Careers Strategy

The Government aims for the Careers Strategy to support the Industrial Strategy and end the generational cycle of disadvantage.

Current Situation

Students from disadvantaged groups are least likely to currently receive careers support.At present schools and FE institutions are responsible for arranging independent careers guidance for their students. However, the quality of careers provision is patchy across the country and less than 2/3s of year 11 students said they had received careers education[1].

The National Careers Service

The National Careers Service will be the single service that provides careers information, advice and guidance. Young people and adults will be able to access this online via a new, improved National Careers Service website, alongside a range of tools that individuals, parents and schools can use.

It states that ‘every young person will be presented with two choices after the age of 16: an academic route, traditionally via A levels and university, leading to graduate jobs, and a technical route for those seeking to gain the technical knowledge and skills required for entering skilled employment. This will radically simplify the options available to young people, and ensure that through T levels and apprenticeships there is a distinctive and prestigious technical offer. A combination of the two routes will be most suitable for some people.’

The strategy aims to connect the worlds of education and employment. ‘Schools, colleges, universities and other education and training providers will work together with the expertise of employers and careers professionals to help people make the right choices for them.’

The new careers service offer promises:

  • More involvement with employers to provide an inspirational experience, and more time with employers from an earlier age
  • The reform of tertiary education to provide equal status academic and technical routes, with T levels communicated effectively to parents alongside peer role models and ambassadors to encourage more females to pursue technical careers
  • HEIs to continue working with schools to inspire pupils to progress to HE, with the expectation that the most effective outreach interventions will be targeted at disadvantaged pupils
  • Encouragement of STEM qualifications and careers, tackling stereotypes and a £16million level 3 support programme to encourage (particularly girls) to take STEM subjects post-16.
  • Using the Gatsby Career benchmarks (see table later in document) to provide excellent advice and guidance programmes, with a self-measurement tool for schools to judge the effectiveness of their careers provision and an accreditation system to reward excellence. Ofsted will continue to examine the quality of careers provision.
  • High quality careers leaders in each school and FE providers (learning from the North East pilot and the Teach First pilots) – a dedicated leadership resource. £400million to fund training programmes and support c. 500 schools and colleges most in need to train – this will be piloted in 2018/19.
  • Support and guidance will be tailored to individual needs with personal guidance to help people make choices.
  • Tailored and dedicated support for adults through the National Careers Service to meet the economic growth skills needs.Adults to be able to access free face to face advice with additional bespoke support for those who need it most. The new service will be procured by October 2018. Specific support for adults with SEN, disabilities and low qualification levels will be provided. £40 million has been invested in Career Learning Pilots and an additional £10 million committee to test learning methods accessible to working adults with low or intermediate skills.

“Our modern Industrial Strategy identifies priority skills needs (such as in STEM and digital skills), Grand Challenges, and specific sectors that Government is working with through Sector Deals. The changing nature of the labour market, with higher numbers of people in more flexible, atypical jobs and more self-employment, longer working lives, and the impact of technology, means that it is increasingly important to help adults to upskill and reskill.” (p.28)

  • Young people with SEN and disabilities will receive targeted careers advice that is ‘aspirational, personalised and well informed’.
  • The careers advice will harness digital platforms and technology with a strong online presences and free tools. A new website will be developed during 2018; all careers information will be available in a single place.
  • Destinations and outcomes data will be made available by Government and be more accessible, long-term student outcomes tracking is earmarked for improvement. This is planned to help users compare opportunities and make informed decisions on education, training, and employment options.
  • The Government will establish Skills Advisory Panels, in partnership with Mayoral Combined Authorities and LEPs to ‘produce rigorous analysis of current and future local skills needs’.

Supporting graduates into skilled employment

This section, from page 26 onwards, has the most relevance to HE. Excerpts:

TESOF explicitly recognises institutions with high proportions of graduates with highly skilled employment outcomes.

Schools and colleges should make sure that disadvantaged young people are encouraged to go as far as their talents will take them. For those wanting to pursue an academic route, they should be advised about the most appropriate A level or equivalent subject choices, extra-educational experiences and qualifications needed to pursue different higher education options. Schools and colleges should encourage more able disadvantaged young people wanting to go to university to apply to the most selective universities.

Schools should also encourage young people desiring the technical route to follow it at a higher level through degree apprenticeships. The document states the review of level 4 and 5 education will ensure technical qualifications better address employer and learner needs.

Work placements during undergraduate study are recognised as ‘highly effective in helping student in their future careers[2].’ UUK is currently running a careers guidance support pilot focussed on improving graduate outcomes for students from disadvantaged and hard to reach backgrounds. They are also exploring the potential of adapting and extending the Gatsby Benchmarks to universities, with a specific focus on addressing the existing barriers to social mobility. The document goes on to state experiences of what works will be shared across the universities sector.

The strategy states: ‘We will ask the Director of Fair Access and Participation and the Office for Students to expect higher education institutions to do more to make sure that students from disadvantaged backgrounds make best use of their university careers services. This may include offering mentors, access to alumni networks or specialist careers outreach programmes.’

Conclusion

The Government acknowledges the careers strategy is an ambitious plan and cannot be achieved in isolation. “To deliver real change, we need the education, business and careers communities to come together and work in partnership with Government. Only then can we tackle the injustice of people from lower income backgrounds and from disadvantaged regions missing out on the opportunities and experiences that their more affluent counterparts enjoy.”

The Gatsby Benchmarks

Timeline for implementation

[1]Archer, L & Moote, J. (2016) ASPIRES 2 Project Spotlight: Year 11 Students’ Views of Careers Education and Work Experience. London, UK: King’s College London

[2]McCulloch, A. (2013) Learning from Futuretrack: The impact of work experiences on higher education student outcomes. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, London