Welcome to Access Southampton
Southampton City Council's free and impartial guide to support your decision making at the key times in your education and career
Access Southampton is Southampton City Council's impartial careers guidance website.
Access Southampton provides essential information to help young people make important decisions about their future. We offer impartial and consistent careers guidance for students in Year 9, Year 11 and Year 12 who are in the process of making choices about their futures. Whether you are choosing your GCSE options, finishing school, or leaving college, Access Southampton helps you access all the information you need to make the right decisions for your future.
We also provide support and guidance for adults in Southampton who may be seeking employment, training or a career change. Our Help Finding Work page can help you to find out about Southampton City Council's various employment support projects and how they can help you into work. Our free Jobs Bulletin also provide an overview of jobs and training in the city every two weeks.
For students leaving compulsory education, we offer information on routes into higher education courses, as well as help for job seekers, including tips on filling in application forms, building a CV and improving interview skills. Access Southampton also signposts where to apply for jobs and which agencies can help with job hunting and applying for DWP Benefits. We provide information on volunteering and internship vacancies in Southampton and tips on how to apply.
Access Southampton acts as an area prospectus, signposting information sites for post-16 progression. We provide a full list of colleges for further education and learning/training providers to help you find post-16 accredited courses. This will enable you to progress to the higher education course or vocational training course that’s right for you. We also offer information on traineeships and apprenticeships, including what GCSE grades you need, links to the application process and current vacancies in Southampton and Hampshire.
We also help adults who are supporting young people throughout these transition phases. Access Southampton is the first port of call for parents, social workers, foster carers and family support workers who are helping young people to enter the next stage of their education. Teachers, probation officers, youth offending officers and learning support advisers can also access information to help students and unemployed people to make the right choices for future options. We provide lots of useful links to help with schools’ Careers Education and Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) programme, GCSE grades and options, apprenticeships, further education and training providers.