fifth (17%)
had taken up voluntary work since their call / meeting.
Figure 8.4: Employment progression (face-to-face and telephone customers)

17%
11%
16%
29%
46%
Taken up voluntary
work
Achieved a promotion
or increased pay
Changed career
Progressed into
(new) employment
Any employment
progression

Base: Progression survey – all customers 6,395
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
The overall level of employment progression was similar across telephone and face-to-
face customers. However, face-to-face customers were more likely to have moved into
new employment in the six months since the adviser session (30% vs. 21% telephone),
reflecting the higher proportion of these customers that were out of work at the time of the
session. Customers who were unemployed at the time of the session were slightly more
likely than average to have achieved any employment progression (48% compared with
46% overall – this still indicates that levels of employment progression are similar among
those already working as those unemployed), while young NEETs aged 18-24 were
considerably more likely to have done so (55%).
Customers aged 20-24 and those qualified to at least Level 2 were also more likely than
average to have experienced employment progression (56% and 51% respectively).
Among customers that had achieved employment progression, just over half (54%) felt
that the information, advice or support they received from the National Careers Service
adviser had played a part in bringing about this progression, including 18% who felt the
adviser had ‘played a big part’. Results are similar to those found for the Year 1 survey of
Next Step customers, when 53% of those experiencing employment progression felt the
adviser had helped them achieve these outcomes, though then fewer felt the adviser had
played a big part (16%).
As shown in Figure 8.5, the degree of influence of the adviser in assisting with
employment progression varied by channel, with face-to-face customers more likely to
attribute their employment progression, at least in part, to an adviser (56% vs. 51%
telephone advice and 36% telephone information).
Figure 8.5: Role of National Careers Service adviser in achieving employment
progression
45%
42%
60%
48%
63%
38%
36%
38%
28%
36%
26%
42%
18%
19%
11%
15%
11%
18%
All customers (3,058)
All telephone
customers (1,177)
Face to face customers
(1,881)
No part at all
Some part
A big part
Base: Progression survey – those who achieved an employment outcome
54%
Played a part
56%
39%
51%
36%
60%
Telephone advice
(447)
Telephone
information (730)
18-24 NEETs (550)
69

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
The under 20s were more likely to feel that an adviser had played a part in their
employment progression (63%), and the figure was similarly high among NEETs aged 18-
24 (60%). This suggests that the service is particularly influential for young people.
Where the National Careers Service was seen to have contributed to the customer's
employment progression, the main reasons given were that it helped with job-seeking
skills such as updating their CV and interview techniques (37%), it helped with confidence
and motivation (24%) or it assisted with taking stock of skills or planning for the future
(13%).
There was a significant variation between face-to-face and telephone customers, with the
former more likely to benefit from practical job-seeking support, while telephone customers
were more likely to benefit from support with planning for the future. Results are shown in
Figure 8.6.
Figure 8.6: Impact of National Careers Service adviser where the adviser helped
employment progression (spontaneous)
7%
9%
10%
5%
8%
6%
Good advice - unspecified
Gave useful information i.e. contact names
and numbers
Helped with studying / returning to studying
21%
20%
20%
12%
25%
39%
Made me able to take stock of skills / plan
for the future
Helped improve confidence / motivation
Helped towards getting a job inc. updating
CV, interview techniques
Face to face
Telephone
Base: Progression survey – those whose adviser played a part in progression (face to
face 1,059, telephone 493)

70

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Those customers who had not achieved employment progression were asked if there was
anything else the National Careers Service adviser could have done to help bring about
employment progression. Relatively few of these customers (13%) felt that the adviser
could have done something further. This proportion was slightly higher among telephone
advice customers (18% vs. 13% face-to-face and 13% in telephone information). This is in
contrast to Year 1 where there was no difference by delivery channel.
Non-White British customers not achieving employment progression were more likely than
average to feel the adviser could have done more (23%, compared with 10% among White
British customers).
Customers who felt that their adviser could have done more in this area were most likely to
mention that they would have liked to have been given more options in general (25%),
(better) advice or information on specific jobs (16%) or courses (15%) or that the adviser
could have called back or followed up the session (18%).
Positive changes at work
In addition to the ‘hard’ employment outcomes discussed in Figure 8.4, working customers
were also asked about a range of other benefits they may have gained in their work
following their call / meeting. Customer feedback in this area was positive, with over three-
fifths (64%) of working customers feeling that they were getting more job satisfaction than
at the time of their initial session, and over half (56%) that they were now doing more
interesting work. Half felt that their job security had improved (50%) and a similar
proportion felt that they now had better pay and promotion prospects (46%). All these
figures have increased compared with the Year 1 study among Next Step customers (each
by exactly five percentage points).
Figure 8.7 shows that face-to-face customers were more likely than telephone customers
to say that they had benefited in each way (although the difference for pay and promotion
prospects improvements is not significant).
71

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Figure 8.7: Positive changes at work
44%
43%
48%
55%
46%
51%
58%
66%
Pay and promotion prospects improved
Better job security
Doing more interesting work
Getting more job satisfaction
Face to face
Telephone
Base: Progression survey – those currently working (face to face 1,433, telephone 1,276)

As with the specific employment outcomes discussed earlier in this chapter, just over half
(56%) of customers who benefitted from one or more positive changes at work attributed
these changes, at least in part, to the advice received from National Careers Service, with
16% feeling that the adviser played a big part. Again, levels of attribution were significantly
higher among face-to-face customers than among telephone customers (60% compared
with 38%), and telephone advice customers were more likely to report that the advice
contributed to their positive development at work than telephone information customers
(48% vs. 36%). NEETs were also significantly more likely than other customers to attribute
positive developments to the advice received (62%).
72

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Figure 8.8: Role of National Careers Service advice in achieving positive changes at
work

Changing job role or employer
Among customers that were in work at the time of the call / meeting and also in work at the
time of the progression interview six months later, the majority (57%) reported that they
were still working in the same job and for the same organisation, a decrease from the 64%
found in Year 1, and indicating more job mobility in the current survey. This leaves a
sizeable minority that had changed either job or employer over the six months since the
adviser session. Over a fifth were in a different role and working for a different organisation
(23%), one in eight had moved employers while remaining in the same job role (12%) and
one in eleven were working for in a different role within the same organisation (9%).
Face-to-face customers that were working at the time of the session and six months later
were more likely to have changed their job role or organisation (48%) than telephone
customers (30%).
43%
40%
61%
51%
64%
37%
40%
43%
28%
35%
27%
45%
16%
17%
10%
13%
9%
17%
All customers
(2,046)
All telephone
customers (895)
Face to face
customers (1,151)
No part at all
Some part
A big part
Played a part
56%
59%
38%
49%
36%
62%
Telephone advice
(345)
Telephone
information (550)
18-24 NEETs (312)
Base: Progression survey – those who gained positive changes at work
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Moving from unemployment into employment
Customers who were not in work at the time of the intervention but who were working six
months later (24% of all Progression Survey respondents) were asked about the role that
the National Careers Service adviser had played in this move into employment. Overall,
over half (53%) of customers in this group reported that the advice they received played a
part in getting the job, with one in five (19%) feeling it played a big part. Once again, how
“intensive” the intervention was affected how much of the progression was attributed to the
adviser: 54% of face-to-face customers felt that the adviser played a part compared to
45% of telephone advice customers and 33% of telephone information customers.
Figure 8.11: Role of National Careers Service adviser in helping customers move
into work
47%
46%
62%
53%
65%
42%
34%
35%
23%
33%
21%
38%
19%
19%
12%
12%
12%
20%
All customers
(1,380)
All telephone
customers (397)
Face to face customers
(983)
No part at all
Some part
A big part
Base: Progression survey – those who moved into work since intervention
53%
Played a part
54%
36%
45%
33%
58%
Telephone advice
(147)
Telephone
information (250)
18-24 NEETs (348)

Learning progression
Just under two thirds (63%) of National Careers Service customers progressed in learning
by starting a course or informal learning in the six months since their call / meeting.
Telephone customers were particularly likely to have progressed in learning (72% vs. 62%
among face-to-face customers, reflecting the fact discussed in chapter 3 that telephone
74

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
callers main reasons for contacting an adviser were much more likely to focus on learning
than was the case among face-to-face customers.
Other groups particularly likely to have experienced learning progression were those with
prior qualifications at Level 2 or higher (67% vs. 55% below Level 2), non-White British
customers (70% vs. 61% White British), and those aged 20-24 (66%).
Figure 8.12 shows the nature of this learning progression, based on all respondents (not
those indicating they had achieved learning progression). As can be seen, Telephone
customers were much more likely than face-to-face customers to have undertaken various
forms of learning or training. It should also be noted that the learning is quite often not a
formal course (around a third had ‘deliberately tried to improve their knowledge about
anything or teach their self a skill without taking part in a formal, taught course’).
Figure 8.12: Form of learning or training undertaken since the call / meeting
24%
39%
9%
22%
20%
22%
42%
43%
16%
33%
5%
14%
14%
14%
30%
29%
Some other form of learning or training
Not a formal, taught course
Evening classes
Course work or a portfolio
Related to a previous job or current job
Related to personal interests or hobbies
Leading to a qualification
Related to a future job
Face to face
Telephone
Base: Progression survey – all customers 6,395
Note one learning or training activity can fall into more than one of the activities listed in
the chart.

Almost one in ten (9%) now have a higher qualification than when they saw or spoke to an
adviser.
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Customers that had progressed in learning by undertaking one or more forms of learning
or training were asked the extent to which the National Careers Service adviser played a
part in their deciding to do this learning or training. Just over three-fifths (61%) of these
customers felt that the adviser had played some part, including a quarter (26%) who felt
they had played a big part. Face-to-face customers were more likely to attribute their
learning progress to the help they received – 63% felt the adviser had played a part
compared with 51% of telephone customers that had achieved any learning progression.
Customers aged under 20 (70%), those with prior qualifications below Level 2 (68%) and
NEETs (65%) were particularly likely to attribute their learning progress to the National
Careers Service adviser.
Overall 14% of customers that had not progressed in learning in the six months since their
call / meeting felt the adviser could have done more to help them progress.
The most commonly mentioned areas where these respondents felt further assistance
would have helped include:

Making the customer aware of more training options (36%)

Giving more / better information about courses (34%)

Following up or calling back (18%)

Being more encouraging (14%)

Giving more information about what funding is available (13%)

In terms of the provision of more information and options and the desire for proactivity and
encouragement from the adviser, this ‘wish list’ has much in common with the equivalent
question about how advisers could have helped more with employment progression.
Around three-fifths of all customers (62%) felt that the information or advice from the
National Careers Service adviser has made it more likely that they will undertake learning
in the future, rising to 64% among face-to-face customers (compared with 54% among
telephone customers).
Other groups with above average likelihood to undertake further learning as a result of the
information and advice provided were the under 20s (71%), NEETs aged 18-24 (67%),
customers with prior qualifications below Level 2 (67%), and non-White British customers
(65%).
Personal added value: Skills and personal development
Over four-fifths (84%) of customers felt that they had improved in one or more skill area
over the six month period since the National Careers Service call or meeting. Customers
were most likely to feel that they had improved their CV writing or interview skills (61%)
self confidence (58%), and/ or skills related to current or future employment (49%).
76

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Figure 8.13: Skills and personal development outcomes (prompted)
Base: Progression survey – all customers (face to face 3,993, telephone 2,402)
31%
36%
39%
45%
46%
42%
54%
40%
57%
30%
34%
39%
41%
44%
43%
48%
64%
58%
Numeracy skills
Literacy skills
IT skills
Problem solving skills
Team working skills
Personal or social skills
Job related skills (current or future)
CV writing or interview skills
Self confidence
Face to face
Telephone

Results were generally fairly similar for face-to-face and telephone customers, although
telephone customers were slightly more likely to have improved job-related skills (54% vs.
48% face-to-face) and problem solving skills (45% vs. 41% face-to-face) whilst face-to-
face customers were much more likely to have improved CV writing or interview skills
(64% compared with 40% of telephone customers).
The proportion reporting improved CV writing / interview skills, team working skills and
problem solving skills were at least three percentage points higher than in Year 1
(covering the Next Step service). Across face-to-face and telephone customers combined
the proportion reporting improved problem solving skills increased from 39% in Year 1 to
42%, for team building skills it increased from 40% to 44%, and for CV writing / interview
skills it increased from 55% in Year 1 to 61% in the current survey.
Where customers had developed such skills, three-quarters (74%) believed that the
National Careers Service information and advice had played a part in this development.
This was considerably more likely to be the case among face-to-face customers (77%),
and was much higher among telephone advice than telephone information customers
(63% vs. 50%).
77

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Figure 8.13: Role of National Careers Service adviser in bringing about skills and
personal development outcomes
25%
22%
46%
37%
48%
20%
51%
52%
40%
49%
38%
57%
23%
25%
12%
13%
12%
22%
All customers
(5,255)
All telephone
customers (1,895)
Face to face customers
(3,360)
No part at all
Some part
A big part
Base: Progression survey – those who achieved skills / personal development outcomes
74%
Played a part
77%
53%
63%
50%
79%
Telephone advice
(496)
Telephone
information (887)
18-24 NEETs (848)
18-24 year old NEETs, who were more likely than other customers to have gained any of
these skills over the six month period, were also more likely to feel that the National
Careers Service advice played a part in this development (79% compared with 74%
overall).
Aside from specific skill areas, customers were also asked whether a range of other
personal development areas had improved since the adviser session. This covered their:
interest in doing more learning; awareness of learning or training options; motivations to
find work or change career, awareness of work and career opportunities; ability to make
career or training decisions; knowing what to do next in their life; and their confidence. The
vast majority (94%) of customers believed that they had seen an improvement in one or
more of these areas over the last six months. In each specific area 70% to 75% of all
customers indicated improvements had taken place in the six months since the session
(with around two-fifths in each case feeling these had improved a lot). Results on
motivations to find work or change careers were particularly positive, with half of
customers (49%) saying this had increased a lot.
Among customers that had seen an improvement in one or more of these areas, over
three-quarters (77%) said the National Careers Service support helped them achieve this,
with 22% feeling the advice played a big part. There was a considerable variation between
face-to-face customers (79%), telephone advice customers (71%) and telephone
78

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
information customers (61%). As seen with other measures, under 20s (86%) and NEETs
(84%) were particularly likely to feel that the advice received had played a part in their
development.
Figure 8.15: Role of National Careers Service adviser in bringing about personal
development
22%
20%
36%
28%
38%
15%
55%
56%
48%
53%
47%
61%
22%
23%
15%
18%
14%
24%
All customers
(6,002)
All telephone
customers (2,259)
Face to face
customers (3,743)
No part at all
Some part
A big part
Base: Progression survey – those who achieved skills / personal development outcomes
77%
Played a part
79%
63%
71%
61%
84%
Telephone advice
(855)
Telephone
information (1,404)
18-24 NEETs (928)
Progression among website customers
The following section focuses on the progression of those who had visited the National
Careers Service website between August and December 2012 and who completed the
progression survey 3 months later. However, it is important to be aware that website
visitors may have had experience with National Careers Service advisers before or af
visiting the website which may have had an impact on their progression. Of those who
visited the website between August and December 2012 (and completed the progression
survey 3 months later), almost half (46%) had had experience with National Careers
Service adviser before or after visiting the website: 38% had had a face-to-face meeting
with an adviser and 16% had spoken to an adviser on a helpline (some had done both).
ter
respondents, clearly a relatively low base hence caution is needed in interpretation.
In order to isolate the effects of the website per se, the following section focuses only on
those who had not had a face-to-face meeting or a telephone call with a National Careers
Service adviser either before or after visiting the website – this is a base of 142
79

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Figure 8.16 shows the progression outcomes for these website-only users. Almo
ten (86%) website users experienced some form of progression in the three months s
st nine in
ince
their web visit, with three quarters reporting employment or learning progression.
yment Progression among website users
One third (34%) of those who visited the website between August and December 2012
rogressed in employment in

19% had changed career

11% had achieved a promotion or experienced a pay increase
Compared with face-to-face and telephone customers, reporting progression six months
later rather than three, web-only users report similar levels of learning progression, but
lower levels of employment progressions and gains in personal added value.
Figure 8.16: Progression outcomes among website-only users
86% - any positive
employment or learning
outcome or personal
added value
75% - employment or
learning progression
34% - employment
progression
65% - progression in
learning
60% - personal
added value
28% if exclude voluntary work
73% if exclude voluntary work
Base: Web progression survey – web users not having contact with an NCS adviser at any time (142)

Emplo
and had no other contact with National Careers Service had p
the subsequent three months. The main types of employment progression were as follows
(these categories are not mutually exclusive):

21% had progressed into new employment
80

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

11% had entered into voluntary work

When voluntary work is taken out of the equation, employment progression among web
users drops from 34% to 28%.
National Careers Service website had helped them achieve these changes (equivalent to
ebsite users
essed in learning in the three
website.
ad
lated
visiting the National Careers Service website
sked
lt that visiting the National
ore of a range of ‘softer’ outcomes
known as ‘personal added value’;
).
decisions regarding their future (46%) or about planning their next career move (38%).

Three in ten (30%) of those who had progressed in employment felt that visiting the
11% of all website-only respondents).
Learning Progression among w
Almost two thirds (65%) of website-only users had progr
months since they visited the National Careers Service
Progression in learning encompassed a variety of types of learning or training. While
almost half of website-only users had tried to improve their knowledge or to teach
themselves a skill without taking part in a formal course (45%), significant minorities h
undertaken a course leading to a qualification (23%), a course, instruction or tuition re
to their interests, hobbies or personal development (25%), course work that they
completed in their own time, other than homework (18%) or some other type of learning or
training (34%)4.
Approaching three in ten (29%) of those who had done some learning or training attributed
the decision to do so, at least in part, to
(equivalent to 20% of all website-only respondents).
As well as measuring learning progression in the last three months, web users were a
about their future intentions. Almost half of web users (48%) fe
Careers Service website had made it more likely that they will do learning in the future. Of
those who felt future learning was likely, over two thirds (69%) felt that they would be likely
to start this learning in the next 12 months, including 39% who felt this was very likely.
Three in ten (30%) of web-only users had opened a lifelong learning account with the
National Careers Service since visiting the website.
Soft outcomes and personal added value
Web users were asked if they had achieved one or m
since visiting the National Careers Service website (
these could be improving their self-confidence, increasing their ability to make decisions
for the future regarding work or learning or achieving a new and higher level qualification
Three-fifths of web-only users (60%) had added personal value in the three months since
visiting the website: half of all customers reported an increase in confidence making

4 The total of these categories add to more than 100% as courses can fit into more than one category and website users
may have started more than one course or type of learning.
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Sizeable minorities reported feeling more confident about applying for jobs (37%) or about
applying for courses or training (34%).
Overall 5% of web-only users said they achieved a new qualification in the 3 months
following their visit to the website at a higher level than any of their previous qualifications.
riety
relevant can be picked) but, most commonly, people felt the website had helped them

on
b market in the UK
ers.
The website also seemed to act as a general confidence booster: re-

their continued efforts.

“Enabled positive action towards change”
As well as the confidence and qualification measures which feed into the personal added
value K
efits they may have experienced.
Around three-fifths felt more motivated now than when they visited the site 3 months
ore
a job

When asked how the National Careers Service website helped, there were a large va
of answers given (showing the benefits of a ‘toolkit’ of resources from which the most
draw up / perfect their CV, helped them explore the options available to them and made
them consider their skills and feel more confident in their own skills and experience.
“It helped me to find useful information regarding courses applicable
to the type of work I want”
“Info regarding type of work roles, qualifications required, salary levels
etc. was particularly useful”
“Filling in the CV made me realise that I have a lot of experience to
offer”
Rewriting my CV, identifying key skills, I was provided with informati
about jo
Applied for head of careers post. It gave an overview of the service
which helped me prep answ
Allowed me to assess my skills and view jobs to match these skills
motivating people and making them feel a direction had been set for
“Reassured me that changing career is something that a lot of people
do successfully”
“Gave hope that I’m not alone with a problem”
PI, web users were asked about other ben
previously to find work or to change their job (64%), more interested in doing learning
(63%) or more aware of job and career opportunities (58%). Around half (49%) felt m
aware of learning opportunities and one in five (22%) felt that their chances of finding
had improved. Of the 76% of website users who were in any of these groups (i.e. who
were more aware of or interested in progression opportunities than they were three
months previously) over half (57%) felt that the visiting the National Careers Service
website had helped them in these areas.
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Chapter 9: Results by Prime
Contractor
The National Careers Service face-to-face offer is delivered by 11 different Prime
Contractors. Some regions will have more than one contractor operating, for example the
North West and the South West. For clarity, throughout the chapter we refer to the region
rather than the contractor name, except in regions covered by multiple contractors.
The profile of different Prime Contractors
This chapter looks at Prime Contractor difference by KPI and other relevant results. First
we look at the demographic differences in customer profile across each Prime Contractor.
Table 9.1 shows differences by age, gender, prior qualification level (specifically the
proportion with qualifications below Level 2), ethnicity (specifically the proportion who were
White British) and working status (specifically the proportion in work at the time of their
contact with an adviser). Results are shown as row percentages.
83

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Table 9.1: Profile of face-to-face customers by Prime Contractor
Row percentages
Base:

<24
25-49
50+
Male
?

Named person answers phone
1
Transferred to named person
2
CONTINUE
Hard appointment
3
Soft Appointment
4
MAKE APPOINTMENT
Respondent no longer lives at address –
CONTACT DETAILS KNOWN
5
TAKE TELEPHONE NUMBER
Respondent no longer lives at address –
CONTACT DETAILS UNKNOWN
6
Refusal
7
Not available in deadline
8
Fax Line
9
Repeated (8+) No reply / Answer phone
10
Wrong number / never heard of person
11
Dead line
12
Other (SPECIFY)
13
CLOSE

96

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

ASK ALL CODE 1 OR 2 AT S1
S2
Good morning / afternoon, my name is <>, calling from IFF Research, an independent market
research company. I am calling on behalf of the Skills Funding Agency which operates the
National Careers Service [IF TELEPHONE: careers advice helpline] [IF TELEPHONE &
CAMPAIGN NOT CAREERS ADVICE LINE: for ] [IF F2F: careers information and
advice service]. We are talking to people about their experience and opinions of [IF
TELEPHONE: the helpline] [IF F2F: the information and advice service] and whether it is
meeting their needs. The questions take around 15 minutes, and will help the Skills Funding
Agency improve the service.

Continue
1
CONTINUE
Hard appointment
2
Soft Appointment
3
MAKE APPOINTMENT
Refusal
4
THANK AND CLOSE

REASSURANCES TO USE IF NECESSARY

All the information that you provide will be combined with those of other people
and reported as anonymised statistics. Your answers will not be reported to
National Careers Service or any other organisation in any way that would allow
you to be identified.

We work strictly within the guidelines of the Market Research Society Code of
Conduct

Your name and contact details were supplied to us by the Skills Funding Agency

If respondent wishes to confirm validity of survey or get more information
about aims and objectives, they can call:
o
IFF Research: Becky Duncan: xx-xxxx-xxxx
o
Skills Funding Agency: Chris Jones on xx-xxxx-xxxx
o
MRS: Market Research Society on xx-xxxx-xxxx

ASK ALL
S3
IF TELEPHONE (A=1): According to our records, you spoke to an adviser at the
[] helpline in []. Do you remember this?

ADD AS NECESSARY: The helpline offers advice and information on such issues as careers,
learning, courses, basic skills and funding.

IF FACE-TO-FACE (A=2): According to our records, you had a meeting about learning, careers
or work with a National Careers Service adviser in [.

NOTE (DP – SHOW FOR ALL SAMPLE): if respondent remembers the intervention but not the
exact date then code as ‘Yes’

Yes
1
CHECK NEXT STATEMENT
No
2
Don’t know
X
THANK AND CLOSE

97

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

IF YES AT S3 AND NOT BLANK
S3a
National Careers Service run the helpline. For the rest of the interview I will refer to it
as the National Careers Service helpline, and the advisers as National Careers Service
advisers.

STATUS AND REASON FOR CONTACT

ASK ALL
1
How did you first hear about the National Careers service? DO NOT READ OUT. CODE ALL
THAT APPLY

Friend or relative
1
Colleague / employer
2
Direct Gov website
3
Jobcentre Plus
4
College / training provider
5
Read about in local / national press
6
TV
7
Radio
8
Internet / Google
9
Other (SPECIFY)
0
Can’t remember
X

IF TELEPHONE (A=1)
1a)
When you called in [MONTH] did you want information or advice for ….READ OUT? SINGLE
CODE

Yourself
1
Someone else
2
ASK Q2
Both you and someone else
3
SAY ‘Please answer the questions
about your own circumstances and
reasons for [IF TELEPHONE: calling]’
THEN ASK Q2
(DO NOT READ OUT) Can’t remember
X
THANK AND CLOSE

ASK ALL
2
In the 3 months before your contact in [MONTH], had you done any of the following
things...READ OUT?

Yes
No
Don’t
know
a) Had a (IF FACE-TO-FACE (A=2): previous) face-to-face meeting
with a National Careers Service adviser
1
2
X
b) Spoken to an adviser at the National Careers Service
telephone helpline (IF TELEPHONE (A=1): on a previous
occasion)
1
2
X
c) Visited the National Careers Servicewebsite [ADD IF
NECESSARY: atwww.nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk]
1
2
X
98

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
d) Obtained advice about careers, improving your skills or about
doing a course of learning from some other organisation (IF YES:
ASK ‘which organisation or organisations provided this advice?)
1
2
X
ASK ALL
3
IF TELEPHONE (A=1): At the time you called the helpline in [MONTH] which one of the
following best describes [IF CALLING FOR SELF (Q1a NOT 2): your employment status] [IF
CALLING FOR SOMEONE ELSE (Q1a=2): the employment status of the person you were
calling on behalf of]...READ OUT AND CODE FIRST MENTIONED

IF F2F (A=2): At the time you met the National Careers Serviceadviser in [MONTH] which of
the following best describes your employment status... READ OUT AND CODE FIRST
MENTIONED

CODE ONE ONLY.
In full time education or learning (16 or more hours a week)
1
ASK Q3A
In full time paid employment (30 hours a week or more)
2
In part time paid employment, working less than 30 hours a week
3
Self-employed
4
GO TO Q5
In part time education or learning at school, college or elsewhere
(less than 16 hours a week)
5
Unemployed and looking for work
6
Unable to work due to ill health or disability
7
Looking after home or family
8
Retired
9
Other (SPECIFY)
0
CHECK Q3A

IF NOT WORKING (ALL EXCEPT Q3=2, 3 or 4)
3a
At the time you [TELEPHONE: called the helpline] [FACE-TO-FACE: met the National Careers
Service adviser] were [IF Q1a=not 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: the person who you were calling on
behalf of] receiving any benefits, such as Jobseeker’s Allowance, ESA or Income Support?
IF YES: which? MULTICODE OKAY (EXCEPT FOR CODES 2-6)

No
1
Jobseeker’s Allowance
2
ESA (Employment and Support Allowance) or Incapacity Benefit
3
Income Support
4
Carer’s Allowance
5
Child benefit / child tax credit

Housing / council tax benefit

Other (SPECIFY)
6
Yes – but don’t know which
7
Don’t know if receiving benefits
X
Refused
V

99

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

IF NOT WORKING AT THE TIME OF THE CALL (ASK IF Q3 NOT CODE 2 OR 3 OR 4)
4
IF TELEPHONE: Prior to contacting the helpline when did [IF Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: the
person who you were calling on behalf of] last have paid employment? Was it ...READ OUT

IF FACE-TO-FACE: Prior to your meeting with the National Careers Service adviser when did
you last have paid employment? Was it...READ OUT

CODE ONE ONLY

Within a month of the contact
1
Within 6 months
2
More than 6 months up to 12 months
3
More than 12 months up to 2 years
4
More than 2 years up to 3 years
5
More than 3 years
6
Or have you / they never had paid employment
7
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know / can’t remember
X
CHECK Q5

IF NOT IN EDUCATION OR TRAINING AT THE TIME OF THE CALL (Q3 NOT 1 OR 5)
5
IF TELEPHONE: Have [IF Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: the person who you were calling on
behalf of] undertaken any learning or training [IF AGED <24 FROM SAMPLE: not including full
time education at school] during the three years prior to the call to the helpline?

IF F2F: Have you undertaken any learning or training [IF AGED <24 FROM SAMPLE: not
including full time education at school] during the three years prior to your meeting with the
National Careers Service adviser?

Yes
1
No
2
DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t Know
X

ASK ALL
6
IF TELEPHONE: Do any of the following describe [IF Q1a NOT 2: your] [IF Q1a=2: the person
who you were calling on behalf of’s] situation at the time you called the helpline...were [IF
Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they]...READ OUT

IF F2F: Do any of the following describe your situation at the time of the meeting with the
National Careers Service adviser. Were you...READ OUT

Yes
No
Don’t
know
ASK IF NOT WORKING (Q3 NOT 2, 3 OR 4)
Recently made redundant
1
2
X
ASK IF WORKING (Q3 = 2, 3 or 4)
Facing redundancy
1
2
X
IF NOT WORKING EXCEPT IF ‘UNEMPOYED AND LOOKING FOR
WORK’ (ASK IF Q3 NOT CODE 2 OR 3 OR 4 OR 6)
Looking for work
1
2
X
ASK ALL
Looking to explore career options
1
2
X
100

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Planning or thinking about doing a course or some learning
1
2
X

REASON FOR CONTACT – EXPECTATIONS

Now I would like to ask a few questions about what you thought the National Careers Service
would offer and your reasons for [IF TELEPHONE: calling] [IF F2F: having the meeting].

ASK ALL
7
IF TELEPHONE: Which of the following were key reasons for you calling the helpline...? READ
OUT & CODE ALL THAT APPLY.
IF F2F: Which of the following were key reasons for your meeting with the National Careers
Service adviser....? READ OUT & CODE ALL THAT APPLY.

IF MORE THAN ONE MENTIONED AT Q7
8
Which one of these would you say was the main reason? [SCREEN TO SHOW ANSWERS AT
Q7]. PROMPT IF NECESSARY

Q7
Q8
To obtain information about courses to do with a current job or with a
potential job in the future
1
1
To obtain information about leisure courses i.e. courses you just wanted
to do for personal interest
2
2
To obtain information about studying for qualifications
3
3
To find out about sources of funding for training and studying
4
4
To get information or advice on how to get a job in a specific career or
specific industry of interest
5
5
To get general careers guidance or advice for example to decide on a
career or new career
6
6
To obtain information to help find a job
7
7
IF WORKING AT THE TIME OF THE INTERVENTION (Q3=2, 3 or 4)
To obtain information to help succeed or progress at work
8
8
IF WORKING AT THE TIME OF THE INTERVENTION (Q3=2, 3 or 4)
To understand how to use existing skills in other jobs
9
9
ASK ALL
To obtain information about childcare
10
10
To get help in writing or developing a CV
11
11
To develop job interview skills
12
12
IF ON BENEFIT / CREDIT (q3a 2-7)
I had to do it to keep receiving benefit
13
13
ASK ALL
Were there other key reasons (IF YES SPECIFY)
0
0

ASK ALL
9
And would you say you mainly wanted . . .READ OUT AND CODE ONE ONLY.

Specific information for example about a specific course or
type of work
1
Or wider-reaching, more general advice, guidance or support
2
DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know / neither
X

101

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

OPERATIONAL QUESTIONS

ASK IF TELEPHONE {A=1}; (IF F2F {A=2} ASK Q16)
10
Now a few questions about what happened when you contacted the helpline. Was your query
handled in one call, or did it involve a number of calls for example where an adviser called
you back?

One call
1
ASK Q12
Number of calls
2
ASK Q11
Don’t know
X
ASK Q12

IF A NUMBER OF CALLS
11
Did you deal with just one adviser or more than one? (IF > 1 PROMPT FOR THE NUMBER)

One
1
ASK Q12
Two
2
Three
3
Four or more
4
Don’t know
X
SAY ‘Could you please think about
the person that you spent the most
time talking to when answering the
following questions.’ THEN ASK
Q12

IF TELEPHONE {A=1}
12
Did the adviser say they would send you
[IF INFORMATION SERVICE (B=2): any information by post or e-mail?]

[IF ADVICE SERVICE (B=1): a document by email outlining the conversation and what to do
next?]

INTERVIEWER INSTRUCTION: IF ‘NO’ ASK IF INFO WAS SENT ANYWAY

Yes
1
ASK Q13
No – but they sent information anyway
2
CHECK Q14
No – & did not send information
3
Don’t know
X
ASK Q19

IF YES (Q12=1)
13
Have you received this information?

Yes
1
ASK Q14
No
2
Don’t know
X
ASK Q19

IF RECEIVED ANY INFORMATION AND ‘INFORMATION CUSTOMER’ [(B=2) & (Q12=2 OR 13=1)]
14
How useful was the information that was sent to you following the call. Was it….READ OUT?

Very useful
1
Fairly useful
2
GO TO Q19
Not very useful
3
Not at all useful
4
GO TO Q15
Don’t know / not read it yet
X
GO TO Q19
102

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

IF NOT VERY / NOT AT ALL USEFUL (Q14=3 OR 4)

15
Why was the information not useful? DO NOT READ OUT (MULTICODE OK)

Too general / not specific to my situation
1
Too specific
2
Knew the information already
3
Info was out of date
4
Not what they’d said they’d send
5
Took a long time to arrive / came late
6
Other (SPECIFY)
0
Don’t know
X

NOW
CHECK
Q19

ASK IF F2F {A=2} (IF TELEPHONE ASK Q19 IF ADVICE CUSTOMERS {B=1} OR Q23 IF
INFORMATION CUSTOMER {B=2})
16
How many meetings in total have you had with the National Careers Service adviser to
discuss jobs, careers or courses since your first meeting in [MONTH]?

No further meetings / just had the one meeting
1
ASK Q16d
Two
2
Three
3
More than 3
4
ASK NEXT QUESTION
Don’t know
X
ASK Q16d

IF MORE THAN ONE AT Q16
16a
Why did you have more than one meeting? DO NOT READ OUT. MULTICODE OKAY

There wasn’t time to go through all the things I wanted at the first meeting
1
The adviser needed to get more information / couldn’t answer all my questions or
provide the info I needed
2
They suggested I come back in
3
I was eligible for more than 1 meeting
4
I found the first one useful
5
To review / amend my CV

Other (SPECIFY)
0
Don’t know
X

IF MORE THAN ONE AT q16
16b
Did you see the same adviser each time?

Yes
1
ASK Q16d
No
2
ASK Q16c
Don’t know
X
ASK Q16d

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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

IF NO AT Q16b
16c
Would you have preferred to see the same adviser each time, or didn’t you mind?

Would have preferred the same adviser
1
Didn’t mind
2
Don’t know / not thought about it
X

ASK ALL F2F {A=2}
16d
Did [IF Q16=1 or X: the meeting] [IF Q16=2-4: any of the meetings] take place at a Jobcentre
Plus office?

Yes
1
No
2
Don’t know
X

ASK ALL F2F (A=2)
16e
Now a few questions about what happened in your IF Q16=1 or X: meeting] [IF Q16=2-4:
meetings] with the National Careers Service adviser. Did you go through the Skills Health
Check diagnostic tool – this is a computer programme that assesses your skills areas,
interests, personal working style and motivations.

Yes
1
ASK Q17
No
2
Don’t know
X
GO TO Q19

IF WENT THROUGH SHC (Q16e=1)
17
How useful was going through the Skills Health Check? Was it...READ OUT. SINGLE CODE

Very useful
1
Fairly useful
2
GO TO Q19
Not very useful
3
Not at all useful
4
ASK Q18
DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know
X
GO TO Q19

IF SHC NOT USEFUL (Q17=3/4)
18
Why don’t you think the Skills Health Check was useful?
DO NOT READ OUT. PROMPT AS NECESSARY. CODE ALL THAT APPLY.

Problems understanding words or language used
1
Needed help from the adviser
2
Took too long to do
3
Questions weren’t relevant
4
Told me things I already knew
5
Other (SPECIFY)
0
Don’t know
X
104

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

ASK IF F2F OR IF ‘TELEPHONE ADVICE‘ {A=2 OR B=1}
19
Was an action plan for achieving your goals and targets drawn up?

Yes
1
ASK Q20
No
2
Don’t know
3
ASK Q23

ASK IF ACTION PLAN DRAWN UP (Q19=1)
20
How much involvement did you have in drawing up your action plan....READ OUT (SINGLE
CODE)
A great deal of involvement
1
Some involvement
2
Not much
3
None at all
4
DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know
X

ASK IF ACTION PLAN DRAWN UP (Q19=1)
20a
What did the action plan recommend? DO NOT READ OUT BUT PROMPT IF NECESSARY
(MULTICDE OKAY)

Contact National Careers Service Contact Centre / face-to-face service / go to the
National Careers Service website
1
Go to Jobcentre Plus / see a Jobcentre adviser
2
Call / contact another organisation [e.g. a college / training provider, doctor / medical
professional), Trades Union, Sector Skills council, NHS, bank, financial adviser, etc]
3
Go to another organisation’s website
4
Review Job Profiles (job profiles describe what it is like to work in different jobs and
occupations, what salaries you can expect, what hours you can expect etc)
5
Develop / improve your CV
6
Develop your job interview skills
7
Enrol on a course
8
Explore course options
9
Explore other occupations
10
Explore voluntary work options
11
Identify the transferable skills you have
12
Open a Lifelong Learning/Next Step Account
13
Other (SPECIFY)
0
Don’t know – didn’t read it
V
Don’t know / can’t remember
X

105

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

ASK IF ACTION PLAN DRAWN UP (Q19=1)
21
How useful was the action plan for you ….READ OUT?

Very useful
1
Fairly useful
2
GO TO Q22a
Not very useful
3
Not at all useful
4
ASK Q22
Don’t know / not read it yet
X
GO TO Q23

IF ACTION PLAN NOT USEFUL (Q21=3/4)
22
Why wasn’t the action plan useful? DO NOT READ OUT (MULTICODE OK)

Too general / not related to my situation
1
Too specific
2
Not relevant
3
Knew the information already
4
Info was out of date
5
Not what had been agreed with the adviser
6
Confusing / unclear
7
Lost it
8
I changed my mind about what I wanted to do
9
Other (SPECIFY)
0
Don’t know
X

IF ACTION PLAN USEFUL (Q21=1/2)
22a
Why was the action plan useful? DO NOT READ OUT (MULTICODE OK)

Helped me decide what to do next
1
Reminded me what we had discussed
2
Was specific to my circumstances
3
Clear & easy to read / follow
4
Helped me with my CV

It increased my options

Other (SPECIFY)
0
Don’t know
X

106

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

ASK ALL
23
Turning now to Lifelong Learning Accounts – formerly known as My Next Step Accounts or
Skills Accounts, which one of the following applies...? CODE ONE ONLY

INTERVIEWER ADD AS NECESSARY: This is an online service that aims to help people make
informed choices about learning and work by bringing together the Skills Health Check, a course
search facility, a CV builder and a record of a person’s learning history.

You opened a Lifelong Learning Account during the [IF F2F: meeting] [IF
TELEPHONE: call] with the adviser
1
You have opened an account on your own since talking to the adviser
2
You already had an Account
3
It was not discussed, or you’ve never heard of them
4
It was offered during the [IF F2F: meeting] [IF TELEPHONE: call] but you
were not interested
5
(DO NOT READ OUT) Or something else (SPECIFY)
0
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X
ASK Q23a

IF OPENED AN ACCOUNT BEFORE, DURING OR AFTER THE SESSION (IF Q23=1, 2 or 3)
23a
And have you activated this Account?

Yes
1
No
2
Don’t know
X

ASK ALL
24
Now a few questions about your views of the National Careers Service. Overall how satisfied
are you with the service provided by National Careers Service: very satisfied, satisfied,
neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied?

Very satisfied
1
Satisfied
2
ASK Q24a
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
3
ASK Q25
Dissatisfied
4
Very dissatisfied
5
ASK Q24b
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X
ASK Q25

107

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

IF SATISFIED (Q24=1 or 2)
24a
Why do you say that - what did you particularly like about the service?
DO NOT READ OUT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY

Advisor was friendly / personable / understanding
1
Advisor was knowledgable / gave good advice / helped
2
They gave good advice / helped with my CV
3
They gave good advice / helped with courses / training
4
It’s a fast service
5
Straightforward / convenient / easy to use
6
No particular reason
7
Other (SPECIFY)
8
Don’t know
X

IF DISSATISFIED (Q24=4 or 5)
24b
What is the main reason you were dissatisfied with the service? PROBE FULLY

108

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

ASK ALL
25
And how satisfied were you with the following specific aspects of the service. Please use the
scale: very satisfied, satisfied, neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, dissatisfied, or very
dissatisfied... . NB IF SAW MORE THAN ONE ADVISER F2F (Q16b=2)
SUBSTITUTE ‘ADVISERS’ FOR ‘ADVISER’ BELOW?

START WITH A-E THEN ROTATE F-M
Very satisfied Very dissatisfied
DO NOT
READ OUT:
Don’t know
IF TELEPHONE (A=1)
a) The time it took for someone to answer
your call
1
2
3
4
5
X
IF TELEPHONE & SPOKE TO >1 ADVISER
Q11=2-4
b) The time it took to get through to the
person who helped you
1
2
3
4
5
X
IF F2F (A=2)
c) The location and venue where you
received your advice
1
2
3
4
5
X
IF F2F (A=2)
d) The waiting time before your
appointment
1
2
3
4
5
X
IF F2F (A=2)
e) The convenience of the time and date of
your meeting
1
2
3
4
5
X
ASK ALL
f) The length of time the adviser spoke with
you
1
2
3
4
5
X
g) The professionalism of the adviser
1
2
3
4
5
X
h) The helpfulness of the adviser
1
2
3
4
5
X
i) The adviser’s level of knowledge
1
2
3
4
5
X
j) That the adviser understood your needs
1
2
3
4
5
X
k) The information and advice provided
being clear and easy to understand
1
2
3
4
5
X
l) The usefulness of the information, advice
and guidance
1
2
3
4
5
X
m) That you got the information, advice or
guidance to make an informed choice
about what to do next
1
2
3
4
5
X

ASK Q25a and Q25b FOR UP TO 2 STATEMENTS FROM Q25 WHERE DISSATISFIED (A CODE 4 OR 5). IF
MORE THAN 2 WHERE A CODE 4 OR 5 PICK TWO AT RANDOM
Q25a You say that you were dissatisfied regarding .
Why was that?

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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Q25b And you say that you were dissatisfied regarding . Why was that?

ASK ALL
26
To what extent do you agree that the overall quality of the service was good? Do you …READ
OUT

Agree strongly
1
Agree
2
GO TO NEXT ASK ALL
Disagree
3
Disagree strongly
4
ASK NEXT QUESTION
DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know
X
GO TO Q27

IF DISAGREE (Q26=3/4)
26a Why do you not think the overall quality of the service was good? WRITE IN. PROBE: Any
other reason?

No particular reason X

110

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

ASK ALL
27
IF TELEPHONE: Have the following increased a lot, a little or not at all as a result of your
contact with the helpline? READ OUT.
IF F2F: Have the following increased a lot, a little or not at all as a result of your contact with
the National Careers Service adviser? READ OUT.

Rotate start
A lot
A little
Not at
all
DO NOT
READ OUT:
Don’t know
Your awareness of possible work or career
opportunities
1
2
3
X
Your awareness of possible training or
learning opportunities
1
2
3
X
Your knowledge about how to actually
pursue job, training or learning opportunities
1
2
3
X
Your motivation to find work or to change
career
1
2
3
X
Your motivation to do a course or take up
training or learning opportunities
1
2
3
X
Your confidence
1
2
3
X
Your job application, CV writing or interview
skills
1
2
3
X
Your ability to make decisions about [IF Q1a
NOT 2: your] [IF Q1a=2: the person you were
calling on behalf of’s] future in terms of
careers, training or learning
1
2
3
X

28
IF TELEPHONE: Since the contact with the helpline has the adviser been in touch with you for
further discussions or to follow up on the original conversation?
IF F2F: Since your last meeting with the National Careers Service adviser, have they been in
touch with you for further discussion or to follow up on the original conversation?

IF YES PROBE FOR TYPE OF CONTACT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY (CODES 2-6 MULTICODE)

NO
1
Yes – by telephone
2
Yes – by letter
3
Yes – by email
4
Yes – face to face meeting
5
Other (SPECIFY)
6
Don’t know
X

111

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

29
IF TELEPHONE: And since the contact with the helpline in [MONTH] [IF Q1a NOT 2: have you]
[IF Q1a=2: has the person on whose behalf you were calling] done any of the following
things...? READ OUT.
IF F2F: Since your meeting with the National Careers Service adviser in [MONTH], have you
done any of the following things...? READ OUT.

Yes
No
Don’t know
IF TELEPHONE & SENT ANY INFORMATION (Q12=2 OR 13=1)
a) Acted upon any of the information agreed that were sent
through by the adviser
1
2
X
IF F2F & ACTION PLAN DRAWN UP (A=2 & Q19=1)
b) Acted upon any of the actions agreed in your action plan
1
2
X
ASK THOSE NOT ASKED Q29A OR B
c) Acted upon any of the actions agreed with the adviser
1
2
X
ASK ALL
d)
one on to the National Careers Service website
1
2
X
e) Started a new learning or training course
1
2
X
IF NOT STARTED A NEW COURSE (Q29E=2 OR X)
f) Decided to start a new course or training
1
2
X
ASK ALL
g)
tarted a new job
1
2
X

IF STARTED OR DECIDED TO START A NEW COURSE (Q29E=1 OR Q29F=1)
30
What role would you say the information and advice from National Careers Service played in
[IF Q1a NOT 2: your] [IF Q1a=2: their] decision to start a new course and in the choice of
course. Did it play...READ OUT

A big part
1
Some part
2
Or no part at all
3
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X

IF STARTED A NEW JOB (Q29g=1)
30a
What role would you say the information and advice from National Careers Service played in
helping [IF Q1a=not 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: them] get the job. Did it play..READ OUT

A big part
1
Some part
2
Or no part at all
3
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X

ASK ALL
31
Have you recommended National Careers Service to anyone since [MONTH]?

Yes
1
GO TO Q33
No
2
ASK Q32
Don’t know
X
GO TO Q33

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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

IF NOT RECOMMENDED (Q31=2)
32
Would you recommend National Careers Service to a friend, relative or colleague?

Yes
1
No
2
Don’t know
X

ASK ALL
33
How, if at all, do you think the National Careers Service service could be improved?
WRITE IN

Don’t know...............................................X
Can’t think of anything / fine as is..............V

ASK ALL
34
Which of the following best describes [IF Q1a=not 2: your] [IF Q1a=2: the person you were
calling on behalf of’s] current employment status...are [IF Q1a not 2: you] [IF Q1a=2
they]...READ OUT AND SINGLE CODE.

In full time education or learning (16 or more hours a week)
1
In full time paid employment (30 hours a week or more)
2
In part time paid employment, working less than 30 hours a week
3
Self-employed
4
In part time education or learning (less than 16 hours a week)
5
Unemployed and looking for work
6
Unable to work due to ill health or disability
7
Looking after home or family
8
Retired
9
Other (SPECIFY)
0

IF WORKING FULL TIME OR PART TIME (Q34=2 or 3)
34a
Is the job....READ OUT AND SINGLE CODE

On a permanent or open-ended contract
1
On a fixed term contract lasting 12 months or longer
2
On a fixed term contract lasting less than 12 months
3
On a temporary or casual basis
4
Other (write in)
0
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X

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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

IF UNEMPLOYED AND LOOKING FOR WORK AT Q34 (Q34=6)
34b
Do you feel the support from National Careers Service has made it much more likely you will
find work, a little more likely, or has it not had an impact?

Much more likely
1
A little more likely
2
No impact
3
Don’t know / too early to say
X

IF NOT WORKING (Q34 NOT 2, 3 OR 4)
Q34c
Are [IF Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: the person who you were calling on behalf of] receiving
any benefits, such as Jobseeker’s Allowance, ESA or Income Support? IF YES: which?
MULTICODE OK FOR CODES 2-6.

No
1
Jobseeker’s Allowance
2
ESA (or Incapacity Benefit)
3
Income Support
4
Carer’s Allowance
5
Child benefit / child tax credit

Housing / council tax benefit

Other (SPECIFY)
6
Yes – but don’t know which
7
Don’t know if receiving benefits
X
Refused
V

ASK ALL
35
The next question asks about your attitudes to learning and to work. For each statement
please say if you strongly agree, tend to agree, neither agree nor disagree, tend to disagree,
or strongly disagree. READ OUT.

Strongly
agree
Tend to
agree
Neither
nor
Tend to
disagree
Strongly
disagree
Don’t
know
There are so many courses on offer it’s hard
to know which ones are relevant
1
2
3
4
5
X
It’s hard to get information about the courses
which are available locally
1
2
3
4
5
X
ASK IF NOT LEARNING CURRENTLY (ALL
EXCEPT Q34=1 or 5)
I’ve done all the studying I want to do
1
2
3
4
5
X
ASK ALL
I’d only be interested in more learning if it
would help me get a job or progress at work
1
2
3
4
5
X
It’s hard to get information or advice about
jobs or careers that I’d be suited for
1
2
3
4
5
X
I’ll struggle to get the job or career I want
unless I update my skills and qualifications
1
2
3
4
5
X
ASK IF LOOKING FOR WORK (Q34 =6)
I know the sort of work I’d like to do, it’s just
that there are no or few such jobs available
locally
1
2
3
4
5
X
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

DEMOGRAPHICS

Finally, I would just like to ask a few questions about [IF Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: the
person on whose behalf you were calling] to ensure that we have a good cross section of
people in our survey.

ASK ALL
36
[IF Q1a NOT 2: Do you] [IF Q1a=2: Did the person who you were calling on behalf of] have any
qualifications from school, college, university, work, government schemes or anywhere else?

Yes
1
ASK Q37
No
2
Don’t know / Refused
3
GO TO Q39

IF YES
37
Qualifications are often classified by their level. Which of the following is the highest level of
qualification IF Q1a NOT 2: you hold] [IF Q1a=2: held by the person who you were calling on
behalf of]? READ OUT. SINGLE CODE FIRST MENTIONED.

A degree such as a Foundation degree, a Master’s (e.g. MA, MSc), Bachelor degrees;
or Diplomas of Higher Education (DipHE); Higher National Certificates (HNC); Higher
National Diplomas (HND); NVQs at Level 5
1
LEVEL 4 which includes Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE); NVQs at Level 4
2
LEVEL 3 which includes A levels; Access to HE; International Baccalaureate; NVQs at
Level 3; BTEC Diplomas, Certificates and Awards; BTEC Nationals; OCR Nationals at
Level 3
3
LEVEL 2 which includes 5 GCSEs Grades A*-C; NVQ at Level 2, BTEC First Diplomas
and Certificates; OCR Nationals at Level 2
4
LEVEL 1 – GCSE Grades D-G; NVQs at Level 1, BTEC Introductory Diplomas or
Certificates; OCR Nationals at Level 1
5
ENTRY LEVEL– Entry level certificates, e.g. City & Guilds certificates; Skills for Life;
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
6
Other professional, technical or management qualification: PLEASE SPECIFY
7
Other: PLEASE SPECIFY
0
No qualifications held
V
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X

IF Q36=1
38
Which qualification that [IF Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a= the person who you were calling on
behalf of] hold do you regard as the highest?

PROBE FULLY: What type of qualification was this? What level? What grade?
INTERVIEWER INSTRUCTION: If NVQS/GNVQs probe what level? If GCSEs/A Levels/AS
Levels or equivalent probe how many? What grade?

WRITE IN

ASK AGE IF NOT STATED ON SAMPLE
115

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
39
Which of the following age groups [IF Q1a NOT 2: do you] [IF Q1a=2: does the person who
you were calling on behalf of] fall into...READ OUT
[IF NECESSARY: At the time that they called]

Under 18
1
18-19
2
20-24
3
25-34
4
35-44
5
45-49
6
50-54
7
55-59
8
60-64
9
65+
10
Refused
X

ASK ALL
40
IF Q1a NOT 2: Do you] [IF Q1a=2: Does the person who you were calling on behalf of] have
any long-term illness, health problem or disability which limits the daily activities or the work
IF Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] can do?

Yes
1
No
2
Refused
3

ASK ALL
41
Is English your first language?

Yes
1
No
2
Refused
3

116

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

ASK IF ETHNICITY NOT ON SAMPLE
42
And how would you describe [IF Q1a NOT 2: your] [IF Q1a=2: the person who you were
calling on behalf of’s] ethnic origin...? READ OUT. SINGLE CODE.
White British
1
White Irish
2
White – Other
3
Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi
4
Asian or Asian British – Indian
5
Asian or Asian British – Pakistani
6
Asian or Asian British – Other
7
Black or Black British – African
8
Black or Black British – Caribbean
9
Black or Black British – Other
10
Chinese
11
Mixed – White and African
12
Mixed – White and Black African
13
Mixed – White and Black Caribbean
14
Mixed – other
15
Other (SPECIFY)
16
Prefer not to say
17

ASK ALL
43
We are calling people back in around 6 months time to see how things may have progressed.
Are you okay for us contact you about this?
Yes
1
No
2

44
Code gender
Male
1
Female
2
Don’t know
X

THANK RESPONDENT AND CLOSE INTERVIEW
I declare that this survey has been carried out under IFF instructions and within the rules of the MRS Code
of Conduct.
Interviewer signature:
Date:
117

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Finish time:
Interview Length
Mins
B - Face-to-Face and Telephone Service Progression Questionnaire
National Careers Service: Face-to-Face and Telephone Service Progression Survey
IFF Research

Screener
QUOTAS (from sample)

G) TYPE OF INTERVENTION

TELEPHONE
1
FACE TO FACE
2
CHECK QUOTAS

H) SERVICE TYPE (telephone only)

TELEPHONE ADVICE
1
TELEPHONE INFORMATION
2
CHECK QUOTAS

I)
PRIME CONTRACTOR (face to face only)

East Midlands – Nottingham Futures (formerly Guideline Careers
Services)
1
East of England – Suffolk County Council
2
London – Prospects Services Ltd
3
North East – CfBT
4
North West [Greater Manchester]– Economic Solutions
5
North West [Greater Merseyside, Cheshire and Warrington] – GMCP
6
North West [Cumbria & Lancs] – GMCP
7
South East – Babcock
8
South West [Devon, Cornwall, S&W Somerset & Dorset] - Careers South
West (CSW)
9
South West [West of England, Gloucs & Wiltshire]– Tribal
10
West Midlands – CSWP Ltd
11
Yorkshire & The Humber – Careers Yorkshire & Humber
12
CHECK
QUOTAS

J) EMPLOYMENT STATUS AT THE TIME OF THE CALL TO THE HELPLINE

EMPLOYED
1
FULL TIME LEARNING
2
UNEMPLOYED
3
NONE OF THE ABOVE
4
NOT GIVEN
X
CHECK QUOTAS

118

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

K) AGE ON SAMPLE (OR COPIED THROUGH FROM SATISFACTION SURVEY Q39)

18 - 19
1
20 – 24
2
25 – 49
3
50+
4
NOT GIVEN
X
CHECK QUOTAS

L) GENDER (OR COPIED FROM Q44 FROM SATISFACTION SURVEY)

MALE
1
FEMALE
2
NOT GIVEN
X
CHECK QUOTAS

M) LONGITUDINAL (i.e. already interviewed for Satisfaction survey)

Yes
1
No
2
CHECK QUOTAS

FURTHER DATA WRITTEN TO SAMPLE:
NAME AND SURNAME
ETHNICITY (FROM SAMPLE OR FROM SATISFACTION SURVEY Q42)
DISABILITY
REGION
CAMPAIGN
LONGITUDINAL ID NUMBER
LONGITUDINAL: EMPLOYMENT STATUS AT TIME OF INTERVENTION (q3)
LONGITUDINAL: CALLING FOR SELF OR ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ELSE
(SOMEONE ELSE IF Q1a=2)
LONGITUDINAL: WHETHER SKILLS ACCOUNT OPENED (yes if Q23=1-3)
LONGITUDINAL: WHETHER SKILLS ACCOUNT ACTIVATED (yes if Q23a=1)
LONGITUDINAL:
ACTED
ON
SUGGESTION
OF
ADVISER
(YES
IF
SATISFACTION SURVEY Q29 a or b or c =1)
LONGITUDINAL:
VISITED
WEBSITE
AFTER
CONTACT
(YES
IF
SATISFACTION SURVEY Q29 d=1)
LONGITUDINAL: EMPLOYMENT STATUS AT TIME OF SATISFACTION
SURVEY (q34)
SUBCONTRACTOR (face-to-face-only)
DATE OF INTERVENTION
MONTH OF INTERVENTION

119

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
FINAL OUTCOME FOR EACH RECORD:

Full interview
1
Quit during interview
2
Still live at the end of fieldwork / call back
3
Respondent no longer lives at address
4
Refusal
5
Not available in the deadline
6
Out of quota
7
Repeated (8+) No reply / Answer phone
8
Wrong number / never heard of named person
9
Fax Line
10
Number unobtainable
11

SCREENER

ASK PERSON WHO ANSWERS PHONE
S1
Good morning / afternoon / evening. Can I speak to ?

Named person answers phone
1
Transferred to respondent
2
CONTINUE
Hard appointment
3
Soft Appointment
4
MAKE APPOINTMENT
Respondent no longer lives at address –
CONTACT DETAILS KNOWN
5
TAKE TELEPHONE NUMBER
Respondent no longer lives at address –
CONTACT DETAILS UNKNOWN
6
Refusal
7
Not available in deadline
8
Fax Line
9
Repeated (8+) No reply / Answer phone
10
Wrong number / never heard of person
11
Dead line
12
Other (SPECIFY)
13
CLOSE

120

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

WHEN SPEAKING TO NAMED PERSON (ASK ALL CODE 1 OR 2 AT S1)
S2
Good morning / afternoon, my name is <>, calling from IFF Research, an independent market
research company. I am calling on behalf of the Skills Funding Agency which operates the
National Careers Service [IF TELEPHONE: helpline] [IF TELEPHONE & CAMPAIGN NOT
CAREERS ADVICE LINE: for ] [IF F2F: careers information and advice service].
We are talking to people about their experience and opinions of [IF TELEPHONE: the helpline]
[IF F2F: the information and advice service] and whether it is meeting their needs. The
questions take around 15 minutes, and will help the Skills Funding Agency improve the
service.

ADD IF LONGITUDINAL SAMPLE: You may remember that we spoke to you a few months ago.
We would like to ask you some different questions this time.

Continue
1
CONTINUE
Hard appointment
2
Soft Appointment
3
MAKE APPOINTMENT
Refusal
4
THANK AND CLOSE

REASSURANCES TO USE IF NECESSARY

All the information that you provide will be combined with those of other people
and reported as anonymised statistics. Your answers will not be reported to
National Careers Service or any other organisation in any way that would allow
you to be identified.

We work strictly within the guidelines of the Market Research Society Code of
Conduct

Your name and contact details were supplied to us by the Skills Funding Agency

If respondent wishes to confirm validity of survey or get more information
about aims and objectives, they can call:
o
IFF Research: Becky Duncan: xx-xxxx-xxxx
o
Skills Funding Agency: Chris Jones xx-xxxx-xxxx
o
MRS: Market Research Society on xx-xxxx-xxxx

IF LONGITUDINAL- SKIP TO Q10

ASK ALL NON-LONGITUDINAL (G=2)
S3
IF TELEPHONE: According to our records, you spoke to a National Careers Service adviser at
the [CAMPAIGN] helpline on [MONTH OF INTERVENTION]. Do you remember this?

ADD AS NECESSARY: The helpline offers advice and information on such issues as careers,
learning, courses, basic skills and funding.

IF F2F: According to our records, you had a meeting about learning, careers or work with a
National Careers Service adviser on [MONTH OF INTERVENTION]. Do you remember this?
INTERVIEWER NOTE: if unsure say: it may have been delivered by [name of sub-contractor].

NOTE (DP – SHOW FOR ALL SAMPLE): if remembers the intervention but not the exact date then
code as ‘Yes’

Yes
1
CHECK S3a
No
2
Don’t know
X
THANK AND CLOSE
121

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

IF ‘NOT LONGITUDINAL’ AND ‘ NOT BLANK’
S3a
National Careers Service run the helpline. For the rest of the interview I will refer
to it as the National Careers Service helpline, and the advisers as National Careers Service
advisers.

STATUS

ASK ALL EXCEPT LONGITUDINAL RECORDS (LONGITUDINAL (G=1) RECORDS GO TO Q10)
45
How did you first hear about the National Careers Service service? DO NOT READ OUT.
CODE ALL THAT APPLY

Friend or relative
1
Colleague / employer
2
Direct Gov website
3
Jobcentre Plus
4
College / training provider
5
Read about in local / national press
6
TV
7
Radio
8
Other (SPECIFY)
0
Can’t remember
X

IF TELEPHONE (A=1)
1a)
When you called in [MONTH] did you want information or advice for ...READ OUT? SINGLE
CODE

Yourself
1
Someone else
2
ASK Q2
Both you and someone else
3
SAY ‘Please answer the questions
about your own circumstances and
reasons for [IF TELEPHONE: calling] [IF
F2F: having the meeting]’ THEN ASK Q2
(DO NOT READ OUT) Can’t remember
X
THANK AND CLOSE

DP NOTE: IF LONGITUDINAL SET Q1a FROM SATISFACTION SURVEY Q1a.

ASK ALL F2F EXCEPT LONGITUDINAL (ASK IF G=2 & A=2)
46
Can I check did the meeting or any of the meetings with the National Careers Service adviser
take place at a Jobcentre plus office?

Yes
1
No
2
Don’t know
X

122

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

ASK ALL NON-LONGITUDINAL (G=2) [IF LONGITUDINAL (G=1) SKIP TO Q10]
47
IF TELEPHONE (A=1): At the time you called the helpline in [MONTH] which one of the
following best describes [IF CALLING FOR SELF (Q1a NOT 2): your employment status] [IF
CALLING FOR SOMEONE ELSE (Q1a=2): the employment status of the person you were
calling on behalf of]...READ OUT

IF F2F (A=2): At the time you met the National Careers Service adviser in [MONTH] which of
the following best describes your employment status...READ OUT

CODE ONE ONLY.
In full time education or learning (16 or more hours a week)
1
ASK Q3a
In full time paid employment (30 hours a week or more)
2
In part time paid employment, working less than 30 hours a week
3
Self-employed
4
GO TO Q5
In part time education or learning at school, college or elsewhere (less
than 16 hours a week)
5
Unemployed and looking for work
6
Unable to work due to ill health or disability
7
Looking after home or family
8
Retired
9
Other (SPECIFY)
0
ASK Q3a

DP NOTE: IF LONGITUDINAL SET Q3 FROM SATISFACTION Q3.

ASK IF ‘NOT LONGITUDINAL’ & ‘NOT WORKING WHEN CALLED’ (ASK IF G=2 & Q3 NOT =2, 3
or 4)
3a
At the time you [TELEPHONE: called the helpline] [FACE-TO-FACE: met the National Careers
Service adviser] were [IF Q1a=not 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: the person who you were calling on
behalf of] receiving any benefits, such as Jobseeker’s Allowance, ESA or Income Support? IF
YES: which? (CODES 2-6 CAN BE MULTICODED)

No
1
Jobseeker’s Allowance
2
ESA (Incapacity Benefit)
3
Income Support
4
Carer’s Allowance
5
Other (SPECIFY)
6
Yes – but don’t know which
7
Don’t know if receiving benefits
X
Refused
V

123

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
ASK IF NOT-LONGITUDINAL AND NOT WORKING AT THE TIME (ASK IF G=2 & Q3 NOT CODE
2 OR 3 OR 4)
48
IF TELEPHONE: Prior to contacting the helpline in [MONTH] when did [IF Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF
Q1a=2: the person who you were calling on behalf of] last have paid employment? Was it ...?
READ OUT

IF F2F: Prior to your meeting with the National Careers Service adviser in [MONTH] when did
you last have paid employment? Was it...? READ OUT

CODE ONE ONLY

Within a month of the contact
1
Within 6 months
2
More than 6 months up to 12 months
3
More than 12 months up to 2 years
4
More than 2 years up to 3 years
5
More than 3 years
6
Or have you / they never had paid employment
7
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know / can’t remember
X
CHECK Q5

IF NOT IN EDUCATION OR TRAINING AT THE TIME OF CALL AND NOT LONGITUDINAL (ASK
IF G=2 & (Q3 NOT 1 OR 5))
49
IF TELEPHONE: [IF Q1a NOT 2: Had you] [IF Q1a=2: had the person who you were calling on
behalf of] undertaken any learning or training [IF AGED <24 FROM SAMPLE: not including full
time education at school] during the three years prior to the call to the helpline?

IF F2F: Had you undertaken any learning or training [IF AGED <24 FROM SAMPLE: not
including full time education at school] during the three years prior to your meeting with the
National Careers Service adviser?

Yes
1
No
2
DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t Know
X

124

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

ASK ALL EXCEPT LONGITUDINAL (ASK IF G=2)
50
IF TELEPHONE: Do any of the following describe [IF Q1a NOT 2: your] [IF Q1a=2: the person
who you were calling on behalf of’s] situation at the time you called the helpline...were [IF
Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they]...READ OUT

IF F2F: Do any of the following describe your situation at the time of the meeting with the
National Careers Service adviser. Were you...READ OUT

Yes
No
Don’t
know
ASK IF NOT WORKING (Q3 NOT 2, 3 OR 4)
Recently made redundant
1
2
X
ASK IF WORKING (Q3 = 2, 3 or 4)
Facing redundancy
1
2
X
IF NOT WORKING EXCEPT IF ‘UNEMPOYED AND LOOKING FOR WORK’
(ASK IF Q3 NOT CODE 2 OR 3 OR 4 OR 6)
Looking for work
1
2
X
ASK ALL NON-LONGITUDINAL
Looking to explore career options
1
2
X
Planning or thinking about doing a course or some learning
1
2
X

REASON FOR CALL – EXPECTATIONS

ASK ALL EXCEPT LONGITUDINAL (ASK IF G=2)
51
Now I would like to ask a few questions about what you thought the National Careers Service
service would offer and your reasons for [IF TELEPHONE: calling] [IF F2F: having the
meeting]. Which of the following were key reasons for you [IF TELEPHONE: calling the
helpline...?] [IF F2F: meeting with the National Careers Service adviser]....? READ OUT &
CODE ALL THAT APPLY.

125

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

IF MORE THAN ONE MENTIONED AT Q7
52
Which one of these would you say was the main reason? [SCREEN TO SHOW ANSWERS AT
Q7]. PROMPT IF NECESSARY

Q7
Q8
To obtain information about courses to do with a current job or with a
potential job in the future
1
1
To obtain information about leisure courses i.e. courses you just wanted
to do for personal interest
2
2
To obtain information about studying for qualifications
3
3
To find out about sources of funding for training and studying
4
4
To get information or advice on how to get a job in a specific career or
specific industry of interest
5
5
To get general careers guidance or advice for example to decide on a
career or new career
6
6
To obtain information to help find a job
7
7
IF WORKING AT THE TIME OF THE INTERVENTION (Q3=2, 3 or 4)
To obtain information to help succeed or progress at work
8
8
IF WORKING AT THE TIME OF THE INTERVENTION (Q3=2, 3 or 4)
To understand how to use existing skills in other jobs
9
9
ASK ALL
To obtain information about childcare
10
10
To get help in writing or developing a CV
11
11
To develop job interview skills
12
12
IF ON BENEFIT / CREDIT (q3a 2-7)
I had to do it to keep receiving benefit
13
13
ASK ALL
Were there other key reasons (IF YES SPECIFY)
0
0

ASK ALL EXCEPT LONGITUDINAL
53
And would you say you mainly wanted . . .READ OUT AND CODE ONE ONLY.

Specific information for example about a specific course or
type of work
1
Or wider-reaching, more general advice, guidance or support
2
DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know / neither
X

IF LONGITUDINAL (G=1)
54
Thinking about the overall service provided by National Careers Service would you say you
are very satisfied, satisfied, neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, dissatisfied, or very
dissatisfied?

Very satisfied
1
Satisfied
2
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
3
Dissatisfied
4
Very dissatisfied
5
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X

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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

ASK ALL
55
Overall how useful do you feel the service provided by National Careers Service was for you:
very useful, quite useful, not very useful or not at all useful?

Very useful
1
Fairly useful
2
Not very useful
3
Not at all useful
4
DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know
X

ASK ALL
56
How, if at all, could the service have been more useful for you?

Nothing / fine as was
V
Don’t know
X

ACTIONS SINCE CONTACT

ASK ALL
57
IF TELEPHONE: And since the contact with the National Careers Service adviser in [MONTH]
[IF Q1a NOT 2: have you] [IF Q1a=2: as far as you know has the person on whose behalf you
were calling] done any of the following things...? READ OUT.
IF F2F: Since your meeting with the National Careers Service adviser] in [MONTH], have you
done any of the following things...? READ OUT.

Yes
No
Don’t
know
ASK ALL EXCEPT IF LONGITUDINAL AND ACTED ON SUGGESTION
OF ADVISER (G=1 & SATISFACTION SURVEY Q29 a or b or c =1)
a) Acted upon any of the suggestions made by the adviser (IF YES:
what suggestions were these?)
1
2
X
ASK ALL EXCEPT IF LONGITUDINAL AND ACTED ON SUGGESTION
OF ADVISER (G=1 & SATISFACTION SURVEY Q29 d=1)
b) Visited the National Careers Service website
1
2
X
ASK ALL
c)Contacted the National Careers Service face-to-face service
1
2
X
d)Contacted the National Careers Service Careers Advice Helpline
1
2
X
e)Contacted any other organisations in relation to [IF TELEPHONE:
what you called about] [IF FACE-TO-FACE: what was discussed at the
meeting] IF YES SPECIFY WHICH ORGANISATIONS
1
2
X

127

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

IF NOT-LONGITUDINAL (G=2) [LONGITUDINAL CHECK Q15]
58
Turning now to Lifelong Learning Accounts – formally known as My National Careers Service
Accounts or Skills Accounts, which of the following applies...READ OUT AND CODE ONE
ONLY

INTERVIEWER ADD AS NECESSARY: This is an online service that aims to help people make
informed choices about learning and work by bringing together the Skills Health Check, a course
search facility, a CV builder and a record of a person’s learning history.

You opened a Lifelong Learning Account during the [IF F2F:
meeting] [IF TELEPHONE: call] with the adviser
1
You have opened an account on your own since talking to the
adviser
2
You already had an Account when you called
3
ASK Q14a
It was not discussed, or you’ve never heard of them
4
It was offered during the [IF F2F: meeting] [IF TELEPHONE: call] but
you were not interested
5
(DO NOT READ OUT) Or something else (SPECIFY)
0
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X
ASK Q16

IF HAVE AN ACCOUNT (Q14=1, 2 or 3)
14a
And have you activated this Account?

Yes
1
No
2
Don’t know
X

IF ‘LONGITUDINAL AND NOT OPENED A National Careers Service ACCOUNT WHEN LAST
SPOKE TO THEM’ (G=1 & ON SATISFACTION SURVEY Q23 NOT 1, 2 OR 3)
59
Have you opened a Lifelong Learning Account since we last spoke to you?

Yes
1
ASK Q15a
No
2
Don’t know
3
ASK Q16

IF YES AT Q15 OR WHEN WE LAST SPOKE TO THEM THEIR ACCOUNT HAD NOT BEEN
ACTIVATED (Q15=1 OR SATISFACTION SURVEY Q23a=2)’
15a
[IF Q15=1: Have you activated this account?] [Q23a=2: When we last spoke you mentioned
that you had a Lifelong Learning Account (formerly a My National Careers Service Account)
but that you had not activated the account. Have you activated the account since we last
spoke?]

Yes
1
No
2
Don’t know
3

128

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
PROGRESSION INTO LEARNING

Now I would like to ask a few questions about any training and learning [IF Q1a=not 2: you
have] [IF TELEPHONE & Q1a=2: the person on whose behalf you were calling has] done since
[IF TELEPHONE: the call to the helpline] [IF F2F: your meeting with the National Careers
Service adviser] in [MONTH]. Please think about any learning [IF Q1=not 2: you] [IF Q1A=2:
they] have done and whether it was for [IF Q1a=not 2: your] [IF Q1a=2: their] own personal
interest, or in relation to current or future work plans, and whether it led to qualification or
not, or whether or not [IF Q1a=not 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] completed it.

ASK ALL
60
Since [IF TELEPHONE: the call to the helpline] [IF F2F: your meeting with the National
Careers Service adviser] in [MONTH] have [IF Q1a=not 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] any of the
following types of training or learning – please note one single training course or learning
activity can fall into more than one category.

READ OUT.

Yes
No
Don’t
know
a) A course aimed to lead to a qualification
1
2
3
b) A course related to a previous job or current job
1
2
3
c) A course related to a job you may do in the future
1
2
3
d) A course, instruction or tuition related to your personal
interests or hobbies or personal development, including
music, arts or crafts, sports or other practical skills
1
2
3
e) Course work or a portfolio that you complete in your own
time (NOT homework)
1
2
3
f) Evening classes
1
2
3
g) Deliberately tried to improve your knowledge about
anything or teach yourself a skill without taking part in a
formal, taught course
1
2
3
h) Undertaken any other types learning or training, such as
any on-the-job training at work (please specify)
1
2
3

IF UNDERTAKEN MORE THAN ONE TYPE OF LEARNING (IF MORE THAN ONE Q16 A-h=1)
61
Were these all part of the same course, learning or training?

Yes – same
1
No – more than one
2
DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know
3

129

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

IF DONE ANY TRAINING (ANY YES AT Q16)
62
How important were the following reasons for choosing to do this learning or training – very,
fairly, not very or not at all important? READ OUT

Very
important
Fairly
important
Not very
important
Not at all
important
Don’t
know
To help progress in a job or career
1
2
3
4
x
To help CHANGE career
1
2
3
4
x
To help get a job or change job
1
2
3
4
x
To develop new, or improve existing, job-
related skills
1
2
3
4
x
To obtain a qualification
1
2
3
4
X
IF STATEMENT ABOVE = 1 OR 2
To raise your qualification level
1
2
3
4
x

IF DONE ANY TRAINING (ANY YES AT Q16)
63
What role did the discussion with the National Careers Service adviser have in [IF Q1a=not 2:
your] [IF Q1a=2: their] deciding to do this learning and training? Did it play…READ OUT

A big part
1
Some part
2
ASK Q19a
Or did it play no part
3
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X
ASK Q20

IF ADVISER PLAYED A BIG OR SOME PART (Q19=1 or 2)
19a
Can you tell me what impact, or what difference, the adviser made in terms of the learning
that you started? DO NOT READ OUT. MULTICODE OK

May not have done the learning at all if had not had discussions with the adviser
1
They encouraged me to do a higher level course
2
Other (SPECIFY)
3
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X

IF DONE ANY TRAINING (ANY YES AT Q16)
64
Are [IF Q1a=not 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] ….? READ OUT AND CODE ALL THAT APPLY

Still doing [IF Q17=2: some or all of] the learning and training
1
Or have [IF Q1a=not 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] completed [IF Q17=2:
some or all of] the training or learning
2
CHECK Q22
Or did [IF Q1a=not 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] leave [IF Q17=2: some or
all of] the learning or training before completing it
3
ASK Q21
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X
CHECK Q22

130

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

ALL WHO STOPPED ANY LEARNING WITHOUT COMPLETING (Q20=3)
65
Why didn’t [IF Q1a=not 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] complete [IF Q17=2: some or all of] the
learning or training? DO NOT READ OUT. CODE ALL MENTIONED.

Course too hard / advanced
1
Involved too much work
2
Work commitments made it difficult
3
Course too easy
4
Course content wasn’t what I thought it was going to be
5
Costs / couldn’t afford it / expensive
6
Problems getting to the provider / travel difficulties
7
Family / personal circumstances
8
Illness
9
Didn’t like / get on with the tutors / teachers
10
Didn’t like / get on with the other learners / students
11
Lack of support
12
Other (please specify)
13
No particular reason
14
Can’t remember
15

IF DONE ANY TRAINING (ANY YES AT Q16)
66
How satisfied [IF Q21=1: are you] [OTHERS: have you been] with the learning: very satisfied,
satisfied, neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied?

Very satisfied
1
Satisfied
2
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
3
Dissatisfied
4
Very dissatisfied
5
Don’t know / not applicable
X

131

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
IF UNDERTAKEN A COURSE LEADING TO A QUALIFICATION (Q16a=1)
67
What type of qualification has the training or learning [IF Q1a=not 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they]
have undertaken since [IF TELEPHONE: the call to the helpline] [IF F2F: your meeting with
the National Careers Service adviser] in [MONTH] been leading to?
PROMPT IF NECESSARY
CODE ALL THAT APPLY.

Post-graduate degree or doctorate, MBA, NVQ level 5 or equivalent
1
A degree, HNC, HND, NVQ level 4 or equivalent
2
A levels, vocational A levels or AS levels
3
NVQ level 3
4
Advanced GNVQ
5
BTEC National
6
Advanced City and Guilds
7
GCSE
8
Intermediate GNVQ
9
NVQ level 2
10
Intermediate City and Guilds
11
BTEC First
12
Foundation GNVQ
13
BTEC general certificate
14
Part 1 City and Guilds
15
NVQ level 1
16
Other 1 (SPECIFY)
17
Other 2 (SPECIFY)
18
(DO NOT READ OUT) Can’t remember
X

IF DONE ANY TRAINING (ANY YES AT Q16)
68
And have [IF Q1a not 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] obtained a qualification from the learning or
training that [IF Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] have been doing since [IF TELEPHONE: the
call to the helpline] [IF F2F: your meeting with the National Careers Service adviser], have [IF
Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] obtained credits towards a qualification or neither? ALLOW
MULTICODE

Obtained a qualification
1
Credits towards a qualification
2
Neither
3
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X

IF MULTIPLE QUALIFICATIONS UNDERTAKEN AND (AT LEAST ONE) QUALIFICATION
ACHIEVED (Q23=MULTICODED & Q24=1)
69
Which of the qualifications you mentioned have [IF Q1a=not 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they]
obtained?
PROMPT AS NECESSARY (allow multicode)

SHOW ANSWERS FROM Q23a
1
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X
132

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

IF OBTAINED QUALIFICATION OR CREDITS (Q24=1 OR 2)
70
Are any of the qualifications that [IF Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] have obtained since
[MONTH] higher than the highest qualification [IF Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] had before
[IF TELEPHONE: the call to the helpline] [IF F2F: your meeting with the National Careers
Service adviser]?

Yes
1
No
2
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X

IF HAVE NOT UNDERTAKEN ANY LEARNING (NONE OF Q16=1). OTHERS GO TO Q30.
71
What are the main reasons why [IF Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] haven’t undertaken any
training or learning since [IF TELEPHONE: the call to the helpline] [IF F2F: your meeting with
the National Careers Service adviser] in [MONTH]?
DO NOT READ OUT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY.

Haven’t got the time / too busy e.g. work commitments
1
Have all the skills / qualifications I want
2
No additional learning / training needed / not interested
3
Too lazy / it’s too much work
4
Can’t afford course(s) / no finance available
5
Ill health
6
Can’t find a suitable course
7
Other (SPECIFY)
0
DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know
X

IF HAVE NOT UNDERTAKEN ANY LEARNING (NONE OF Q16=1).
72
Is there anything more that the adviser could have done that might have encouraged [IF Q1a
NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: them] to start a training course or some other learning?

Yes
1
ASK Q29
No
2
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X
GO TO Q30

IF ADVISER COULD HAVE ENCOURAGED TO START LEARNING (Q28=1)
73
What more do you think the adviser could have done?
PROBE: What else? DO NOT READ OUT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY.

Provided more information (SPECIFY)
1
Followed-up or called back
2
Given more options
3
Been more encouraging
4
Other (SPECIFY)
0
DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know
X

133

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
ASK ALL
74
Do you think that the information or advice from the National Careers Service adviser has
made it much more likely that you will undertake learning in the future, a little more likely, or
has it had no impact?
SINGLE CODE

Much more likely
1
A little more likely
2
No impact
3
Don’t know
X

75
And how likely do you think you will be to start a new training course or learning activity over
the next 12 months…READ OUT?
SINGLE CODE

Very likely
1
Fairly likely
2
Not very likely
3
Not at all likely
4
Don’t know
X

PROGRESSION IN EMPLOYMENT – HARD OUTCOMES

ASK ALL
76
Thinking now about jobs and employment, since [IF TELEPHONE: the call to the helpline] [IF
F2F: your meeting with the National Careers Service adviser] in [] have [IF Q1a NOT
2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they]…READ OUT.

Yes
No
Don’t know
a) Found a new job
1
2
X
IF YES AT Q32 a)
b) Changed career
1
2
X
ASK ALL
c) Achieved a promotion or improved salary
1
2
X
d) Taken up any voluntary work
1
2
X

IF EMPLOYMENT STATUS CHANGED (ANY Q32A-D=1)
Q32a
To what extent did the information, advice or support from the National Careers Service
adviser, and any action taken directly as a result of the discussions, help [IF Q1a NOT 2: you]
[IF Q1a=2: them] achieve these work-related benefits? Did it...READ OUT.

Play a big part
1
Play some part
2
ASK Q32b
Or did they play no part at all
3
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X
CHECK Q33

134

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

IF ADVISER PLAYED A BIG OR SOME PART (Q32a=1 or 2)
32b
Can you tell me what impact, or what difference, you think the adviser made?

IF EMPLOYMENT STATUS CHANGED IN ANY PAID ROLES (ANY Q32 A-C=1)
77
We’d like to get some idea of the extent to which [IF Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] may
have benefited financially from the fact that [IF Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF Q1A=2: they] . Can you tell me which of the following bands best reflects the
amount you feel [IF Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] have benefited on an ANNUAL basis?
READ OUT. SINGLE CODE.

INTERVIEWER NOTEL EG if they have a new job the answer would be the annual pay / salary. If
they have got a promotion, the answer is the increase in pay on an annual basis]

No financial benefit to date
1
Up to £500 a year
2
£501 - £1,000 a year
3
£1,001 - £2,000 a year
4
£2,001 - £3,000 a year
5
£3,001 - £5,000 a year
6
£5,001 - £10,000 a year
7
£10,001 - £20,000 a year
8
£20,001 - £30,000 a year
9
More than £30,000 a year
10
Prefer not to say
11
Other (SPECIFY)
0
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X

IF HAVE NOT UNDERTAKEN ANY EMPLOYMENT PROGRESSION (NONE OF Q32=1).
33a
Is there anything more that the adviser could have done that might have helped you get a job
or progress at work?

Yes
1
ASK Q33B
No
2
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X
GO TO Q34

135

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

IF ADVISER COULD HAVE DONE MORE (Q33a=1)
33b
What more do you think the adviser could have done?
PROBE: What else? DO NOT READ OUT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY.

Provided more information (SPECIFY)
1
Followed-up or called back
2
Given more options
3
Been more encouraging
4
Other (SPECIFY)
0
DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know
X

ASK ALL
78
Which of the following best describes [IF Q1a not 2: your] [IF Q1a=2: their] current
employment or learning status…READ OUT. SINGLE CODE.

In full time education or learning (16 hours or more per week)
1
In full time paid employment (30 hours a week or more)
2
In part time paid employment, working less than 30 hours a week
3
Self-employed
4
In part time education or learning (less than 16 hours per week)
5
Unemployed and looking for work
6
Unable to work due to ill health or disability
7
Looking after home or family
8
Retired
9
Other (SPECIFY)
0
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X

IF NOT WORKING (Q34 NOT 2, 3 OR 4)
Q34a
Are [IF Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: the person who you were calling on behalf of] receiving any
benefits, such as Jobseeker’s Allowance, ESA or Income Support? IF YES: which? (CODES 2-
6 CAN BE MULTICODED)

No
1
Jobseeker’s Allowance
2
ESA (Incapacity Benefit)
3
Income Support
4
Carer’s Allowance
5
Other (SPECIFY)
6
Yes – but don’t know which
7
Don’t know if receiving benefits
X
Refused
V

136

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

IF WORKING AS EMPLOYEE BOTH NOW AND AT TIME OF INTERVENTION (Q34=2 or 3 AND
(Q3 = 2 OR 3 or longitudinal and satisfaction survey Q3 = 2 or 3))
79
And are [IF Q1a not 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] currently ….? READ OUT AND CODE ONE ONLY

Working in the same job for the same organisation as at the time of [IF
TELEPHONE: the call to the helpline] [IF F2F: your meeting with the National
Careers Service adviser]
1
Working for the same organisation but doing a different job
2
Doing the same type of work as at the time of [IF TELEPHONE: the call to the
helpline] [IF F2F: your meeting with the National Careers Service adviser] but
with a new employer
3
Working in a new organisation and doing a different job
4
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X

IF CURRENTLY WORKING (Q34=2 or 3 or 4)
80
Have any of the following things happened at work since [MONTH]… READ OUT

Yes
No
Don’t know
A) Are [IF Q1a not 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] doing more interesting
work
1
2
3
B) Are [IF Q1a not 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] getting more job
satisfaction
1
2
3
C) Do [IF Q1a not 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] have better job security
1
2
3
D) Have [IF Q1a not 2: your] [IF Q1a=2: their] pay and promotion
prospects improved
1
2
3

IF EXPERIENCED ANY BENEFITS AT WORK (Q36A-D=1)
81
To what extent did the information, advice or support from the National Careers Service
adviser, and any action taken directly as a result of the discussions, help [IF Q1a NOT 2: you]
[IF Q1a=2: them] achieve [IF ONLY ONE YES AT THE PREVIOUS QUESTION: this] [IF MORE
THAN ONE YES AT THE PREVIOUS QUESTON: these] positive change(s) at work? Did
it...READ OUT.

Play a big part
1
Play some part
2
Or did they play no part at all
3
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X

IF WORKING AND WAS NOT AT TIME OF INTERVENTION (Q34=2 or 3 or 4) AND (Q3 NOT
CODE 2 OR 3 or 4 on this or satisfaction survey for longitudinal respondents)
82
You mentioned that [IF Q1a NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] are working now but that [IF Q1a
NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: they] were not at the time of the call to the helpline. To what extent do
you feel that the information, advice or support from the National Careers Service adviser,
and any action taken directly as a result of the discussions, helped you get this current job?
Did it...READ OUT.

Play a big part
1
Play some part
2
Or did they play no part at all
3
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X
137

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

SOFT OUTCOMES – LEARNING AND EMPLOYMENT

ASK ALL
83
IF TELEPHONE: And since the contact with the helpline in [MONTH] [IF Q1a NOT 2: have you]
[IF Q1a=2: has the person on whose behalf you were calling] improved any of the following
skills...? READ OUT.
IF F2F: Since your meeting with the National Careers Service adviser in [MONTH], have you
improved any of the following skills...? READ OUT.

(Please say if the skill is not relevant to your circumstances)
DP NOTE: ROTATE ORDER

Yes
No
Don’t know
or Not
applicable
a) Job-related skills relevant to a current or future job
1
2
X
b) Personal or social skills
1
2
X
c) Problem solving skills
1
2
X
d) Team working skills
1
2
X
e) Self confidence
1
2
X
f) Literacy skills
1
2
X
g) Numeracy skills
1
2
X
h) IT skills
1
2
X
i) Job application, CV writing or interview skills
1
2
X
j) Any other skills (please specify)
1
2
X

IF ANY SKILLS IMPROVED (ANY YES AT THE PREVIOUS QUESTION)
84
To what extent did the information, advice or support from the National Careers Service
adviser, and any action taken directly as a result of the discussions, play a part in [IF Q1a
NOT 2: you] [IF Q1a=2: them] improving these skills? Did it...READ OUT.

Play a big part
1
Play some part
2
Or did they play no part at all
3
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X

138

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
ASK ALL
85
Compared to 6 months ago do you feel the following have increased a lot, a little, or not at
all…READ OUT?
ROTATE ORDER

Rotate start
A lot
A little
Not at
all
DO NOT
READ OUT:
Don’t know
[IF Q1a NOT 2: Your] [IF Q1a=2: Their]
awareness of possible work or career
opportunities
1
2
3
X
[IF Q1A NOT 2: Your] [IF Q1A=2: Their]
awareness of possible training or learning
opportunities
1
2
3
X
[IF Q1A NOT 2: Your] [IF Q1A=2: Their] ability to
make decisions about [IF Q1A NOT 2: your] [IF
Q1A=2: their] future in terms of careers,
training or learning
1
2
3
X
[IF Q1A NOT 2: Your] [IF Q1A=2: Their]
motivation to find work or to change career
1
2
3
X
[IF Q1A NOT 2: Your] [IF Q1A=2: Their] interest
in doing more learning
1
2
3
X
[IF Q1A NOT 2: Your] [IF Q1A=2: Their]
confidence
1
2
3
X
Knowing what [IF Q1A NOT 2: you] [IF Q1A=2:
they] want to do in life
1
2
3
X
ASK IF NOT CURRENTLY WORKING (Q31 NOT 2
OR 3 OR 4)
Improved [IF Q1A NOT 2: your] [IF Q1A=2: their]
chances of finding a job
1
2
3

IF ANY ‘A LOT’ OR ‘A LITTLE’ AT THE PREVIOUS QUESTION
86
To what extent did the information, advice or support from the National Careers Service
adviser, and any action taken directly as a result of the discussions, help [IF Q1A NOT 2: you]
[IF Q1A=2: them] in these areas? Did it...READ OUT.

Play a big part
1
Play some part
2
Or did they play no part at all
3
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X

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ASK ALL LONGITUDINAL (G=1)
87
The next question asks about your attitudes to learning and to work. For each statement
please say if you strongly agree, tend to agree, neither agree nor disagree, tend to disagree,
or strongly disagree. READ OUT.

Strongly
agree
Tend to
agree
Neither
nor
Tend to
disagree
Strongly
disagree
Don’t
know
There are so many courses on offer it’s hard
to know which ones are relevant
1
2
3
4
5
X
It’s hard to get information about the courses
which are available locally
1
2
3
4
5
X
ASK IF NOT LEARNING CURRENTLY (ALL
EXCEPT Q34=1 or 5)
I’ve done all the studying I want to do
1
2
3
4
5
X
ASK ALL
I’d only be interested in more learning if it
would help me get a job or progress at work
1
2
3
4
5
X
It’s hard to get information or advice about
jobs or careers that I’d be suited for
1
2
3
4
5
X
I’ll struggle to get the job or career I want
unless I update my skills and qualifications
1
2
3
4
5
X
ASK IF LOOKING FOR WORK (Q34 =6)
I know the sort of work I’d like to do, it’s just
that there are no or few such jobs available
locally
1
2
3
4
5
X

DEMOGRAPHICS

ASK ALL EXCEPT LONGITUDINAL RECORDS (LONGITUDINAL (G=1) ASK Q50)
Finally, I would just like to ask a few questions about [IF Q1A NOT 2: you] [IF Q1A=2: the
person on whose behalf you were calling] to ensure that we have a good cross section of
people in our survey.

ASK ALL EXCEPT LONGITUDINAL
43a
[IF Q1A NOT 2: Do you] [IF Q1A=2: Do they] have any qualifications from school, college,
university, work, government schemes or anywhere else?

Yes
1
ASK Q44
No
2
Refused
3
GO TO Q46

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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

IF YES
88
Qualifications are often classified by their level. Which of the following is the highest level of
qualification IF Q1A NOT 2: you hold] [IF Q1A=2: held by the person who you were calling on
behalf of]?
READ OUT. SINGLE CODE FIRST MENTIONED.

A degree such as a Foundation degree, a Master’s (e.g. MA, MSc), Bachelor
degrees; or Diplomas of Higher Education (DipHE); Higher National Certificates
(HNC); Higher National Diplomas (HND); NVQs at Level 5
1
LEVEL 4 which includes Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE); NVQs at Level 4
2
LEVEL 3 which includes A levels; Access to HE; International Baccalaureate; NVQs
at Level 3; BTEC Diplomas, Certificates and Awards; BTEC Nationals; OCR
Nationals at Level 3
3
LEVEL 2 which includes 5 GCSEs Grades A*-C; NVQ at Level 2, BTEC First
Diplomas and Certificates; OCR Nationals at Level 2
4
LEVEL 1 – GCSE Grades D-G; NVQs at Level 1, BTEC Introductory Diplomas or
Certificates; OCR Nationals at Level 1
5
ENTRY LEVEL– Entry level certificates, e.g. City & Guilds certificates; Skills for Life;
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
6
Other professional, technical or management qualification: PLEASE SPECIFY
7
Other: PLEASE SPECIFY
0
(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know
X

IF Q43a=1
89
Which qualification that [IF Q1A NOT 2: you] [IF Q1A=2: they] hold do you regard as the
highest?

PROBE FULLY: What type of qualification was this? What level? What grade?
INTERVIEWER INSTRUCTION: If NVQS/GNVQs probe what level? If GCSEs/A Levels/AS
Levels or equivalent probe how many? What grade?

WRITE IN

ASK IF NOT STATED ON SAMPLE AND NOT LONGITUDINAL
90
Which of the following age groups [IF Q1A NOT 2: do you] [IF Q1A=2: do they] fall into...READ
OUT
[IF NECESSARY: At the time that they called]

Under 18
1
18-19
2
20-24
3
25-34
4
35-44
5
45-49
6
50-54
7
55-59
8
60-64
9
65+
10
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Refused
X
ASK ALL EXCEPT LONGITUDINAL
91
IF Q1A NOT 2: Do you] [IF Q1A=2: Do they] have any long-term illness, health problem or
disability which limits the daily activities or the work IF Q1A NOT 2: you] [IF Q1A=2: they] can
do?

Yes
1
No
2
Refused
3

92
Is English your first language?

Yes
1
No
2
Refused
3

ASK ALL EXCEPT LONGITUDINAL
93
And how would you describe [IF Q1A NOT 2: your] [IF Q1A=2: their] ethnic origin...? READ
OUT. SINGLE CODE.
White British
1
White Irish
2
White – Other
3
Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi
4
Asian or Asian British – Indian
5
Asian or Asian British – Pakistani
6
Asian or Asian British – Other
7
Black or Black British – African
8
Black or Black British – Caribbean
9
Black or Black British – Other
10
Chinese
11
Mixed – White and African
12
Mixed – White and Black African
13
Mixed – White and Black Caribbean
14
Mixed – other
15
Other (SPECIFY)
16
Prefer not to say
17

ASK ALL
94
The Skills Funding Agency may be undertaking further research about National Careers
Service. Would you be willing for us or another research agency working on behalf of the
Skills Funding Agency to contact you about this in the future?
Yes
1
No
2

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IF NOT STATED ON SAMPLE AND NOT LONGITUDINAL
95
Code gender
Male
1
Female
2
Don’t know
X

THANK RESPONDENT AND CLOSE INTERVIEW
I declare that this survey has been carried out under IFF instructions and within the rules of the MRS Code
of Conduct.
Interviewer signature:
Date:
Finish time:
Interview Length
Mins

C – Online Service Satisfaction Questionnaire
NATIONAL CAREERS SERVICE WEBSITE QUESTIONNAIRE
IFF RESEARCH

Thank you for agreeing to help. It will only take a few minutes and your answers
will be completely anonymous. Your feedback will help us to continue to improve
the service.

How to navigate the survey

Please use the “forward” and “backward” arrow navigation buttons to move
between pages in the survey. Please do not use the ‘back’ button in your browser, as
this may cause you to lose the survey temporarily, and require you to ‘refresh’ the
page.

Please click the “forward” button below to enter the survey.

 I’d like more information about the survey

IF TICKED ‘WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION’ DISPLAY:
This is a genuine market research survey and is not selling you anything.

If you have any questions about these notes, or the survey, please email
xxx@xxx.xx or call xx-xxxx-xxxx

If you do not wish to complete this survey, simply click here to close this window.

IFF Research is analysing the survey responses on behalf of the Skills Funding Agency. IFF
Research is a UK based company and complies with the Market Research Society Code of
143

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Conduct, as well as UK and EU Data Protection Laws. More information about IFF is available at
www.iffresearch.com

Q1: Tell us why you came to the National Careers Service website todayallow multicode]
 I’m looking for information and advice for myself
 I’m looking for information and advice for someone else
 I am an employer
 I am a careers adviser SET CAP PER QUARTER OF 50
 I work for the Skills Funding Agency SCREEN OUT
 Other (SPECIFY)

Q2: How old are you?
 Under 16 SCREEN OUT
 16 or 17
 18 or 19
 20 - 24
 25 - 29
 30 – 34
 35 – 39
 40 – 44
 45 – 49
 50 – 54
 55 – 59
 60 – 64
 65+
 Prefer not to say

IF ‘SCREEN OUT’ AT Q1 or Q2 DISPLAY:
Thank you very much for your help. Today we are looking for people that fit a certain profile.
Unfortunately this means we are unable to continue with this survey.

DISPLAY TO ALL QUALIFYING
Q3: How many times have you ever visited the National Careers Service website (including
this time)?
 Once/my first visit today
 2-4 times
 5-9 times
 10+ times
 Don’t know

Q4: And have you ever done any of the following…PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY?
 Had a face-to-face meeting with a National Careers Service adviser
 Spoken to an adviser on the National Careers Service telephone helpline (on xx-xxxx-xxxx)
 None of the above

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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Q5: How did you first hear about the National Careers Service website? Please tick all that
apply.
[RANDOMISE ORDER EXCEPT THE LAST TWO]
 From a friend or relative
 From a colleague or my employer
 From a National Careers Service adviser
 From a Jobcentre Plus adviser or a Jobcentre Plus leaflet/poster
 On television
 In a newspaper or magazine
 On the radio
 Online (please specify) ____________
 Other (please specify) ____________
 Can’t remember

Q6: What was your reason for visiting the site today? Please tick all that apply.
PROGRAMMER NOTE – ROTATE ORDER
 To get information or advice on jobs and careers
 To get information or advice about a course or learning
 To get information about a particular learning provider
 To access my Lifelong Learning Account (previously known as My Next Step or Skills
Accounts)
 To contact an adviser
 To give feedback on the service
 Just browsing
 Other (please write in) ____________

IF ‘Advice on jobs and careers’ AT Q6 ASK:
Q7: Were you looking for information or advice about jobs and careers regarding any of the
following? Please tick all that apply.
PROGRAMMER NOTE – ROTATE ORDER
 Information about different careers
 Information about progressing within a career
 How to get back into work
 Applying for jobs
 CVs
 Interview skills
 Issues around redundancy
 Information about the jobs market
 Voluntary work
 Other (please write in) ____________

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IF ‘advice on learning’ AT Q6 ASK:
Q8: Were you looking for information or advice on learning regarding any of the following…?
Please tick all that apply.
PROGRAMMER NOTE – ROTATE ORDER
 A specific course
 Apprenticeships
 Paying for a course
 Different ways of learning
 How to get back into learning
 Childcare
 Other caring responsibilities
 Other (please write in) ____________

ASK ALL
Q9: Which of the following tools or features on the National Careers Service website have you
used on this or recent visits to the site? [ALLOW MULTICODE]
PROGRAMMER NOTE – ROTATE ORDER
 Skills Health Check
 CV Builder
 Job Profiles
 Discussion forums
 Course Search
 Your Lifelong Learning Account (previously known as My Next Step or Skills Accounts)
 Email an adviser
 Request a call back from an adviser
 Action plan
 Webchat (chat with an adviser online)
 Learning Record
 Learner Statement
 Job Market Information
 Government Contributions Funding Check
 Site Search
 Videos
 Careers Advice pages
 None of the above /just browsed GO TO Q11

Q10: How useful did you find [SHOW AS A GRID FOR EACH USED AT PREVIOUS QUESTION AS
A ROW; USEFULNESS AS A COLUMN]?
 Very useful
 Quite useful
 Not very useful
 Not at all useful
 Don’t know

ASK ALL
Q11: [IF ‘Once / first visit today’ AT Q3 DISPLAY: Did you get the information you wanted
from the site today?] [OTHERS: Have you obtained the information you wanted on this and
recent visits to the website?]
 Yes - all the information I wanted
 Most of the information I wanted
 Some of the information I wanted
 None of the information I wanted
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
 Wasn’t looking for specific information
ASK ‘some’ OR ‘none’ AT THE LAST QUESTION:
Q12a: What information did you want that you couldn’t find?

TYPE IN

ASK ‘some’ OR ‘none’ AT Q11:
Q12b: Was it clear from the website how to contact an adviser for further support?
 Yes
 No
 Not sure

ASK ALL
Q13: Please rate the National Careers Service website on the following… Please give one
answer per row.

Very
good
Good
Neither
good nor
poor
Poor
Very
poor
Don’t
know
How easy it was to find the
information you needed.

The information being clear and
easy to understand

The quality of the information (it
being up to date, relevant,
accurate etc)

How easy the website was to use

The design of the website

How effective the site search was

Q14: And overall how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the National Careers Service
website?
 Very satisfied
 Satisfied
 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
 Dissatisfied
 Very dissatisfied
 Don’t know

ASK IF ‘dissatisfied’ OR ‘very dissatisfied’ AT THE LAST QUESTION:
Q15: Why do you say that?

TYPE IN

ASK ALL
Q16: If there was one thing you could change about this website what would it be?

TYPE IN

 Nothing / fine as is
 Not sure
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

ASK ALL
Q17 Would you recommend the National Careers Service website to friends, family or
colleagues?
 Yes
 No
 Not sure

ASK IF q1 ‘an individual’ (code 1 or 2)
Q18: Are you likely to do any of the following as a result of visiting the National Careers
Service website? Please tick all that apply
PROGRAMMER NOTE – ROTATE ORDER
 Contact a provider about enrolling on a course
 Call the National Careers Service helpline and speak to an adviser
 Arrange a face-to-face meeting with a National Careers Service adviser
 Visit the National Careers Service site again before making any decisions
 Visit another website before making any decisions
 Speak to your employer/other employees
 Seek further careers advice
 Apply / search for a job
 Contact an organisation other than National Careers Service
 Other (please specify ___________)
 Don’t expect to do anything specific / different as a result of visiting the website
 Not sure / too early to say

ASK IF q1 ‘an individual calling on own behalf’ (code 1)
Q18a: And as a result of visiting the National Careers Service website do you think any of the
following are more likely?
Will you be more likely to... Please tick all that apply
PROGRAMMER NOTE – ROTATE ORDER
 Start a course / enter learning
 Undertake some training
 Start an apprenticeship
 Get a job having been unemployed
 Progress at work (e.g. get a promotion) or get a better job than the one you currently have
 Start voluntary work
 None of the above more likely
 Don’t know

ASK ALL
Q19: Are you male or female?
 Male  Female

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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Q20: Where do you live? [SINGLE CODE]
 London
 Rest of South East
 South West
 Eastern, including East Anglia
 East Midlands
 West Midlands
 Yorkshire and the Humber
 North West
 North East
 Wales
 Scotland
 Northern Ireland
 UK forces overseas
 Outside the UK
 Don’t know

Q21: Qualifications are often classified by their level. Which of the following is the HIGHEST
level of qualification you hold? Please tick the first in the list that applies to you [SINGLE
CODE]
 A degree (including a higher or postgraduate degree); Foundation degree; HNC; HND;
NVQs at Level 5; or equivalent
 NVQ level 4, or other diplomas and awards at level 4
 2 or more A or AS Levels; Advanced GNVQ; Access to HE; International Baccalaureate;
BTEC Diplomas, Certificates and Awards; BTEC Nationals; NVQ Level 3; or equivalent
 5 or more GCSEs or O Levels at Grades A*-C; 1 A or AS level; Intermediate GNVQ; BTEC
First Diplomas or Certificates; NVQ Level 2; or equivalent
 1 or more GCSEs or O Levels at any grade; Foundation GNVQ; NVQ Level 1; foundation
diplomas and awards; or equivalent
 Entry level qualifications such as Entry level certificates; Skills for Life; and English for
Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
 No qualifications
 Don’t know/would rather not say

IF ‘DEGREE…’ (1st CODE AT Q21) ASK Q21a
Q21a: Do you have any of the following:
 A doctorate or equivalent
 Masters degree or equivalent; NVQ level 5
 Honours degree
 Foundation Degree; HND; or equivalent
 None of the above
 Don’t know/would rather not say

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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

ASK ALL
Q22: What is your main activity currently? Please tick one only
 Full time, paid employment (30+ hours a week)
 Part time, paid employment (less than 30 hours a week)
 Doing an Apprenticeship
 Self employed
 Full time further/higher education (16+hours a week)
 Part time further/higher education (Less than 16 hours a week)
 Unemployed and looking for work - and unemployed for less than 6 months
 Unemployed and looking for work – and unemployed for 6 months or more
 Looking after home or family
 Unable to work due to ill health or disability
 At school
 Retired
 Other (please specify)

Q23: Is English your first language?
 Yes  No  Don’t know

ASK ALL EXCEPT IF ‘SCHOOL’ ‘FULL TIME LEARNING’ OR ‘PART TIME LEARNING’ AT
Q23
Q25: Have you done any kind of learning in the last three years?
 Yes  No  Don’t know

ASK ALL
Q26: Do you have any long-term illness, health problems or disability which limits your daily
activities or the work you can do?
 Yes  No  Rather not say

Q27: How would you describe your ethnic origin?
This question is to enable the National Careers Service to ensure that they are reaching all
parts of the community, your ethnic origin has no impact on your eligibility for courses or
funding.

 White - British
 White - Irish
 White - Other
 Asian or Asian British - Bangladeshi
 Asian or Asian British - Indian
 Asian or Asian British - Pakistani
 Asian or Asian British - Other
 Black or Black British - African

 Black or Black British - Caribbean
 Black or Black British - Other
 Chinese
 Mixed - White and Asian
 Mixed - White and Black African
 Mixed - White and Black Caribbean
 Mixed - Other
 Other (please write in) ____________
 Prefer not to say

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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

Q28: In which of the following ways have you ever accessed the National Careers Service
website?
Please tick all that apply
 Desktop computer
 Laptop computer
 Netbook
 Tablet
 Smartphone
 TV
 Other (please specify)
 Not sure / can’t remember

Q29: Can you tell me where you were when you accessed the National Careers Service website
today?
Please tick all that apply
 Home
 Work
 School / college / university
 Library or other public facility
 Internet cafe
 Other (please specify)

The National Careers Service carries out research about careers guidance and related
issues, including how people progress following use of this website. Research may be
carried out by the National Careers Service, Government Departments or organisations
working on their behalf. If you are interested in taking part, please type your full
name, email and telephone number.

First name

Email address

Telephone contact

Thank you for completing our survey.
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D – Online Service Progression Questionnaire
NATIONAL CAREERS SERVICE WEBSITE QUESTIONNAIRE

PROGRESSION
(E-MAILED TO THOSE THAT DID A SATISFACTION QUESTIONNAIRE)
IFF RESEARCH

NB SAMPLE TO INCLUDE ONLY THOSE WHO ANSWERED THE SATISFACTION SURVEY AS A ‘An
individual looking for information or advice for yourself’ (Q1=1)

FROM SATISFACTION SURVEY COPY OVER WORK STATUS (working full time, part time,
self-employed v not), ALSO IF AN EMPLOYEE (working full time or part time)

E-MAIL COVER NOTE:

Dear X

You may remember that a few months ago you completed a short questionnaire when you
visited the National Careers Service website. You said that you would be willing to take part in
a follow-up study. The research will help the National Careers Service improve their service.

IFF Research is an independent research company which is conducting the work on behalf of
the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. We work strictly within the Market
Research Society Code of Conduct, and all your answers will remain completely anonymous.

To start the survey please click on the following link

If you have any questions about the survey, please email xxx@xxx.xx or
call xx-xxxx-xxxx.

We thank you in advance for your assistance.

Becky Duncan
Research Executive

Online questionnaire

1
Since visiting the National Careers Service website in have you done
any of the following things...? Please select one answer per row.

Yes
No
Don’t
know
Had a face-to-face meeting with a National Careers Service adviser
1
2
X
Called the National Careers Service Advice Helpline
1
2
X
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)
Opened a Lifelong Learning Account
1
2
X

2
Since visiting the National Careers Service website in have you started
any of the following types of learning or training? Please note one activity can fall into more
than one category. We are interested in those you started whether you completed them or
not. Please select one answer per row.

Yes
No
Don’t
know
i) A course leading to a qualification
1
2
3
j) A course, instruction or tuition related to your interests,
hobbies or personal development (including music, arts
or crafts, sports or other practical skills)
1
2
3
k) Course work that you complete in your own time (other
than homework)
1
2
3
l) Tried to improve your knowledge or teach yourself a skill
without taking part in a formal course
1
2
3
m) Done any other types of learning or training
1
2
3

IF DONE ANY TRAINING (ANY YES AT Q2)
3
Did visiting the National Careers Service website help you decide to do this learning and
training?

Yes
1
No
2
Don’t know
X

IF UNDERTAKEN TRAINING AIMED AT LEADING TO A QUALIFICATION (Q2a=1)
4
Did you get a qualification, or credits towards a qualification, from the learning or training
that you started since ?

Yes
1
No
2
Don’t know
X

IF OBTAINED QUALIFICATION OR CREDITS (Q4=1)
5
Is this recent qualification (or the credits towards a qualification) the highest level of
qualification you have?

Yes
1
No
2
Don’t know
X

ASK ALL
6
Has visiting the National Careers Service website made it more likely that you will do learning
in the future?

Yes
1
No
2
Don’t know
X

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7
How likely are you to start training or learning over the next 12 months…?
PLEASE SELECT ONE ANSWER ONLY

Very likely
1
Fairly likely
2
Not very likely
3
Not at all likely
4
Don’t know
X

ASK ALL
8
Thinking now about work, since visiting the National Careers Service website in
have you…? PLEASE SELECT ONE ANSWER IN EACH ROW

Yes
No
Don’t know
e) Found a new job
1
2
X
f)
Changed career
1
2
X
g) Achieved a promotion or improved your salary
1
2
X
h) Started any voluntary work
1
2
X

IF EMPLOYMENT STATUS CHANGED (ANY CODE=1 ABOVE)
9
Did visiting the National Careers Service website help you achieve these changes?

Yes
1
No
2
Don’t know
X

ASK ALL
10
Which one of the following best describes your current situation…PLEASE SELECT ONE
ANSWER ONLY.

Full-time, paid work (30+ hours a week)
1
Part-time, paid work (less than 30 hours a week)
2
Doing an Apprenticeship
3
Self employed
4
Full-time further/higher education (16+hours a week)
5
Part-time further/higher education (Less than 16 hours a week)
6
Unemployed less than 6 months
7
Unemployed for 6 months or more
8
Looking after home or family
9
Unable to work due to ill health or disability
10
At school
11
Retired
12
Other (please specify)
13

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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

IF NOT WORKING (Q10 NOT 1, 2, 3 OR 4)
11
Are you receiving any benefits, such as Jobseeker’s Allowance, ESA or Income Support?
PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY

No
1
Jobseeker’s Allowance
2
ESA (Incapacity Benefit)
3
Income Support
4
Carer’s Allowance
5
Child benefit / child tax credit
6
Housing benefit / council tax benefit
7
Other (SPECIFY)
8
Don’t know if receiving benefits
X
Prefer not to say
V

ASK ALL
12
Did visiting the National Careers Service website in help you to…? Please
select one answer per row.

ROTATE ORDER

Yes
No
Don’t know
or Not
applicable
k) feel more confident about making decisions regarding your
future
1
2
X
l) feel more confident about planning your next career move
1
2
X
m) feel more confident about applying for jobs
1
2
X
n) feel more confident about applying for courses or training
1
2
X

IF ANY YES AT Q12
12a
Please tell us how the National Careers Service website helped?

ASK ALL
13
Compared to 3 months ago do you feel any of the following apply? Please select one answer
per row.

Rotate start
Yes
No
Don’t
know
I am more aware of job and career opportunities
1
2
X
I am more aware of learning opportunities
1
2
X
I’m more motivated to find work or to change my job
1
2
X
I’m more interested in doing learning
1
2
X
ASK IF NOT CURRENTLY WORKING (Q10 NOT 1-4)
My chances of finding a job have improved
1
2
X
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National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

IF ANY YES AT THE PREVIOUS QUESTION
14
Did visiting the National Careers Service website help you in these areas?

Yes
1
No
2
Don’t know
X

ASK ALL
15
Are there any improvements you would like to see on the National Careers Service website?

Yes
1
No
2
Don’t know
X

IF YES
16
Please tell us what improvements you would like to see.

Thank you for completing our survey.
156

National Careers Service Satisfaction and Progression Surveys: Annual report (April 2012-March 2013 fieldwork)

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