Building The Careers Bridge

Musings about careers education and how we can improve collaboration between the sectors.

Gunning for Guidance: Statistics vs Stories.

The number of young people receiving quality 1-1 careers guidance has increased dramatically since the introduction of Gatsby 8, but feedback from young people in receipt of this provision reveals depressing details behind the data.

In the Careers and Enterprise Company’s 2021 ‘Trends in Careers Education Report’, GB8 was the smug top of the class. Skipping breezily through lockdown, elbowing GB4 and 6 out the way while hoarding the loo rolls and munching on home-baked artisan sourdough. “Look at me, still providing 80% of all secondary school pupils and 95% of FE students with the opportunity for a 1-1 guidance appointment!” it boasted. And on the surface, these figures are indeed heartening. Dig deeper, however, and the rose-tinted specs slip off.

What’s the story?

A dive into the handful of qualitative studies exploring these challenges throws up some key barriers to accessing and benefitting from the guidance available. Themes such as building trust, the neuroscientific makeup of the teenage brain and school/college priorities are pertinent, and difficult yet vital to address. Here is the lowdown on some of the key issues:

The teenage brain

In her fascinating book on this topic, Sarah-Jayne Blakemore discusses the difficulties experienced by the teenage brain when planning longer-term. Indeed, to the contrary, the teenage psyche naturally craves short-term reward. So is it any wonder that the prospect of an hour (if they’re lucky) with a near-stranger discussing what they plan to do with their life induces anxiety? Of course, CDPs understand that guidance is SO much more than that, but are the young people we chase around the corridors to make their allocated slot in the know?

A question of trust

Many establishments are lucky enough to have a long-term, permanent Level 6/7 qualified career guidance practitioner. Hurrah! Many, however, buy in expertise from outside. Platz’s study on forming trust in pedagogical settings outlines the case for young people needing time and space to build trust with an individual before feeling safe to ask for guidance and support. A good CDP will take time to factor this in, but with appointment times as short as 30 minutes in a one-off session, is this enough?

The myth that life is linear

Dr. Kate Daubney does a great job in her book of discussing that conversations with several careers professionals suggest that many young people still believe in a linear career path. The myth lives on that if they make one ‘mistake’ in the decision-making process then all is lost and they are doomed to fail. Who wants to approach these conversations when, frankly, there seems to be so much at stake?

The devil is in the details

Cristiana Orlando’s study on the impact of Covid-19 on young people’s experiences of careers support is a real eye opener. Contributions cemented what we already know about young people preferring to approach (often unprepared) family members for careers advice due to issues with trust. Participants described guidance appointments as feeling rushed, and as if they were being pushed into pathways that were in the interest of the school rather than the individual. They also noticed a preference for discussions about progressing to HE over vocational options. They’re no push overs.

We got this!

The rather marvellous news is that the careers world is full of some of the most caring, motivated and determined humans I’ve ever had the pleasure to encounter. If any group of people can sort this, the careers family can! Demands on schools and colleges in terms of funding, time and league tables are not going anywhere soon, but if we continue to listen to young people and address their concerns I really believe that confidence and take-up will improve. Organisations such as National Careers Week and the CEC are rolling out fantastic resources for parents to equip them for discussions about their child’s future. Those of us working in HE can learn a huge amount from the insights offered by young people who will be coming our way in the next few years, and indeed our offer should reflect those needs.

I would love to hear about your experiences of delivering 1-1 guidance in different settings, especially if the challenges described in this post resonate with you.

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