The report found that young people are leaving school without the skills that employers need and concluded that there is a need to build stronger bridges between education and employment to ensure that all young people, whatever their background, are able to achieve their potential.
The problem identified by the Committee will not come as a surprise for employers, and research makes clear that young people often struggle to see a clear pathway to work. There is a need to simplify the process so that young people, employers, and schools and colleges can work together to make this transition easier. This is what we are passionate about in the Careers & Enterprise Company.
The Careers & Enterprise Company was created to take a national view of careers and enterprise provision in secondary schools and colleges. We want to ensure a consistent approach across England – whilst also taking into account local priorities. To do this, we have partnered with Local Enterprise Partnerships across England and, in September last year, we launched the Enterprise Adviser network, which is now active in 35 LEPs with over 400 schools engaged.
The LEPs provide the supporting framework for the Enterprise Adviser network. LEPs recruit Enterprise Coordinators, co-funded by the CEC, who work with clusters of up to 20 schools to give them access to the best local employers and programmes. There are now 59 Enterprise Coordinators in post. The LEPs through their growth hubs and their boards, attract senior volunteers from the world of work - the Enterprise Advisers - and match them with a school or college where they support the creation of bespoke employer engagement plans.
I have been lucky enough to see first-hand how this developing network is starting to have a tangible, positive impact in schools and colleges.
Last month we attended an event in Blackburn & Darwen which showcased current or upcoming employment and training opportunities for 15-24 year olds. Supported by the Lancashire LEP and the local authority and with the support of the Enterprise Coordinator, the HIVE business group hosted the borough's largest ever careers fair which included a pop-up textiles factory to help bring to life one of region's key industries.
Another example from just last week was the fourth annual Tees Valleys Skills event - the second largest event in the country for employers to showcase their sectors. The event saw a host of businesses from the region engaging with young people from every secondary school and college in the area.
These are just two examples of the amazing programmes and initiatives happening all across the country - programmes ranging from building kit cars to encourage young people to engage with STEM subjects, employer support at school events, or visits to the workplace all helping to connect students, education and employers. These encounters are crucial as research shows that multiple encounters with business decreases a young person's chances of becoming NEET and can raise their earnings by 18%.
Alison Scholey, life skills co-ordinator at Moulton School & Science College in Northampton, for example, talked about the impact of the Northamptonshire Enterprise Adviser network, saying it "has helped us to think of ways to embed enterprise across the curriculum, expanding the opportunities for encounters with businesses that our students can access."
Similarly, Mike Garnock-Jones, Children & Young People's Directorate at Sheffield City Council praised the work of the Enterprise Adviser network as "very much a partnership between school and college leaders, Enterprise Advisers and Enterprise Coordinators," commenting "their shared knowledge is having a huge impact on helping schools to plan their careers and enterprise support."
There is engaging and inspiring work currently being done across the country. But we also know that our journey is only just beginning.
Above all else, the Lords' report highlights that early intervention – along with consistent support - for young people is incredibly important. Young people's career development is too important to wait until they are about to leave school. We are working with LEPs and other stakeholders to ensure that careers and enterprise provision is consistent across the country and that more young people are engaged about their future. This will ensure all young people are having multiple encounters with businesses that inspire and motivate them about their careers before they leave education.
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