How long is the Higher Diploma in Career Development?

The Higher Diploma in Career Development runs 15 to 18 months full-time, with part-time online and distance options including supervised casework placement hours.

Can I take the Higher Diploma in Career Development fully online?

Yes — but the Higher Diploma in Career Development includes 12 supervised one-to-one careers conversations, which can be arranged in your workplace if you are already in a relevant role.

Is the Higher Diploma in Career Development recognised by UK employers?

The Higher Diploma in Career Development is aligned with the Career Development Institute (CDI) Professional Roadmap and the Society for Education and Training, with onward routes into CDI registration.

What are the entry requirements for the Higher Diploma in Career Development?

A Level 5 qualification (HND, Foundation Degree or equivalent) or three years' relevant experience, IELTS 6.0, and an enhanced DBS check for the Higher Diploma in Career Development.

How much does the Higher Diploma in Career Development cost and are scholarships available?

Higher Diploma in Career Development fees vary by study mode and domicile. Means-tested bursaries and instalment plans are available — contact LSCT admissions for the current schedule.

Higher Diploma in Career Development (Online) | LSCT | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The Higher Diploma in Career Development is a Level 5 qualification within the LSCT Education & Professional Studies department, designed for working teaching assistants, careers advisers, HR business partners and NGO workers who already deliver some careers support and want to become qualified UK careers practitioners. The programme runs 15 to 18 months across on-campus, online and distance-learning routes, taught from our central London base and mapped to the UK Career Development Institute (CDI) professional roadmap.

From 2026 you move quickly from theoretical models of career into the casework of UK practice: running a Gatsby-Benchmark-compliant programme in a secondary school, holding a one-to-one careers conversation with an undecided 16-year-old, supporting an adult through a redundancy transition, and using UK labour market intelligence (LMI for All, ONS) without overstating it. The Higher Diploma in Career Development closes with a substantial casework portfolio and a reflective study aligned to CDI competency standards.

Key Features

Aligned with the Career Development Institute (CDI) Professional Roadmap and the Society for Education and Training (SET) frameworks.
Three study modes — on-campus in London, fully online with live casework clinics, or distance learning with structured placement hours.
Casework portfolio — 12 supervised one-to-one careers conversations with feedback from a CDI-registered supervisor.
Distinctive specialism module: Gatsby Benchmarks in a UK Secondary School — Year 7 to Year 13.
UK LMI access — LMI for All, ONS labour-market data and EMSI/Lightcast for practitioner use.
Mini-dissertation on a UK careers-development topic of your choosing.

What You Will Learn

The Higher Diploma in Career Development is structured around six taught modules, a casework portfolio and a mini-dissertation. You will graduate able to plan and deliver a UK careers programme, hold structured one-to-one conversations across age groups, and use labour-market intelligence responsibly.

Theories of career — Holland, Krumboltz, planned happenstance, life-design, intersectional perspectives.
One-to-one careers conversations — structure, ethics, confidentiality, safeguarding.
UK careers policy and the Gatsby Benchmarks in schools and colleges.
Labour market intelligence — LMI for All, ONS, sector skills bodies.
Working with adults — redundancy, career change, return-to-work transitions.
SEND and inclusive careers practice — EHCP-aware conversations and supported destinations.
Group facilitation — careers lessons, workshops, employer encounters.
Research methods for applied careers practice.

Who This Course Is For

Working careers advisers and teaching assistants in schools, colleges and adult-education settings.
HR business partners and L&D officers extending into formal career-coaching work.
NGO and charity workers supporting young people, refugees or returners.
International applicants planning a UK careers-practice role and CDI registration.

Career Pathways

Graduates of the Higher Diploma in Career Development move into substantive UK careers-practitioner roles in schools, colleges, adult-careers services and the third sector. Typical next roles include:

Careers Adviser in a UK secondary school or sixth-form college
Career Development Coach in adult-careers or skills-bootcamp settings
Training & Development Officer at a UK employer with internal-mobility responsibility
Curriculum Support Officer with careers-team accountability
Academic Adviser in a UK university or further-education college
Personal Development Trainer at a UK NGO or community partner

The Higher Diploma articulates onto the LSCT Bachelor's portfolio in Education and the CDI Qualification in Career Development (QCD) at Level 6. Qualifications do not guarantee employment, but the supervised casework portfolio provides the evidence base UK careers-service hiring panels expect to see.

Industry Context

UK schools have been statutory Gatsby Benchmark assessors since 2018, and the 2023 careers strategy update made employer-encounters and one-to-one guidance non-negotiable. The Department for Education's Provider Access Legislation now obliges schools to admit careers practitioners — and the National Careers Service has expanded adult-careers coaching as redundancy and re-skilling demand grows. The Higher Diploma is sequenced against that workload: every taught module produces an artefact a CDI-registered supervisor will recognise as live UK practice rather than abstract theory.

Assessment Approach

Assessment is portfolio-led across all six modules. Students log 12 supervised one-to-one career conversations with reflective write-ups, submit a Gatsby Benchmark audit of a host school, deliver a recorded group-careers session, and complete a 5,000-word mini-dissertation on a UK careers-development topic. There is no large written examination; a single short ethics paper is sat under timed conditions.

Entry Requirements

An Advanced Diploma (Level 5), HND, Foundation Degree, or equivalent prior study in education, social sciences or HR.
Three years' relevant work experience considered in lieu of academic prerequisites (mature applicants) — careers, teaching, HR, advice or coaching contexts.
English language: IELTS 6.0 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers — careers work involves nuanced conversation.
A personal statement, one academic or professional reference, and an enhanced DBS check before client casework begins.

Why Study at LSCT

The London School of Commerce and Technology (LSCT) is a specialist higher-education provider based in central London and part of Harold International College. We teach in small cohorts so every student is visible to their tutor, run a single intake schedule that students can rely on, and partner with UK professional bodies so qualifications carry weight with employers. London puts Whitehall, the City, Silicon Roundabout, the Royal Courts of Justice, the West End and the NHS estate within a short tube ride of every classroom — and our students use that proximity in their projects, placements and graduate job hunts. For careers students that means CDI chapter events, partner-school casework placements and Department for Education stakeholder briefings.

Apply for Higher Diploma in Career Development

Close the gap to a Bachelor's degree with the Higher Diploma in Career Development. Click Enrol Now to apply; admissions confirm your credit-transfer route within one working day and brief you on DBS, supervisor matching and casework-placement options.