The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is working closely with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to improve the support available through Jobcentre Plus for people interested in Armed Forces careers.

Local relationships already exist between Jobcentres, Armed Forces Careers Offices and Armed Forces Champions. Building on the agreement announced in February 2026, DWP and MOD are working to strengthen how these relationships support jobseekers to access clear information about Armed Forces roles, training routes and career opportunities, including in engineering, cyber, healthcare and logistics.

DWP and MOD are developing the practical implementation of this approach, including specialist training for work coaches and closer working between Jobcentres, Armed Forces Careers Offices and Armed Forces Champions with the approach being piloted in the West Midlands. This will help ensure jobseekers receive more informed and consistent advice about Armed Forces opportunities through the Jobcentre Plus network.

This supports the ambition set out in the Defence Investment Plan to strengthen routes into Armed Forces careers. DWP and MOD will use learning from pilot activity to inform wider delivery and support informed career conversations with jobseekers.

The government is committed to ensuring every young person is equipped with the skills, knowledge and experiences needed to progress into skilled employment.

We are improving careers guidance through the updated Gatsby Benchmarks, career hubs, careers leader training and greater employer engagement.

We are reforming the post-16 qualifications landscape so that technical and academic qualifications better support progression into skilled employment and meet employers' needs. We are also supporting 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, including through expanded foundation apprenticeships, a £2,000 hiring payment for non-levy employers, and full funding for non-levy employers recruiting 16 to 24-year-old apprentices.

Alongside this, we are working towards delivering our manifesto commitment to guarantee two weeks' worth of work experience for every secondary pupil and continue to promote apprenticeships, T Levels and other technical routes. Through the Construction Skills Programme and Industry Placement programme, learners can gain valuable workplace experience and progress into skilled employment.

This government is working with industry to deliver a UK-wide £9 million creative careers initiative, to equip young people with the ambition and knowledge to work in the creative industries. This includes ‘Into Games’ workshops in schools led by trained industry professionals, and ‘Get into Games’ regional careers festivals.

The department funds the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) to support schools and colleges to deliver high-quality careers education, including work experience. The CEC supports the science, technology, engineering and mathematics sector to raise awareness of the opportunities and pathways available. This includes ‘Tech She Can’, which encourages girls and young women to explore gaming and wider technology careers through initiatives such as a Virtual Employability Week.

There are also local programmes across the CEC careers hub network, for example Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, which works with leading gaming employers to strengthen the talent pipeline and deliver the Mayor’s pledge to support this key growth industry.

The Department for Transport is committed to encouraging, inspiring, and creating opportunities for young people to pursue careers in the aviation sector, including as air traffic controllers, through its Generation Aviation Programme.

The Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund, a key workstream of the Generation Aviation Programme, funds outreach programmes and events that inspire school and college students to explore careers in aviation, including opportunities to become air traffic controllers.

This year’s Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund will focus on supporting school leavers aged 16 and above by providing practical assistance to help overcome barriers to aviation employment and training. This includes improving access to careers such as air traffic control and enhancing diversity across the sector.

Specialist land-based providers, such as South Staffordshire College and Reaseheath College, are supporting around 700 learners aged 16 to 18 in Staffordshire and Newcastle-under-Lyme to complete programmes in agriculture-related subjects, alongside learners completing apprenticeships and adult learners funded through the Adult Skills Fund.

Qualifications available include T Levels in Agriculture, Land Management and Production and Animal Care and Management, designed specifically to support students looking to enter careers in farming. T Levels include a mandatory industry placement, so students get real-world experience of the industry. A range of agricultural apprenticeships are also available.

We will introduce V Levels across England in the Agriculture and Land Management, and Animal Care and Management subject areas, and Occupational Certificates in subjects such as Land-Based Service Engineer and General Farm Worker, for first teaching in 2029/30 to support young people to explore and enter farming careers, subject to final content development.

The Stoke and Staffordshire Careers Hub connects education providers, employers and partners to offer young people valuable exposure to agriculture and food production careers.

The government is determined to ensure that every young person leaves school well prepared for their future pathways.

We are improving careers guidance in schools and colleges, with clearer expectations set out in statutory guidance, including the Gatsby Benchmarks to support high-quality provision.

Alongside this, we are strengthening delivery through the Careers & Enterprise Company, including tools such as OnTrack+, which help schools identify pupils at risk of disengagement earlier and target support to keep them on track for future pathways. We are also committed to all secondary pupils benefitting from two weeks’ worth of meaningful work experience.

Through the Every Child Achieving and Thriving White Paper, we are tackling disengagement through a stronger focus on inclusion, belonging and earlier support, alongside expanding access to mental health support teams.

We will publish a best practice framework to help schools measure and improve pupil engagement, with all schools expected to monitor pupils’ sense of belonging and take action to improve it by the end of the Parliament.

Mentoring has an important role in raising aspirations and supporting young people to succeed, particularly those at risk of disengagement. We will continue to support high-quality approaches as part of wider reforms.

Schools are required to offer multiple opportunities for pupils to hear directly from apprenticeship, further education and training providers.

The government has adopted updated Gatsby Benchmarks into statutory guidance. They place greater emphasis on high quality information about alternative pathways. Schools are expected to provide pupils with up-to-date labour market information and information about apprenticeships, T Levels and other technical qualifications across a range of sectors.

The government’s commitment to delivering two weeks’ worth of work experience for every young person will further support awareness of alternative pathways, giving secondary pupils practical insights into a wide range of employers and progression routes.

Through the Careers and Enterprise Company, the department is continuing to invest in support for careers leaders to embed the Gatsby Benchmarks in schools and to improve pupils’ access to meaningful encounters with employers and providers, workplace experiences and personal guidance.

Since July 2024, this government has taken targeted action to boost teacher supply. This work started with our reset of the relationship with the sector, to re-establish teaching as an attractive profession, making it one that existing teachers want to remain in, former teachers want to return to, and new graduates wish to join. We have published our delivery plan for 6,500 new expert teachers, focusing delivery across three key themes:

• Attract: We will optimise routes into teaching.
• Retain: We will improve teaching experience and boost retention.
• Develop: We will expand career-long development opportunities.

We are offering recruitment incentives in the subjects where they are needed most, with significant investment in tax-free teacher training bursaries and scholarships of up to £31,000 for school and college teachers.

We have recognised the importance of teachers with a pay rise for school teachers and leaders of nearly 10% since this government took power.

Our approach is already starting to pay-off, with the secondary and special school workforce growing by 2,346 teachers between 2023/24 and 2024/25.