DFEE Choice and Careers Division, The Stationery Office Pounds 5 each The latest additions to this series, which now has 40 titles, are, like the others, based on interviews with real people working in real jobs. They talk frankly about how they got their job, what a typical day consists of, what they enjoy about their work, and what the drawbacks are.

An introductory page gives an overall picture of recruitment, and there are brief details of entry requirements, but the emphasis throughout is on letting the individuals speak for themselves.

Each glossy booklet covers a wide range of jobs within a particular sector. Airports, for example, includes accounts from a baggage handler, security officer and air traffic controller; Teaching features not only nursery, primary and secondary teachers but also a diving instructor and an adult special needs tutor.

GREAT CAREERS FOR PEOPLE INTERESTED IN . . . THE PERFORMING ARTS. By Gillian Barlett. WORKING WITH PEOPLE. By Helen Mason. SPORTS amp; FITNESS .By Lois Edwards Kogan Page Pounds 8.99 each.

This series, aimed at 13 to 16-year-olds, is produced in teenage magazine format. It has personal profiles of people working in various fields, information on technical aspects of the work, and suggestions for activities in class or at home.

Its tone is lively, but some of the advice may seem obvious to those at the upper end of the age scale; those planning to become theatre technicians, for example, are told to “ask if you can observe the technician at work before a show” and “from your careers adviser, obtain prospectuses that offer theatre technician courses”.

Each career has a “Future Watch” section which looks at the prospects for that area in the 21st century; a useful idea, but the predictions are often vague.

CAREER PLANNING: A RESOURCE PACK FOR CAREERS CO-ORDINATORS AND NON-SPECIALIST TEACHERS. By Barbara Buffon amp; Richard Ingham. Folens Publishers Pounds 49.95.

If you’re looking for a ready-made programme of lessons on careers education for 14 to 16-year-olds, Career Planning is for you. This pack goes through the stages of choosing careers or further study, from establishing individual strengths and weaknesses for the younger pupils to interview techniques, CV-writing and reviewing work-experience placements for the school leaver.

Student worksheets and tutor notes are designed to be self-explanatory; objectives, timing and resources needed are set out at the beginning of each section. Handouts on using careers libraries and where to look for further information are also included.

The pack can be used either in careers lessons or as part of general personal and social education programmes.