What would you like to be when you grow up? A Careers Education Update

By Paula Bull

There has been so much in the news about how our students are being disadvantaged due to Covid and the ongoing issues regarding education and the labour market crisis, I guess that is why I have been inundated by so many local businesses! Some of you may remember back to the careers twilight session I did in April, or various briefings - careers learning is not just a standalone session, we need to embed this into our daily teaching. So what exactly is careers learning and how can you help?

What is Careers Learning?

In schools, we have a responsibility to provide students with careers learning. It is measured against the eight Gatsby Benchmarks:

1. A stable careers programme

2. Learning from career and labour market information

3. Addressing the needs of each pupil

4. Linking curriculum learning to careers

5. Encounters with employers and employees

6. Experiences of workplaces

7. Encounters with further and higher education

8. Personal guidance

All staff members have a role to play in preparing our students for the future whether that be in the curriculum, pastoral or as a role model. As a school we do a huge amount of work to ensure we provide exciting opportunities for all but as with everything, it looks a little different this year! 

What do we already do as a school?

I am ensuring we have a stable careers programme, and during TTB students are learning from career and labour market information. Working with SLT and year coordinators, we aim to ensure all students needs are met - where necessary additional measures are put into place. We have industry mentors working with year 11 and 12 students, including Budding Brunels and Career Ready. In the past we have had an Outward Bounds programme specifically for students identified as at risk of NEET - this year we are unfortunately unable to run this at present. 

Some of our normal workshops have moved online, some have been postponed until things settle down slightly - we need to ensure we cover so much more in the curriculum to make up for things that were missed in the summer term last year. Work experience will take place virtually this year, and the Mock Interviews will be online too. In order for our students to get as much out of their career learning as possible we really need classroom teachers and tutors to step up - we will be relying on your expertise and planning to bring lessons to life and link transferable skills to classroom learning.  

How can you help?

What you can do as classroom teachers is ensure you are linking careers into the curriculum and engaging with volunteers to ensure students continue to have encounters with employers and employees. With the widespread use of video conferencing it’s now super easy to organise a company to Zoom into your lesson and talk to students. You no longer need to plan a whole day out, organise cover and travel or complete lengthy risk assessments (you do still need to do an Evolve form and gain permission though!). Simply identify a lesson / topic which could lend itself well to having a visitor and get planning. I have tons of contacts and am more than happy to introduce you if you are struggling with finding someone - or try any of these links:

• STEM Ambassadors - volunteers from a wide range of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related jobs and disciplines across the UK. They offer their time and enthusiasm to help bring STEM subjects to life and demonstrate the value of them in life and careers.

• Founders 4 Schools - connecting educators with leaders of successful growing businesses in their community

• City Lions - they have links to lots of local businesses and are able to organise sessions and workshops on an adhoc basis

• Speakers for Schools - through talks from today’s influential figures via their  programme, their  work  programme linking state school students to industry-leading companies and networked support partners they are helping level the playing field for young people of all backgrounds. 

• Springpod - access to employers and lots of talks (recorded and live options)

Don’t forget to mention transferable skills as often as you can - these link nicely to the IB learner profile and are publicised in classrooms so easily recognisable. Resources to help you with planning careers learning into lessons can be found here:

Subject guides from Success at School

A ‘day in the life’ videos

Labour Market Information

Online CPD - Linking Curriculum Learning to STEM careers

CEC resources 

iCould - videos, real life stories, LMI and more

Unifrog (use ‘student view’)

Me - I have access to a huge number of contacts and support networks! 

What about the future?

Please remember that although young people have been hugely impacted by Covid 19 and the economic impact will be felt for a very long time, there are some positives to take from this. Medicine, education and technological developments are all areas that have been highlighted and continue to grow. Students have shown amazing resilience and aptitude to adapt, we need to celebrate their successes and support them as best we can. Continue to inspire and educate. Link learning to careers, celebrate those transferable skills and be positive. Together we will ensure our students leave as WA heroes and go on to lead rewarding careers!