The Importance of High Quality Careers Guidance in Education
Ray Le Tarouilly, Careers Advisor, June 2016
Few, if any, would argue with the assertion that high quality careers guidance is a “good thing”, but what is good quality careers guidance? How do we know that careers guidance practice is effective?
The OECD definition of careers guidance is as follows:-
“Career guidance refers to services and activities intended to assist individuals, of any age and at any point throughout their lives, to make educational, training and occupational choices and to manage their careers…
The activities may take place on an individual or group basis, and may be face-to-face or at a distance (including help lines and web-based services).”
(OECD, 2004)
More recently, the Department for Education statutory framework April 2014 states that:-
“Schools should secure access to face-to-face advice and guidance where it is the most suitable support for young people to make successful transitions”
The OFSTED Inspection handbook December 2014 states that OFSTED will assess:-
“……the extent to which the school has developed and implemented a strategy for ensuring that all pupils in Years 8 to 13 receive effective careers guidance…….the impact of this guidance in helping young people to make informed choices about their next steps”
In addition, it is looking to see that schools….
“…..ensure that all students are provided with high-quality impartial careers education, information, advice and guidance prior to starting post-16 courses, and about choices following completion of their post-16 study programme”
According to the Gatsby Foundation Report, “Good Career Guidance – 2014”, there are eight benchmarks of high quality guidance:-
1. A stable careers programme
2. Learning from careers and labour market information takes place
3. The needs of each pupil are addressed
4. Linking the curriculum to careers takes place
5. There are encounters with employers
6. There are experiences of work places
7. There are encounters with further and higher education
8. Personal guidance takes place
Professor Tristram Hooley from the International Centre for Guidance Studies at the University of Derby has co-written a number of publications including “Advancing Ambitions, the role of career guidance in supporting social mobility”. This study found that at GCSE and A level, high quality career guidance was a factor in improved academic performance, and at A level there was a higher proportion of students progressing to top-third higher education institutions and a lower proportion with NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training), otherwise known as unemployed outcomes. In addition, career guidance has a key role to play in furthering social mobility by providing access to information about the labour market and learning options in ways that go beyond students’ existing social networks. This is achieved by:-
• Clarifying labour and learning market systems; students actually understand qualification and training terminology and progression pathways; someone has actually taken the time to listen to their questions and explained things to them and given access to reliable and clear information sources! (author’s italics)
• Engaging with individuals’ assumptions about themselves and the world around them; challenging students’ perceptions and clarifying their understanding of pathways such as apprenticeships, A levels, what college can be like etc…It can be surprising the misinformation students may have been given and misconceptions they may hold!
• Listening to individuals’ aspirations and helping them to make these a reality, as well as considering alternatives (but not losing sight of realism!).
• Building the skills that young people need to make decisions & transitions and to progress in their career (what are known as career management skills).
• Brokering access to networks; helping students to find and communicate effectively with the individuals and organizations they will need to progress in their aims.
• Providing mentoring and support to encourage persistence and remaining resilient in the face of setbacks.
Since the demise of the Connexions Service in England in 2012, schools have been passed the baton of ensuring that the above are provided, but experience has revealed inconsistencies in practice and indeed variation in the models employed by schools to meet government requirements. There is still much to be done to universalize access to high quality careers guidance. A BBC News feature pointed up that top university is
“not a destination for many schools” , and “five schools send more to Oxbridge than 2,000 others”.
Further, in the Daily Telegraph it was written that in an Ofsted report:-
“ …… three-quarters of schools were not providing decent, impartial advice. The weakest schools attempted to deliver guidance during assemblies and even directed pupils to websites to do their own research”.
The bottom line for schools is always going to be:-
· Time (there is never enough), and
· Funding (there is never enough)
However, there are things that can be done to move towards provision of high quality careers guidance.
• Evaluate the data available; the destinations of students in previous years, and labour market information available. Use of alumni i.e. former pupils who have moved into particular occupations can help give students useful insights.
• Ask the students! Involve them in the design and evaluation of guidance provision.
• Use key CEIAG (Careers Education, Information Advice & Guidance) frameworks e.g. Matrix Standards/ the ACEG (Association for Careers Education & Guidance) /The Gatsby Foundation Eight Benchmarks; these can help identify strengths and areas for development
• Measure the impact on motivation (students and staff) i.e. achievement, behaviours, 11 - 16 and post 16 recruitment and retention.
We now have the added complication of qualification reforms to contend with too. Key questions to ask about these are:-
· Do those responsible for providing advice and guidance fully understand the details of the new systems: GCSE, A Level and BTEC? DON’T assume they do!
· Do parents and students in younger years know and understand what is happening?
· How will the new number grading scale for GCSEs affect sixth form/college/apprenticeship entry criteria and university admissions policies? The jury is out on whether universities will accept grade 4 or 5 at GCSE, but early indications are that grade 5 will be preferred in many cases.
· Will more students decide on alternative routes to A levels after Year 11 if linear A Levels are more demanding? Do teachers know enough about career entry routes from vocational courses or apprenticeships?
· What will ACTUALLY happen to the AS Level? Some school sixth forms and colleges will continue to offer AS levels, others will not in order to focus on A level teaching. Universities are likely to place more importance on GCSE attainment in the light of this.
· Will students, parents and schools/ colleges question the point of sitting externally assessed AS exams when they no longer contribute to A level grades (at least in the case of linear A levels at this time)?
· What impact will new A Levels have on curriculum design, especially after 2016?
To gain an overall picture of the provision in your institution, carrying out an audit of existing careers education, information, advice & guidance is a good basis to begin. In many instances there are stand alone careers related activities taking place in schools, but lack of a co-ordinating function may mean that it is not recognized and could even be duplicated by other members of staff. The document “Careers engagement: a good practice brief for leaders of schools and colleges” NFER, April 2014 provides a very good audit tool to assess CEIAG standards. For careers guidance to have a positive and sustained impact, it requires:-
· School vision
· Commitment at senior level
· A co-ordinating function e.g. a designated member of staff
· A system for evaluation and review of services
· That careers education is embedded into the broader curriculum e.g. subject links to careers are shown at opportune times
· A professionally qualified guidance practitioner; some academy chains or other schools employ their own advisor, others will buy in services
· Local brokerage and partner organizations who contribute to careers education e.g. employers, colleges, universities, training providers (apprenticeships)
· Proper resourcing – preferably a careers room which is stocked with up to date high quality material and accessible to students e.g. not out of bounds during lunch & break times!
To conclude, it is the argument of this article that high quality careers education and guidance has a key role to play in the advancement of individual students, ultimately to the benefit of wider society and the economy. Good career decisions are based on high quality advice, information and guidance which should be an ongoing co-ordinated process, not ad hoc isolated activities. Schools and colleges have a pivotal role to play in this and it is right and proper that it is at the heart of their ethos.
Sources:-
Hooley, T., Matheson, J. & Watts, A.G. (2014).Advancing Ambitions: The role of career guidance in supporting social mobility.London: Sutton Trust.
Gadsby Foundation Report:- Good Career Guidance 2014. http://www.gatsby.org.uk/GoodCareerGuidance
“Careers engagement: a good practice brief for leaders of schools and colleges” NFER, April 2014
The ACEG framework for careers and work-related education: A Practical Guide
Careers Development Institute. July 2014