By Reed in Partnership (published November 2018)
This new report from Reed in Partnership examines the success of its Young Careers service and the benefits of employer engagement for employers and what good careers provision looks like. The Young Careers service takes a whole school approach in building sustainable employer/school relationships and engaging students with volunteers from the world of work. The study asked eight employers why they got involved, what careers activities they found successful and what they think is most important in engaging with schools as part of the programme. Some of the eight employers included Zurich Insurance, Transport for London and Enfield Council.
The study found that competitions, challenges and small group work engaged students, but more traditional activities such as CV workshops or mock interviews were as important. Employer/school relationships were usually led on the employer’s side by someone in HR or an employee who sat in on the organisation’s corporate social responsibility. Increasing diversity, reducing skill gaps and inspiring future talent was cited as important reasons for employers to be involved in Young Careers Service. Insurance firm Zurich wanted to improve the awareness of the insurance sector, while Marriott wanted to make young people aware of the different jobs available in hospitality such as finance, sales, engineering and management. Employers also felt that their employees were keen to get involved in volunteering to promote social responsibility and build their own skills. Zurich Insurance found that their employees enjoyed applying their professional knowledge in non-sector volunteering projects that were deeper and more regular than most one-off volunteering opportunities.
Read the report here