Search Results

This chapter explores careers talks in schools to build on earlier work by the authors in light of new assessments of the impacts of careers activities on the economic outcomes of young people and how these activities can be best delivered. [The authors] were inspired by, among others, S. Jones et al. Which examines the reflections of 380 young adults on their school-mediated employer engagement experiences, finding that the clearest benefit lies in Cultural Capital, followed by Social Capital and then by Human Capital. While Kashefpakdel and Percy [2016] focused only on the wage premium associated with 'outside speakers,' two studies since have referenced it in the context of a broader set of careers-related activities in schools. The weak results for the school-led careers activities bear further examination. Various explanations present themselves for why school-led careers activities did not correlate more closely with wage outcomes, despite being structurally similar to other activities that were convincingly correlated.

Abstract from publisher's website.

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

Essential skills are those highly transferable skills (listening, speaking, teamwork, leadership, creativity, problem-solving, aiming high, and staying positive) that everyone needs to do almost any job, and which support the application of specialist knowledge and technical skills. Essential skills matter and helping people develop them is a job for schools and colleges from the earliest age. The Skills Builder Universal Framework, launched in May 2020, sets out this framework of eight essential skills, providing a common language in which skills are described, understood and measured, and recognisable to both employers and educators.

This research aims to make a contribution to the gaps in the existing research base, particularly of longitudinal studies of the interplay of essential skills and other outcomes over time. Using the rich longitudinal data provided by the British Cohort Study (1970), with a particular focus on children and young people, the analysis shows a strong association between scores in essential skills and measures of literacy and numeracy at the ages of both 10 and 16, and a further association with career aspirations at age 16.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

This chapter explores the evidence surrounding Schleicher's contention that episodes of employer engagement can impact on the academic motivation of teenagers by using the unique dataset on student attitudes and academic proficiency: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) own Programme International Student Attainment (PISA). It looks at the impact of both commonplace careers guidance activities and engagement with employers to further investigate the character of such relationships. The chapter seeks to build on the existing literature by specifically investigating hypotheses, exploring whether relationships can be drawn between participation in what the OECD describes as career development activities and both more positive attitudes towards education and improved academic achievement. It investigates whether participation in selected career development activities is associated with higher PISA mathematics scores. Work experience and other forms of employer engagement demonstrate to young people the links between what they do in the classroom and how those skills ultimately will be used in the labour market.

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 focuses on the capacity of educational institutions to shape the social capital available to young people and explores how young people, of different social backgrounds, respond to such experiences. It explores whether access to school-mediated forms of social capital interact with existing levels of social advantage to multiply effects of comparative privilege. The chapter describes the impact of school-mediated action to enhance the work-related social capital of teenagers in the context of existing levels of family-based social relationships. It explains the relationship between access to school-mediated forms of social capital and outcomes related to its possession in the social context of the recipient. The chapter looks at the characteristics of young people who engaged in career talks and explores whether social background influences the level of later adult premiums received. It draws on data from the British Cohort Study 1970 to consider the impact of two forms of social capital encountered by teenagers.

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 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

This paper provides evidence of the benefits of career-related learning (CRL) for children in primary school. The term 'career-related learning' includes 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 research compiles evidence on the career-related learning of primary aged children's decisions, aspirations and attitudes. In doing so this paper maps key actions being taken by primary schools to support children's transitions to secondary school and beyond. It considers how primary schools approach career-related learning and offers guidance on evidence-based practice. The paper draws evidence from academic and 'grey' literature (such as program evaluation reports and policy papers), and interviews with primary teachers and leading experts. It aims to clarify the impact that can be expected for children taking part in career-related learning activities. The paper highlights lessons that can be drawn from the existing evidence so that children and schools can be effectively supported when embarking on a program of career-related learning.

Excerpt from publication. Show less

This study aims to harness insights from UK longitudinal studies to help careers professionals and other school teaching staff to identify and prioritise pupils who require greater levels of careers provision as they approach key decision making points. Comprised of a questionnaire and scoring system, the toolkit has been designed to be comprehensive - relevant to students at all attainment levels - by making use of robust UK longitudinal data which compares students of similar characteristics (for example, socio-economic background, geographical area, attainment levels) to identify which factors which make a difference to economic outcomes (earnings and employment) in later life. Importantly, the study identifies attitudes and experiences (we term them 'indicators') which schools can influence in order to better prepare their young people for adult working life. The approach adopted is primarily designed to allow schools to identify students requiring greater levels of support to help them become well prepared.

Abstract from publisher's website. Show less

No generation of young people has entered the world of work with more qualifications and time in education. But it can still be a struggle to compete for employment opportunities. How can transition skills events, such as mock interviews and CV workshops, help address this? Transition skills events are designed to improve young people's understanding of how the labour market works, whilst developing job seeking skills (i.e. how to manage application processes and to perform well in interviews) and personal resilience. This paper reviews the effectiveness of these employer-led transition skills events. The findings provide evidence for schools and colleges to support the delivery of these events and activities. The different evidence sources used in this review provide insights into best practice when it comes to designing and delivering events to get the best results for young people.

Edited excerpts from publication.

The evidence review for this report is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 129.867. Show less

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.

Edited excerpt from publisher's website. Show less

This paper focuses on how generic skills can be developed to enable young adults to best utilise them in making transitions into the labour market. Drawing on the literature and a Commercial Education Trust study of practices which encourage employer engagement in skills development, it is argued that 'putting skills to work' is not automatic or unproblematic. It is not simply a matter of 'skills transfer', but a 'continuous, contextually-embedded and transformative process' during which individuals, supported by partners, learn how to recontextualise skills to suit different activities and environments. It may be tempting to distil employability into a list of so-called 'soft skills', but context matters. It requires more than that which can be taught in Education. Support is needed in the workplace through mentoring, for example, to help recruits acquire knowledge of workplace culture, norms and practices, situational understanding, and apply metacognitive strategies for bringing together this knowledge and a range of different skills and personal attributes in productive application. Further research is needed to explore the inter-relationships between skills supply, demand and utilisation, including ways in which employers can better recognise young recruits' skills and provide 'expansive' working environments that maximise their capabilities and potential for development.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less