AEIAG0033

Written evidence submitted by Linking London

Whether the current system of careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) is serving young people, particularly: those from disadvantaged backgrounds;

The current system does not effectively support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. While there is considerable existing good practice in both schools and colleges, CEIG is underfunded, when compared with historical levels of support and when compared with international benchmarks. There is a postcode lottery for careers provision and a clear difference in the quality and availability in the public verses private sector. We need a joined up, adequately funded, all age careers system, which clearly articulates the CEIAG offer, as well as roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders. In short we need a new ambitious and detailed government Careers Strategy which puts CEIAG at the centre of efforts to improve social mobility, address skills gaps and improve productivity, building on existing good practice in the sector.

Offering high quality careers guidance to all individuals in every school and college is vital for social mobility and needs to be targeted at and differentiated for learners from specific groups, including for example care leavers and SEND students. This must include access to a professionally qualified careers adviser. For disadvantaged students specifically, we know that access to ongoing high quality CEIAG support plays a key role in improving motivation, raising attainment and supporting successful transitions in the next stage of their lives. Learners, esp. from disadvantaged backgrounds, need access to high quality work placements, as well as with role models who reflect their backgrounds to encourage, inform and inspire these learners to fulfil their potential. More work needs to be done to help ensure the wider teaching community have ongoing training to ensure they have the knowledge and tools to provide and signpost to accessible, up to date careers information on a wide range of careers pathways, including alternatives to full time HE study.

CEIAG needs to start in primary school to help inspire young learners and recognise the value and relevance of education to open up future opportunities. This is particularly important for learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are typically less likely to receive advice and guidance outside of the classroom. CEIAG needs to be embedded into the curriculum, alongside access to discrete careers guidance activities and support. Work with parents, who are key influencers, is vital. For disadvantaged students particularly, parental involvement should be integrated into careers activities where possible to improve parents’ awareness of career opportunities and pathways and what information and support is available and give them the confidence to help support their children to make the right choices for them.

Young people access formal CEIAG via their school or college. There is a real concern that those not in mainstream education are not receiving the CEIAG they need. Local authorities and the National Careers Service should be funded to work with those young people.

Whether and how the Government should bring responsibility for CEIAG under one body, for example a National Skills Service, to take overall responsibility for CEIAG for all ages, and how this might help young people navigate the CEIAG system.

There are certainly improvements that could be made, for example in terms of how the CEC and NCS could work more closely together, as well as where efficiencies could be increased, minimising overlap and identifying key gaps to address. A new national Careers Strategy, needs to make clear how the various elements fit together, as well as setting out a clear vision for an all ages system and how it ties in with and supports key government priorities, including the lifelong Skills Guarantee, the lifelong Loan Entitlement, and the overarching levelling up agenda, as well as Office for Students goals in Access, Participation and Success.

Bringing CEIAG under one body could help to bring more coherence to CEIAG and as mentioned reduce inefficiencies and duplication. It could also help to raise the profile of CEIAG, its importance and clarify what people are entitled to and how to access it. For young people this could help simplify what support is available, what they are entitled to and how to access it. Currently the NCS is underutilised by young people. The general perception is that this is a service primarily for adults. Access to good quality, impartial careers guidance for young people not in full time education is currently limited and addressing this needs to be a priority.

We would question whether branding any such service as the National Skills Service would be the most appropriate name in this instance. It seems odd that a CEIAG service would make no mention of the word “Careers”.

Any such approach we feel should be part of a comprehensive Careers Strategy, outlining key aims, informed by consultation, which capture the views of young learners and adults alike, as well as from careers practitioners and representative organisations, eg the CDI, as well as from schools, colleges, universities, third sector organisations and employers.

Whether such a National Skills Service is best placed in the Department for Education or the Department of Work and Pensions to avoid duplication of work.

It would seem logical for such a body to sit within the DfE but that it should have strong cross departmental links.

Whether organisations like the Careers Enterprise Company and National Careers Service provide value for money to the taxpayer.

From the outside it appears that these two organisations work independently on separate agendas. We feel that there needs to be closer collaboration between them. Levels of awareness as to their purpose and offer, from our experience are relatively low.

How careers and skills guidance could be better embedded in the curriculum across primary, secondary, further, higher and adult education, to ensure all learners are properly prepared for the world of work

We would welcome an all age approach to embedding careers and skills guidance, drawing on existing good practice at each stage, and which should form an important part of any government Careers Strategy. There is considerable good practice in terms of careers education frameworks. For example, The CDI’s recently updated Career Development Framework describes the six career development skills that people need to have positive careers, as well as a Career Development Framework Handbook for Primary Schools.

Senior management buy in and commitment is essential, along with time and resources allocated for training for teaching staff. A Careers lead needs to have oversight of the programme, working closely with curriculum managers. There also a need for clear accountability for schools and colleges, which means strengthening the statutory guidance.

Opportunities to engage with a range of employers is vital, along with access to work placements. Engaging with a range of external organisations, including third sector organisations and universities who can contribute to delivery is also desirable and may also help ease the workload of teaching staff.

Again, funding is a factor, including ensuring every provider has a professionally qualified careers professional to co-ordinate this work, and the offer needs to take into account the existing pressures of workloads on teaching staff.

Identifying existing good practice and drawing on the expertise of careers professionals and associated bodies in this area is important to help inform the development of an all age approach.

How schools could be supported to better fulfil their duties to provide careers advice and inform students of technical, as well as academic, pathways.

Again, funding is a key factor. Every school and college needs to ideally employ, or at least have access to, a professional careers practitioner, working closely with the careers leader, to ensure a whole institution approach.

The input of external providers, including universities, colleges, employers to raise awareness of technical pathways, including the use of role models will support this work.

Improved information on technical pathways in accessible formats, will help, along with the provision of ongoing training for teaching staff to raise awareness of these opportunities. Engaging with parents to raise awareness will also support this work.

The Baker Clause also needs to be more effectively enforced.

How the Baker Clause could be more effectively enforced

Clearly articulating the benefits to students, their parents and schools themselves in terms of supporting students to make informed choices about their future, based on the full range of potential pathways, including technical education. Having a clear line of sight in terms of their career path, can boost student motivation, as well as attainment.

In terms of enforcement, ensuring that schools are meeting the Baker Clause, as part of an Ofsted Inspection we feel would help ensure schools prioritise meeting this requirement.

How the Government can ensure more young people have access to a professional and independent careers advisor and increase the take-up of the Lifetime Skills initiative

Access to a professional Careers Adviser, qualified to at least Level 6 or higher - as recommended by the Career Development Institute, is a fundamental part of any careers offer. Not all schools have access to a Careers Adviser for their students, either full time or shared across schools. While some colleges have a well-resourced Careers Offer which includes access to Careers Advisers, a number have limited capacity to provide 1-1 guidance to, in larger colleges, all students who may want access to support.

Currently there is no ring-fenced funding for Careers Advisers, and any already in place are paid for from school and colleges general budgets. A move to directly funded universal provision would help ensure all schools can provide access to a careers adviser and could be prioritised in the first instance on those schools serving high proportions of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. We feel that there is not enough emphasis in government on the importance of a well resourced careers offer for college learners, including adults. Colleges attract significant numbers of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and for many it is a second chance to succeed in education. Long term underfunding of the FE sector has negatively impacted on the Careers offer in a number of colleges. Colleges are central to the levelling up agenda and need additional funding to ensure their students can access the careers support they need to make informed choices and successful transitions on to further education or employment.

Whether the proposals for CEIAG in the Government’s Skills for Jobs White Paper will effectively address current challenges in the CEIAG system.

While there are some proposals that are a positive step in the right direction, the aim to support schools and colleges deliver “world class careers education”, will not be achieved unless sufficient funding is provided. The focus is in the main on improving the quality of information provided, particularly for apprenticeships and technical education. While this is needed, central to any high quality CEIAG is access to a qualified careers professional to help students to navigate the range of options, make informed choices and successful transitions on to the next stage of their lives. There seems to be an unrealistic expectation that employers, and specifically Enterprise Advisers, can play a key role in informing the development of a CEIAG offer, as well as provide careers guidance, above and beyond employer perspectives on supporting learners to become work ready and accessing work placements.

Whether greater investment to create a robust system of CEIAG is needed, and how could this be targeted, to create a stronger CEIAG

Funding for CEIAG has been significantly reduced in recent years and with the removal of publicly funded Careers Services and latterly the Connexions Service the onus has been on schools and colleges allocating limited resource to fund their Careers Offer, with little in the way of statutory guidance as to the levels of Careers support provided. The development of the Gatsby benchmarks has been universally well received, but without further funding a significant proportion of schools and colleges will struggle to meet these benchmarks. A minimum level of entitlement to CEIAG should be established and enforced with statutory guidance. This needs to be developed as part of a new Careers Strategy, following consultation with key stakeholders. A universal offer should be supplemented by a more targeted approach informed by where the need in schools and colleges is greatest, in terms of the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Any CEIAG system needs to carefully consider the offer to adults, both in education and in work and the community and ensure that adults are able to access high quality careers support at any point during their lives.

March 2022