Guiding young people into work
Careers guidance is being adapted so that young people seeking further education or employment can better meet the needs of the region’s changing economy.
Difficulties being raised over the structure and effectiveness of careers advice for Northern Ireland’s young people led to the Assembly’s Employment and Learning Committee conducting an inquiry in 2012 – 2013.
The resulting report covered careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) and was published in November 2013.
As part of the evidence-gathering, witnesses provided written submissions and oral evidence. Study visits also took place to view how careers education and advice was applied in practice. Over 8,000 young people responded to a survey, completed by Year 12 pupils, students at college and university, and school leavers not in education or employment.
Briefings from a number of organisations, including E-Skills UK, the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) and the CBI, highlighted flaws in the provision of careers advice.
It seemed that there was little co-ordination between careers information and how the current needs of the economy could be met. On the one hand, there were claims that the region was facing a skills shortage, while on the other, a large proportion of young people were leaving school or college with little chance of employment.
The IET pointed out that labour market information can quickly become outdated and to avoid this, careers teachers and advisers need to collaborate with employers to ensure that the latest sectoral trends and skill shortages are identified.
The committee noted the wide range of organisations involved in the provision of careers guidance, many of which were government-funded, and that at times, conflicting advice was offered. The inquiry praised Northern Ireland’s careers teachers and advisors for their “tireless” work and also, the schools and colleges for educating the workforce of the future. However, it found an “abundance of information” indicating inconsistencies in careers provision, systemic and specific examples of poor careers provision, which was often difficult to understand.
There were also suggestions that schools and colleges were not fully advising students on all options available in a bid to protect enrolment. The CBI pointed to anecdotal evidence that quite often grammar schools do not allow further education college careers advisers to make in-school presentations for fear of losing pupils to vocational programmes.
A need for joined-up thinking across the education and employment sectors was highlighted in order to meet future economic needs.
Creating a duty
The inquiry report recommended “an adequately resourced statutory mechanism” to ensure a consistent approach and high standards. While this has not yet happened, the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) intends to include a clause in the Employment Bill which, once implemented, would place a duty on it “to provide access to impartial career guidance by professionally qualified advisers.”
Careers and the economy
It was suggested that the role of the Careers Service, in informing young people of opportunities, should be incorporated into the review of economic inactivity. A departmental spokeswoman maintained that the Careers Service contributes to the economic inactivity strategy by “actively case managing” young people – aged 16 and 17 – who leave school without entering education, training or employment. This support continues until they gain a study place or job.
Gender equality
“Significant progress” has been made by DEL in addressing gender balance in STEM based careers, as requested by the inquiry. The Success through STEM strategy was endorsed by the Executive in 2011. Five out of the 20 recommendations were given to STEM businesses – address gender bias, establish a business-led STEM framework, develop a clear STEM career path, introduce a prestigious STEM scholarship, and develop regional STEM links.
A report published in November 2013 called for good practice guidelines. Since then, 36 STEM businesses have signed up to a charter demonstrating their commitment to equal opportunities for women in employment.
STEM subjects
The Department of Education was advised to take steps to improve the uptake of STEM subjects. The uptake had been on the rise but slightly dipped in the latest available statistics. In the school year 2008-2009, 38.2 per cent of A-level entries were for STEM subjects. This steadily rose to reach 41.2 per cent in 2012-2013 and decreased to 41.1 per cent for the year 2013-2014. This means that there were 660 fewer entries for STEM subjects.
Action plan for parents
The creation of an action plan for providing parents with information was advised. A pilot series of parents’ information evenings took place in May and DEL plans to make this an annual event. A parents’ section has been developed on the NI Direct website to help parents support their children with career planning. A work experience webpage is still being developed and will contain a section specifically for parents. DEL will respond to the recommendations of the inquiry through the subsequent annual action plans for the period 2016-2020.
Career subjects
The inquiry recommended that careers should become a specific compulsory subject. However, this has effectively been the case since 2007 as all students at Key Stage 3 and 4 study Learning for Life and Work. A map and guide for careers has also been issued to all schools setting out the expected learning intentions and potential learning opportunities for young people from ages four to 19. It provides a framework for the planning, delivery and management of CEIAG.
Teacher training and support
A lack of consistency in training and support provided for careers teachers was among the problem areas highlighted to the committee. The Department of Education’s four continuous professional development modules were being devised at the time of the report’s findings – leading and managing CEIAG, personal career planning, CEIAG across the curriculum and monitoring and evaluation.
It was advised to ensure that the modules responded to criticisms raised during the inquiry and were quickly implemented. The department developed the modules to “provide both a support and an information function.”
