In 1993, the provision of public services in the United Kingdom were undergoing major changes. Many services previously delivered by central and local government were coming under scrutiny for potential privatisation, including the local authority operated careers services.
To see if the concept would work, a series of pilots were tested, one of which was the Careers Service in Surrey which was run by Colin Thompson. He led the transformation of Surrey Careers into Careers Management Limited and became the major shareholder of that new private company. Anxious to expand he set his sights on other pilot areas but soon realised that he needed a guarantor from the private sector.
In January 1995 they won North Buckinghamshire. Later in 1995 they won Kent, followed by South Buckinghamshire, whilst in 1996 they won Hackney, Islington and the City of London.
Dennis Artess, who at the time was Director of Economic Development with Enterprise plc, was, in a previous life, a careers adviser and knew Colin well so it was natural for Colin to approach Dennis to see if Enterprise would act as Guarantor. Enterprise agreed and formed a new company, Careers Enterprise Limited, which would bid for contracts in England. The JV agreement was signed on the 30th September 1994. A number of bids were submitted and early in January 1995 they won North Buckinghamshire. Later in 1995 they won Kent, followed by South Buckinghamshire, whilst in 1996 they won Hackney, Islington and the City of London.
At around the time that Careers Enterprise started to win contracts, Vosper Thornycroft – a major shipbuilder on the South Coast, was establishing a large support services business. Based on their existing vocational training activities, they took the decision to get involved in careers education. They bid for and won the careers contract for West Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. As with Careers Enterprise, these contracts were the springboard for other youth and adult guidance contracts.
The business moved further north in 2004 – youth and adult contracts held now included North Yorkshire, York City and Wakefield.
In 1999, Vosper Thornycoft approached Colin Thompson to see if he was interested in selling Careers Management Ltd, which Colin and his fellow owners (other directors and senior staff) did. Vosper Thornycroft consequently integrated Colin’s business – including the 50% interest in Careers Enterprise, with their West Sussex, Hampshire & Isle of Wight contracts. Further expansion followed with the establishment of another joint venture with Future Charitable Trust (which later became part of the Princes Trust) in 2001. This brought youth and adult contracts in six London Local Authority areas, giving the business a significant foothold in London and the South East. The business moved further north in 2004 following the acquisition of Guidance Enterprises Group. Youth and adult contracts held now included North Yorkshire, York City and Wakefield.
In July 2010, VT Group as it was then known, was acquired by Babcock International Group. As part of the rebranding exercise, and in order to consolidate the Information, Advice & Guidance business, a new identity was established and BabcockEnterprise was created.