Commenting on research by the Sutton Trust revealing that more
than a third of secondary school pupils do not feel confident in
taking their next steps in education and training, Geoff Barton,
General Secretary of the Association of School and College
Leaders, said:
“The main reason that there is variation in careers advice is
that the government dismantled the national provision about a
decade ago and transferred the responsibility to schools while
also squeezing their funding. Since then it has endeavoured to
make up for lost ground with only partial success.
“Careers advice is a specialist service which requires
professionals who are trained experts in the field and can
provide impartial guidance on the full range of routes that are
available to young people. This report draws attention to the
need for more information on apprenticeship options, for example,
which would certainly be helpful. However, the apprenticeships
landscape is complex and difficult to navigate and is a case in
point where extensive knowledge of a variety of workplaces and
apprenticeship vacancies is needed to deliver this sort of
guidance.
“While schools and colleges work very hard to source and provide
high-quality careers advice they have to do so in the context of
severe funding pressures as well as many other demands on their
time and resources.
“Regarding the recommendation that all pupils have access to work
experience between the ages of 14 and 16, identifying and
sourcing work experience placements for 17 and 18-year-olds can
be very challenging, let alone for 14 to 16-year-olds. While the
principle is a good one, it is difficult to see how this would
work in reality. Indeed, one of the main difficulties in
delivering the government’s new T-level qualifications at scale
is how to source the extensive industry placements which form
part of these courses.”
