Educating young people for
employability: developing a school
strategy for career development
Gary Forrest
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Career path
What is meant by employability?
“Employability skills are the skills that almost everyone
needs to do almost any job”
Selfmanagement
Using
numbers
effectively
Thinking and
solving
problems
Working
together and
communicating
Using
language
effectively
Understanding
the business
Using IT
effectively
Positive approach
UK CES The Employability Challenge
5
E = (Q + WE + S) x F
6
Developing a strategy
for employability
8
What drives schools/colleges?
F is for funding
I is for inspection
S is for statutory
H is for hearts and minds
of teachers
9
What
When
Intended
outcomes
Educating
for
employability
Where
How
Who
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Creating a curriculum for employability
What do we want to achieve?
• Understanding
– themselves; career opportunities; work and working
practices; employers’ needs
• Skills
– enterprising; basic/functional; customer service
• Qualities
– have a go attitude; respect for others; respect for the
environment
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What
When
Intended
outcomes
Educating
for
employability
Where
How
Learning
experiences
Who
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Creating a curriculum for employability
How will we organise learning?
• experience work – placement; visit
• make choices and take responsibility – plan
events
• follow and create instructions
• speak out and express views
• engage in simulation and with visitors
• reflect on and apply learning
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Learning for employability
Practising
Watching
Imitating
Chatting
Feedback
Teaching and Real-world
Helping
problem solving
Listening,
transcribing &
Writing and
remembering
sketching
Learning on the fly
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5-19
Needs of
individuals
When
School
College
Workplace
What
Intended
outcomes
Educating
for
employability
Where
How
Learning
experiences
Who
People
Leadership and
management
The leadership challenge – how are we
doing?
• Do we have a vision and planned outcomes for
employability?
• Do we have effective management and co-ordination
in place?
• Do we have policies in place or in development?
• What resources do we use to support employability?
• Are we compliant with legal requirements?
• Do we recognise achievements?
16
Curriculum and assessment
Curriculum opportunities for career and
work-related education
• Explicit, planned content in all
curriculum subjects
• Specific lessons as part of a tutorial
programme
• Whole school/college activities
• Specific projects and experiences
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19
A curriculum for employability
• Learning in a work context
• Business involvement
• Synthesis of theory and practice
• experiential learning
• Experiences of work
• high fidelity or high validity
• Aiming for progression to work, HE/FE
Purpose of study – English and
mathematics
• “All the skills of language are essential to participating
fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore, who
do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and
confidently are effectively disenfranchised. “
• “It is essential to everyday life, critical to science,
technology and engineering, and necessary for
financial literacy and most forms of employment.”
– National Curriculum
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Purposes of National Curriculum
subjects
• Science - vital to the world’s future prosperity
• Art & Design – contributes to the wealth of our
nation
• Citizenship - knowledge, skills and
understanding to prepare them to play a full
and active part in society
• Computing – digitally literate at a level suitable
for the future workplace
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Purposes of National Curriculum
subjects (2)
• Design & technology - essential contribution
to the wealth and well-being of the nation
• History - equip pupils to ask perceptive
questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift
arguments, and develop perspective and
judgement.
• Geography - inspire in pupils a curiosity and
fascination about the world and its people
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Purposes of National Curriculum
subjects (3)
• Languages - a liberation from insularity and
provides an opening to other cultures;
equipping pupils to study and work in other
countries
• Music - increase their self-confidence,
creativity and sense of achievement
• PE - build character and help to embed
values such as fairness and respect
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Assessment and accreditation
Partnerships and employer
engagement
Developing students’ employability:
working with partners
• What is the rationale for partnership?
• Who are our partners?
• What can our partners provide?
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Employer involvement – benefits to
education
•
•
•
•
•
revenue and resources
governance
improved community profile
improved skills
professional development opportunities for
teachers
• higher staff morale
• innovative options for curriculum delivery
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Developing students’ employability:
working with partners
•
•
•
•
What is the rationale for partnership?
Who are our partners?
What can our partners provide?
How can we engage new partners?
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Benefits to employers
• better prepared
workforce
• recruitment
• staff development
• business
development
• public relations
• employee relations
• force for change
• interdependent
community
partnership
• working with young
people
• individual creativity
• parental aspect
Monitoring, evaluation and
review
How do you know if your employability
strategy is working?
Unintended outcomes
Inspection &
accountability
measures
Parental /
community
/ staff
impact
Personal development
/ attitudes / motivation
Attainment in
qualifications
Skills / competencies
/ qualities
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A strategy for employability
• What understanding, skills and qualities do we
want our students to have?
• What experiences should they have? Where and
when will they have them?
• Who will be involved in planning, delivery and
evaluation? Who are our partners and what can
they offer?
• How will we assess students’ employability
learning? How will we evaluate our strategy?
Work roles
Types of
business
Rights and
responsibilities
Employment
Career options
Self-employment
Identities
Enterprising
Positive and
enthusiastic
Money
Problem
solver
Work experience
Enterprise
project
Individual
learning plan
Teamworker
Sociable
Independent
Principled
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Gary Forrest
garydforrest@yahoo.co.uk
www.educationforemployability.co.uk