Complicated questions about policy are often brought into sharp perspective when they make contact with the people who matter.  

For us on the Commons Education Select Committee, a moment of clarity came when we invited a group of young people, aged 16 to 18, to sit among our MPs and talk candidly about their experiences of learning about careers. 

Their answers to our questions were often stark and emotive. It was all too clear to these bright young people, who had journeyed to Parliament from their hometowns and cities across the country, that geographical inequalities were already shaping the opportunities at their disposal. 

Publishing our new report on careers education last week, many of its recommendations were inspired by the evidence from those young people, alongside dozens of experts and academics in this sector who were brimming with practical ideas to improve the provision of careers education, information, advice and guidance. 

Young learners

One of the main issues our inquiry homed in on was whether to expand careers education to primary schools. It may seem a strange idea at first. “Let kids be kids”, some might argue while querying how much young children can understand about the workplace.

But the evidence points to careers education, when done in an age-appropriate way, being a powerful tool in shaping pupils’ perceptions of what jobs they can one day aspire to have. It is, therefore, a positive way of countering negative stereotypes that become engrained from a young age, such as the assumption that women become nurses rather than doctors, or that caregiving jobs aren’t for men.

The same logic also applies to children from deprived areas of the country, ethnic minorities and those with special educational needs and disabilities. Early inspiration can raise aspiration. 

So, how would this work in practice? Jo Sykes of the Co-op Academies Trust described successes in her primary school from focusing on “role play, dressing up, having fun around careers”, and moving towards more of a focus on specific subjects at later stages. 

Our report called on the Department for Education to rapidly evaluate the impact of its £2.6 million Careers Programme, which supported careers education in a small number of primaries, and to consider scaling up the programme across the country. 

Delivery is key

Careers education also needs a workforce that knows how to teach it. Indeed, a Sutton Trust poll of teachers found that 88 per cent do not feel prepared to deliver careers education.

The DfE should launch a consultation on how best to incorporate careers education into teacher training, including during initial training and throughout teachers’ professional development. Teachers should also be provided with opportunities to experience other types of workplaces.  

Teaching children about careers is one part of the equation, another is making sure they get the hands-on, in-person experience that brings the theory to life. Work experience placements are vital in this respect, but the young people who spoke to us explained that access to placements can be patchy, with some given little or no support from their school.

One sixth-form student, Harley, told us that in his small town in the north: “We have a Greggs and a McDonald’s. There are not very many hubs of respected professions that are pushed in school and the work experience is not available.” 

A recent innovation that could help tackle this inequality of opportunity is remote working. Our committee heard that virtual work experience placements can link young people with big employers regardless of where either is based.

We call on the DfE to work with its arm’s-length body, the Careers and Enterprise Company, to develop a toolkit for schools that sets out what constitutes meaningful work experience, and create a national platform for placements that would help schools and employers arrange placements. 

 Paperwork problems

Witnesses told us that, even when local employers are there to engage with, both schools and businesses sometimes struggle with administrative barriers to arranging placements. While ensuring pupils’ safety is paramount, we urge the DfE to consider whether administrative requirements could be reduced so schools and smaller employers aren’t put off arranging work experience. 

We call on the DfE to pilot a programme of funding careers advisers directly through the Careers and Enterprise Company, rather than requiring schools and colleges to buy in this resource from existing budgets.

My committee also argues that Ofsted has a role to play in ensuring schools comply with the recent Provider Access Legislation, which requires schools to give training providers and colleges access to school pupils to discuss technical education and apprenticeships. Ofsted should also give appropriate weight to vocational routes when looking at destination data and pupils’ preparedness for their next steps.  

Carving a path for careers education

Our committee has identified a path towards dramatically improving careers education across our schools sector. It’s another tool at the government’s disposal to improve young people’s life chances while strengthening our economy by investing in its future workforce. We look forward to the ministers’ response. 

Robin Walker is chair of the Commons Education Select Committee and former minister for school standards