Possibly a reflection on what i've been doing, but i havent posted a blog for over a year!
Some of you are very grateful, i know - for others that know me better they may be more intrigued as to how i kept away.
What brings me back to my old blog is the success of National Careers Week, or #NCW as many now know it.
NCW2013 was incredible; over 1.1 MILLION students across the UK were involved in careers activites throughout the week.
Over 1,600 schools and academies took part.
Over 10,000 recorded careers activities during the week.
Over 260,000 mentions of NCW online during the week.
This was all achieved without any Government support, any Media support, any big celebrities and, most importantly, without a fraction of the funding that previous careers initiatives have enjoyed.
This is what success looks like when its the right strategy delivered for the right reasons - at the right time of year for those that need it.
It is true that 2013 saw sponsorship come from Barclays - and welcome it was too, helping us create resources and signposting activity that we couldn't have done easily without their help.
It is also true that the reason NCW2013 was such a major success was because it was all of us together - not hollow words nor ideological claptrap - it was the 4,500+ committed careers champions around the UK that really made it work.
So, a whole year on from stopping the SAVECAREERS campaign, what have we achieved by turning to action rather than wasting our time on influencing those without influence?
I'll let you be the judge of that - but when i read the National Careers Council Report and see with my own eyes the mentions of NCW, make no mistake, I become more determined to make it the legacy it should be and extremely proud of our collective achievements.
I hope its not a whole year til the next time
Nick
