Careers-related professional development for school staff.
Research into the effectiveness of careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) always highlights two key points:
- Teachers and tutors are the key influence on student career decision making – preceded only by the influence of parents and carers.
- Students with career goals are more likely to attain academically and recognise the relevance of subjects studied to the world of work.
It follows that the contribution of school staff, including teachers, tutors, mentors and pastoral staff, is vital to the success of the careers support experienced by students. Career-related learning and the development of career management skills offer a valuable context in which young people can develop the capacities of the curriculum. Moreover, learning and teaching should harness the experience and expertise of different professions in order to develop young people’s enterprise and employability skills and help them plan for the future.
In this context, CareersInc will support schools to provide opportunities to use careers as an exciting context for learning. We seek to develop a strong guidance community which will harness the skills and expertise of our careers advisers, school staff, employers and providers in all the schools we work with.
To understand the role that schools can play in this guidance community it may be helpful to explore the component parts of career education and career guidance.
Career education is a process of learning, designed to help young people to develop the knowledge, confidence and skills they need to make well-informed, relevant choices and plans for their future, so they can progress smoothly into further learning and work. This type of career-related learning can occur in a number of areas within the curriculum and done successfully will support students to develop career management skills to:
- Develop personal awareness around likes, dislikes, strengths and weaknesses
- Gather, interpret and analyse career, learning and labour market information
- Explore options in learning and work and relate this to personal priorities and strengths, and
- Take action to build a career pathway.
Career guidance is a process, delivered individually or in groups (sometimes with reference to printed or electronic resources) which helps individuals to gain a clearer understanding of their career development needs and potential, an appreciation of the process of career planning and decision making. It also helps them to clarify and attain their career objectives through the successful understanding and application of their career management skills.
Career guidance makes use of theories of career development, occupational choice, psychological and economic analysis and puts into practice a variety of frameworks for effective guidance delivery. This includes the use of techniques and tools which focus on personal challenge and growth. Careers advisers working with CareersInc are all professionally qualified to at least Level 6.
Effective career guidance needs to be underpinned by effective career education
Career guidance plays a vital role in helping individuals make the decisions about learning and work that are right for them, but for it to be effective, young people need to have the knowledge and skills to access and make good use of the information, advice and guidance. They also need the skills of career management to seek out opportunities, make successful applications and manage transitions. This is why schools need to complement the provision of careers guidance with careers and work-related education planned within the curriculum.
An effective guidance community in each school can support the raising of aspirations for all students.
Career development should be an ongoing and active process, building on foundations laid by the individual’s educational experiences and their achievements. Learners need to experience opportunities which are designed not only to raise their awareness of future choices, but also raise their expectations and aspirations.
We know that people form career ideas and identities at a relatively young age. Therefore, it is important that, at an early stage, they have opportunities and support to explore and consider a wide range of potential careers. That way they are more likely to develop an aspirational approach to their career choice throughout their learning and in later life.
We cannot over-estimate the capacity of good career development to enthuse people about their future and to encourage them to aim high when considering and planning further learning and work.
Making it happen…
It is recognised that school staff need support if they are to undertake this vital role of providing an aspirational careers-related curriculum and also signpost students to resources, information and guidance to help them take their next steps.
CareersInc will provide direct inputs into school inset sessions where requested. This website is also intended to be a good starting point for school staff to find out about pathways, the labour market and sources of specialist and reliable information and help.
In agreement with individual schools, CareersInc will also provide relevant and accurate information for school staff to use with students and their parents or carers, as well as suggest a range of flexible curriculum activities for use with students.
For further information about professional development, please contact Jacqui on 07920 794 799 or email info@careersinc.co.uk
