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Change at the top for revamped careers service [Western Mail (Wales)](Western Mail (Wales) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) THE head of Wales' careers service has retired having overseen a major restructuring process. Trina Neilson stood down as chief executive of Careers Wales this month after presiding over a period in which the body transferred into Welsh Government ownership. The advisory service, which once employed about 1,000 people nationwide, has undergone a restructuring process after a significant cut in public funding. About 100 people took voluntary redundancy from Careers Wales last summer as the organisation's operating budget fell from more than Pounds 40m in 2009-10 to a projected Pounds 30m in 2013-14. The process saw all six of the Careers Wales advisory centres amalgamate into one overarching company, Career Choices Dewis Gyrfa (CCDG). The new structure places a clear focus on outcomes rather than outputs. It is designed to simplify and integrate careers support, combining online and telephone-based routes with more focused engagement, including face-to-face interviews. Careers Wales prides itself on providing independent and impartial information, advice and guidance across the full range of learning, training and career opportunities. Its work spans options at 14 and 16; work-based learning and apprenticeship opportunities; and further or higher education. Ms Neilson first joined the organisation as chief executive of Careers Wales Gwent in 2001. She was made chief executive of CCDG a decade later and management hopes to have her full-time replacement in post shortly. The job was advertised with a salary of Pounds 90,000 a year. (c) 2013 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |