At the request of the Welsh Assembly Government, Careers Wales Gwent and careers companies across Wales undertook a major evaluation of the services provided to Year 11 students and their parents plus sixth form and college students.

In all 504 Year 11 students completed questionnaires about their careers interview, 657 completed groupwork questionnaires while 120 of their parents and guardians were asked to respond to questionnaires or telephone interviews. In addition 14 focus groups were held with students in Years 11, 12 & 13.

Focus groups were a valuable opportunity to hear the views of students face-to-face on our service, including: the guidance interview, groupwork, work-experience, booklets and methods of using the service.

The one-to-one careers interview was the service most highly valued by Year 11 and sixth form students. The majority felt it "made a difference" through, for example, helping them to choose options and consider long term goals, broadening their ideas, researching information, focusing on their next steps and planning the way forward.

This evaluation, along with evaluation activities with other client groups, helps us to identify and consider key issues and plan our business activities for 2003-04 accordingly.