Robin Simmons is a Professor of Education and a leading expert on the experiences of young people categorised as NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training). Here, he talks about a recent and conflicting BBC report, that on one hand blames the dismantling of the national careers service for the state of careers education. But on the other hand the report claims that young people need to be more self-reliant, enterprising and creative.
Careers advice – policy chaos and sloppy thinking
“A recent BBC report begins with the headline Chaotic careers education in England’s schools could jeopardise the UK’s future economic prosperity and I expected the accompanying article to focus on the effects of the dismantling of the national careers advice and guidance service, Connexions, which are now beginning to bite. Careers guidance in schools in now highly varied and uneven, and so I was unsurprised to see the report start by highlighting that a number of MPs have accused ministers of “burying their head in the sand” over careers education.
Strangely though, the report then focuses on various claims about work-related learning in schools and the need for young people to be more self-reliant, enterprising and creative – whatever that means. It goes on to conflate careers advice with so-called enterprise education and to criticise schools for not working with local businesses or offering pupils the chance “understand how businesses work”, before focusing on the supposed role of the ‘Careers and Enterprise Company’ – a service which few have heard of and hardly anybody cares about. It finishes with various quotes from the chief executive of the Institute of Directors, Simon Walker, including the notion that “Ofsted should put less focus on exam results” and the words of an un-named Department for Education spokeswoman who states that “Every child deserves an excellent education and schools have a statutory duty to provide high-quality careers advice as part of that”. Oh, and the article also makes some reference to the supposed effects Brexit – as it seems is compulsory nowadays for the BBC.
It is tempting to simply dismiss all this as sloppy journalism and lazy thinking – although the fact that the quality of public discourse about careers education is so poor is, of course, important in itself. Leaving that aside, I have two comments to make. First, current arrangements for careers advice in schools are a mess; the destruction of Connexions was both ill-conceived and hasty, and it is clear that no coherent replacement system has been put in place. Second, it is important to recognise that employers’ organisations have always claimed that youth lacks the skills and abilities they need – although research evidence suggests that the UK labour market is, in fact, awash with young people ready, willing and able to take up the vast majority of opportunities that exist. In reality, for most school-leavers, lack of opportunity rather than lack of skills is the biggest problem.”
- You can read more on this story by visiting the BBC News website.
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