Educating young people for

employability: developing a school

strategy for career development
Gary Forrest
 2

Career path
What is meant by employability?
“Employability skills are the skills that almost everyone
needs to do almost any job”

Thinking and Working

Self- Understanding
solving together and
management the business
problems communicating

Using Using
Using IT
numbers language
effectively
effectively effectively

Positive approach

UK CES The Employability Challenge

 5

E = (Q + WE + S) x F
6
Developing a strategy
for employability
 8

What drives schools/colleges?

F is for funding
I is for inspection
S is for statutory
H is for hearts and minds
of teachers
 9

What Intended
outcomes

When Educating How

for
employability

Where Who
 10

Creating a curriculum for employability

What do we want to achieve?
• Understanding
– themselves; career opportunities; work and working
practices; employers’ needs
• Skills
– enterprising; basic/functional; customer service
• Qualities
– have a go attitude; respect for others; respect for the
environment
 11

What Intended
outcomes

When Educating How

for
employability Learning
experiences

Where Who
 12

Creating a curriculum for employability

How will we organise learning?
• experience work – placement; visit
• make choices and take responsibility – plan
events
• follow and create instructions
• speak out and express views
• engage in simulation and with visitors
• reflect on and apply learning
 13

Learning for employability

Watching Practising
Imitating
Feedback Chatting
Teaching and Real-world
Helping problem solving
Listening,
transcribing & Writing and
remembering sketching
Learning on the fly
 14

5-19
Needs of
individuals
What Intended
outcomes

When Educating How

for
employability Learning
experiences

School
College
Workplace
Where Who People
Leadership and
management
 16

The leadership challenge – how are we

doing?
• Do we have a vision and planned outcomes for
employability?
• Do we have effective management and co-ordination
in place?
• Do we have policies in place or in development?
• What resources do we use to support employability?
• Are we compliant with legal requirements?
• Do we recognise achievements?
Curriculum and assessment
 18

Curriculum opportunities for career and

work-related education
• Explicit, planned content in all
curriculum subjects
• Specific lessons as part of a tutorial
programme
• Whole school/college activities
• Specific projects and experiences
 19

A curriculum for employability

• Learning in a work context
• Business involvement
• Synthesis of theory and practice
• experiential learning
• Experiences of work
• high fidelity or high validity
• Aiming for progression to work, HE/FE
 20

Purpose of study – English and

mathematics
• “All the skills of language are essential to participating
fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore, who
do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and
confidently are effectively disenfranchised. “
• “It is essential to everyday life, critical to science,
technology and engineering, and necessary for
financial literacy and most forms of employment.”
– National Curriculum
 21

Purposes of National Curriculum

subjects
• Science - vital to the world’s future prosperity
• Art & Design – contributes to the wealth of our
nation
• Citizenship - knowledge, skills and
understanding to prepare them to play a full
and active part in society
• Computing – digitally literate at a level suitable
for the future workplace
 22

Purposes of National Curriculum

subjects (2)
• Design & technology - essential contribution
to the wealth and well-being of the nation
• History - equip pupils to ask perceptive
questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift
arguments, and develop perspective and
judgement.
• Geography - inspire in pupils a curiosity and
fascination about the world and its people
 23

Purposes of National Curriculum

subjects (3)
• Languages - a liberation from insularity and
provides an opening to other cultures;
equipping pupils to study and work in other
countries
• Music - increase their self-confidence,
creativity and sense of achievement
• PE - build character and help to embed
values such as fairness and respect
 24

Assessment and accreditation

Partnerships and employer
engagement
 26
Developing students’ employability:
working with partners
• What is the rationale for partnership?
• Who are our partners?
• What can our partners provide?
 27

Employer involvement – benefits to

education
• revenue and resources
• governance
• improved community profile
• improved skills
• professional development opportunities for
teachers
• higher staff morale
• innovative options for curriculum delivery
 28
Developing students’ employability:
working with partners
• What is the rationale for partnership?
• Who are our partners?
• What can our partners provide?
• How can we engage new partners?
 29

Benefits to employers
• better prepared • force for change
workforce • interdependent
• recruitment community
• staff development partnership
• business • working with young
development people
• public relations • individual creativity
• employee relations • parental aspect
Monitoring, evaluation and
review
 How do you know if your employability
strategy is working?

Unintended outcomes
Inspection &
accountability
measures
Parental /
community
/ staff
impact Attainment in
qualifications

Personal development Skills / competencies

/ attitudes / motivation / qualities
 32

A strategy for employability

• What understanding, skills and qualities do we
want our students to have?
• What experiences should they have? Where and
when will they have them?
• Who will be involved in planning, delivery and
evaluation? Who are our partners and what can
they offer?
• How will we assess students’ employability
learning? How will we evaluate our strategy?
 Work roles Employment
Rights and
Types of responsibilities Career options
business Self-employment
Identities Work experience
Money
Enterprise
project
Individual
learning plan

Problem Teamworker Independent

Enterprising solver
Positive and Sociable Principled
enthusiastic
 34

Gary Forrest
garydforrest@yahoo.co.uk
www.educationforemployability.co.uk