From 2010 the Government plans to have in place a universal Adult Advancement and Careers Service. Beyond the general support to help find jobs and complete applications offered by Job Centre Plus, the new framework will provide a more holistic approach to employment and training. Currently, this kind of holistic support is only available to targeted disadvantaged groups through individual organisations and, as universal adult services are introduced, a lot can be learnt from effective services targeting specific disadvantaged groups. As the Government finalises plans for its universal Adult Advancement and Careers Service, the author considers what can be learned from services currently offering holistic support to disadvantaged groups. The author stresses that universal services need to be built around the needs of the service-users to be most effective.