Information about Birmingham Careers Service
About us
Birmingham Careers Service is a free and friendly support service providing careers information, advice and guidance to young people age 16 to 19 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). If a young person has a learning difficulty and/or disability then we can help them until they are 25. We are part of Birmingham City Council and we work alongside other local services.
We offer a traded service to schools, academies and colleges to help them ensure they provide the best careers information, advice and guidance for their students. For more information click here.
We have highly qualified Personal Advisers experienced in working with young people to help them make informed decisions, ensure they are aware of all options and potential career paths as well as providing information and advice on current employment, training and education opportunities.
Visit us at one of our outreach centres or call, text, email or WhatsApp us here.
Refer a young person to us
You can refer a young person to Birmingham Careers Service by downloading our referral form.
Risk of NEET
From 7th April 2025, Birmingham Careers Service will begin to take year 11 / 12 / 13 referrals of young people who:
Are identified on their school’s Risk of NEET Indicator (RONI) Register– or the school’s equivalent indicator
Are predicted to have no education, employment or training (EET) offer, or their school has identified them as at risk of not taking up their EET offer
FREE 12 Months Bus travel for all NEET young people aged 16-19 (extended to age 25 for young people with SEND)
In an exciting new partnership, Birmingham Carers Service has teamed up with Transport for West Midlands* to provide 12 months free bus travel for all young people who are in not in education, training or employment. The aim is to ensure travel barriers and financial pressures don’t prevent young people achieving their career aims and aspirations.
To be eligible young people must meet all of the following criteria:
- Be aged 16-19 (extended to age 25 for young people with SEND)
- Live in the Birmingham Area
- Be referred to Birmingham Careers Service using our standard NEET referral form
- Be recorded and verified as NEET on the Local Authority Database on the date the Swift Card is activated.
- Engage and keep in touch with their allocated Lead Careers Adviser
To make a referral or for more information, please click here Our Work – Birmingham Careers Service
*This project is fully funded by TFWM
BESP – For NEET young people aged 16-29
The Birmingham Employability and Skills Programme (BESP) helps young people who are not in education, training or employment to look at available career pathways and supports them into work or learning.
If you are struggling with additional barriers, BESP offers extra help and support including all or some of the following:
- Impartial Careers Advice and Guidance
- Support with issues such as confidence/anxiety/personal development
- Employability skills
- Invites to regular career events and job fairs
- Mentoring support
- Invites to workshops supporting CV writing and employability skills
- Free bus travel for NEET young people (up to 12 months). *
- Financial support may be available to help with barriers such as equipment and specialist clothing for those starting training/education/employment. *
Speak with your Careers Adviser about how BESP could support you. You will need to register as a participant on the BESP programme to access the above support.
If you are aged 20 or above, we may refer you to another BESP partner for similar support.
*Conditions apply and your Careers Adviser can discuss these with you.
