CAD0115
Written evidence submitted by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority
This response is from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. In line with our devolution agenda and current strategic priorities around careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) we have submitted a response that takes into account our thinking around CEIAG and how this can be improved both locally and through national policy.
1. Quality and impartiality of current provision
1.1 Since the transfer of IAG statutory duties to schools and colleges in 2012 Greater Manchester has worked to anticipate and mitigate against any unintended consequences for young people during the transition of this transfer that did not offer support, especially financial support. The fragmentation and reduction of the Connexions service and shifts in the labour market patterns across GM exposed a gap between how schools were interpreting the statutory guidance and delivering on their statutory duties. The patchy and inconsistent approach from schools and colleges in their response to the IAG statutory duty was captured in GM’s research carried out by Paul Davies from the University of Lancaster in 2013 alongside Ofsted report ‘Going in the right direction’
1.2 It was evident from both reports and information from GM’s LA and provider partners as well as the Skills and Employment Partnership that depending on the area and the school in which a young person was living determined the level IAG which we believe to be unacceptable in terms of GM achieving its ambition around Growth and Reform and latterly with devolution.
1.3 Understanding how schools achieve quality and impartiality for all of its students from Years 8-14 is very difficult to capture and measure unless Ofsted was to inspect a good majority of GM’s schools against the same framework on this particular theme, which we would welcome. That said GM’s strategic response has been to set a benchmark for all schools to achieve the GM quality award, Inspiring IAG (nationally validated). Currently over 150/230 secondary schools are working towards achieving this. It is a rigorous and rewarding process that guarantees quality and impartiality and we would expect all of our schools to achieve to complete the award and achieve Gold by the end of 2020. This requires investment. GM has already invested heavily in this and could do more and more with local flexibilities and funding for IAG as a LEP area.
1.4 There is variance across GM areas in the numbers of schools working towards IIAG and where there has been most success is where Local Authority areas have maintained a clear remit with their local schools to support RPA and transitions by offering guidance, information and resource where possible to schools to ensure young people are not penalised by the competing priorities in schools that leaves IAG at the bottom of the pile and extends to all learners.
2. How the provision of careers advice in schools and colleges can help to match skills with the labour market needs
2.1 Greater Manchester produces a Skills Analysis yearly looking at the skills of young people and the gaps in the labour market. We also have Sector deep dives and the use of forecasting models that help provide a context in which GM is working to support its residents and of course its young people.
2.2 The GM Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance Strategy engaged with over two thirds of GM’s head-teachers highlighting the correlation between CEIAG and the skills gap in GM. This included taking fresh look at what the labour market was telling us and how this could be translated into practice in schools given the constraints of the curriculum and the measures used in schools which define success.
2.3 In addition to this 10 GM workshops across each area were held to show Senior leaders and CEIAG coordinators the correlation between what happens in pre 16 institutions and the impact on the labour market, the skills needs from employers and what more could be done to support. There was a particular emphasis on vocational routes and apprenticeships as a way that young people and employers can meet their respective needs. This did not happen in isolation. The aim of this engagement was to raise the strategic importance of CEIAG in schools and colleges and then re-dress imbalances between the perceptions of vocational routes and A’ Level routes.
2.4 Several projects funded to support the gaps we had highlighted in GM make use of the Skills Analysis and LMI produced by New Economy’s research team and make this information available to teachers/careers advisors. One such project is GM Career Point, presenting LMI in a way that is manageable and useful for schools, young people and parents. In addition we have also some sector projects running and will be looking at very closely GM’s digital strategy and the CEIAG requirements this highlights. We also have Apprenticeship Ambassadors and UCAS Progress Search and Apply across the sub-region which all seeks to expose young people, their teachers and parents to the possibilities and opportunities available including expressing interests in apprenticeships.
2.5 The only way that these projects have achieved success is through a thoroughly co-ordinated approach led by the CA and the 10 key leads in each local authority with the support of the IAG providers. Strategic oversight has been critical in working with schools and ensuring success against GM’s local needs and the buy-in required from all stakeholders.
2.6 We are specifically targeting schools with GM leadership programmes to help them make a cultural shift whereby CEIAG is an embedded and holistic offer to all their students linked in with GM’s strategic objectives.
3. The role of the new Careers & Enterprise Company and its relationship with other bodies i.e. NCS?
3.1 GM is fully supportive of resource that comes into our areas that can add value, particularly in terms of employer engagement. What works well in GM is the way in which the market can operate freely against a strategic backdrop. The Careers and Enterprise Company is something we have a desire to see work and will be investing into the model but we have many reservations as a collective. The fixed approach means that GM will need to artificially create a space for it to co-exist alongside other well established initiatives so that our placed based approach to CEAIG will work. This will require flexibility from GM partners and the ability to be able to articulate clearly how it supports our strategic priorities. The strategic roll out of this has not been easy to manage with stakeholders and is adding to what is an already confused market place.
3.2 We believe that success will be dependent on the extent to which the network of business volunteers can provide consistent, high quality input – they will need to be fully apprised of the mechanisms and resources available to young people/advisers so that they can signpost appropriately and give balanced views. Boundaries will need to be very clear as to their remit so that it is understood where the C&EC role stops and others step in and feature strongly in out CEIAG task group.
3.3 It would seem that the overall approach is a little out of step with the position of local authorities and LEP areas such as ours. We have had the ability to response rapidly to policy changes and strategic direction to respond to the needs across the sub-region .More needs to be done to improve CEIAG so we hope that the C&EC can meet some of our strategic priorities.
3.4 The Careers and Enterprise Company has had no interaction with GM’s NCS provision and where we wanted to add value to current existing NCS inspiration agenda we were not able to. The inspiration agenda in GM is very similar to that of the Careers and Enterprise model.
3.5 It is confusing about its role with JCP and employer mentoring following recent announcements and what the strategic intention is nationally for the Careers and Enterprise Company. In regions where there is devolution there seems to be no flexibility in approach to the model or to the funding.
4. The balance between national and local approaches to careers advice.
4.1 The national steer in terms of statutory guidance and Ofsted is limited in changing and influencing the behaviours and practices needed to ensure that CEIAG becomes an integral part of the education system. This is where we have been able to do more using our local intelligence and the good ill of our partners. We welcome the research carried out by Tristram Hooley that highlights the role CEIAG plays driving up social mobility and demonstrating the wider economic benefits CEIAG can have. This underpins much of our strategic approach to the role CEIAG plays in GM.
4.2 Locally we have determined what we want to achieve using national and local information but there is a dichotomy in that funding and investments for this is limited to national initiatives or ESF. This limits hugely the scope and reach of what we want to achieve locally.
5. Careers advice in relation to Apprenticeships
5.1 Since the 2013 report was published, the main shift in this arena is probably that Apprenticeships are much higher on the political agenda than 2-3 years ago; however, there remains a substantial gulf between the Government’s aspirations around Apprenticeships and the demand for them amongst learners and their advisers. Anecdotal feedback suggests that within schools the understanding of, and therefore careers advice about, Apprenticeships remains inconsistent. In many cases Apprenticeships are still viewed as second-best compared to other post-16/18 options: the battle for hearts and minds continues.
5.2 In GM we are looking to counter inconsistency and fill gaps with a range of CEIAG projects, ranging from effecting cultural change amongst school leaders to a GM-wide programme of marketing and communications activity aimed at busting myths with young people, their advisers/influencers (including schools and parents), and employers. In addition, some sector-focused projects have been commissioned which involve elements of industry-specific careers advice aimed at generating demand for Apprenticeships in high value growth sectors, such as in GM’s priority digital and life sciences industries.
5.3 An innovative pilot project has also been commissioned involving a new partnership between nine of GM’s FE colleges and one of GM’s largest apprenticeship providers, which will include an element of CEIAG specifically focussing on Apprenticeships in order to redress the current imbalance. A representative of the project will join GM’s CEIAG working group to ensure that this project’s activity is aligned to existing work/mechanisms and adds value for learners.
5.4 There is an intrinsic challenge when piloting different approaches and testing scalable projects in this way around maintaining a cohesive approach, ensuring consistently high quality, avoiding duplication/displacement and achieving an appropriate balance in the volume, nature and quality of careers advice in relation to different options/routes. This challenge is being managed by ensuring that project leads are brought together regularly and that a strategic overview is maintained by independent officers responsible for the development and implementation of Greater Manchester’s CEIAG and RPA strategies.
5.5 There is a critical vacuum in the Apprenticeships careers advice landscape in relation to parents. Parents and guardians remain key influencers of a large proportion of young people when considering and selecting their post-school options, yet they often have little or no first-hand knowledge of Apprenticeships upon which to base the advice they give.GM has researched and is looking at ways we can challenge and shift parents’ perceptions with regards Apprenticeships? If the substantial resources being dedicated to improving the volume, quality, consistency and profile of Apprenticeships careers advice are to see real and lasting results, more needs to be done to support parents/carers in supporting their young people.
6. The potential for employers to play a greater role in careers advice?
6.1 GM recognises that the potential for employers to play a role in CEIAG is huge. The wealth of expertise, knowledge and inspiration that they could bring to the table is already well evidenced in national research. The difficulty is engaging employers in a meaningful and quality way that moves young people along in their career decision process and their motivation to learn and achieve.
6.2 Greater employer involvement in careers advice has the potential to add value by bringing a ‘real world’ element to the advice young people receive, particularly as work experience is no longer compulsory in schools. However, consistency and quality will need to be assured in some way, especially if the envisaged role involves face-to-face interaction with young people rather than simply helping to shape the advice being given by other parties.
6.3 With Apprenticeships in particular, employers would be able to give a sense of the progression opportunities that Apprenticeships can offer in contrast to other learning/career pathways; bringing together tripartite input from an Apprentice, their parent/carer and their employer, supported by up-to-date labour market information, could be a logistically challenging but powerful approach to careers advice/information.
6.4 Employer participation in the wider CEIAG agenda is one essential element but it must not be seen as the solution to the inconsistencies of approach to IAG and CEIAG more widely. They have a critical role to play and that should be clearly defined by the schools following clear quality guidelines. There are many components to a quality CEIAG offer for young people and so much more consideration needs to be given to what is funded locally and nationally before taking a wide scale approach as with the C&EC.
6.5 There is also a role here for employers to see first-hand the quality young people that are in the education system and recognise the potential and talent by working with them. Young people are much criticised for their lack of skills when in fact it is not the young people who are at fault but the system that is supporting them. Employers can play a very key role in nurturing the talent that teachers and guidance practitioners cannot see in relation to sector skills and core skills. Young people just need the opportunity.