CAREERS


TALKING ABOUT CAREERS WITH YOUR LEARNERS


Professor Tristram Hooley explains why it is important for you to support your learners in making the transition from education and training into a career.


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earners don’t automatically transition from college into a well-paid job with good prospects.


Getting a qualification is only the


start of a career. Some people are more skilled in managing transitions, in seeking out opportunities and in convincing employers to take them on. But it is possible to improve someone’s career opportunities by providing them with good career support. The government has recently set out guidance for colleges and training providers that highlights their roles in supporting young people’s careers. You may find that your organisation is responding to this by increasing the support that it offers learners. The new guidance asks colleges to appoint


a careers leader and deliver ‘good career guidance’, as defined by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. This sets out a range of activities that further education providers and schools should be delivering, including providing access to labour market information, and offering learners opportunities to meet employers and visit workplaces, universities and other learning providers. You should know who your organisation’s


career leader is, where learners can get access to personal, high quality, impartial career guidance and the broad shape of the career support that is on offer. There are


also things you can be doing as part of your teaching which can help. Make a link to careers as part of subject


teaching. You could bring in an employer or a former student to talk about how what you are teaching is applied in the real world. It is important to encourage students


to think about, and talk about, careers as often as possible. People don’t figure out their career direction in a sudden flash. It is usually a gradual process of thinking about possibilities, trying things out and seeking input and approval from others. As a trusted and informed member


of your learners’ network you have a lot to offer them. Increasing the focus on careers can clarify the relevance of what you are teaching and increase motivation. Supporting learners’ careers is about supporting them to make the most of their time at your organisation and take what they have learnt into the rest of their lives.


Professor Tristram Hooley is director of research at The Careers & Enterprise Company. It supports FE providers to deliver high quality careers provision. Find


out more at www.careersandenterprise.co.uk To read the Gatsby Good Career guidelines visit goo.gl/VYLZKm


ABOUT TEACH TOO Teach Too is an Education and Training Foundation (ETF) development programme, delivered by the Association of Colleges (AoC), to support quality improvement in technical education and training. Industry technical experts are encouraged to share their knowledge, skills and behaviours by spending time teaching, and getting involved in two-way street working that will provide opportunities for genuine collaboration with providers. This will enable both a national core and locally tailored element, giving employers a direct involvement in designing, planning, developing and, in some cases, delivering technical education and training programmes. Recently a Teach Too Blog was launched inviting contributions from sector colleagues and employers.


You can read it on the ETF’s website under News and then Blog. For more about Teach Too visit www.aoc.co.uk/teach-too-programme


6 AUTUMN 2018 • inTUITIONTECHNICAL TEACHING


FE PROVIDERS BATTLE ACCESS TO GIVE ADVICE IN SCHOOLS


The so-called Baker Clause (an amendment to the Technical and Further Education Act 2017) placed a duty on schools to give further education and training providers the chance to talk to year 8-13 pupils about technical qualifications and apprenticeships. But the Association of


Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), which surveyed schools on behalf of the Department for Education in June, says many are not yet fully compliant with the amendment, named after its proponent, former Conservative education secretary Lord (Kenneth) Baker. The DfE has not published the survey results. “The DfE approached AELP


to conduct the survey because it was receiving similar reports to us that implementation of the Baker Clause across the country had got off to a significantly patchy start,” says Mark Dawe, AELP’s chief executive. “AELP member providers are


feeding back that the reasons for schools’ resistance to the statutory requirements are the ones that prompted Lord Baker to move his amendment in the first place.


“These include limitations on which year groups and ability groups FE providers can have access to, while some schools with sixth forms aren’t keen on allowing FE any access. Of most concern is the apparent number of schools which haven’t published a provider access statement yet, which is a clear breach of the law.” Ofsted inspections now assess the impartiality of school careers advice. The DfE is to investigate alleged breaches of the regulations.


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