“What, if any, relation should exist between school teaching and the work of life?” So asked an 1882 Royal Commission on education.

It remains a good question today. After all for a long time before - and certainly since - almost everyone has had their say on the purpose of education.

At present, the aim of inducting young people into subject disciplines shapes a lot of thinking. But as any headteacher will tell you, schools are plural places where you pursue multiple outcomes.

Getting young people ready for work as part of securing positive life outcomes is certainly one of these.

The purpose of education

A good working life can bring purpose, choice and opportunity to individuals and communities. After all, in our classrooms today are the future entrepreneurs and welders, carers and inventors, scientists and poets who will drive the country forward.

These outcomes are worth pursuing. However, the fierce urgency of school life can sometimes overwhelm the desire to think beyond the next set of exams, meaning a focus on career opportunities or work experience can be limited.

Perhaps, though, we need to reimagine a lot of what we do as a form of careers education - a tool to get to future destinations beyond school.

Part of this involves securing the basics. The skills inherent in English and maths are not only critical to engaging in the world (try managing your finances or following current events without them) but also accessing almost all work.

The much-debated development of “life skills” matters too - speaking up, aiming high, sticking at it. Certainly, young people express a desire to master these skills, with disadvantaged young people having fewer opportunities to do so.

Career links

Careers programmes also play a role, showcasing a range of possible destinations, and balancing ambition with realism. In practice, this means bringing local employers in and sending young people out throughout their time in education, fostering connections between the now and the next.

Such work can have an impact even in primary schools, not least by combatting the influence that limiting stereotypes can have, which often start to form at this age.

For example, at West Jesmond Primary in Newcastle, curriculum learning is linked to employers and local jobs. As a result, children can articulate career aspirations as part of their story of learning.

In secondary, where work experience is more typical, the goal is to use employer engagement to build the skills that are easier to learn through experience rather than teaching - such as teamwork and collaboration.

Organisations like the Co-Op Academies Trust are leading the way by emphasising the learning outcomes they want from each element of employer interaction. This is done by the trust’s careers lead, who works with its schools to set up work experience in Year 7, making sure it is linked to clear learning outcomes that are shared with employers and can be reflected on afterwards.

This work builds throughout the students’ time in school and complements the taught curriculum.

Linking learning to life

After all, what better way to explain gene vectoring in biology than by linking it to how those processes are used in our life science industries? Or contextualise ratio and proportion by showing how they are used in set and production design?

But how does this add up to improving life outcomes?

When schools deliver these future-facing careers programmes, young people are less likely to end up as NEET (not in education, employment or training) at 16 or 18, and are more likely to know about apprenticeships at all levels (and take them up).

Learners report solid and achievable plans, and are more confident about their skills - more ready for the future.

These are meaningful goals - and thanks to the hard work of schools, colleges and employers, there is great practice to build on.

Oli De Botton is CEO of the Careers and Enterprise Company

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