Ofsted Finds Room For Improvement In Careers Guidance Provided By UK Schools
(PRWEB UK) 11 October 2013 -- The employment world is a different place for the younger generation with job interviews taking place via Skype, being head hunted through LinkedIn and even impressing a potential employer with an original video on YouTube.
The Internet generation which has been coined the ‘always on generation’ have instant access to more careers information than ever before.
With all this careers information readily available, it is important that young people are given the opportunity to speak to an impartial adviser in regards to their futures.
In September 2013 Ofsted released a report titled ‘Going in the right direction’ (*) which found room for improvement in many schools provision of careers guidance.
With the next generation of entrepreneurs, business people and future employees currently seeking career guidance and advice, it is vital that they are correctly guided by professionals with the key skill sets to support them.
The survey commissioned by the Department for Education aimed to explore whether all young people in school years 9 to 11, were receiving comprehensive impartial career advice and guidance.
The report found that, “about half the schools visited used their own staff to inform students about careers but these staff often had insufficient training and did not provide students with up-to-date information”.
Independent careers advice and guidance provided by professionally qualified local careers advisers is the key to helping teenagers develop the skills for career management.
The notion of working your way up the corporate ladder in a job for life - has been replaced by a “crazy paving” approach to career progression.
With Secondments, redundancy, re-training, and short term/seasonal/zero hour contracts becoming an increasing reality for UK workers, it is vital that the future workforce is better prepared.
The Ofsted report made some interesting observations in regards to use of careers websites by the ‘always on generation’ and found mixed feedback from the students that were interviewed.
The report found, “While many students felt that the different websites provided an excellent starting point to generate ideas, only a few of them said that they did not need further support to explore the suggested options for careers.”
Careers advice and guidance provided by organisations such as Ansbury can be used as a holistic approach to guiding the next generation of employees.
Ansbury is a not for profit careers guidance provider serving the Dorset, Poole and Bournemouth area with over 30 years experience in the careers guidance sector.
The services that Ansbury provide cover all aspects of employment and career progression, covering teenagers, adults, parents and are contracted to provide career services to local authorities and schools.
Ansbury provide various services such as apprenticeship workshops, motivational interviewing, one to one guidance interviews, CV building, parent’s evenings, careers conventions and many more.
Working in a variety of schools across the area, Ansbury ensures that pupils are being guided in the right direction towards their personal career aspirations.
Highcliffe School in Christchurch, Dorset are working with Ansbury advisers to provide quality careers advice and guidance to their students.
Helen Finch a member of the careers staff at Highcliffe School commented, “Students receive high quality, independent advice about different career pathways and information about courses and opportunities at other local institutions.”
Helen added, "The staff members at Highcliffe know we have a specialist careers adviser to support students with their transitions and careers queries, and parents appreciate that the students are given impartial and professional advice."
Matched with the excellent skill set that the Ansbury advisers possess, teenagers can highly benefit from talking to an impartial professional adult about career choices and options.
For more information about the services that Ansbury offer then please contact our specialist career advice team on 0800 358 3888, alternatively you can contact us online.
(*) Ofsted: "Going in the right direction? Careers Guidance in schools from September 2012", September 10 2013.
Fiona Daborn, Ansbury, http://www.ansbury.co.uk/, +44 7818014524, [email protected]
Share this article