To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail the current number of vacancies in the Careers Service.

My Department’s Careers Service currently has 35.64 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) vacancies against an approved staffing level of 159.87 FTE posts. The current staffing complement includes 78 professionally qualified Careers Advisers (69.20 FTE) against an approved staffing level of 92.33 FTE. Other vacancies relate to various operational, administrative and policy roles within the Careers Service. Staff are based in 25 different locations throughout the North.

The Careers Action Plan 2025-2028 sets out a programme of actions to build capacity. It also highlights the cornerstone role of professionally qualified Careers Advisers.

To be appointed as a Careers Adviser within the Department, candidates must hold a recognised Level 6 or above qualification in Careers Guidance. However, recruiting and retaining suitably qualified Careers Advisers has become increasingly challenging, and therefore developing longterm, sustainable recruitment and workforce planning solutions is a key priority for the Careers Service.

Following an external recruitment campaign in 2025, six new Careers Advisers have recently taken up post within the Service. In addition, the apprenticeship-style Trainee Careers Adviser recruitment programme, established in April 2024, to support the longer-term supply of qualified Careers Advisers, will see all Trainees complete the Level 6 qualification in Career Guidance and Development and transition to substantive Careers Adviser roles in April 2026. A second, larger cohort of Trainee Advisers commenced the Level 6 programme in January 2026.

Taken together, external recruitment and the apprenticeship-style model, means there is now a sustainable supply of professionally qualified Careers Advisers which play a key role in providing the support people need to access opportunities.