NEWS RELEASE
17 October 2013
Chairman of the Education Select Committee: new figures on careers advice “should shame the Department for Education into action”
The Chairman of the Education Select Committee, Graham Stuart MP, will use a speech in London today to say new figures regarding careers guidance in schools in England “should shame the Department for Education into action”.
New calculations reveal that more than 1.3 million pupils in years 9, 10 and 11 are currently in schools where they cannot be confident of receiving careers advice of the quality they need.
They also show how little funding the Department for Education is offering to support the new National Careers Service (NCS). Last year, the Department spent just 0.008% of its total budget on funding the work of the NCS, which is currently doing excellent work helping adults to find employment.
In a speech at the Westminster Employment Forum, Graham Stuart will say:
“Careers guidance for young people is the elephant in Michael Gove’s red box. These figures should shame the DfE into action.
“At the moment, the potential of the National Careers Service to help our young people is largely going to waste.
“The stakes are high – both for young people and for the Government itself, whose reforms are undermined if there is no decent signposting within education and between education and the world of employment.”
Notes for Editors
1. New calculations based on data from Ofsted and the House of Commons Library show that over 1.3 million pupils in years 9, 10 and 11 in England are currently in schools where they cannot be confident they will receive the careers advice they need.[1]
2. A second new calculation based on figures from the Department for Education and the Skills Funding Agency shows that the DfE spent just 0.008% of its budget on funding the National Careers Service (NCS) in 2012/13.[2]
3. In June, the CBI’s education and skills survey found that only 5% of businesses across the UK feel the careers advice available to young people is good enough.
4. In the same month, the National Careers Council published a report calling for “a major culture change in the careers provision for young people…in order to help address the mismatch of skills shortages, and in particular high youth unemployment.”
5. In January 2013, the Education Select Committee published a report, Careers guidance for young people: the impact of the new duty on schools, calling for a greater role for the NCS to support – and challenge – schools to deliver independent, impartial careers advice.
6. Over the last twelve months, the National Careers Service has delivered 1.1 million face to face advice sessions with 650,000 adults. 76% of its adult customers reported progress in learning or work after six months, and 56% said the NCS was instrumental in helping them to achieve this.
7. Graham Stuart is the Conservative MP for Beverley and Holderness.
FN [1] In September, Ofsted reported that only 20% of schools are effective in ensuring that all their students in Years 9, 10 and 11 receive the level of information, advice and guidance they need to support decision-making about their careers. There were 1,668,815 pupils in years 9, 10 and 11 in England as at January 2013 (HC Library).
FN 2 The DfE spent £4.7 million on the NCS in 2012/13 (out of total departmental spending of just under £57 billion). By contrast, the Business, Innovation and Skills department contributed over £84 million (with a focus on the NCS’ adult services).
ENDS
Simon Clarke
Education Adviser to Graham Stuart MP, Chairman of the Education Select Committee
House of Commons | London SW1A OAA |
Telephone: 020 7219 4848
