This week, Teach First has released its report “Rethinking careers education: investing in our country’s future” setting out its recommendations for boosting the opportunities of disadvantaged young people. You can read the full report here.
Teach First is an education charity which aims to ensure that the education system works for every child. Teach First trains teachers, develops school leadership teams and uses a network of diverse expertise and opportunities to create change in the education system, with a focus on helping the most disadvantaged children in society.
The report, published in June 2022, makes eight recommendations covering: careers education in primary schools; the role of employers in improving social mobility; and wider reforms to support the delivery of high-quality careers education, building an evidence base of ‘what works’ and additional transitional support from school to work for schools and colleges that serve disadvantaged communities.
Why high quality careers education is important
Teach First recognises the importance of high-quality careers education, particularly for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are often less able to access high quality information and opportunities than their more affluent peers.
The report asserts that high-quality careers education is essential to young people in:
- Supporting young people making decisions about the subjects they want to study.
- Establishing meaningful relationships and connections with employers to help young people secure jobs in which they can thrive.
- Broadening the aspirations of young people and enabling them to take control of their futures.
Current careers education
The report found that current careers education in schools fails to fully equip young people with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in work. In a survey of 500 HR decision makers from UK business, there was concern about young people’s preparedness for the world of work. When asked about the factors considered by businesses when recruiting young people, the top three answers were soft skills (69%), literacy and numeracy (54%), and digital and IT skills (48%). The same survey revealed business concern about the preparedness of this cohort of young people in relation to these skills:
- 72% of businesses said that they were either ‘fairly concerned’ or ‘very concerned’ about their level of soft skills.
- 68% reported concerns about their levels of literacy and numeracy.
- 52% reported concerns about digital and IT skills.
Disadvantage and inequality
The report highlights that the pandemic has exacerbated existing educational inequalities. Evidence cited in the report found evidence that ten years of closing the attainment gap between the richest and poorest pupils has been undone. Poorer students are therefore likely to be less prepared for the world of work when they leave schools than richer students.
The report also sets out the impacts that social disadvantage has on the likelihood of a young person becoming NEET (not in employment, education or training). Research cited in the report found that young people who were eligible for free school meals in Year 11 were twice as likely to end up NEET at age 18-24 than those who were not eligible for free school meals.
The impact of NEETs on the economy
The report asserts that the long-term prosperity of the country depends on the productivity of the next generation. The cost to the economy of young people who are NEET should be recognised. Across their lifetime, each young person who spends time NEET costs the state an estimated £56,000. Reducing the number of young people who are NEET by 10,000 could save the state up to £560 million. Good quality careers education would not only support young people into work but would reduce net spending on public services.
Recommendations
The report argues that “an investment in careers is an investment in our country’s future.” The recommendations made are evidence-based and aim to boost the effectiveness of high-quality careers education with benefits for a range stakeholders. The report breaks down its recommendations in three parts:
- Careers education in primary schools
- Role of employers in improving social mobility
- Wider reforms
Careers education in primary schools
The report states that high-quality careers education at primary school can have transformative effects on the aspirations and outcomes for the most disadvantaged pupils. The report welcomes the government’s new primary careers programme but calls for teachers and school leaders to be properly supported with its implementation and delivery.
The report states that careers education at the primary level should be appropriate for a child’s age and context and is best delivered when creatively embedded within the curriculum.
To support primary school careers education, the report recommends:
- The Department for Education works closely with sector experts to develop a framework for careers education in primary school which are aligned with the eight Gadsby principles.
- The Department for Education provide £8.5 million funding to support the delivery of a blended careers programme to primary schools in areas of disadvantage.
Role of employers in improving social mobility
The report’s research uses semi-structured interviews and a survey of 500 HR decision makers from UK business to understand the current relationship between employers and schools. The report’s findings identified that whilst some businesses already work with schools in some capacity, 47% said that they do not work with schools or colleges. The main barriers to working with schools and colleges identified by research were lack of time, lack of internal resources and a lack of connections. The three main recommendations on the role of employers are:
- All large employers offer inclusive blended work experience programmes for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
- Government should fully fund apprenticeship programmes for 16-18 year olds.
- All large employers should collect and use socio-economic background data of the young people they work with to develop their recruitment and progression policies in boosting social mobility.
Work Experience
The report recognises the importance and value of work experience. However, the most disadvantaged students face barriers to accessing work experience often due to location(not living near large employers that offer work experience), financial disadvantage (most work experience placements are unpaid and do not always reimburse travel costs) and lack of networks and connections.
To remedy this, the report recommends that all large employers offer inclusive blended work experience programmes for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. A blended approach would include both in-person and online work experience, broadening the opportunities for young people to gain rich work experience that may otherwise be inaccessible.
Apprenticeships
The report highlights how The Apprenticeship Levy, designed to increase the quantity and quality of apprenticeships in the UK, has had unintended consequences. Whilst the levy has created new opportunities for learning and progression, such apprenticeship programmes have been skewed away from young people at the entry level and towards established professionals. Since 2011 the number of people starting entry level apprenticeships has fallen by more than half (56%).
The report recommends that the government remove 16-18 apprenticeship funding from The Apprenticeship Levy. This will create a separate source of funding aimed at 16-18 year olds to ensure young people in this age range benefit from fully funded apprenticeships.
Social Mobility
The report identifies that all large companies of 250 staff are required to report annually on their gender pay gap. The report also recognises that many large employers collate data on other protected characteristics to measure the diversity of their workforce and develop recruitment and progression practices which are inclusive. Such an approach, the report argues, could be readily adapted to include socio-economic background to help companies develop practices that help social mobility.
The report recommends that large companies should collect data on the socio-economic background of the young people it interacts with through work experience programmes, apprenticeships and entry-level roles.
Wider Reforms
The report also suggests that wider reforms should be implemented to support schools in developing high-quality career education. These include:
- Ensuring that school leaders have access to quality careers-related continued professional development (CPD) opportunities which enable schools and school leaders to embed high-careers education effectively into their schools.
- The government should explore ways to develop the breadth and quality of research on high-quality careers education to build an evidence base of ‘what works’.
- The Department for Education use destination data of school leavers to target additional transitional support for schools in areas of disadvantage.
