The Careers & Enterprise Company

Name

The Careers & Enterprise Company

Legal name

The Careers and Enterprise Company Limited

Website

https://careersandenterprise.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Careers & Enterprise Company is the DfE-backed national body for careers education in England, operating free digital platforms (Compass, Compass+, Academy) and a Careers Hubs network covering 96% of secondary schools and colleges to reduce youth NEET rates.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education and Careers Services Platform

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Professionals (Teacher/Administrator CE, CPD) (EDAAALAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Professional Licensure & Certification Exam Prep (Bar/CPA/NCLEX/PMP, etc.) (EDAGADAD), Mentorship & Coaching (Career, Academic, Industry-Specific) (EDAMAKAA)

Keywords

• Careers education platform
• School benchmarking software
• Learner tracking system
• Employer engagement tools
• Work experience framework

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding (Department for Education): CEC's primary revenue and operational funding comes from the Department for Education (DfE). The DfE funds CEC's digital products (Compass+, Compass, Academy), the Careers Hubs network, the Aspiring Pathways programme (£8.5m), and broader careers education initiatives. CEC is also funded by Mayoral and Local Authorities for Careers Hub operations.
2. Government Grants and Programme Funding: CEC receives and distributes grant funding for specific programmes such as the Aspiring Pathways programme (£8.5m backed by DfE for Alternative Provision work experience), and enterprise education pilots (e.g., North East pilot with Goldman Sachs Gives and Sir Richard Harpin).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) is the national body for careers education in England, delivering free digital products, training, and a national Careers Hubs network to schools, colleges, employers, and local authorities. Its portfolio includes Compass, Compass+, the Careers & Enterprise Academy, the Provider Directory, the Resource Directory, the Careers Impact System, and the equalex framework, all funded by the Department for Education. The offering is designed to help education settings meet Gatsby Benchmark compliance and connect young people with employers, apprenticeships, and work experience.

Product overview

The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) offers a portfolio of digital products focused on careers education for schools and colleges in England. The core platform consists of Compass (free Gatsby Benchmark evaluation tool) and Compass+ (premium tracking and reporting at individual learner level with MIS integration). These are supported by The Careers & Enterprise Academy for training, the Provider Directory for finding activity providers, and the Resource Directory containing over 400 curated resources. The Careers Impact System provides quality assurance, while equalex offers a structured framework for modern work experience delivery. All products are designed to help schools and colleges deliver careers education aligned to the Gatsby Benchmarks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Compass: A free digital product that helps institutions quickly and easily evaluate their careers activity against the eight Gatsby Benchmarks.
• Compass+
• Careers & Enterprise Academy
• Provider Directory
• Resource Directory
• equalex
• Careers Impact System

Products and services

• Compass A free digital product that helps secondary schools, specialist settings, colleges and ITPs in England quickly and easily evaluate their careers activity against the eight Gatsby Benchmarks, and supports monitoring performance against the Careers Impact System Maturity Model by recording Internal Leadership Review responses.
• Compass+ A free digital product that enables secondary schools, specialist settings and sixth forms in England to benchmark, track and report on their whole careers provision at individual learner level, integrating with school Management Information Systems to support strategic decisions about careers delivery.
• The Careers & Enterprise Academy An online platform serving as the central hub for careers leadership, offering tailored online learning content, training modules, and resources for Careers Leaders and the wider education workforce in England.
• Provider Directory A free online platform enabling secondary schools, special schools, sixth forms, colleges and PRUs in England to find and search for organisations that can deliver careers activities, filterable by postcode, Key Stage, Gatsby Benchmark, and delivery method.
• Resource Directory A free curated directory of over 400 trusted, high-quality resources to help education settings plan, grow and achieve careers education goals, including guidance, training, lesson materials, research, videos and evaluation tools aligned to the Gatsby Benchmarks.
• Careers Impact System A systematic quality improvement process for careers education in schools and colleges, providing continuous improvement, quality assurance, and an Internal Leadership Review module with a peer-to-peer review process, directly linked to wider school improvement frameworks.
• equalex framework A structured framework of progressive learning outcomes designed by CEC to raise the quality of work experience, aligning with updated Gatsby Benchmark 6 and supporting a minimum of 10 days' worth of work experience throughout secondary education, tailored to individual learner needs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96% of secondary schools and colleges are members of Careers Hubs supporting progress against Gatsby Benchmarks
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Goldman Sachs GivesflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 June 2026Goldman Sachs Gives has partnered with Sir Richard Harpin and CEC to launch a North East pilot enterprise education programme aimed at boosting enterprise education and opportunity for young people in the North East of England. This is a multi-stakeholder initiative combining corporate philanthropy with CEC's national careers education infrastructure.
• Sir Richard HarpinflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 June 2026Sir Richard Harpin co-launched a North East pilot enterprise education programme with Goldman Sachs Gives and CEC, aimed at boosting enterprise education and opportunity for young people in the North East of England.
• Careers Hubs (Combined Authorities, Local Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCareers Hubs are formal partnerships between CEC and Combined Authorities, Local Authorities, and Local Enterprise Partnerships across England. They function as the primary local delivery channel, coordinating employer-school engagement, supporting Careers Leaders, and distributing CEC's digital tools and training regionally.
• Gatsby FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Gatsby Foundation co-developed the Gatsby Benchmarks with CEC. The Foundation continues to lead related initiatives including 'The Next Ten Years of Good Career Guidance' and maintains an ongoing strategic relationship with CEC on careers education standards.
• The Careers Development Institute (CDI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEC partners with the CDI for professional standards in career development. The CDI has developed the quality assurance framework for career development interventions featured in CEC's Resource Directory, supporting quality assurance of one-to-one interventions in schools and colleges.
• Mayoral and Local AuthoritiescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMayoral and Local Authorities co-host Careers Hubs with CEC, working in partnership to connect schools, colleges, employers, and apprenticeship providers with local skills needs across their regions.
• British ArmyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe British Army provides free lesson resources through the CEC Resource Directory, covering STEM challenges, employability skills, apprenticeships, character education, and managing change. Resources are used by schools to meet Gatsby Benchmarks.
• The National Apprenticeship ShowsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFree national events showcase apprenticeships at all levels across England. CEC promotes these events through its Resource Directory to help schools meet Provider Access Legislation requirements and Gatsby Benchmarks.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or IntegrationAWS provides cloud hosting services for CEC's digital products, including Compass+ and other SaaS applications. AWS is listed as a sub-processor in CEC's Data Processing Agreements, with hosting in UK and EU regions.
• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationMicrosoft provides hosting and software services for CEC's digital products. Listed as a sub-processor in CEC's Data Processing Agreements, with operations in EU region.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Skills Development Scotland: Scotland's national skills body, delivering careers information, advice, and guidance to young people and adults through My World of Work and the Scottish Apprenticeship service. Directly comparable as a national careers body with government funding, serving an equivalent function in a different UK nation.
• Careers Wales: Welsh Government-funded national careers advisory service providing information, advice, and guidance to young people and adults in Wales. Functionally analogous to CEC in mandate and delivery model, but operating under Welsh rather than English policy.

Direct peers

• Education and Employers: UK charitable taskforce running Inspiring the Future and the Experience Network to connect schools and colleges with employer volunteers and workplace experiences. Highly comparable as a UK-focused intermediary between education and employers, complementing CEC's mandate.
• Speakers for Schools: UK charity connecting state school students with employer talks, workplace visits, and virtual work experience through a free digital platform. Direct overlap with CEC's work experience and Gatsby Benchmark 5/6 objectives, particularly for school-employer engagement.
• National Careers Service: DfE-funded careers information, advice, and guidance service for adults in England, operated via a contracted prime. Functionally comparable as a publicly-funded national careers body in England, but with an adult audience and digital-first delivery model rather than a school-based intermediary model.

Broad incumbents

• The Careers Development Institute: UK-wide professional body for the careers sector, setting standards and quality assuring career development interventions in schools and colleges. CDI partners with CEC on the quality assurance framework featured in the Resource Directory, but operates as a broader professional standards body.
• UCAS: UK-wide higher education admissions and information service, providing career and course data to secondary school students. Broader incumbent operating across the post-18 destination space that CEC also touches via careers education, but with a commercial and fee-funded operating model.

Emerging players

• Springpod: UK-based virtual work experience and career inspiration platform connecting students with employers through online programmes. Emerging player addressing the same Gatsby Benchmark 6 / work experience space as CEC's equalex framework, with a commercial rather than grant-funded model.
• Mapped: UK careers guidance technology platform for schools and colleges, offering AI-driven career matching, LMI data, and destination tracking. Emerging player in the same Compass+ / data-driven careers provision category that CEC has built, but with a commercial SaaS model aimed at MATs and individual schools.

Others

• The Gatsby Foundation: UK charitable foundation that co-developed the Gatsby Benchmarks with CEC and continues to lead strategic careers education initiatives including 'The Next Ten Years of Good Career Guidance'. Functions as a strategic partner and ecosystem steward rather than a direct operator competing with CEC.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CareerEnt
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCv1SuHG67yZVUBQ3XGrBR2g
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-careers-&-enterprise-company

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Careers & Enterprise Company