The aim of this joint presentation with Professor Jenny Bimrose (IER) was to summarise, explore and reflect on key findings from DfE sponsored research into this topic - see: main report https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/386030/bis-14-1271-understanding-the-link-between-employers-and-schools-and-the-role-of-the-national-careers-service.pdf

1. Understanding Business
Links with Schools & the
National Careers Service
Professor Jenny Bimrose
Dr. Deirdre Hughes
Institute for Employment Research
University of Warwick

2. Aim:
To review recent key findings on
employer engagement in schools &
colleges, together with the role of the
National Careers Service

3. Summarise
• Relevant
policy
context
Explore
• Recent
research
findings
Reflect • On future
implications

4. Education & Employers: Policy backdrop?
Patch work
masquerading as
unified &
coherent?

5. Education & Employers: Who says what?
• Statutory guidance
• Non-statutory guidanceDfE
• Employers, Partnerships, Skills
• Colleges; Apprenticeships, TraineeshipsDBIS
• Ofsted; National Careers Council;
Gatsby; UKCES; OECD; CEDEFOPRelated

6. Europe 2020: Youth Guarantee
 Supporting young people’s transitions
 Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan (UK)
‘In preparation’
 UK allocation: 192.54 million euros (with
equivalent country match funding)
 Compare:
Italy 530.18 million euros; Spain 881.44 million euros
Reference: OECD (2014) Local Implementation of Youth Guarantees: Emerging Lessons from
European Experiences, OECD & LEED, Available online: http://www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/Local-
Implementation-Youth-Gurantees-draft.pdf

7. Single focus: BIS research (2014)

8. Links between education & employers
 Focus on recent research study in England:
‘Understanding the link between employers and
education and the role of the National Careers
Service’
 Warwick IER led partnership
 BIS – due for publication October, 2014….now
December
 Data collected: January – July 2014

9. Developing the evidence base
What? Conclusions? Implications?

10. What? Data collection
Literature
Review
Surveys
Interviews
Case
Studies

11. Schools & Colleges
Surveys • 78: 20
Interviews • 12
Case
studies
• 6

12. Employers/ Social Partners
301
telephone
surveys
23 in-
depth
interviews

13. Stakeholder interviews
 Association of Colleges (AoC)
 Association of School and College
Leaders (ASCL)
 Barclays Lifeskills
 British Chamber of Commerce
 Business in the Community (BiTC)
 Career Academies UK
 Confederation of British Industry
(CBI)
 Education and Employers
Taskforce
 Engineering UK
 Federation of Small Businesses
 Local Enterprise Partnerships
Network
 Local Government Association
(LGA)
 Monster Jobs
 National Grid
 NHS Careers, Health Education,
England
 Nottingham Futures
 Prospects Ltd
 Plotr
 RAF Careers Service
 The Edge Foundation
 Unionlearn, TUC

15. National Careers Services
Out of 13
Prime
Contractors
• Plus telephone & webchat helpline
services
Included 8
Prime
Contractors
• Plus telephone & webchat helpline
services

16. Education/ employer links
Data analysis
Synthesis
Findings
Implications

17. Conclusion Implication
Successful employer
engagement is based on
long-lasting, mutually
acceptable & beneficial
relationships between
education and businesses
Whilst there exist a variety
of links that bring
significant benefit, these
activities need to be
incorporated within
structures that allow for
up-scaling and coherence
Literature Review

18. Employers: conclusions & implications
Large
employers v
SMEs
Barriers

19. Schools: conclusions & implications
YEAR
GROUPS
CONTACTS
COHERENCE
STRONG
LEADERSHIP

20. Role of the National Careers Service
Awareness
Visibility
Scope
• Services for young
people under-
utilised
• In need of
improvement
• Partnerships and
local impact

21. Labour market information (LMI)
Finding: High quality, reliable LMI is in
high demand from schools &
colleges
Implication: ‘LMI for All’ web portal
provides an open source for
what is required, but schools &
colleges require support to
exploit its potential

22. Find out more
www.lmiforall.org.uk/
Become an early adopter
Stay in contact!
Final launch summer 2015

23. For more information…
Peter Glover, UKCES
Peter.Glover@ukces.org.uk
Jenny Bimrose, IER
Jenny.Bimrose@warwick.ac.uk
Deirdre Hughes, IER
deirdre.hughes3@btinternet.com