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In this interim report, the findings reveal the importance teachers place on introducing children to the world of work. The survey asks 250 primary schools heads and teachers across England about their opinions on career learning in primary and its impact.

Headline findings: (1) The majority of teachers answering our survey believe children should be learning about the world of work and different jobs in their first years of primary school; (2) Overwhelming majority of primary schools were already carrying out activities with the aim of increasing children's understanding of the world of work; (3) Most primary schools have not heard about the Government's new Careers Strategy, which specifically mentions primary for the first time; (4) In line with our previous work in secondary, nearly all teachers in our survey agreed that introducing children to the world of work was important in: Linking learning to the real world and in doing so increasing motivation to work hard, Challenging gender stereotyping about jobs and school subjects, Broadening aspirations; (5) While teachers appreciate the importance of these activities, there are challenges which prevent them being organised on a regular basis.

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This study seeks to analyse whether greater teenage engagement in school-mediated career development activities, which include elements of direct exposure to the working world, can be associated with more positive attitudes towards schooling. The 2012 PISA survey asked a series of questions which explore teenage participation in career development activities and subsequent attitudes towards schooling. In the analysis, four activities are isolated (participation in internships, job fairs, job shadowing and speaking with a careers advisor in school). Only a minority of countries taking part in PISA 2012 opted into these questions and of these six have been selected for this analysis (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland and Ireland).

The report finds that there is a strong, statistically significant relationship between participation in career development activities and more positive attitudes towards schooling. The most consistent positive effects are found in relationship to speaking with a careers advisor in school and attending a job fair. Of the six countries, it is teenagers in Finland and Ireland who demonstrate the greatest levels of responsiveness to participation in career activities. Further analysis will explore the relationship between participation in career development activities and academic achievement.

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In May 2018 Teach First, a social enterprise which aims to address educational disadvantage in England and Wales, commissioned Education and Employers Research, London to undertake research into career-related learning (CRL) in primary schools. The term 'career-related learning' comprises of early childhood activities in primary schools designed to give children from an early age a wide range of experiences of and exposure to education, transitions and the world of work. The main purpose was to scope Teach First's future work on potential programmes in primary schools. This would complement existing arrangements already in place for the Careers and Employability Leadership Programme (CELP) in postprimary schools. Three research questions were examined: What is the taxonomy of teacher roles within a primary context with regards to CRL? What does success look like for a programme of career-related activities in the primary school setting? What does good/interesting careers provision look like in a primary school setting? The research involved an international literature review, including contributions from 12 OECD countries (Austria, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Netherlands, South Africa, Wales, United States), a qualitative online survey of primary schools complemented by in-depth case studies of good/interesting policies and practices, and an expert panel discussion. The findings within this report demonstrate the important role that senior leaders and teachers can play in embedding CRL in primary schools.

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This report, published with support from Lifeskills created with Barclays, sets out findings from a survey of 1,744 young British adults aged 19-24. The survey undertaken on behalf of Education and Employers by YouGov investigates the experiences of respondents as they engage in transitions which take them from education towards the working world. The focus of the report is on work related activities commonly undertaken by schools and colleges to help prepare them for such transitions, relating specifically to employer engagement in education. The report sets out the recollections of these young adults on actions taken by educational institutions to prepare them for the working world; their perceptions of the quality of their experiences; where they feel greater preparation would have been valued; and, using statistical regression analysis, what it was that schools and colleges did which actually helped with those transitions.

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This paper represents the results of collaboration between b-live Foundation (charity), the Education and Employers Taskforce and the UK Commission for Employment and Skills. It is published within the Taskforce’s occasional research papers series. It asks a simple question: is there any alignment between the career aspirations of young people, aged between 13 and 18, and the best estimates of actual demand within the current and future British labour market? The question is relevant to young people, employers and the UK’s future prosperity. The paper asks whether teenagers making educational decisions do so with career aspirations in mind which reflect realistic opportunities in the world of work. To employers, the importance of the question relates to flow of a new generation of workers with interests, skills and qualifications relevant to available jobs. The paper also addresses the question of whether young people are aware of the range of opportunities open to them. Is the youth labour market working effectively in signalling to young people the breadth of opportunities which are available and what they need to do - the decisions they needed to take at 14, 16 and 18 - to allow them to compete successfully in recruitment competitions. This study draws upon data supplied by the b-live Foundation. Over March/April of 2012 the Foundation surveyed 11,759 young people aged 13 to 18 across England about their career aspirations.

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