Headteachers have welcomed a “root and branch review” of school careers education, which was announced by MPs today.
The Commons Education Select Committee said it is to launch an inquiry into careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) for students after its chair, Robert Halfon, said current provision meant that the “government is not always providing value for money”.
Reacting to the announcement, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said it is “abundantly clear” that investment is needed for careers support in schools.
The committee said the new inquiry will look at whether current careers advice provides young people with sufficient guidance about career choices, employment, training and further and higher education opportunities.
It will also look at how arrangements for CEIAG could better support disadvantaged or left-behind groups to access career opportunities that may otherwise not be available to them, which Mr Barton said was “particularly important.”
Call for more funding for careers education
Mr Halfon, Conservative MP for Harlow and a former skills minister, said the inquiry would “set out a plan for the future”. He added: “The hundreds of millions spent by the government is not always providing value for money due to unnecessary duplication of efforts, and traditional thinking.
“What is needed is a sea change of careers advice which puts ‘skills, skills, skills’ first and foremost. The Skills and Post-16 Education Bill, currently progressing through Parliament, requires only one careers meeting per pupil over three key year groups.
“Instead, we should see at least three careers meetings per pupil, per year, involving colleges, technical education providers and apprenticeship providers.
“This inquiry will be a root and branch review of the current system, not just looking closely at the data and outcomes for young people but it will also set out a plan for the future.”
Mr Barton said changes made by the government around a decade ago had “dismantled the national network of careers guidance for young people”, whilst subsequent government efforts had “tried to paper over the cracks with piecemeal approaches”.
He added: “It is abundantly clear that investment is needed in the provision of independent and expert careers advice that can be utilised by schools and colleges to the benefit of young people, and particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Tes has approached the Department for Education for comment.
