Lack of clarity at heart of government policy on careers .
Sam Gyimah, the Minister responsible for Careers guidance in schools, has recently been referring to the importance of career education. Well , it is important ,but it is not at all clear that he understands what it means. If you look at his comments, in context, he seems to be talking not about career education but instead about work related learning and employer engagement. Worthy though that might be, it is not the same as career education. But he is not alone in repeating this misunderstanding. This week researchers from the University of Bath told us how important career education is, and its impact on young peoples future earnings The researchers say ‘The ever changing education system confronted young people with a complex world. This has been partly addressed by government emphasis on career education while students are at school’. But the research was focused on employer engagement with young people and its long term benefits, not on career education.
The reality is -there isn’t any emphasis on career education in schools. In fact, career education, as commonly understood, is virtually non-existent in most schools which lack a strategic approach to the teaching, learning and assessment of career education . There may be more interaction between employers and students (although it would be interesting to see the data on this) but that is not strictly speaking career education.
This could go some way to explaining the confusion at the heart of the governments policy on careers and the fact that the Careers and Enterprise Company are focused almost entirely now on employer engagement and championing what are termed ‘Enterprise’ advisers. They really do think that employer engagement is the same as career education (and Guidance too it seems)
The Career Development Institute says about career education that it is ‘Planned and progressive programmes of activities in the curriculum which help students to develop the knowledge and skills to understand themselves, research the opportunities available, make decisions and move successfully on to the next stage’.
Career guidance, offered by an independent qualified professional, (signally lacking in too many schools) plays a vital role in helping individuals make the decisions about learning and work that are right for them. But there is an underlying assumption that for this to be really effective, young people also need career education. Meaning young people need to have the knowledge and skills to access and make good use of the information, advice and guidance they are given . They also need to be equipped with the skills of career management to seek out opportunities, make successful applications and manage transitions. That is whats accepted as career education. The OECD sees career education as integral to Career Guidance- so career education programmes involve specifically help and support for individuals to develop their ‘ self-awareness, opportunity awareness, and career management skills ‘(Career Guidance-A Handbook for Policy Makers – OECD -2004)
And so its safe to assume that a Career educator is not in fact an employer involved in an interaction with a young person but instead a qualified professional individual with the right pedagogic approaches to develop individuals’ career management skills, to seek out opportunities manage transitions, and so on.
Work-related learning ,on the other hand, is a separate issue. This provides opportunities for young people to develop knowledge and understanding of work and enterprise, and to develop skills for enterprise, something that Ministers talk about all the time. And this involves engagement between young people with employers, enterprise advisers and, of course, combined with access to good quality work experience..
In a recent briefing paper for Careers England and CDI, Tristram Hooley, Claire Johnson and Siobhan Neary gave an insight into the challenge faced by those who want to offer career education. . They said “The professional training and career progression for careers teachers and careers leaders in schools is less clearly defined.” But ,” While various attempts have been made to establish a CPD pathway for teachers who focus on careers work, these have generally had a limited reach into the teacher workforce.”
Tami McCrone of the NFER in her recent evidence to the Select Committee wrote ‘I conclude that there is considerable robust evidence that suggests that quality careers advice provision would benefit from an equal focus on first laying the foundations with careers education and ensuring that parents are well-informed in terms of the careers education and guidance their children are receiving.’
So ,its pretty easy to conclude that the government really hasn’t been placing emphasis on career education, (if only it had)
What it has been doing is placing emphasis on employer engagement and work related learning., important though that might be to the guidance offer. But this is happening almost to the exclusion, of career education and genuine independent, professional guidance, including face to face guidance.(which evidence tells us benefits the most disadvantaged pupils, the most)
If you are unclear about what you are talking about, how will you get your policy right?
In the meantime the Careers and Enterprise company (CEC) would have us believe that it is transforming career guidance. What it actually means is that it is increasing the level of engagement that young people have with employers and enterprise advisers, which is not the same as improving career guidance or providing career education.
The CEC will be able to measure its inputs fairly easily, but will have a challenge on its hands to measure its outputs, both in terms of the quality of the employer interventions it facilitates , the value they add, and. more broadly on the impact the CEC is having on on the availability and accessibility of high quality professional career guidance in schools.,to young people, particularly the most disadvantaged. .
It remains the case that young people in our schools are not getting better access to independent professional careers guidance than they did five years ago, then rated as ‘poor’ and ‘patchy’. And with the modest resources that are available , going mainly to employer engagement, under the aegis of the CEC, this is unlikely to change.
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