In 1967 David Sainsbury set up the Gatsby Charitable Foundation.  the foundation commissioned Sir John Holman to research what career guidance in England would be like if it were good by international standards, resulting in the Good Career Guidance report. The eight benchmarks set out in the report serve as a framework for improvement in careers provision and have been adopted as part of the Government's Careers Strategy and statutory guidance for schools and colleges.

In addition, The Careers & Enterprise Company now supports the implementation of the benchmarks in schools and colleges with a national network of support, resources and targeted funding.

In January 2023 the Government reissued an updated version of Careers Guidance and Access to Training Providers

Schools and colleges are now legally required to provide good Careers Guidance in their establishments so that their students are prepared with the resilience, understanding and skills to progress into the workplace.