Good Career Guidance: the next ten years
The Gatsby Foundation first published its Good Career Guidance report in 2014. Following a successful pilot in North East England testing the use of the report’s Benchmarks as a framework for careers guidance delivery in schools and colleges, they are now the bedrock of the Government’s careers guidance strategy and form part of Ofsted’s Education Inspection Framework.
The Gatsby Foundation is seeking your views on the next ten years of Good Career Guidance and have launched an open consultation survey. The consultation is being run by the International Centre for Guidance Studies (ICEGS) and we are keen to gather perceptions and insights on the framework of the Benchmarks from those who support the career guidance of young people across education, business, and the careers sector.
Access the survey by clicking this link. The survey will take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete and your responses will help inform any refinements and recommendations we may make to the Benchmarks. The consultation will close at 5pm on Friday 28th April 2023 and we look forward to reading your views. For more information about this programme of work, please visit the Gatsby website.
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Emergent North East markets
The findings from a study commissioned by the North East LEP to provide an independent assessment of future growth opportunities in the region have now been published. The result is a portfolio of 17 market assessments, each presenting an analysis of a North East emergent market that is yet to reach its full potential. They highlight the growth opportunities resulting from the development of global trends and the North East’s strengths and capabilities. Full details of this work and the 17 market profiles – from Autonomous and electric vehicles through to Space and satellites - can be found here.
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Recent research and reports
- The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) has recently published Ready for the Future: A review of Careers Education in England 2021/22. The report reflects on the careers education system as a whole, analysing how much progress was made in 2021/22 and what gaps remain. Findings are mapped against three key questions, namely: How is careers education helping young people become more career ready? To what extent is careers education able to tackle disadvantage? And how far is careers education embedded in the mainstream of school and college life?
- Google for Education collaborated with research partner Canvas8 to conduct a study across 24 countries on the future of education. The result is a three-part global report published in November 2022 and highlighting insights from around the world. Part 1 is Preparing for a New Future and highlights three trends namely: rising demand for global problem solvers, change in the skill sets required for work, and shift to a lifelong learning mindset. Part 2 is Evolving how we teach and learn and Part 3 is titled Reimagining learning ecosystems.
- The Times Educational Supplement (TES) ran an article during Careers Week in March titled ‘How we made sure none of our students were NEET’. It features Southmoor Academy in Sunderland who explain how they achieved this outcome and offers insights that other schools may find valuable.
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This term, we meet Mr Matt Snape, Head Teacher at Marden High School in North Shields, who explains the benefits resulting from actively incorporating careers education and guidance into their school improvement planning.
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We know from evidence that the two strongest ‘human influencers’ on students’ career decision-making are their parents/carers and their teachers.
The Gatsby Benchmarks include Benchmark 4 - Linking Curriculum Learning to Careers - which is about bringing the world of work to life throughout the curriculum while enhancing the curriculum through insights into the world of work. Every teacher has the opportunity to make these links and positively influence young people’s future choices.
For this to be successful, teachers themselves need to be well equipped with a confident understanding of the world of work their students may enter. But how is this understanding developed?
The North East Local Enterprise Partnership is supporting schools to achieve Gatsby Benchmark 4 through its North East Ambition programme. Teachers may wish to start with our Toolkit which brings together resources, advice and guidance on how to make progress on linking curriculum learning to careers. We can support teachers, departments or the whole school through bespoke CPD which could include employers working with staff in your school on agreed topic areas or your teachers visiting relevant workplaces to experience the environment first-hand. We can also provide support through the forthcoming Teacher Encounters Programme which aims to inspire and prepare members of the education workforce to be able to have confident careers conversations with students.
One Assistant Head of Maths discusses here how she ‘started small’ to embed careers into her curriculum.
For more information on any of these areas, or to request specific support, please e-mail us at GoodCareers@nelep.co.uk. We would be delighted to hear from you.
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DfE fund major Primary School careers related learning project
Primary schools in County Durham, South Tyneside and Sunderland have been offered the opportunity to participate in a national £2.6m DfE backed programme, ‘Start Small, Dream Big’. This new career-related learning project, managed by the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC), will be delivered in Year 1 by four Careers Hubs – including ours in the North East – and is focussed on 300 primary schools in Education Investment Areas. Over 75 schools will be involved in our area. The programme aims to:
- Increase awareness and aspirations amongst primary aged children of the range of careers available to them in the future, as well as the pathways into them
- Challenge the stereotypes that limit children’s thinking about their future careers
- Develop a deeper understanding of the link between what children learn in school, the skills they need for the future, and the world of work
- Increase parental engagement in supporting children to think broadly about their futures.
Additional details are available here.
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Tell us what you think and sign up for future editions
Headlines is offered as part of the North East LEP’s North East Ambition programme, which aims to raise the career aspirations of each and every young person in the North East, and to help them reach their full potential. We do this by supporting schools to meet their statutory duties for careers education and guidance, and to meet the Gatsby Benchmarks.
We’d love to hear your thoughts about Headlines – it's important to us that the content is helpful and relevant for you. Please let us know if you have any suggestions for future content or examples of good practice you’d like to share that is happening in your school.
Email your suggestions
If you would like to receive Headlines direct to your inbox,
please email GoodCareers@nelep.co.uk
Matt Joyce
Regional Lead: North East Ambition
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