Social mobility and careers service provision exec summary

Social mobility and careers service provision exec summary

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  Social mobility ofyoung people and adults in England: the contribution and impact of high quality careers services Dr Deirdre Hughes August 2010
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  The contents ofthe paper build upon an earlier analysis of social mobility policy1 and upon key themes emerging from recent interviews with six leading figures from within industry and education. Also, a review of research literature on the impact of careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) provides a strong evidence- base to help influence and inform the design and implementation of a progressive strategy for a new all-age careers service framework in England. From a combination of these sources, a compelling argument is made for timely, relevant and cost effective public, private and voluntary/community careers service delivery arrangements throughout England. Acknowledgments: The author wishes to formally thank the following leading figures from industry and education for kindly sharing their invaluable insights on the topic of social mobility and careers service provision: Susan Anderson, Director of Public Services & Skills, Confederation of British Industry (CBI); Nick Chambers, Director of the Education and Employer Taskforce in England; Patrick Leeson, Director of Education & Care, Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services & Skills (Ofsted), Brian Lightman, General Secretary, Association of Schools and College Leaders (ASCL), Alan Tuckett, Director of the National Association for Adults in Continuing Education (NIACE), and Professor Alison Wolf, the Sir Roy Griffiths Professor of Public Sector Management, King’s College, London. I am also indebted to Paul Chubb at Careers England for kindly overseeing the publication of this paper. Dr Deirdre Hughes is an independent researcher, policy adviser and writer who specialises in the UK evidence-base for careers work. She is also an Associate Fellow at the Warwick Institute for Employment Research (IER) and Founding Director of the International Centre for Guidance Studies, Derby University (1998-2008). She is also President of the Institute of Career Guidance (ICG), which is Europe’s largest Careers Professional Association. Email: [email protected] Tel: 07533 545057 Careers England is the trade association for employer organisations in career education and guidance in England. 12th August 2010 1 Hughes, D (2010). A Literature Review: Social Mobility and Careers Service Policies. Careers England. Visit: http://www.careersengland.org.uk/Documents/Public/DiscussionDocs/Careers%20England%20Literature%20Revi ew%20Final%20Paper%20130510.pdf
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  Executive Summary This papercomes at a time of momentous political change and at a time when the country faces some difficult challenges, both in relation to the aspiration of increased social mobility and to the need to make significant savings in public expenditure. It is also a time of great opportunity - the new Coalition Government has expressed its desire for improved arrangements for ‘all-age careers service’ support to be available in England. Aim The project reported here aimed to build upon an earlier analysis of current social mobility policy2 and upon key themes emerging from recent interviews with six leading figures from within industry and education. Also, a detailed review of research literature on the impact of careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) was undertaken. From this, a strong evidence-base emerged to help influence and support the design and implementation of a progressive approach towards achieving a new all-age careers service framework in England. From a combination of these sources, a compelling argument is made for timely, relevant and cost effective public, private and voluntary/community careers service delivery arrangements. The responses are illuminating, and present a collective call for decisive action. Findings  The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES, 2010)3 highlights issues concerning the quality of matching processes and careers information and advice. It also suggests that a broad policy principle should be developed further to empower customers, focus on outcomes and place greater trust in providers in the delivery of skills and jobs services, in order to achieve more and better for less.  High-quality and high-impact careers service provision - which is independent of learning providers, informed by the labour market and provided by specialist professional careers advisers - represents both a personal and a public good, helping individuals to make choices and progress and providing an essential lubricant for the economic and social mobility necessary for a prosperous ‘UK plc’  A new era of social responsibility, accountability and added-value contributions is now a dominant policy discourse. All individuals are required by government to make a contribution to help the country reduce its financial deficit and re-establish stability within a 2 Hughes, D (2010). A Literature Review: Social Mobility and Careers Service Policies. Careers England 3 UKCES (2010) Ambition 2020: World Class Skills and Jobs for the UK. South Yorkshire: Wath-upon-Dearne. Accessed on 23.07.10: http://www.ukces.org.uk/upload/pdf/A2020_web_final.pdf
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  fragile UK economy.Providing opportunities for the active engagement of all individuals in some form of learning and work is a pre-requisite for social mobility.  Social mobility can result in disadvantages as well as advantages for the individual. Hutton (2008)4 describes social mobility as the opportunities available to individuals to enable them ‘to live a life that someone would have reason to value’. As well as its importance to the individual, social mobility is also important for society and for the economy as a whole, helping to build a more prosperous and more cohesive Britain.5.  In general, policy-makers do recognise the urgent need to address social mobility through a more progressive approach for a new all-age careers service framework in England. The research evidence highlights the contribution of CEIAG as a pre-cursor to social mobility. All three main political parties have identified that CEIAG has an important contribution to make and in this sense the notion of CEIAG ‘lubricating’ the wheels of social mobility and economic prosperity is an important image to promote.  There is broad agreement that there has been too narrow a focus on the disadvantaged minority to the detriment of the aspirational majority. The need to balance and target resources effectively, particularly to those most in need, remains a key challenge for the new Coalition Government and for providers of education and employment.  The centrality of education as a ‘catalyst for change’ in making a difference to social mobility is undisputed; however, the mechanisms deployed to encourage a more equitable social distribution of life chances and the relationship between education and the workplace remains contested territory. The significant savings to the public purse of just a modest reduction in NEET and the costs resulting from ill-informed career or study choices leading to course switching, non-completion of studies and/ or unemployment are apparent. Cost savings cannot be fully achieved within existing arrangements.  New market-based models of provision in education and careers services are beginning to emerge in different forms. There is a growing expectation to find some form of continuity of CEIAG for young people and adults. Totally separate services for young people and adults can produce duplication and wastage of scarce resources. Also, an opening up of the careers sector market brings new possibilities but also presents potential threats, particularly for Government, in safeguarding the interests of those most vulnerable in our society.  A consumer-led approach with increased demand for accurate information, particularly on returns for investment and labour market trends, means that a closer connectivity between education, employers and careers professionals must be encouraged by 4 Hutton, W. (2008). Barnardos Lecture: Social Mobility, October 2008. Accessed on 06.05.2010: http://www.barnardos.org.uk/will_hutton_lecture_summary-2.pdf 5 Ibid.
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  the new CoalitionGovernment. Improved data on learning outcomes, supported by impartial and accurate information on opportunities, destinations and individuals’ immediate, intermediate and longer-term career trajectories are paramount.  Informal sources of information and advice can, in some cases, be very helpful; however, they may not always be reliable, impartial or accurate. In this sense, the ‘unique selling point’ of professional sources of CEIAG, including quality assurance kitemarks, may be the reassurance of the authority and impartiality that they confer.  The actual lack of impartiality of CEIAG was beginning to be addressed to some extent by the previous government; however, neither the 2008 Act nor the IAG strategy had been fully supported by detailed statutory guidance to LAs nor by any form of inspection or measurement and thus had made minimal impact. The new Academies Act (2010)6 and forthcoming Schools White Paper and Education and Children’s Bill due to be announced in autumn 2010 will need to shed more light on this.  The rapid expansion in technology and its apparent cost-effectiveness within an all- age careers service framework is likely to become more prevalent and significant for a government forced to make the harsh savings in public expenditure required by the budget deficit. How the new NEXT STEP service and Connexions Direct will become part of the new administration’s (proposed but yet to be confirmed in policy terms) all-age careers service remains uncertain.  It is often difficult to demonstrate the direct impact of CEIAG support activities given the behaviour of individuals is complex and subject to many interacting factors. Evidence presented in section 3 of the main report, demonstrates clearly that careers services and careers support activities can and do make a significant difference in terms of learning outcomes such as increased self-confidence, self-esteem, motivation, and enhance decision making. There is also strong evidence that CEIAG supports significant participation in learning and educational attainment. For progression into employment, the case is less clear although there is some evidence that highly intensive support for the unemployed can make a difference. Recommendations On the basis of evidence, and the affirmed views of the leading figures interviewed in preparing this paper, the Coalition Government is urged, as part of its all-age careers service plans, to: (i) work closely with Careers England (the leading trade association of careers sector employers whose members are major employers of careers advisers responsible for designing 6 The Academies Act (2010) received Royal Assent on 27th July 2010. Accessed on 29.07.10: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2010/ukpga_20100032_en_1
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  and delivering high-qualitycareers services), the Careers Colloquium7, the UK Careers Sector Strategic Forum and leading representatives from industry and education, to identify progressive approaches designed to halt the decline of opportunities and broaden access to sustainable mobility and employability for all individuals; (ii) support the development of a formal partnership model for careers professionals to work more closely with those in education and industry to help address social mobility and the active participation of all individuals in some form of meaningful learning and work. Also, to draw upon lessons learned from impartial CEIAG in public, private and voluntary/community sectors within and outside of England; (iii) help build capacity, assure quality, and promote expansion in careers information, advice and guidance for all UK citizens through a new and dynamic re- engineered system that takes account of both formal and informal learning support activities. In doing so, to put in place arrangements for safeguarding individuals from potential ‘rogue traders’ who might view government de-regulation as an opportunity to prey upon those most vulnerable in our society; (iv) utilise the evidence which highlights that trained, competent and qualified careers advisers provide a powerful ‘trigger’ for motivating individuals, including those most vulnerable in society, to engage more fully with learning and work; (v) develop a new accountability framework for careers service provision that focuses on diversity and equality with particular emphasis on narrowing the attainment and achievement gaps between different groups in our society, particularly those most in need. (vi) further develop community learning provision and implement career literacy support strategies to facilitate individuals’ personal and career development. These should be open to all individuals, regardless of their age, ethnicity, gender and occupational status. (vii) support the careers sector to raise the status of the profession and improve its all- round stature as a powerful agent for change in helping to transform people’s lives. The forthcoming report from the Careers Profession Taskforce in England8 should be helpful in this regard. 7 The Careers Colloquium is a newly formed careers professional associations’ body working together to provide a single voice to Government on the design and development of an all-age careers service framework in England. 8 The Careers Profession Taskforce in England is led by Dame Ruth Silver CBE, commissioned by the former Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), and is due to report to the Minister for Education in September 2010.