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This chapter addresses the difficulties faced by many UK secondary school students in securing meaningful workplace experience in a medical context and which specifically explores job shadowing as an option for resolving this problem. It focuses on the problem identified in the study: inequitable access to periods of work experience of value in progression to highly selective courses of study at elite universities. The chapter seeks to add to a growing literature exploring the issue of equity in employer engagement in education. It reveals a situation whereby links between secondary school students and employees within the National Health Service (NHS) are numerous but are clearly patterned by social relationships which are rooted in social class. In the medical profession, imbalance in the distribution of social capital is compounded by more structural educational inequality, such as universities offering places only to students with demonstrable workplace experience.

Abstract from publisher's website.

The volume from which this chapter is taken is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 133.717. Show less

Launched in 2014, Primary Futures was designed to provide UK schools with easy access to individuals willing to provide free voluntary support across a range of areas, including: (1) providing first-hand insight into jobs and careers, with many thousands of volunteers across the country identifying themselves as being able to speak with specific experience of being an apprentice, running their own enterprise, using mathematics or modern foreign languages at work, or working in the fields of science and technology; (2) being a potential reading or number partner; or (3) being willing to be considered as a school governor.

In this paper the authors discuss the impact, demand and implementation of employer engagement in primary education. They assess recent literature on the subject and find that while research into the impact of employer engagement activities on the learning and progression of children is limited, it suggests that employer engagement, if done correctly, can be positively associated with improved attainment, the development of non-cognitive skills demanded by 21st century employers and changed attitudes towards the world of work and the relationship between the classroom and the workplace.

Edited excerpts from publication and publisher's website. Show less

Building on new theories about the meaning of employability in the twenty-first century and the power of social and cultural capital in enabling access to economic opportunities, this book considers how employer engagement is delivered and explores the employment and attainment outcomes linked to participation. The book is a companion volume to 'Understanding employer engagement in education' (Mann, Stanley and Archer, 2014) [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 117.1548]. Introducing international policy, research and conceptual approaches, contributors to the volume illustrate the role of employer engagement within schooling and the life courses of young people. The book considers employer engagement within economic and educational contexts and its delivery and impact from a global perspective. The work explores strategic approaches to the engagement of employers in education and concludes with a discussion of the implications for policy, practice and future research.

Abstract from publisher's website with additional information.

The contents are as follows: Preface / Andreas Schleicher; Introduction / Anthony Mann; 'Employers at the heart of the system?': the role of employers in qualification development / Prue Huddleston and Andrea Laczik; Investigating how benefits of an industry-school partnership vary between industry sectors / Kerry Lee, Fatima Abdulghani and John Hope; Who is getting prepared?: Year 11 students' views on careers education and work experience in English secondary schools / Julie Moote and Louise Archer; Competences, capabilities and capitals: conceptual paradigms in the educational-employment relationship / Michael Tomlinson; Socialised social capital?: the capacity of schools to use careers provision to compensate for social capital deficiencies among teenagers / Anthony Mann, Elnaz Kashefpakdel and Christian Percy; Tell it like it is: education and employer engagement, freelance and self-employment / Prue Huddleston and Heidi Ashton;

'Selling the dream': stakeholder perceptions of the translation of employability policy into university strategy / Roy Priest; 'My brother's football teammate's dad was a pathologist': serendipity and employer engagement in medical careers / Steven Jones, Anthony Mann, Elnaz Kashefpakdel and Rachael McKeown; Someone in your life who really believes in you: evidence and practice in employer mentoring / Tristram Hooley and Jonathan Boys; Aligning school to work: assessing the impact of employer engagement in young people's transition from education to work / Terence Hogarth and Lynn Gambin; Ethnographies of work and possible futures: new ways for young people to learn about work and choose a meaningful first career / Nancy Hoffman with Tobie Baker Wright and Mary Gatta; What impact can employer engagement have on student attitudes towards school and their academic achievement?: an analysis of OECD PISA data / Elnaz Kashefpakdel, Jordan Redhill and Matteo Schleicher; Young people in the labour market: how teenage employer engagement makes a difference to adult outcomes / Elnaz Kashefpakdel, Anthony Mann, Rachael McKeown and Jordan Redhill; Insiders or outsiders, who do you trust?: engaging employers in school-based career activities / Christian Percy and Elnaz Kashefpakdel; Between two worlds: linking education and employment / Simon Field; Conclusions: implications for policy, practice and research / Prue Huddleston. Show less

This chapter looks at different systems of education and training around the world. It discusses a curious paradox. Although the world of work is deeply dependent on the skills that arise from learning, employers and other stakeholders from the world of work are often remarkably uninvolved in education in general, and even in vocational education and training systems. The chapter also looks at the origins of this unfortunate paradox, why it matters, and how it might be resolved. The challenges faced by vocational education are also a problem, in some ways an even bigger problem, for academic education. Education and training systems, unfortunately, are often happier in silos. Vocational programmes and qualifications too often ignore the study and wider skills that can prepare students for further learning. Labour market regulation has a big potential impact on the willingness of employers to engage with the education system, including the vocational training system.

Abstract from publisher's website.

The volume from which this chapter is taken is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 133.717. Show less

This chapter explores the longstanding exhortations from government for employers to engage with the education system within England, in particular the drive to encourage employers to become involved in the development of qualifications within the compulsory phase. It describes history and rationale for such an approach within the later stages of secondary education between the ages of 14 and 19 years. The chapter suggests that the recurring policy rhetoric has been couched in the same terms, with encouragement for employers to be 'key partners from the outset', to jump 'in the driving seat', to 'sit at the heart of the system'. Employers are being asked to design and develop the content of technical qualifications, to give their imprimatur to every technical qualification before sign off, even to contribute to assessment. The chapter concludes that while there may be a role for employers in qualification development, the nature and extent of this should be clearly articulated from the outset.

Abstract from publisher's website.

The volume from which this chapter is taken is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 133.717. Show less

Calls for employer engagement within education are nothing new; the clarion call has gone out for over a century fuelled by complaints from employers concerning the lack of preparedness of young people for entering the labour market. This chapter argues that the creative and cultural sector is a rich source of evidence and expertise, often providing role models to which young people can relate, and reflecting the realities of much of the modern labour market. It makes a significant contribution to the UK economy. The chapter draws on data from a group of workers predominantly located within the music, performing and visual arts sub-sector of the creative industries to examine the range of skills developed. In contrast to the organisation of the school curriculum, particularly since the introduction of the post-2010 curriculum reforms, those working in the creative and cultural sector are required to work across boundaries, not in subject silos.

Abstract from publisher's website.

The volume from which this chapter is taken is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 133.717. Show less

This chapter investigates which industry sectors are supporting schools and why they are doing so. It begins with an explanation of the driving forces behind industry-school partnerships and the accompanying changes to the education system. The chapter outlines a New Zealand study which investigated the benefits to various industry sectors when they linked with schools. It explores some of the political motives which may have influenced these changes to both education and business practice. The findings, discussion and conclusion identify the benefits to each industry sector as well as the value of further research for both education and industry sectors. Developing links between education and industry has been seen as a key tool to address economic and social policy goals. Industry-school partnerships can occur at all levels of education from kindergarten through to tertiary. These partnerships can be mutually beneficial to teachers, students and industry.

Abstract from publisher's website.

The volume from which this chapter is taken is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 133.717. Show less