HOUSE OF LORDS SELECT COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL MOBILITY CALL FOR
EVIDENCE
Dr Deirdre Hughes, OBE, Principal Research Fellow, Warwick University, Institute for
Employment Research (IER) and former Chair of the National Careers Council in England
(2012 -2014) reporting to three Skills Ministers.
Email: deirdre.hughes@warwick.ac.uk
Tel: 0044 (0) 7533 545057
Visit: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/people/dhughes/
1.0
I am pleased to submit evidence to this important inquiry into the transition from school to
work for 14-24 year olds. It is very encouraging to find a particular focus on those young people who
fall between the route of A-Levels and Higher Education and those classified as NEET. This
submission responds specifically to questions 4 & 5 and more broadly covers other set questions
drawing upon the historical and current context for careers support for this target group in England. It
also briefly highlights recent findings from ‘London Ambitions: reshaping a careers offer for all young
Londoners’ which may be helpful to the Committee as part of its evidence-base.
2.0
Historical context
2.1
In 1991, the Conservative government announced the introduction of legislation to remove
responsibility to deliver careers services from local education authorities (LEAs) and make the
Secretary for State for Employment responsible for providing the service (Bayliss, 2000)1. This was a
radical shift from previous arrangements and reflected the Conservative government’s ideology and
policies. At the time, legislation (the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act, 1993) set out
the access of careers services to schools, so that career guidance could be provided to complement
careers education. New partnership arrangements included responsibility for supporting the extended
duty on schools to provide planned programmes of careers education from Year 7 onwards (DfES,
2004)2. The government aimed to reduce the influence of local authorities (LEAs) on services and
increase the influence of local employers. There was money for careers libraries in schools and an extra
£87million of funds invested by government in the set up of the new careers services following
‘contractorisation’.
2.2
The 1993 Act paved the way for all kinds of private-and public sector organisations to operate
career services. Most services administered under ‘the new arrangements’ operated by various forms of
partnership between LEAs and Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs). A minority were run by
private or voluntary-sector agencies or by services from other areas. The statutory client group
comprised those in full-time education at any institution outside of the higher education sector; parttime students in work-related further education; and young people under 21 years old who had left
education up to two years previously. Work with adults was encouraged, and if they so wished,
services were allowed to charge clients outside of the statutory group (Killeen & Kidd, 1996:161)3. An
era of output related funding began (15 per cent of funds was based on completed action plans) with a
strong emphasis on contracts, accountability and the ‘new market’ demanded innovation and
flexibility.
2.3
When the Labour Government was in office (1997– 2010) they initially tried to distance
themselves from the marketisation and privatisation concept. However, new initiatives such as
Education Action Zones (designed to address schooling in deprived areas through match-funding from
government and businesses) were labelled as ‘test-beds’ for privatisation (Chitty, 1997)4. In 1998, a
new strategy for information, advice and guidance for adults (IAG) was announced by government,
1Bayliss,V.(2000).Joined-UpGuidance:Whereforwegofromhere?Derby:CentreforGuidanceStudies,Universityof
Derby.
DepartmentforEducationandSkills(2004)ExtensionoftheStatutoryDutyonSchoolstoProvidePlannedProgrammesof
CareersEducationintheCurriculumtoIncludeYears7&8:GuidanceforMiddleSchools.Sheffield:DfES.
3Killeen,J.&Kidd,J.(1996)TheCareersServiceInRethinkingCareersEducationandGuidance:Theory,policyand
Practice,London:Routledge,161
4Chitty,C.(1997)Privatisationandmarketisation,InOxfordReviewofEducation23(1)45-62
2
1
with £54m funding made available over three years (Jackson, et al, 2001)5. Funding was allocated to 67
Careers Services working in local partnerships, including community and voluntary groups. It is also
important to note funding was not allocated for guidance per se. In a few cases, there were no plans to
introduce a charging policy; however, some services reported steady demand for charged services,
including psychometric testing.
2.4
Alongside this, a new universal and targeted Youth Support Service brought an end to unified
all-age Careers Service. The Connexions Service was also rolled out across England between April
2001 and April 2003 on a phased basis in 47 Connexions Partnership areas co-terminous with Learning
& Skills Council (LSC) areas. The rebranded and refocused service (at a cost to the taxpayer of at least
£450 million per annum) established a new brand, a cadre of around 8,000 Personal Advisers, a series
of one-stop shops and sub-regional partnerships. This was intended to help all young people between
the ages of 13-19, and to support 20-24 year olds with learning difficulties and/or disabilities,
particularly those most disadvantaged and disaffected. Many of the Connexions providers were also
leading on information, advice and guidance (IAG) Partnerships. Hoggarth & Smith (2004)6 raised
concerns about the fluidity of young people’s transitions and the leakage in young people being ‘lost to
the system’.
2.5
Significant changes to the delivery of careers support for young people through the
introduction of the Education Act (2011)7, followed by a dismantling of the Connexions service in
England (2012)8, and local authorities no longer having responsibility for providing a universal careers
guidance offer (but they retain responsibility for providing targeted support for vulnerable young
people) has led to a new era in England’s careers landscape. The Minister for Skills formally
announced a new all-age National Careers Service (NCS, April 2012), through a joint initiative of the
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) and the Department of Education (DfE). This
became a predominantly adult careers service, with online rather than face-to-face careers support
aimed at young people (unless in exceptional circumstances). This self-help and brief-assisted service
became the new careers offer for young people and schools. Since April 2012, the overall budget
provided by government departments has remained broadly static (circa £106m). In September 2012,
schools after four decades of having available a publicly-funded service were given a statutory duty to
secure access for their pupils to ‘independent and impartial careers guidance’, with no dedicated
government funding to commission such services. Despite this, some schools have risen to this
challenge putting in place careers, enterprise and employability support for their students, whilst others
continue to struggle to achieve this. In a context of significant tightening of fiscal policies articulated
by government, schools, colleges and local authorities were deemed solely autonomous institutions
‘best placed to decide on their own careers provision’. Ofsted, in its sample survey, found that only a
fifth of the 60 schools it surveyed were giving the right careers information to pupils (Ofsted, 2013)9.
The situation remains largely the same in 2015.
3.0
Current situation
3.1
A plethora of published reports from employer, education, trade union and careers sector
bodies (as well as the Education Select Committee findings10; the National Careers Council’s heat map
of careers provision across England and two reports commissioned by Government)11 reaffirm the
urgent need for improved careers provision for young people across England. The careers market is
largely unregulated, complex and confusing with a multiplicity of providers offering both free and
costed services in a highly competitive marketplace. There is an urgent need to tackle the challenges of
diversity and fragmentation. Effective CEIAG provision must span academies, maintained schools,
community schools, foundation schools, free schools, independent schools, sixth form colleges, further
education colleges, pupil referral units (PRUs) and alternative provision. It also has to connect with
universities, be relevant and readily understood by businesses, teachers, advisers and – above all – by
Jackson,C.,Watts.A.G.,Hughes,D.,Bosley,S.&El-Sawad,A.(2001)CareersServicesWorkwithAdults.Derby:Centrefor
GuidanceStudies,UniversityofDerby.
6 Hoggarth, L. & Smith, D. (2004) Understanding the Impact of Connexions on Young People at Risk, DfES
Research Report RR607.
7 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/21/contents/enacted
8 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12717567
9 Ofsted (2013) Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/careers-guidance-in-schools-not-workingwell-enough
10 HouseofCommonsEducationSelectCommittee(2013)CareerGuidanceforYoungPeople:Theimpactofthenewduty
onschools,SeventhReportofSession2012-2013,London:Parliament.
5
11
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-careers-council
2
young people themselves. Across England, careers support for young people is not working as well as
it could. Some major challenges are characterised below:
•
The new education landscape requires more young people to make early subject choice
decisions (some from 13 years old upwards) and the recent raising of the participation age
from 16-18 years old in 2015, signals a new and challenging era for this current generation of
school pupils (and their parents and teachers).
•
Signals to young people (and parents) about the added-vale of learning and work are
becoming more blurred. For example, weighing up the cost benefits of higher education can
be difficult for some young people even though ‘in difficult conditions graduates continue to
experience better outcomes than non-graduates in both lifetime earnings and employability
(UUK, 2014).12 Many young people have concerns about the added-value returns for their
investments in learning and work, job quality, zero hour contracts and future salaries.
•
With 1 in 5 vacancies in the UK difficult to fill because of a lack of the right skills in the
labour market, the importance of developing the skilled and experienced workforce of
tomorrow cannot be overstated. In current (and future) labour markets’ individuals will
continue to experience new patterns of work, with changing expectations affecting the way we
do things and how we behave. This has enormous implications for schools and colleges and
their curriculum design and delivery in helping students to look ahead and prepare themselves
for a very different world.
•
There are growing concerns about young people’s lack of awareness in making good
connections between their educational experiences and the realities of labour markets. Many
young people remain caught in a Catch-22 situation finding it “difficult to get work without
experience and difficult to obtain experience without work” (UKCES, 2015)13.
•
In some geographical areas, for example London, the proportion of young people in
apprenticeships and jobs with training stands at half the England average in 2014 and has
fallen over the last 12 months (IOE, 2014)14. Government has recently set out plans to deliver
three million more apprenticeships over the next five years. There is an expectation for
increased returns as the apprenticeship programme “grows at younger ages…We also want to
see increased growth in higher and degree apprenticeships to support the development of
higher level technical skills our economy needs (Boles, 2015)15.
•
Latest figures show 178,100 16 to 18-year-olds failed to complete post-16 qualifications they
started in 2012/13, and are at risk of becoming not in employment, education or training
(NEET)16. Analysis for the Local Government Association by the Centre for Economic &
Social Inclusion indicates the cost to the public purse of this wasted education and skills
provision is £814 million – 12 per cent of all government spending on post-16 education and
skills (op.cit).
•
The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (December 2014) has raised concerns
that one hundred thousand plus young people (aged 16-18) are off the radar…too many young
people simply disappear from all relevant public systems17. The Fabian Society (December
2014) puts the estimate higher: “we have lost track of over 150,000 young people nationally,
12 Universities UK (2014) Patterns and trends in UK higher education. Available at:
http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/highereducation/Documents/2014/PatternsAndTrendsInUKHigherEducation20
14.pdf
13 op.cit.
14 Hodgson,A.&Spours,K.(2014)17+Participation,attainmentandprogressioninLondon:SummaryReportkey
FindingsandRecommendations,London:LondonCouncilsYoungPeople’sEducation&Skills.
15 TheGovernmentResponseon1July2015toTheEducationCommitteereporttotheHouseofCommonson
ApprenticeshipsandTraineeshipsfor16-19yearoldsinitsSixthReportofSession2014-15,publishedon16March2015.
16 http://www.local.gov.uk/media-releases/-/journal_content/56/10180/6951000/NEWS
17 http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/hansard/commons/
3
including over 50,000 NEETs”.18 This is a serious problem as research shows unemployment
in youth can scar prospects throughout working life, not just at the time.
•
Young men are a third less likely than young girls to apply to higher education, and the
relationship between participation in higher education and disadvantage is such that the more
disadvantaged young men are, the less likely they are to apply to higher education (UCU,
2014)19. Variations in gender balance in different subjects also persist (HoL, 2015)20.
3.2
The Chancellors’ Autumn Statement announcement (October, 2014: para.2.227)21 highlighted
a new £20m investment for careers advice and support for young people (para. 2.227)22. In early
December 2014, the Secretary of State for Education announced plans for a new independent careers
and enterprise company in England23. The company will “ensure employers are supporting young
people with decision-making and career development at every stage of school life” 24. The new careers
and enterprise company’s work will be aimed at schools, to transform the provision of careers
education and advice for young people and inspire them about the opportunities offered by the world of
work. This will focus on young people aged 12 to 18 and will “help to broker relationships between
employers on one hand and schools and colleges on the other” (Department for Education op. cit.).
3.3
In March 2015, an updated version of ‘Statutory Guidance’ (SG) on careers guidance and
inspiration in schools was issued by Government25. The new company was formally established in
March 201526. It is employer-led and independent of government with its own governance and advisory
board arrangements27. The National Careers Service should form part of the new arrangements and will
have a formal ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ with the new company. (It currently has a 5%
allocated budget from the Skills Funding Agency for ‘brokerage services’ to schools and colleges). The
extent to which employers within the new careers and enterprise company may lead the way in setting
out new careers policies and practices has yet to be determined. A recent report by Warwick University
IER, on behalf of the Department for Business Innovation & Skills (BIS), sets out findings from a
study focused on understanding the link between employers, schools and the National Careers Service
(BIS, 2014)28. Whilst many employers are doing great work with schools, colleges and universities
more need to step up and offer young people more work experiences and opportunities. This is a major
challenge given findings from a survey of just over 300 employers which highlights over 50% did not
engage, had no plans to engage in working links with schools because they saw no real benefits to their
business and there are too many restrictions to navigate (BIS op. cit.). This may also help explain the
Government and Skills Funding Agency’s focus on the need to strengthen ‘brokerage arrangements’
between schools and employers.
3.4
In September 2015, the company will formally announce successful bids to extend a new
programme of Enterprise Co-ordinator and volunteer Enterprise Adviser arrangements working with
local enterprise partnerships. The balance of investment funding for enterprise and dedicated careers
http://www.fabians.org.uk/publications/out-of-sight/
UCU(2014)Youngpeople’sperceptionsofpost18educationandtrainingoptions–areportfortheUniversityandCollege
Union,London.Availableat:
http://www.ucu.org.uk/media/pdf/f/7/ucu_comres_youngpeoplesperceptionsaboutpost18_dec14.pdf
20 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201415/ldselect/lddigital/111/111.pdf
21 HMTreasury(2014)AutumnStatement2014availabletodownloadat:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/382327/44695_Accessible.pdf
22 HMTreasury(2014)AutumnStatement2014availabletodownloadat:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/382327/44695_Accessible.pdf
23 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-careers-and-enterprise-company-for-schools
24 op.cit.
25 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/440795/Careers_Guidance_Sch
ools_Guidance.pdf
26 Secretary of State for Education evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee available to download at:
http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/educationcommittee/careers-guidance-followup/oral/17257.pdf
27 Secretary of State for Education evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee available to download at:
http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/educationcommittee/careers-guidance-followup/oral/17257.pdf
28 Bimrose,J.,Brown,A.,Behle,H.,Barnes,S.A.,Hughes,D.,Andrews,D.,Davies,E.,andWiseman,J.(2014).Understanding
thelinkbetweenemployersandschoolsandtheNationalCareersService.London:DepartmentforBusiness,Innovation&
Skills(BIS)ResearchReportSeries,December2014.Availableat:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/386030/bis-14-1271-understanding-thelink-between-employers-and-schools-and-the-role-of-the-national-careers-service.pdf
18
19
4
provision that will reach schools and young people (14-24 years old) has yet to be determined. In a
very crowded landscape, the new company will have to be clear on the actual problem it is trying to
solve. This may be to:
• set up brokerage arrangements between schools and employers (something the National
Careers Service has in its delivery remit from 1st October 2014 onwards with small-scale
funding; Business in the Community (BiTC) also has a remit in this regard;
• target ‘cold spots’ where careers provision is weak working closely with Local Enterprise
Partnerships (LEPs) and other local agencies;
• quality-assure and invest in scalable and sustainable careers and enterprise initiatives that help
build capacity in schools and colleges;
• strengthen working links with career development professionals; and/or
• evaluate careers and enterprise policies that have been proven to work well and disseminate
good and interesting practices.
3.5
The extent to which Lord Young’s enterprise agenda29 becomes the dominant theme is
something to be reconciled. Concrete agreements will need to be reached and radically improved
careers information, advice and guidance for students needs to be achieved. The current Government is
now looking ahead to assess the efficacy of existing arrangements and it seems likely further measures
will be considered to help move beyond current statutory and non-statutory requirements for schools
and colleges. This is truly a new era for careers work in England and this ‘experiment’ needs to work.
The DWP Youth Guarantee30 and Queen’s Speech (May 2015)31 with a new Full Employment and
Welfare Benefits Bill includes a commitment from government to provide a Jobcentre Plus adviser in
schools). It is very timely for the Committee to take stock and situate not just problems and challenges
but also to identify solutions that will improve social mobility and opportunities all young people, not
just a few!
3.6
A recent report32, launched by the Major of London, sets out a vision for achieving improved
careers provision for all young people, including those who fall between the route of A-Levels and
Higher Education and those classified as NEET. The report sets out seven key features upon which a
pan-London Careers Offer should be based, and adopted by all as follows:
1.
2.
3.
Every young Londoner should have access to impartial, independent and personalised
careers education, information, advice and face-to- face guidance in their local community.
Every young Londoner should have completed at least 100 hours experience of the world of
work, in some form, by the time they reach the age of 16. This may include career insights
from industry experts, work tasters, coaching, mentoring, enterprise activities, part-time work,
participation in Skills London and The Big Bang Event, work shadowing, work
experience/supported work experience and other relevant activities. Lessons from this and
other elements of a young Londoners’ employability journey should be captured in a
personalised digital portfolio. This will provide a strong foundation for London’s young
people to take responsibility for capturing learning and experiences from an early age (and
beyond the age of 16) and support their careers activities with employers.
Every secondary school and college should have in place an explicit publicised careers policy
and Careers Curriculum on young people’s experiences of the world of work, links with
business, careers provision and destination outcomes. That policy should be reviewed and
approved by the governing body at least every three years. All schools and colleges should
also report annually on delivery of the careers policy and curriculum.
29
Lord Young (2014) Enterprise for all: The relevance of enterprise in education. Available to download at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/338749/EnterpriseforAll-lowres200614.pdf
30
https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/helping-people-to-find-and-stay-in-work
31
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/430149/QS_lobby_pack_FINAL_
NEW_2.pdf
32 Hughes, D. (2015) London Ambitions: Shaping a careers offer for all young Londoners London: London Enterprise
Panel & London Councils. June 2015
5
4.
5.
6.
7.
Every good institution will have a governor with oversight for ensuring the organisation
supports all students to relate their learning to careers and the world of work from an early
age.
Every secondary school and college should have up-to-date, user- friendly labour market
intelligence/information (LMI) readily accessible by young people, teachers and
parents/carers drawing upon the Skills London Match, UKCES ‘LMI for All’, National
Careers Service local LMI data and other reliable sources of information.
The quality of careers provision should be strengthened by developing ‘careers clusters’ to
share resources in improving awareness of London’s labour market and supporting school
and college leaders in a whole-school approach to plan and deliver careers provision.
The London Ambitions Portal should enable more schools and colleges to easily find highquality careers provision designed to support the career development of all young Londoners.
3.7
A ‘Careers Curriculum’ from Key Stage 2 – Key Stage 5 is designed to support teachers with
their own particular offer for their students. An implementation plan is now underway in London.
Since July 2015, responses from within and outside of London suggest there is significant potential to
replicate or customise this approach in other parts of England, in particular finding ways to identify and
maximise resources at a local and national level.
3.8
A culture change in careers, enterprise and employability education is needed, building upon
successful careers policies and practices studied or seen at local, national, EU and international levels.
Recent findings from an International Symposium on Career Development and Public Policy (Iowa,
2015 – see UK Country Report33) indicate England is now lagging behind other countries in its
approach to careers provision for young people. This inevitably has an impact on social mobility and
fair access to opportunities in a fast changing and complex education and labour markets.
33
http://www.is2015.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/UnitedKingdom.pdf
6