Disadvantage in Higher Education: A View from the Institutional Careers Service

This article explores the principal methods in which higher education careers services around the world are addressing the needs of an increasing proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. This study is based on data drawn from focus groups with students and interviews with key personnel and employers. The research demonstrates that higher education careers services are beginning to address the needs of students from disadvantaged backgrounds in a number of key ways. In particular, they are becoming more integrated both with the full range of student services and with the academic curriculum and, as in many other examples of widening participation, limited resources are optimised by effective targeting of specific groups. Arguably, too, higher education careers services are well placed to provide the interface between the academy and employers in order to promote diversity outside academia.