Today the Government has published Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth, along with the interim conclusions of the Post-18 Education and Funding Review: Pioneering reforms to boost skills and jobs – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Looking at this again, there are some NEW CAREERS POLICIES that DfE have announced. Sir John Holman to lead the way, as an Independent Strategic Adviser, on the development of an all-age career guidance system.
You can read the full text in Chapter 3: A Flexible Lifetime Skills Guarantee. In summary, DfE will:
Develop a cohesive careers system
We will develop a more cohesive careers system with The Careers & Enterprise Company and National Careers Service based on greater local and national alignment. We have appointed Professor Sir John Holman as Independent Strategic Adviser on Careers Guidance to advise on alignment between The Careers & Enterprise Company and the National Careers Service, to create a clear, all-age careers system.
Regarding his appointment, Sir John Holman said:
“I am pleased to have this opportunity to help DfE to develop an all-age careers guidance system that is as good as the best in the world.
The pandemic has accelerated changes that were already at work in the employment market, and people need the best guidance possible, starting at school and college and continuing to be available through their working lives, to help them navigate these difficult waters.”
Provide personalised careers information and advice
We will improve the National Careers Service website to make sure that every young person and adult can access personalised careers information and advice online.
Complete the national rollout of careers infrastructure
We will accept the Post-18 Review Panel recommendation to complete the national rollout of Careers Hubs, digital support, Careers Leader training and the Enterprise Adviser Network (EAN) to all secondary schools and colleges. This includes extending access to all special schools and alternative provision and funding for a trained Careers Leader in every secondary school and college.
Strengthen incentives and accountability for schools and colleges
We will introduce a range of measures to incentivise schools and colleges to prioritise careers guidance and hold them to account for the quality of their careers programmes. This will include a strong statutory framework, tougher enforcement and an Ofsted review of provision. To build a whole-school or whole-college approach, we will build careers awareness into every stage of teacher professional development and embed careers education into the secondary curriculum.
Our work will be underpinned by a more strategic approach to careers research, building our understanding of the outcomes from careers activity and helping us to target our investment.
DfE states: “The 2017 Careers Strategy has laid strong foundations and our investment, supported by the National Careers Service and The Careers & Enterprise Company, is delivering positive results and outcomes for young people and adults.
Now is the time to finish the job, building on our knowledge and evidence of what works. We want to embed excellent careers guidance within a cohesive national system so that everyone can benefit. This is more urgent than ever as Covid-19 has led to unprecedented challenges and we need to support people of all ages into education, training, and work.
Thank you for your support of the Careers Strategy since its launch in 2017 and we look forward to working with partners and stakeholders as we deliver our white paper commitments. Please share this information with your colleagues and networks. We know that careers guidance can play an important role in our long-term economic recovery and in helping individuals to achieve their full potential.”
Keen to hear your views – email: [email protected]
FETL has recently called for leadership and careers provision: a new dawn https://fetl.org.uk/publications/leadership-and-careers-provision/#:~:text=This%20FETL%2Dcommissioned%20paper%20is,and%20ambiguous%20(VUCA)%20times