Young people across Surrey are being engaged and inspired about their futures with more than 35,000 teenagers using the county's new online careers information service to plan their next move.

All young people between the ages of 13 and 19-years-old in Surrey have free access to U-Explore, the online careers and employability platform dedicated to inspiring students about their futures and placing them in control of their own progression. This service is part of Surrey County Council's Youth Engagement Contract.

U-Explore's careers and employability platform has been named as a key supporting tool in a recent research report that looks at how local authorities have supported schools with careers guidance.

'Hidden talents: Examples of transition of careers guidance from local authorities to schools' is published by the Local Government Association (LGA) and National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), and collates case study examples from eight local authorities across England of how they are supporting schools to undertake their new duty, which came into effect from September 2012, to provide independent and impartial careers guidance to young people in their school.

Young people are being encouraged to use their creative thinking skills to be in with a chance of winning a Disgo 10.1 inch Android 2.3 touch screen tablet in U-Explore's new Christmas competition.

Launched this week, the U-Explore Christmas competition tasks students across all secondary school year groups with creating an A4-page advert for U-Explore's careers and employability platform, to be placed in a fictional magazine aimed at 11 to 19-year-olds. The aim of the advert will be to promote U-Explore to young people and let them know how it can help them when they are planning for their future.

U-Explore have announced a new addition to their careers and employability platform: Action Plan.

U-Explore's unique Action Plan is based on a timeline and is far more intuitive and fun to use than a traditional notebook or diary-based action plan. It has been created to move fluidly with learners throughout their educational journey, enabling them to set goals and see these goals and actions clearly displayed on a timeline.

A multi-functional application, the Action Plan can be used to track both educational goals, such as 'achieve A-C grade in Maths', and also long-term career goals including 'begin career as data analyst', for example. These get added to the timeline as goals and associated actions.

There are just a few weeks left until Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) 2012 begins and this year's theme is all about passing on help and support to budding entrepreneurs.

Taking place from November 12 to 18, GEW 2012 aims to:

- Encourage people who are not yet entrepreneurs to think about starting up their own business
- Improve entrepreneurship skills for aspiring entrepreneurs and start-ups
- Help people to access practical support - locally, regionally and nationally

This will be done by passing on skills, contacts, knowledge, confidence and resources.

Interactive maps linking learners to education and training opportunities around the UK go live on U-Explore's national careers platform this week.

The interactive, dynamic and searchable maps of the UK will be available through the dedicated Further Education, Higher Education and Apprenticeships walls, which can be found in the My Options application.

More than 25 high profile employers will be visiting Northampton School for Boys to offer inspiration and information to students about their future career options.

The Northampton School for Boys Careers Fair takes place on Tuesday, October 23, and gives students the opportunity to meet a variety of local and national organisations, as well as individuals who have achieved excellence in their field.

The school, which boasts Dr Who star Matt Smith as a former student and head boy, hosts the careers fair each year to inspire students and put them in touch with a wide variety of influential employers.

A bright sixth form student who has benefited from U-Explore's careers guidance service has gone on to secure an internship with a leading legal organisation in Suffolk.

Tijana Bencedic, a sixth form student at Ipswich Academy with the ambition to work in the field of law, has embarked upon a full-year internship with Suffolk Legal and is the first student to do so with the legal organisation.

Prior to beginning the internship, Tijana worked with Sarah Chapman, Ipswich Academy's Consultant for the Everything Connects careers guidance service, provided by U-Explore, to discuss her career aspirations and secure the ideal internship, where she will now work to a tailored work experience plan based on skills and interests.

The new academic year begins next week and U-Explore will be going back to school with a range of stunning developments to its national careers platform.

As educational professionals will be aware, upon the return this September, all schools will have a duty to provide their young people across years 9 to 11 with access to independent careers guidance that includes all 16 to 18 education or training options.

With this in mind, U-Explore's national careers platform has been rebuilt from the ground up, with the involvement of teachers and students, to create an unrivalled learning experience.

The Government's new Raising the Participation Age (RPA) legislation means that all students beginning year 11 in September 2012 must continue in education or training until the end of the academic year in which they turn 17.

This does not mean that young people must stay in school; they will be able to choose one of the following options post-16:

• Full-time education, such as school, college or home education
• An Apprenticeship
• Part-time education or training if they are employed, self-employed or volunteering full-time (which is defined as 20 hours or more per week)