The Gatsby Benchmarks put the employer at the centre of the careers programme and secondary schools are expected to provide pupils with ‘at least one meaningful interaction with businesses every year’.
The Gatsby Benchmarks are as follows:
- A stable careers programme
- Learning from career and labour market information
- Addressing the needs of each pupil
- Linking curriculum learning to careers
- Encounters with employers and employees
- Experiences of workplaces
- Encounters with further and higher education
- Personal guidance
Some examples of what you could do to support your local schools against each of these benchmarks are:
Benchmark |
Suggested Activities |
A stable careers programme |
Support in developing new or evaluation of existing careers programme |
Learning from career and labour market information |
Supply data for parents and students on both the industry (BPIF Facts and Figures), salary data |
Addressing the needs of each pupil |
Promotion of diversity Raising aspirations |
Encounters with employers and employees |
Recruitment/apprenticeship/careers fairs CV workshop Mock interviews/assessment centres Employer talk |
Experiences of workplaces |
Holiday placements Job shadowing Part-time work Work experience Site visits |

- Resources for visiting a school Information and resources available for preparing and undertaking a visit to a school.
- Government resources Useful resources provided by the Government to help you understand more about the apprenticeships.
- Resources for hosting a visit Information and resources available for preparing and hosting a visit.
- Resources for work experience Information and resources available for preparing and undertaking work experience.
- Recruitment Events Upcoming and previous recruitment events hosted as part of the National Apprenticeship Week to promote and showcase the amazing opportunities a print apprenticeship can offer.
- Industry awards and bursaries Information on Industry Awards and Bursaries, including past award results.
- Employer case studies To showcase how important apprenticeships are for our industry, we've spoken to several employers who have apprentices to get their take on why print apprenticeships work.
- Curiosities of print Interesting stories about print.