Report of the Head of Work and Skills attached

This report provides an update on the developments of careers education, information, advice and guidance which have undergone a significant positive transformation over the last four years and now have a renewed emphasis nationally and investment in resources and infrastructure to improve careers programmes in secondary and post 16 provision.

The Committee considered a report of the Head of Work and Skills, which highlighted the significant positive transformation Careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) had undergone over the last four years and provided an update on the developments, including and update on Skills for Life and how this was contributing towards preparing young people for future labour markets.

The Head of Work and Skills referred to the main points and themes in the report, which included:-

·                The national context for schools and colleges to secure independent careers guidance for all registered pupils at the school/college in years 8 to 3 on the full range of education and training options, including apprenticeships;

·                An overview of the Greater Manchester context and activity, including the prioradvisities of the Greater Manchester Careers and Participation Strategy;

·                The role and purpose of Enterprise Advisor Networks to work strategically with school leadership teams to guide and influence the development and implementation of an effective careers programme;

·                The work carried out by the GM Careers Hub and the CEIAG Network;

·                How the Council supported the most disadvantaged linking in with the work around transition and prevention of NEET;

·                The role of the Council’s Work and Skills Team in supporting employer’s engagement with schools and colleges to maximise the opportunities for young people; and

·                An update on Skills for Life (formally known as Curriculum for Life) in raising the profile of the transferable skills required by all employers so that children and young people understood the importance and relevance, especially in emerging sectors and changing labour market.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committees discussions were:-

·                It was suggested that it would be useful to compare how Manchester performed in encouraging quality provision of careers programmes with other core cities across the country;

·                It was queried that in the inevitability of a future recession, would the Council be able to request funding from Government to continue to provide CEIAG in Manchester

·                It was requested for more information on which schools were engaged with Inspiring IAG;

·                It was highlighted that by sharing quantative and qualitative information on young people’s learning goals and career ambitions between schools and Further Education (FE) providers would enable a smoother transition and maximise the support that could be offered;

·                With the removal the Careers Service in 2012, it was questioned as to how comprehensive was the support and careers guidance now offered to young people;

·                It was commented that due to the high number of SME’s within the city, it was difficult for young people to get a sense of the kind of work required within these businesses, as it was likely to be more diverse, which often required a different level of mental agility;

·                What was the evidence that showed that schools and colleges engaged with a Career Hub and the Enterprise Advisor Network provided a more effective CEIAG;

The Director of Education advised that the Gatsby Benchmark was a national benchmark and was not just associated to Manchester.  As such, it had provided an assurance that there was a standardised approach to what a universal careers programme should be in schools.  In terms of Manchester schools, they were doing well in making progress towards meeting all benchmarks by September 2020.  It was agreed that information on the 29 schools engaged with Inspiring IAG to Members following the meeting

In terms of transition from high school to post 16 education, she acknowledged the comments made around the sharing of quantative and qualitative information and advised that this was an area that was already being looked at, with a pilot having taken place over the summer which involved information on young people transitioning being shared between schools and post 16 providers on those young people who were at risk of becoming Not in Education, Employment and Training (NEET).  Work was also taking place with the secondary school sector on what interventions could be put in place to help prevent young people from becoming a risk of being NEET.  There had also been a pilot with Manchester College in sharing Maths GCSE exam scripts where a young person had not passed their GCSE in Year 11, in order to identify specifically were they had not passed so that a tailored package of support could be offered.

The Committee was advised that the following the removal of the Careers Service, the Council had retained a commissioned service that worked with schools and specifically ensured that targeted and vulnerable young people had a post 16 destination. 

The Head of Work and Skills commented that there was now much greater ownership by schools of what they were providing in terms of careers advice services compared to when this was a city wide provision.  It was also commented that the Council now provided up to date labour market information to the careers networks (pre and post 16) and industry experts were brought in to speak to the careers leads to dispel some of the myths around what the barriers to opportunities might be in their sectors.

The Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Skills commented that there was an opportunity to bring together careers advice service provision in schools together in a much more coherent way.  He acknowledged the need to put early interventions in place to support the transition of young people from both primary to secondary and also secondary to post 16 education and also that there was a need to improve the interface between businesses and schools.

Decision

The Committee:-

(1)       Notes the report and progress made to date.

(2)       Requests that any information presented to the Children and Young Peoples Scrutiny Committee around Skills for Life is shared with this committee for information.

(3)       Proposes to hold a follow up meeting with Young People, to be tentatively scheduled to take place between the February and March 2020 Committee meetings.