AEIAG0090
Written evidence submitted by Tees Valley Combined Authority
Tees Valley Combined Authority is a Mayoral Combined Authority driving economic growth and job creation across Tees Valley.
We are a partnership between Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees local authorities, led by a directly elected Mayor, working with the Local Enterprise Partnership, wider business community and other partners to make local decisions that support the growth of our economy. Under our devolution deal, we have taken on responsibilities previously held by Whitehall including transport, infrastructure, skills, business investment, housing, culture and tourism.
We are making significant progress to deliver our ambition for Tees Valley to be a global leader in Clean Energy, Low Carbon and Hydrogen - to achieve a Net Zero carbon industrial cluster by 2040, providing good jobs with long-term prospects that local people can access. This ambition reflects our unique selling points as a region and sits at the heart of our framework for growth.
We are an area of significant opportunity, with a platform to support national recovery from Covid-19 and deliver future growth. We have economic assets of national significance, including the UK’s largest Freeport, the UK’s largest chemical complex, England’s largest port for outward tonnage and one of the UK’s leading higher education institutions for working with business, Teesside University.
As we spearhead the path to net zero, work is currently under way to get the land investor-ready and turn Teesworks into a hotbed of clean energy, offshore and advanced manufacturing activity to create thousands of good-quality, skilled jobs of tomorrow.
And thanks to the Northern Economic Campus, our region will be closer to the heart of Westminster than ever before, helping government departments to understand the challenges and opportunities in regions like ours.
Not only that, but all these opportunities show local people they don’t need to leave the region to succeed in excellent careers in a variety of sectors - they can have their career of choice right here in Tees Valley. The #StayLocalGoFar campaign aims to raise aspirations as well as to highlight the fantastic career options available locally, and to encourage young people to consider future careers in the Tees Valley.
However, we are also experiencing some major economic challenges, many worsened by the impacts of Covid-19. High rates of economic inactivity and low levels of employment, youth unemployment remains high and above the national average, this results in many younger residents having low expectations of securing good jobs locally and are unable to secure good, progressive jobs due to lack of knowledge and experience.
But whilst challenging, these are extremely exciting times for Tees Valley. The significant economic developments happening across the whole of the Tees Valley, mean we are confident and optimistic about the future. A future where we continue to shape the region’s workforce and help secure future employment, ensuring local young people have the skills they need to take advantage of the new and replacement demand jobs, including green jobs, being created.
We welcome the opportunity to respond to the inquiry.
Whether the current system of careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) is serving young people, particularly:
Historically, careers education provision has been patchy and inconsistent, and not always aligned with regional opportunities or the needs of local employers. Young people in particular change their minds about progression routes and intended occupations and although Gatsby benchmark 8 indicates that every student should be given a CEIAG interview by year 11 and again by year 13, young people, and in particular, those from disadvantaged backgrounds; those who are known to the care system; those who are not in mainstream education; those from different ethnic minority backgrounds; and those who have a special educational need or disability, actually need several CEIAG interventions.
It is therefore essential that CEIAG for specific targeted groups of young people are provided in a form and regularity that fits with their ability to engage and acknowledge the IAG provided. For all young people CEIAG is also required to be high-quality, impartial and provide the information that is needed over a period of time (not just one interview) to ensure every individual is well-informed of the range of options open to them, especially locally. It is critical that the system can test and evidence the effectiveness of the CEIAG and that this results in every young person knowing what they need to do and where they can go for further support to progress into work or further and higher education of their choice. It is considered that the current system does not test or evidence this outcome effectively.
Tees Valley Careers launched in 2018 by the Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, committed to engaging at least 1,000 businesses to support young people to gain the knowledge of the local labour market and the expectations of businesses. Business volunteers work with schools, colleges and young people to inform them of current and future job opportunities and provide valuable careers information. The programme also commits to ensuring every young person aged 11-18 receives seven direct and meaningful employer engagements during their school years 7-13.
Tees Valley is recognised nationally for its work supporting the careers education agenda. It is one of the best performing LEP areas nationally, as measured by Gatsby benchmarks and delivering the national Careers & Enterprise Company Careers Hub and Enterprise Adviser Network programme at a local level.
All Tees Valley 11-18 education establishments are engaging with Tees Valley Careers and are part of the Careers Hub - this includes 72 secondary schools, post 16, SEND, SEMH and PRU education establishments and the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) careers team engage with all the establishments to support them with their careers provision. The current CEC model of delivery does not effectively provide a strong or effective careers offer to targeted pupils.
Tees Valley Combined Authority also delivers the ONE Vision DfE Opportunity North East pilot at a local level - challenge 4 is around supporting targeted pupils to have a clear plan for their next steps when they leave statutory education. This pilot ends shortly in the summer term of 2022 and is clearly providing strong evidence that an alternative and intensive model of delivery is required to make any impact on improving outcomes for the targeted pupils.
And further TVCA investment has enabled schools and colleges in Tees Valley to upskill some of their staff to Level 6 CEIAG as well as supporting schools to pay for additional external IAG resource.
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.
The Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth (January 2021) stated that:
‘Clear and outcomes-focused careers information is fundamental to the success of our reforms. We need impartial, lifelong careers advice and guidance available to people when they need it, regardless of age, circumstance, or background.
At the moment, there is no single place you can go to get government-backed, comprehensive careers information. This can make the careers landscape confusing, fragmented, and unclear.’
Overall, the labour market is recovering strongly from the Covid-19 pandemic, but there are emerging challenges in matching workers and those searching for work to available jobs and concerns of growing inactivity.
In these rapidly changing times, local and national labour markets are changing faster than ever before. It is important for us to recognise that every job of the future will be directly or indirectly shaped by the transition to net zero, yet few young people leaving statutory education are aware of this, the Opportunity North East pilot is testing this.
Due to this changing demand, workers, and those searching for work now and in the future, are required to be even more flexible to meet the requirements of existing, emerging and changing job roles. Therefore, any future CEIAG system must be the same – it must be flexible to meet the requirements of existing and emerging job roles, particularly at a local level.
For the CEIAG system to deliver significant impact in meeting the needs of young people, adults and employers, the system/service for young people, adults and employers to engage, and remain engaged, must be locally responsive, simple, real and easy to navigate.
It is essential that all young people and adults have access to good quality, impartial CEIAG that meets the needs of the individual, equipping them with the information they need for progression into work or further and higher education.
Current national policy is focussed on ‘putting employers at the heart of skills’ – alongside this should be the opportunity for a local approach to the design and delivery of any CEIAG support interventions, in which democratically accountable bodies, such as Mayoral Combined Authorities, are given additional responsibilities and resources to create and deliver bespoke approaches best aligned with local priorities, economic strengths and opportunities.
The advent of a Mayoral Combined Authority in the Tees Valley has enabled the creation of Tees Valley Careers, a regional careers programme aiming to work with 100,000 local young people and deliver high quality careers guidance and business led activities in every school and college in the region, in partnership with local businesses.
Building on the success of the Tees Valley Careers programme, we would ask that Government devolve funding for Careers Education to MCAs, in order that they can design and deliver a local service to directly inform their young people and adults of job opportunities and provide careers education relevant to the local economy. This is a significant local priority, flexibility and agility are needed to overcome the challenges we face in this area, including high levels of youth unemployment and a growing economy.
Any new programme of activity that assists young people to navigate CEIAG must include a measure of success that includes the impact on the young person, not simply the ability of schools and educational establishments to deliver against set targets/benchmarks and continue after they leave statutory education in a smooth transition to adult CEIAG.
If the Government bring responsibility for CEIAG under one body, there must be a way to enable that body to provide tailored and effective CEIAG that clearly articulates local skills needs alongside national skills needs and deliver locally-led programmes. Success measures should also include the effectiveness of improving outcomes, destinations and progressions for young people and adults once they enter the labour market.
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.
Taking into consideration the policy landscape of the Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth White Paper and the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill, of which the sponsoring department is the Department for Education (DfE), perhaps a National Skills Service is best placed in the Department for Education. This would enable a service to be developed and fully aligned to the policies it supports.
It should be considered that if a more devolved system was implemented there would be no requirement for a National Body as the careers function could be defined and managed by a distinct area of DfE, just as other skills policy is managed at present.
Whether organisations like the Careers Enterprise Company and National Careers Service provide value for money to the taxpayer.
It is not possible to provide a comment on the value for money as we are not party to the full or indeed local cost of either the CEC or NCS. However, we would comment that as the delivery LEP for the CEC, the funding is both inadequate and is increasingly required to be directed to administrative functions rather than practical CEIAG activities. As a result, the Tees Valley Combined Authority have invested in additional, practical CEIAG activity that is considered to be more effective and better value for money. The DfE Opportunity North East careers work strand also demonstrates that better value for money is achieved by providing intensive, targeted and tailored CEIAG.
Historically funding has either been directed towards national programmes which have been prescriptive in design, restrictive in criteria and not always relevant to the needs and circumstances of local areas. We believe that funding is most effectively utilised when devolved or allocated to democratically accountable bodies, such as Mayoral Combined Authorities, for locally designed and delivered programmes, and aligned appropriately with other programmes, therefore providing better value for money.
It is important to recognise that not every young person or adult will be starting from the same point. The use of funding should be flexible enough that it can support each young person and adult along their individual journey towards employment and further or higher education, however long that takes and whatever type of support or intervention they require.
Tees Valley Careers is an example of what can be delivered and achieved when resources and powers are devolved to the regions and aligned to national and local provision allowing them to develop bespoke programmes ideally suited to their own unique circumstances. Further moves toward devolution of CEIAG resources would enable more effective, tailored CEIAG that would achieve greater impact for young people and adults and provide businesses with more informed and prepared workforce for the labour market.
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
As with all other elements of teaching and learning, careers education needs to be prioritised at all levels within all education establishments, from the Executive Leadership Team to those supporting day-to-day delivery.
Research shows that pupils that receive four or more meaningful engagements with employers between the ages of 11-16 years are 86% less likely to be unemployed or not in education, employment and training and on average earn 22% more.
In Tees Valley we are piloting a Primary School Careers Education programme across all Tees Valley primary schools, to extend this work to the under 11s.
Some examples of best practice that Tees Valley Careers Hub can showcase are Learn Live career in the curriculum broadcasts with employer input, lesson plans and resource development for subject staff as a resource supported/created by career leaders within the hub, purchasing of subject guides for schools/colleges. An example of best practice that has increased business engagement in CEIAG has been the digitalisation of a web-based portal that enables careers leaders to make targeted requests to businesses to attend and input into their lessons.
The Combined Authority also produce regular Labour Market Information Factsheets which are publicly available on Tees Valley Careers website for use by young people, adults, parents; and practitioners in primary, secondary, further, higher and adult education.
To better embed CEIAG at all stages of education and learning, and work, a simple, aligned local all-age service delivered across a range of organisations is required. For example, aligning CEIAG in statutory education to FE/HE CEIAG and to local businesses via local employment hubs would provide a simple and progressive offer of support, easily navigable by individuals and businesses.
How schools could be supported to better fulfil their duties to provide careers advice and inform students of technical, as well as academic, pathways.
We believe that the most effective way to address this is through a localised approach, in which locally designed and delivered skills, employment and careers education programmes are aligned to and integrated with wider economic goals at a regional level.
The Skills for Jobs White Paper states, ‘We will introduce a three-point-plan to enforce the Baker Clause:
In implementing this three-point plan Government must ensure consistency is applied across all schools and colleges.
All schools/colleges are required to ensure their students have a 1-1 IAG with a qualified L6 careers practitioner - career pathways and LMI should be a requisite part of these discussions.
Through the Tees Valley Careers Hub, we are already delivering careers leaders CPD workshops that are proving invaluable to improving CEIAG. The workshops include:
Schools require more direction and support to ensure consistent and effective CEIAG is provided. This includes providing an expectation that a specialist and long-term sustainable careers leader role is in place for each school, as opposed to current practice in some schools that identifies a new, temporary and sometimes unqualified careers leader annually. Part of the careers leader role should be to embed careers education across all curriculum areas.
Whether the proposals for CEIAG in the Government’s Skills for Jobs White Paper will effectively address current challenges in the CEIAG system
We welcome the proposals for CEIAG in the Government’s Skills for Jobs White Paper and feel that they build on the good practice already being delivered through the Tees Valley Careers programme.
However, many careers are now accessible through technical and higher technical qualifications and higher-level apprenticeships, as well as through traditional academic routes and we would comment that there are significant gaps in the understanding of learners, their parents/carers and employers, of parity between all types of study and this remains an issue.
We would recommend that to effectively address current challenges in the CEIAG system resources be allocated to improving that understanding, especially in relation to parity of esteem between academic and technical education routes.
Despite successfully engaging with over 1,000 businesses through Tees Valley Careers, many employers still find it challenging to find the resource and/or the capability to support and engage in the CEIAG system effectively - an issue of particular relevance in the Tees Valley where 99.5% of businesses are SMEs.
Therefore we would welcome any additional resource to support businesses and encourage take up and engagement in the CEIAG system.
It should be considered that a small increase in investment in CEIAG that is more effective in improving outcomes for young people post statutory education will significantly result in a cost benefit on the cost of supporting young people who become NEET at age 16-18, remain unemployed for long periods and require additional funding in mental health support, crime, drug and/or alcohol addiction and out of work benefits.
The DfE Tees Valley Opportunity North East pilot has statistical evidence that demonstrates the improved knowledge and planned destinations of the targeted pupils engaging in this programme. The programme provides 6 CEIAG interviews/sessions with a CEIAG advisor over two years. Further information can be supplied by enquiring at project.team@teesvalley-ca.gov.uk
March 2022