Careers guidance is failing students


THE PITIFUL state of careers guidance is one of the enduring clichés from our time at school and every school leaver, from every decade, has an anecdote to attest to it. Ofsted informs us that little has changed, estimating that three quarters of schools are not delivering an adequate service. With around a million young people unemployed, the need is painfully clear and yet there continues to be widespread confusion about the role careers advice should play in education.


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The duty of care currently rests with the school, the general idea being that they know better than anyone the strengths and weaknesses of their students. But is this really true? Teachers will inevitably focus on academic pathways and whilst they undoubtedly have the interests of the child in mind, their advice is scarcely impartial and few are likely to be experts in the labour market. And what about the students themselves – how many will have given serious consideration to their future options and what points of reference do they have other than influences in the home.


Editor Richard Sutton


Sales director Julian Walter


Sales manager Kelly McAlpin


Sales executive Emily Veal


Production Gina Mitchell


Design Sandra Cid


Publisher Toby Filby


Whilst there is a stronger vocational element within the curriculum, little in education prepares you for the annual cycle of work in business and industry – or what it takes to succeed in this environment. And, for all the talk from business about the importance of the ‘employee pipeline’, Ofsted could find little evidence of their involvement in schools.


If the Government wants young people to take careers more seriously, it must make careers services a higher priority. This means giving schools more direction and the National Careers Service a wider remit. It means adequate funding too – at least enough to ensure students receive face to face meetings with professionals and not relying upon whatever they happen to pick up off a website.


Publishers


Stable Publishing Limited, SBC House, Restmor Way, Wallington, Surrey SM6 7AH, England. t. 020 8288 1080 f. 020 8288 1099 e. sales@educationdab.co.uk


Careers advice is not a job placement service, it’s about enabling a child to realise their potential and it should be deeply embedded within the school system by now. Helping young people develop a realistic understanding of the jobs market increases the relevance of the curriculum and with it student engagement, but it cannot be the school’s responsibility alone. The effects of globalisation, which, in the space of a generation, has seen the disappearance of entire industries and the emergence of new ones, shows that a rounded careers education must come from many sources. It also suggests that schools might consider starting this complex process a whole lot sooner.


Richard Sutton Editor


richard@educationdab.co.uk


The publishers do not necessarily agree with views expressed by contributors and cannot accept responsibility for claims made by manufacturers and authors, nor do they accept any responsibility for any errors in the subject matter of this publication.


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