By Anthony Mann, Jordan Rehill and Elnaz T. Kashefpakdel
Read the report here.
Education and Employers, with the kind support of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), has published a review of the evidence on how employers can support schools to improve outcomes for pupils.
Previous research by Education and Employers highlighted the importance of good quality careers education on shaping outcomes later in life. The researchers found that teenagers who have a good understanding of what they need to do to achieve their career ambitions do a lot better economically later in life than their peers. However, teenagers from poorer homes are more likely to be uncertain about the qualifications they need to access their chosen career and get the skills they need.
For today’s report, researchers from Education and Employers reviewed the best international research to identify the interventions and approaches for which there is evidence of employers having a positive impact on young people’s outcomes, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
It follows the publication of the Government’s Careers Strategy in December of last year, which announced funds to explore new approaches to employer engagement and early careers activities in primary schools.
Employer engagement in education can include activities like reading support programmes that aim to boost attainment, or activities like mentoring or work experience that are designed to influence attitudes and aspirations.
The researchers – Anthony Mann, Jordan Rehill and Elnaz T. Kashefpakdel – identified four broad areas of employer engagement in education that could benefit young people:
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Boost young people’s understanding of jobs and careers
Broadening and raising career aspirations and supporting young people to make decisions on what to study, where to study, and how hard to study.
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Providing the knowledge and skills demanded by the contemporary labour market
Helping young people to build the skills that modern workplaces need, such as creative problem-solving and team-working.
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Providing the knowledge and skills demanded for successful school-to-work transitions
Giving young people relevant work experiences as well as practical insights into how recruitment processes work and contemporary workplaces operate.
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Enriching education and underpinning pupil attainment
Using employers to support teaching resources for the classroom and helping young people to see the connection between what they learn at school and employment outcomes.
The review will inform the EEF’s grant-making, as they look to grow the evidence around careers education and employer engagement in education.
Read the report here.