The careers strategy What it says, what it means and where we are going? Tristram Hooley Midlands NCOP Practitioners Conference Birmingham May 2018

Where we were

The Careers & Enterprise Company Build nationwide network of coordination Connecting schools and colleges with employers and providers through our network of Enterprise Coordinators, working with clusters of 20 schools and colleges, and Enterprise Advisers – business volunteers who support each school and college Back proven ideas Funding activities in areas where support is needed most Find out what works Drawing on what works and focusing on geographical areas of need

Growth of the Network over time The network is at scale Growth of the Network over time Present in every geography of England with all Local Enterprise Partnerships engaged

The careers strategy is out

A new statutory basis

Key features of the careers strategy Inspiring encounters with further and higher education, and with employers and workplaces Excellent advice and guidance programmes Support and guidance tailored to individual needs Using data and technology to help everyone make choices about careers

The government’s ambition “We want every person, no matter what their background is, to be able to build a rewarding career. We want to end the generational cycle of disadvantage which means that people from poorer backgrounds earn significantly less than those with wealthier parents, even when they have the same job, experience and qualifications. We want to break down the barriers that currently mean that people with special educational needs and disabilities, or those from disadvantaged groups, experience significantly lower employment rates. We want to challenge perceptions and raise aspirations so that subject and career choices are free from gender bias and people look beyond their immediate environment to new and exciting possibilities.”

“This is an ambitious plan, but one that can be delivered by a strong partnership between Government, employers, the education sector and the careers community. “ Education Schools Colleges Training providers Careers providers The Careers & Enterprise Company National careers service Lots of other providers Employers Representative bodies Companies Professional bodies and trade unions

Going forwards… “We will use the eight Benchmarks of good career guidance, developed by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, to set a standard of excellence. The CEC will take on a more ambitious role, building on their progress to date by coordinating support for schools and colleges across all the Gatsby Benchmarks.

Our implementation plan 1. Roll out 2. Scale up 3. Test and evaluate “Schools should offer every young person… at least one encounter a year” “CEC will begin to take on a broader role across all the Gatsby Benchmarks”… focusing in the hubs “New approaches to careers provision are tested and evaluated” Employer engagement Gatsby Benchmarks and Careers Leaders New approaches

Our implementation plan

Good career guidance Summarises existing evidence and frames them as eight benchmarks. Presents it in a way that can be understood by policy makers and acted on by school leaders. Has achieved wide support amongst policy actors and practitioners alike. The influential 2014 report

The Benchmarks 1. A stable careers programme 2. Learning from career and labour market information 3. Addressing the needs of each pupil 4. Linking curriculum learning and careers 5. Encounters with employers and employees 6. Experiences of workplaces 7. Encounters with further and higher education 8. Personal guidance

State of the Nation 2017 Based on responses from 578 secondary schools gathered through the Compass self- assessment tool in 2016/2017. http://compass-careers.org.uk/ The scope of the data is broadly comparable with data collected as part of the original Gatsby Good Career Guidance research in 2014 allowing us to see how provision has changed over time.

Number of benchmarks achieved by schools Average = 1.87 benchmarks out of 8 But Schools are achieving around 50% of the questions that contribute to the benchmarks. Currently conducting case studies with the small number of really high achievers.

Improvement across the Gatsby benchmarks is achievable:

The birth of careers leadership Careers Leaders have responsibility for the delivery of a school’s careers programme. They should be ensuring, among other things, that: The school has a good careers programme that meets the expectations set out in the Gatsby Benchmarks. The school has published on its website details of its careers programme The destinations of young people from the school are tracked and that this information is used to improve the effectiveness of the school’s careers programme.

The jobs of careers leadership Management Co-ordination Networking

Highlights The Gatsby Benchmarks are now policy Every school should have a careers leader (with funded training) Schools must give providers of technical education and apprenticeships the opportunity to talk to all pupils 20 new careers hubs to be launched following on from the success in the North East New pilots on personal guidance, STEM, career education in primary, career learning for adults.

So what’s next…

References Department for Education. (2017). Careers Strategy: Making the Most of Everyone’s Skills and Talents. London: Department for Education. Department for Education. (2018). Careers Guidance and Access for Education and Training Providers. London: Department for Education. Department for Education. (2018). Careers Guidance. Guidance for Further Education Colleges and Sixth Form Colleges. London: Department for Education. Gatsby Charitable Foundation. (2014). Good Career Guidance. London: Gatsby Charitable Foundation. Hooley, T. & Watts, A.G. (2011). Careers Work with Young People: Collapse or Transition? Derby: International Centre for Guidance Studies, University of Derby. Langley, E., Hooley, T., Bertuchi, D. (2014). A Career Postcode Lottery? Local Authority Provision of Youth and Career Support Following the 2011 Education Act. Derby: International Centre for Guidance Studies, University of Derby. The Careers & Enterprise Company. (2017). State of the Nation 2017: Careers and Enterprise Provision in England’s Schools. London: The Careers & Enterprise Company. (2018). Understanding the Role of the Careers Leader. London: The Careers & Enterprise Company.

Conclusions Careers matters! What is more it matters more and more to the government We now have an infrastructure around which provision can be organised. The Careers Strategy is taking us forwards. This is the end of the beginning and not the beginning of the end.

Contact details Tristram Hooley Director of Research, The Careers & Enterprise Company thooley@careersandenterprise.co.uk Also at http://adventuresincareerdevelopment.wordpress.com @pigironjoe