Giving young people the chance to understand - and then decide between - the many options available to them when they leave school, college or university is central to helping them climb the ladder of social mobility.

In a fast-changing environment of new qualifications and job opportunities, the need for youngsters to have independent and up-to-date guidance has perhaps never been clearer.

But the report we release today unmasks two educational divides - between those state schools with more deprived intakes and those with more affluent in-takes, and between state and private schools - in terms of the amount of careers guidance pupils receive, as well as the time and money available to deliver it.

It’s a divide that risks further exacerbating the inequalities we saw before 2020 and that have only grown since the pandemic.

Our research finds nearly a third (32 per cent) of teachers in the state sector report they don’t have enough funding to deliver good-quality careers education and guidance, compared with 6 per cent in private schools.

And around half (51 per cent) of teachers in state schools also say there isn’t enough staff time to do so, compared to a third (34 per cent) in private schools.

Real-world impact 

Furthermore, those state schools in more deprived areas are also less likely to have access to a specialist careers adviser, who can be so important in providing the current, impartial advice young people need. 

As a result, one-third of secondary school pupils say they are not confident in taking their next steps into the world of work or further study and less than one-third report taking part in any work experience before they leave formal education. 

On top of this, three-quarters of teachers say the pandemic has had a negative impact on their school’s ability to deliver a good programme of careers and education advice.

This research does not stand on its own.

We know that, in general, children from better-off homes already have much wider access to activities that broaden their horizons and drive aspiration before they even get to school.  

It is those from poorer homes, who can’t necessarily rely on the same level of guidance from family, friends and other networks, who suffer most when the system around them is inadequate.

There has certainly been progress since we last looked at this issue back in 2014, and some welcome developments - including targets around the Gatsby benchmarks and promising projects from the Careers and Enterprise Company.

But we can and should do more.

The government’s previous careers strategy set out in 2017 has now lapsed, and so there is a chance to design a new one, seen through the prism of levelling up.

As a former (and memorable) education secretary, the levelling up secretary Michael Gove will not need telling of the importance of providing opportunity to - and generating aspiration in - those parts of the country that are apparently “left behind”.

Getting careers education and work experience right could be a small but important part of his work in the red wall and beyond.

As such, the Sutton Trust is calling for a number of reforms that should be cornerstones of any new careers strategy.

1. Better access to advisers 

Firstly, every school - and especially those in the poorest areas - should be resourced so that they have the structures to deliver high-quality advice against the Gatsby benchmarks. 

This means a guarantee of access to specialist careers advisers, being part of a careers hub (these show great promise but currently include just half of schools), and having an adequately resourced careers leader to knit the work together.  

We also want all young people to have a work experience opportunity, because the evidence shows how much impact these can have in building skills and confidence.

2. Time in the curriculum

Secondly, there must be a step-change in the ringfenced time in the curriculum to deliver careers education and guidance, recognising how central it is to students’ future prospects.

3. Better apprentice support

Thirdly, much-improved support and guidance should be made available for schools and colleges on apprenticeships. 

At present, pupils are four times less likely to receive substantial guidance on apprenticeships than they are on traditional university routes. 

If apprenticeships are going to deliver on their social mobility promise, that clearly needs to change.

We should not dismiss careers advice as ancillary or a nice-to-have; it is absolutely central to widening opportunity. 

These changes might sound limited in their ambition separately but together, if properly adopted, they would go some way to reversing the social injustice we see in schools - while also broadening the horizons of those who most need to be encouraged to reach a little bit further. 

All young people - whatever school they go to, wherever they have been brought up - have a right to expect high-quality support as they think about starting their journeys through further education, higher education and work.

James Turner is CEO of the Sutton Trust