In the first of a new collaborative seminar series, Education and Employers and the UCL Institute of Education (IOE) invited colleagues to discuss two recent papers that provide insights into careers education policy and practice and its relation to employer engagement in education.
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The seminar began with Professor Ann Hodgson (Professor of Post-Compulsory Education, UCL Institute of Education) who provided an overview of the careers landscape in England. Her introduction outlined the recent criticisms of CEIAG as well as recent government responses aimed at improving CEIAG provision.
Ann Hodgson’s slides are included below:
CEIAG conference – Chair May 2017
Dr Elnaz T. Kashefpakdel (Head of Research, Education and Employers) presented her findings from a survey of 1,744 young British adults aged 19-24. The survey, undertaken on behalf of Education and Employers by YouGov with support from LifeSkills at Barclays, investigates the experiences of respondents as they engage in transitions which take them from education towards the working world. The study focussed on work related activities commonly undertaken by schools and colleges to help prepare them for such transitions, relating specifically to employer engagement in education. Through the use of statistical analysis, insights for policy and practice emerge. Greater volume of school-mediated employer engagement is associated with better economic outcomes. Statistically significant relationships are detected between the number of school-mediated teenage engagements with employers recalled by young adults and reduced incidence of being NEET and higher earnings. Access to school-mediated employer engagement is not, however, fairly distributed. Arguably those with greatest need for employer engagement within education received it least. Young adults who had experienced the greatest volume of school-mediated employer engagement activities came, on average, from more privileged backgrounds: from Independent schools, grammar schools, holding higher levels of qualification.
Elnaz. T Kashefpakdel’s slides are included below:
Elnaz Kashef IOE Seminar May 4th
To read the full report, visit: https://www.educationandemployers.org/research/contemporary-transitions-young-britons-reflect-on-life-after-secondary-school-and-college/
Dr Sean Richards (Lecturer in Vocational Education, UCL Institute of Education) continued the discussion by offering insights into what happens within an episode of employer engagement. The research was based upon the findings from a focus groups of 15 further education engineering students in two Further Education colleges in London. The study analysed learners’ opinions of the short to medium term impacts of employer engagement activities on their careers ideas. The responses from the focus group showed that learners routinely recalled specific details about the careers talks vividly six months after. Moreover, learners also noted that the talks provided new and useful information about the breadth of careers and routes into them, providing young people with greater confidence in their decision making. Students rarely suggested improvements for the specific activities, but asked for more employer talks and would welcome these from a wide range of industry specialists.
Sean Richard’s slides are included below:
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