CAREERS GUIDANCE


advice passing to schools, National Careers Week in March looks set to offer some support. Nick Newman explains


left working on the ground in schools and academies throughout the UK. At times like these, we all have to dig deep and


I


remind ourselves of why we do what we do. Most of us that are involved in the process of


engaging young people in the subject of their career realise that never before has careers education been so vulnerable, so unsupported in schools. Schools have gone from many having a dedicated


Connexions careers advisor assigned to them, to being faced with a big black hole; a choice of funding information, advice and guidance from school budgets and effectively re-employing the historic subsidised careers service to continue services in their schools, or paying fees to third party organisations to provide some career services to fill this gap. Another option is to try and find a member of


staff to fill the new careers role internally (although schools need to demonstrate that the advice on offer is independent). The new model being introduced by the current


government has been heavily criticised by careers professionals throughout the UK and many people fear for the future of quality careers advice in secondary education. But it appears no-one is really listening – there are


other pressing issues for educationalists such as pension protection and funding for educational resources. Careers as a subject, if it indeed ever was a subject, appears to be a lower priority than other pressing requirements within school at this time. It does seem crazy that when we have the highest


levels of youth unemployment in the UK for decades, the one thing that can really help young people is under attack from a strategy of budget cuts. It seems that everyone has forgotten who is most


SecEd • January 19 2012


National Careers Week Careers advice crisis


With the burden and cost of providing face- to-face career


affected in this climate – it is true that teachers, careers advisors and local authority staff are all suffering, but it is also true that a whole generation of young people should be our focus. So what action can we take? How can we help? Out of this careers “inferno” comes a glimmer


of hope – the hope generated by a legion of careers leaders up and down the country who will not lie down. A group of people committed to the continuance of quality careers advice for young people and who have taken matters into their own hands. I refer to the work of those behind the #savecareers


campaign on Twitter in particular. When this campaign began, I did not know what


response we would find out there – but we should not have worried or doubted the conviction and determination of those that leapt to work, spreading the word as fast as they could, all of us volunteers determined to keep careers in the news and alive as a subject in secondary education. From volunteer-led careers workshops in schools to


WILL NOT dwell on the careers information, advice and guidance landscape in secondary education for too long – but suffice it to say that it has the appearance of a wasteland – the victim of damaging cuts, the burial ground for many Connexions services, and the demoralisation of many


the accumulation and delivery of best practice careers media and tools to secondary education, campaigns like this are all doing their best to fill the hole and provide some sort of on-going service to education. Alongside these career volunteers, has been a host


of other organisations that have supported the need for quality careers guidance in our schools – employers, training providers and further education colleges have all joined together to ensure that a constant feed of careers media solutions, free of any charges, are delivered successfully. From the groundswell of support created by the


#savecareers campaign, we have been able to start really helping schools and young people – signposting excellent free online tools and careers web services that remain after the cuts. Like any successful campaign, focus is needed; it


is great to achieve what we have, but more can always be done to help. With this in mind, all parts of the careers jigsaw


are coming together in 2012 to create a week of high profile activity and events to support careers guidance in secondary education – from enterprise workshops in schools to an Institute of Career Guidance event in London and much more. National Careers Week runs from March 5 to 9 this


year and you can sign your school up online (at the time of writing, there were already more than 400 schools signed up). The week is an opportunity for heads and school


leaders to have their say and ensure their students get access to the very best free careers resources currently available – resources that will help staff inspire and inform the next generation. I urge all those that can to get involved, download


the free resources, and let National Careers Week know what you would like for your students that week. Alongside the online resources will be a series of


face-to-face workshop programmes available for some – there will be a competition to win up to 100 hours of free enterprise workshop time for your school, the chance for your school to enjoy careers workshops, and a chance for us all to focus on the real losers in this current landscape – the students.


SecEd


• Nick Newman is the founder of the #savecareers campaign on Twitter and of Careers Box, a free online library of careers-related film, news and information. Email nick@careersbox.co.uk


Taking the lead: HTI


Careers guidance is in crisis as schools are left to


find and fund face-to-face advice for students. Anne Evans comments


AS THE young protagonist of Alice in Wonderland wistfully commented, it would be so nice if something would make sense for a change. Here we are, with a government keen to promote alternative routes to education and employment, like apprenticeships, but at the same time provoking an outcry for cutting off one of the most crucial channels for 16 to 19-year-olds to understand their options: face-to-face careers advice. At a time of record youth unemployment, many


pupils – often those who need it the most – have little or no access to face-to-face help, with constrained school budgets, the axing of Connexions and thousands of careers advisors being made redundant. The new National Careers Service, due to be


launched in May, promises a “blended” approach to careers advice, with a heavy emphasis on automation through website and helplines. Face- to-face consultations will only be available to those aged over 19, while 16 to 19-year-olds face a three- year gap before they can expect one-to-one support from a human being. The new legal duty for schools and colleges to


provide independent and impartial careers advice is all well and good, but with no extra funding to buy in careers services from private providers and question marks over quality assurance one wonders how this is going to work in reality. One in four 15 to 19-year-olds already say they


receive no careers advice. Indeed anecdotal evidence suggests many schools are only offering tailored advice to those with special needs. Careers advisors are warning that the


“reorganisation”, which is £200 million lighter on careers funding, could be potentially damaging to young people’s lives, particularly in relation to improving social mobility. Websites and helplines are no substitute for personal guidance and once again


the disadvantaged stand to lose out most. Young people who have struggled at school or to break into the jobs market and who lack parental support are likely to be panic-stricken by the responsibility of taking control of their own career planning. What these young people need is face-to-face


advice from someone who knows and understands them. The changes are confusing for young people,


especially when there are so many pathways open to them. They are equally confusing for employers who are crying out for people with economically valuable skills and while supportive of apprenticeships, feel excluded from education agendas, frustrated by the lack of sustained relationships with schools and despairing of the quality of careers advice. This disconnect between school-leavers and


business requires a broader view of what constitutes careers advice and when and how it should be delivered. For example, there is a strong argument, particularly in the current climate, for offering careers advice to children at a much younger age. The employers I meet have a strong desire to take


a more active role in introducing young people to careers options beyond turning up for the traditional careers fair. The most enlightened are taking a strategic


approach to delivering their own brand of careers advice, through support with CV writing, giving young people interview practice in a real work situation, providing insights (and dispelling some myths) into careers through people who are doing the jobs and mentoring and coaching. Mentoring from young apprentices, can be a fantastic way of opening young eyes to worthwhile career routes which combine work experience with ongoing education. Some may complain that this is hardly impartial,


but I say that if it is done with integrity, there can be no better way of giving young people a sense of what is available to them beyond school. Is it really right that our young should stumble


across alternative pathways by chance? And if those academically bright, self-motivated youngsters are the “lucky” ones, what hope is there for the huge number of young people who not only struggle academically, but are also denied the careers support they so urgently need?


• Anne Evans OBE is chief executive of HTI, an independent social enterprise working to develop exceptional school leaders. Visit www.hti.org.uk


Further information


You can find out more and sign up to National Careers Week on Twitter (@CareersWeek) or by visiting www.nationalcareersweek.com


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