This literature review undertaken (2005)for the Higher Education Careers Services Unit in the UK by the Institute of Employment Research at the University of Warwick, examined career-related interventions and their impact on students' career related decisions, career learning and progression towards the labour market.

Although there is substantial literature in the English speaking world on different curricular and extra-curricular interventions, broadly defined, which may impact on a student's career learning, progression, and career decision-making, evidence related to the efficacy of these interventionsis limited.

Six themes were identified from the literature for which research reports were assessed:

• career related interventions
• curricular interventions to support
• vocational trajectories
• curricular related interventions
• extra-curricular interventions
• pre-entry curricular interventions
• multi-cultural curricular interventions

This article is a summary of the first report of Future Track, a study of 130,000 higher education applicants in the UK in 2006. Commissioned by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit, the study will track these applicants for the next 6 years and on through their early careers, including unsuccessful HE applicants and also successful applicants who chose to pursue non-HE opportunities.

Some of the findings of the first report (the study is being undertaken by the Employment Studies Unit of the University of Warwick) are somewhat expected while others are not. Here is a selection:

Applicants from families where one parent had already participated in higher education had greater expectations of attending higher education than those from families who did not have such experience.

• 73% reported that they had not received enough or no information on the career implications of post-age 16 subject choice
• 60%had notreceived enough or no information on the relationship between HE courses and employment.
• 51% had not enough or no information on possible alternatives to higher education
• 57% had not enough or no information on the range of degrees on offer

This is an important paper for policy developers in the fields of education, training and employment, and for researchers. It was commissioned by the Careers Industry Council of Australia and written by Professor Richard Sweet who had responsibility for the OECD review of policies for career guidance in 2001-03.

While its context is Australia, its content is valid for all countries. The paper addresses the following questions:

• Why is a national research strategy needed?
• What is the current state of career development research in Australia?
• How might a national research strategy be delivered?
• How should a national research strategy be funded?
• How should a national research strategy be managed?
• What should the focus of the national research strategy be?

This is a key paper for policy developers in the fields of education, training and employment. It was commissioned by the Careers Industry Council of Australia, an umbrella organisation for many organisations providing career development services in Australia and written by Professor Richard Sweet who was responsible for the career guidance policy reviews undertaken by the OECD in the period 2001-2003. The paper addresses the following questions:

• What do the terms career development services mean?
• Why are such services important for public policy?
• What evidence exists on the benefits of such services to different publics?
• What steps need to be taken to make sure that career development services assist governments to achieve public policy goals?

This short paper addresses the main arguments for and against the provision of all-age services. It explores the alternative of adopting an all-age strategy without necessarily integrating services on an all-age basis, and the various forms such a strategy might take.

While the context of the proposals concerns the reform of guidance provision in England as part of the UK, the arguments for and against an all-age provision have universal relevance.