Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found athttp://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=cbjg20

Download by: [Dr Deirdre Hughes] Date: 14 July 2017, At: 05:13

British Journal of Guidance & Counselling

ISSN: 0306-9885 (Print) 1469-3534 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cbjg20

Careers work in England’s schools: politics,practices and prospects

Deirdre Hughes

To cite this article: Deirdre Hughes (2017): Careers work in England’s schools: politics, practicesand prospects, British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, DOI: 10.1080/03069885.2017.1346234

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2017.1346234

Published online: 04 Jul 2017.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 87

View related articles

View Crossmark data

Careers work in England’s schools: politics, practices andprospectsDeirdre Hughes

University of Warwick, Institute for Employment Research (IER), Coventry, UK

ABSTRACTThis article provides a five-year historical synopsis of how centralgovernment policies are impacting on careers work in England’ssecondary schools. It shows attempts to reshape and re-engineer careersprovision for young people, through an evolving careers experiment.The extent to which such exogenous arrangements are facilitating and/or impeding progress to secure independent and impartial careersguidance for young people is considered. Some brief comparisons aremade to other national careers policy developments in Northern Ireland,Scotland and Wales. A blame culture and evidence-based rhetoric hascrept into England’s policy discourse. The career developmentprofession has largely been left on the periphery of the careersexperiment and this article seeks explanations of this oversight. Thereare tensions yet to be resolved when it comes to a quasi-marketexperiment in careers work and the role of government. Key lessonslearned are outlined for consideration by policy-makers, academic andpractitioners both within and outside of the UK.

ARTICLE HISTORYReceived 19 February 2017Revised 10 June 2017Accepted 17 June 2017

KEYWORDSPolicy; careers services foryoung people; schools;enterprise; evidence;accountability

Introduction

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether weprovide enough for those who have little. (Franklin D Roosevelt, January 1937)

The United Kingdom (UK) is leaving the European Union. As it moves towards finding a new placein the world order, an accelerating wave of economic, social and technological change will inevitablytransform the economy (Lawrence, 2016), schooling and people’s lives. There are several unknownsabout the long-term impact and consequences resulting from this, but change is on the horizon. Forexample, almost half of UK business leaders are worried about post-Brexit skills shortages and fearthey will not find enough suitable personnel (IoD, 2016). There are concerns that skills gaps in sectoralareas which rely heavily on overseas workers will be hard hit, including the teaching profession (DfE,2016b). The ILO Skills Match in Europe report (2014) indicates the UK has the fifth highest level ofmismatch, with 28.9% of its workforce in jobs not suited to their skill level. Of this, 15% of the work-force has a higher than average education level for their occupation (ILO, 2014). Working families,social justice and inclusive growth are centrally positioned in current political reforms (Her Majesty’sGovernment [HMG], 2016). Giving attention to working families is important, because almost half ofpeople living in poverty in the UK are in a working household (Fullfact, 2015). However, it is to a largeextent unclear what is meant by social justice and inclusive growth. Social justice, as described byBeilharz (1989) is something of ‘a catch-all category’ for keynesianism, welfarism, economic growthand consumerism, in short, something achieved through markets and/or state intervention. Stott

© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

CONTACT Deirdre Hughes deirdre.hughes3@btinternet.com

BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING, 2017https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2017.1346234

(2017) highlights inclusive growth is a somewhat vague and slippery term interpreted and adoptedby many different individuals and organisations. He warns against conflating too many issues underthe inclusive growth banner and argues for strategies that reduce poverty through jobs and improv-ing the labour market. Warhurst (2017) argues Britain’s policy-makers need to pay greater attention tothe subject of ‘decent quality jobs’ for individuals given almost three-quarters of workers who werelow paid in 2002 were still in low paid jobs in 2012.

This article provides a five-year historical synopsis of how central government policies are impact-ing on careers work in England’s secondary schools. It highlights attempts to reshape and re-engineercareers provision for young people, through an evolving careers experiment. The extent to whichsuch exogenous arrangements are facilitating and/or impeding progress to secure independentcareers guidance for young people is considered. Some brief comparisons are made to other nationalcareers policy developments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. A blame culture and evidence-based rhetoric has crept into England’s policy discourse. The career development profession haslargely been left on the periphery of the careers experiment and this article seeks explanations ofthis oversight. The article concludes by highlighting tensions, yet to be resolved, in relation to fair-ness, transparency and accountability within current careers work for young people in England.

Turning points

Education systems not only distribute social assets, but also shape the kind of society that is cominginto being (Connell, 1993). Jobs, skills and growth are inextricably linked to this and careers work inEngland’s schools. Labour market economists and educationalists have long recognised that high-quality careers work matters when it comes to the effective functioning of the labour market, theeconomy, the education system and social justice (Autor, 2001; Ginzberg, 1971; Killeen, White, &Watts, 1992; McMahon, Arthur, & Collins, 2008; Organisation for the Economic Co-operation andDevelopment [OECD], 2010). For individuals to get in, get on and move up in learning and work(UKCES, 2014), this will require greater forms of careers leadership (Lodders & Meijers, 2017),careers dialogue in schools (Kujipers & Meijers, 2014), careers adaptability (Bimrose, Brown, Barnes,& Hughes, 2011; Savickas, 2012) and careers resilience unmatched in the past. Hunter (2001) citedin Lengelle et al. (in press) highlights the latter requires individuals to learn ‘the process ofbending and rebounding to overcome adversity’.

But looking ahead careers work in England’s schools is likely to experience serious pressure giventhe UK Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR) estimates more fiscal tightening over the next fouryears, particularly in the public sector (Oxford Economics, 2017). Local authorities in England lost 27%of their spending power between 2010/11 and 2015/16 in real terms. Some services have experi-enced cumulative cuts to the order of 45% (JRF, 2015) and the National Audit Office (2016) indicatesschools in England must reduce spending by 8% per pupil by 2020 – the biggest real terms cut in ageneration. The trend of fiscal tightening is commonplace in Europe and further afield, but thedegree to which public services reduce and careers work in schools become hollowed out varies con-siderably (ICCDPP, 2017).

For those committed to supporting careers work in England’s schools and local communities, a newindustrial strategy, announced by the Prime Minister (HMG, 2017) provides a clear focus. This has calledfor improvements in education and skills, supported by careers provision for people of all ages:

Our improved education and skills system must be supported by high-quality careers provision… Careers pro-vision continues to be patchy and inconsistent – both in schools and in later life. The Government is reviewingthe current careers offer for people of all ages, and will build on the best international evidence to publish a com-prehensive strategy later this year for careers information, advice and guidance. (p. 45)

The government plans to concentrate on five broad pillars to inform a national careers strategydue to be published later in the year. These include: (i) the prestige attached to careers information,advice and guidance (CIAG); (ii) the quality of careers provision (for people of all ages); (iii) the skills

2 D. HUGHES

needs that have to be addressed in England; (iv) support for those who are most disadvantaged usingcareers to improve social justice and (v) greater efforts on securing the end goal of meaningful-skilledemployment that works for everyone (DfE, 2017, p. 3). School-mediated employer engagement andenterprise advisers are high on the political agenda, though for the first time in recent years, centralgovernment has indicated it wants to ensure that:

great careers guidance provides the first rung on the ladder of opportunity, helping everyone to achieve their fullpotential. (DfE, 2017, p. 3)

This could potentially be a significant turning point for careers work in England’s schools and localcommunities, but historical developments from 2012 to present day give rise to uncertainty aboutthe seriousness of these laudable intentions.

Gaps are widening

Across England, there are growing concerns that socio-economic educational attainment gaps arewidening as young people progress through the education system (Lupton & Thomson, 2015). Presti-gious career routes and opportunities tend to be monopolised by young people from affluent back-grounds (Social Mobility Commission, 2016). To make this gap smaller, providing more exposure toand experiences of the world of work for students is important (Jones et al., 2016). The Wolf report(2011), endorsed by the Coalition Government, resulted in it being no longer mandatory for pupilsaged 15–16. From August 2013, study programmes were introduced for those aged 16–19 in education– unless they were apprentices (because they were employed). This involves work experience for thoseon vocational courses and non-qualification activity for those on academic programmes. Her Majesty’sInspectorate Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) found this was oneof the weakest aspects of schools provision (2013). Teenage experience of work, in particular, part-timeemployment, is rapidly in decline. The proportion of 16–17-year-olds combining full-time educationwith part-time employment has fallen from 42% in 1997 to 18% in 2014 (Hughes, Mann, Barnes,Baldauf, & McKeown, 2016). With such decline, the requirement grows on schools, through careers pro-vision to help young people gain the types of insights, exposure and experiences which they mighttraditionally have accessed through direct paid experience of the labour market.

Major government reforms for expanding apprenticeships in England, (HMG, 2015) and new tech-nical education routes (IPTE, 2016) highlight the need for ‘the widespread availability of comprehensivecareer guidance’ (p. 7). Moote and Archer (2017) recently investigated students’ views on careers workin England’s schools and their satisfaction with this provision. The research draws on data collectedthrough a national survey of over 13,000 Year 11 students aged 15/16 years and in-depth longitudinalinterviews conducted with 70 students from this cohort (aged from 10 to 16 years). Findings describecareers education and young people’s engagement with careers information as both ‘patchy and pat-terned by social injustices’ (p. 3). Clearly careers work in schools is not reaching those most in need.Sociological research suggests that ‘racial minorities, particularly low-income minorities, have accessto job contacts, but may be unable to effectively make use of their contacts’ social capital for a jobsearch’ (MacDonald, Lin, & Ao, 2009). It is not uncommon among low-income minorities to switchoff a career pathway because of barriers associated with poverty or a lack of awareness of opportunitystructures. Gender role expectations are highly prevalent throughout schooling. Moreover, whilegender relates to a single social variable, in reality it is often associated with multidimensional disad-vantage. Bimrose, McMahon, andWatson (2015) highlight the term ‘intersectionality’ as useful to under-standing the complexity of the layers of disadvantage in this regard.

Careers work in England’s schools

Prior to the 2010 general election, the Conservative Party had included in its election manifesto acommitment ‘to create a new all-age careers service’ in England (Conservative Party, 2010) to

BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING 3

correspond to those already developed for young people and adults in the rest of the UK. In Novem-ber 2010, the then Prime Minster (Rt Hon David Cameron MP) appointed Lord Young, a former con-servative government Cabinet Minister, as Enterprise Zsar (BBC, 2010). Within his remit was a keyobjective to encourage people to start businesses rather than seek jobs as employees. This objectivecontinues to feature prominently under the present Conservative government. The significance ofthis should not be under-estimated, particularly when it comes to assessing how the dominant dis-course of enterprise has featured prominently in the unique English careers experiment, discussedbelow. Also, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2010) and theHarvard School for Graduate Education’s Pathways to Prosperity (Symonds, Schwartz, & Ferguson,2011) delivered to government international evidence on the value of employer engagement toyoung people’s educational experiences. Both indicated that as careers diversify, careers guidancebecomes increasingly important.

Careers work in England’s secondary schools spans all types of educational institutions: academies;maintained schools; community schools; foundation schools; free schools; independent schools; sixthform colleges; pupil referral units (PRUs) and other alternative schooling providers. Hutchinson (2013)defines careers work in England’s schools as: (i) careers education (including self-development,exploration and management); (ii) work-related learning (about types of work, developing skills forand through work) and (iii) CIAG. Until 2012, careers provider responsibility resided in Englandwith local authorities and was delivered through a national network of youth Connexions centres.The Education Act (2011) placed a statutory duty on local authority maintained schools in Englandto secure access to independent and impartial careers guidance for their pupils in years 9–11(ages 14–16 years old). This duty came into force in 2012, at the same time as the Coalition Govern-ment released schools in England from their statutory duties to provide careers education and work-related learning. Central government policy decisions such as ‘school autonomy’ (DfE, 2012) with newfreedoms for headteachers to secure careers guidance services from an independent provider (a con-tractor-supplier relationship) left schools themselves to define the form such services should take.Neither ring-fenced nor any recognisable new stream of income was made available. Current legis-lation requires all young people in England to continue in education or training until at least theireighteenth birthday (DfE, 2016a), although in practice the vast majority of young people continueuntil the end of the academic year in which they turn 18 years old. New destination measures andperformance league tables feature as policy levers impacting on all schools (DfE, 2017a). Local auth-orities have a designated responsibility to provide wider personal support to vulnerable youngpeople and those who are not in education, employment or training aged 13–19, and youngadults with learning difficulties and disabilities up to the age of 25. From 2012 onwards, a suddenrapid expansion of careers providers in the open marketplace has led to greater competition, com-plexity and confusion for schools as ‘purchasers’ of careers guidance (House of Commons [HoC],2016a) in a prolific unregulated marketplace.

Four home nations

High-quality careers provision should in theory and practice raise young people’s aspirations,improve social mobility, highlight and address inequalities and, most importantly, provide hopefor a better future. In England, a unique structural arrangement for government-funded careers pro-vision in England exists, compared to other parts of the UK. For example, Northern Ireland, Scotlandand Wales each have a government-funded all-age National Careers Service that act as the majorconduit directly involved in the planning and/or delivery of careers education, information, adviceand guidance in schools and offers differing levels of careers services to adults. Each has a differentcultural nuanced approach, for example, ‘Changing Lives a Vision for Careers Wales, 2017–2020’(Careers Wales, 2017) sets out a careers discovery model for young people, adults and businesses.In Northern Ireland, ‘Preparing for Success 2015–2020 careers education and guidance strategy’(DoE, 2016) outlines key components of a high-quality all-age careers education and guidance

4 D. HUGHES

system. Both have National Careers Strategic Fora with direct involvement from Ministers. And, inScotland ‘Career Information Advice and Guidance in Scotland: A framework for service Redesignand Improvement’ sets out the Scottish Government’s commitment to an all-age universal careersservice provided through Skills Development Scotland (Scottish Government, 2011). An independentCommission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce (Wood, 2014), established by the ScottishGovernment, to investigate ways of improving young people’s transition into employment had rep-resentation from education and business leaders, as well as the joint Skills Committee of the ScottishFunding Council and Skills Development Scotland. The Scottish Government’s response (ScottishGovernment, 2014) was a greater focus on implementing a Curriculum for Excellence with appropri-ate resource dedicated to achieve this. In particular “local authorities, Skills Development Scotlandand employer representative organisations should work together to develop a more comprehensivestandard for careers guidance which would reflect the involvement of employers and their role andinput” (p. 35).

There are significant similarities in their respective approaches, such as all-age digital services, useof labour market intelligence/information (LMI), partnership work with teachers, parents and gover-nors in schools, alongside face-to-face independent and impartial careers guidance, or in the case ofScotland, career coaching for young people. In these home nations, careers provision is recognised asa public good as well as a private one. In contrast, England’s careers provision for young people haslargely been dominated by a neo-liberalist lassiez faire market forces approach that has unfoldedsince 2012. Is this by accident or design?

England’s coalition government: ministerial shifts and focus (2012–2016)

In April 2012, the formation of England’s National Careers Service funded through a governmentsponsored Skills Funding Agency (BIS, April 2012) spearheaded by the then Minister for Skills (Rt.Hon John Hayes MP) heralded a new beginning for all-age careers provision across England. Watts(2013) critiqued its evolution and argued there was significant erosion taking place of the all-agevision, and ‘a likely major reduction in the extent and quality of careers help for young people’(p. 1) There were concerns about policy delays and funding challenges. Around this time, theTrade Union Congress (2012) argued for the creation of a new service for under 25-year-olds combin-ing careers guidance with Jobcentre Plus. No further action was taken on this at the time. Instead, aCareer Development Taskforce, supported by the then Skills Minister, focused on revitalising the pro-fessional status of careers guidance. This facilitated the voluntary merger of multiple professionalbodies into a single new entity, now known as the UK Career Development Institute (CDI). Seniorleaders from business, education and careers sectors were then brought together to provide inde-pendent advice to Government on a future strategic vision for the National Careers Service andallied career support services (National Careers Council, 2012) under the auspices of realising ahigh-quality all-age National Careers Service.

A cabinet reshuffle in 2013 resulted in a new Skills Minister (Matthew Hancock MP, working acrossthe Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and the Department for Education) appeared to bekeen to make his own distinctive footprint on the careers landscape. The new policy discoursefocused on an inspiration agenda (HMG, 2013). A Government Action Plan (BIS & DfE, 2013) rec-ommended that:

The National Careers Service should foster greater exposure of young people to the world of work and facilitatecloser involvement between schools and employers, so that young people can be inspired, mentored andcoached by employers. (p. 6)

Some small-scale additional funding was introduced for local support to schools and colleges tobroker links with employers and employees and to provide additional careers support activitiessuch as: work in youth offending institutions/prisons, support from the National Careers Service forlocal partnerships and greater local collation and dissemination of LMI. The Minister made clear

BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING 5

that this service was not there to provide face-to-face careers guidance for young people, in line withthe then Secretary of State for Education (Michael Gove MP) – a fierce critic of careers professionals’work. In addition, approximately £2 m per annum was allocated by government to a National ContactCentre (NCC) to provide online careers information and guidance to young people and adults. Theinspiration agenda and allied funding remain in place at least until National Careers Service contractscome up for renewal in March 2018.

In June 2014, a newly appointed DfE Education Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities(Nicky Morgan MP), working closely with a new Skills Minister (Nick Boles MP) in the Department forBusiness Innovation & Skills (BIS) signalled hope and optimism for strengthening careers work inschools across England. One month in office, the Skills Minister’s first move was to successfully trans-fer the National Careers Contact helpline budget and responsibilities into his Department (HoC, 2014).This was significant because it meant that the Department for Education (DfE) no longer had a directstake in the National Careers Service. A moot point when it considering current arrangements in 2017,as discussed below. A clear feature of the Government’s policies had been that the two Departmentstook very different stances in relation to careers guidance in general. But, the new Skills Minister’sfocus was mainly on addressing the proliferation of apprenticeship frameworks (Richmond & Sim-monds, 2016). At the time, it was made very clear by business and education commentators that Eng-land’s careers landscape, particularly careers advice in schools, was metaphorically speaking ‘on lifesupport’ (CBI, 2014); ‘a postcode lottery’ (Hooley, 2014); ‘in a mess’ (ATL, 2014). Since then, a plethoraof reports from businesses, educationalists, government inspectorate and professional bodies (C&G,2015; HoC, 2016a; Hughes & Chambers, 2014; Ofsted, 2016) have highlighted the need for urgentattention to be given to this neglected area of education and skills policy.

An English careers experiment

Roberts (2013) used the analogy of reform, accidental injury or attempted murder in relation to theCoalition government’s stance on the role of careers professionals offering independent careers gui-dance as a bridge between education and work. In December 2014, the Education Secretary and Min-ister for Women and Equalities and the Skills Minister formally announced the creation of a newcareers and enterprise company to support schools:

To transform the provision of careers education and advice for young people and inspire them about the oppor-tunities offered by the world of work. The new company is designed to support the government’s long-termeconomic plan by helping young people consider all the options available to them when they leave schooland ensure they leave school fully prepared for life in modern Britain… The careers and enterprise companywill focus on young people aged 12 to 18, helping them access the best advice and inspiration about theworld of work by encouraging greater collaboration between schools and colleges and employers. (DfE, 2014)

This policy announcement was made despite the publication of the National Careers Service users’satisfaction and progression survey (BIS, 2014) on the same day. The results of this survey showedthat 94% of face-to-face and telephone customers believed that the service was good. Irrespective,in February 2015, a new privately owned Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) limited by guaranteewas formally established, funded by government. Five months on, a Mc Kinsey management consult-ant was appointed as Chief Executive Officer to the CEC, supported by a small group of Boardmembers from industry and education. The CEC Board does not have any representation from theUK professional careers development sector. This is somewhat ironic given the actual title of thecompany. In its early inception phase, further changes in departmental Ministerial responsibilityfor careers advice resulted in the Skills Minister (Nick Boles MP) being given direct responsibilityfor post-18 careers advice, whilst a new Under-Secretary of State for Education (Sam Gyimah MP)was given (DfE) responsibility for careers advice up to the age of 18 and for the new careers andenterprise company. A £20 m government package for the company was formally announced (Cap-gemini, 2014). In October 2015, as part of this package, a £5 million ‘careers investment’ fund was

6 D. HUGHES

launched to support and generate innovation in careers advice (CEC, 2015). The fund was directlyaimed at geographical ‘Cold Spots’, building on earlier work undertaken by the Department for Edu-cation (DfE), the UK Commission for Employment & Skills (UKCES, 2014) and the National CareersCouncil (2014).

In January 2016, the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) launched its Jobcentre Plus schoolsinitiative for local Jobcentre Plus advisers to offer 12–18-year-old pupils insight into the world of workand advice on options like traineeships and apprenticeships. Shortly afterwards, in a joint BIS and DfEMinisterial oral evidence given to the House of Commons Sub-Committee on Education, Skills and theEconomy into careers education, information, advice and guidance (HoC, 2016b) indicated somebasic misunderstanding on the part of the Minister for careers advice up to the age of 18, since hecited inaccurately ‘the National Careers Service is there for post-16 people in the labour market’.The CEC was described as ‘a business-led organisation that was actually in charge of the processbringing businesses much more into the heart of school life’ (Skills Minister, Nick Boles MP). Heargued that an organisation led by the appointed Chair ‘with the extraordinary experience shehas… it is hard to get someone like that to take on a nationally led contract from the Departmentfor Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) because people of that calibre want a certain amount of inde-pendence, trusted with the budget and given a few clear objectives and allowed to get on with it’(HoC, 2016b). As a consequence, the CEC has limited transparency and accountability beyond produ-cing an Annual Report on its own performance. This is in stark contrast to the central government-funded National Careers Service, delivered through formal competitive tendering and contractualprocesses, with formal national and regional inspections by the Ofsted.

Social mobility

The concept of social mobility, as defined by Blanden, Gregg, and Machin (2005) is adopted by theCEC to highlight the organisation’s goal of helping young people to realise their potential and buildcareers aspiration. An early strategic decision was made to direct its efforts towards 39 Local Enter-prise Partnerships (LEP), with an assumption that local authorities (326 in total across England) wouldfollow such developments through active participation on LEP Boards. In some cases, local authoritieshave their own-traded careers service working with schools and colleges alongside the NationalCareers Service regional inspiration teams, the CEC, education business partnerships, sole tradersworking in schools, charitable bodies and other independent careers providers. The concept of‘Cold Spots’ and targeted funding has gathered momentum, but there are inherent dangers in thisgiven some areas of perceived privilege have within them areas of significant disadvantage. Whilstthis proves challenging for the CEC in its explanation of funded or co-funded initiatives, it is hardlysurprising given the level of granularity required to identify all geographical areas of social depri-vation. In January 2016, a new national mentoring programme designed to help ‘struggling teens’was announced by the then Prime Minister:

Government will spend £70 million on its strategy to improve careers education and guidance in this Parliament,including continued funding for the Careers and Enterprise Company, which was announced by the Secretary ofState for Education in December 2014 and set up a year ago. (David Cameron, Prime Minister). (DfE, 2016c)

An additional £12 million fund, administered by CEC, to boost social mobility was put in place tocreate a new generation of mentors from the business community. So far, £3.8 m has been allocatedto this activity (CEC, 2016a). The government’s stated goal is for 25,000 young people a year to benefitfrom business mentoring by 2020. Hooley (2016) indicates there is a substantial evidence-base whichsupports the role of employer mentoring in schools and he goes on to describe the strength of thisevidence as moderate to good. Whilst the evidence presented suggests that mentoring can have asignificant and observable impact on behaviour, attainment and progression, the effect sizes are typi-cally small. Hooley (2016) argues that whilst mentoring is a moderate- to low-cost intervention thisneeds to be high quality in order to deliver any impacts and that badly organised mentoring can

BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING 7

do more harm than good (p. 12). This national mentoring programme is not subject to any form offormal inspection to assess either quality or impact.

England’s conservative government: a new shift and focus? (2016–present day)

In mid-July 2016, a new Secretary of State for Education (Rt Hon. Justine Greening MP) and anew Minister of State for Apprenticeships and Skills (Rt Hon. Robert Halfon MP) was appointedby the Prime Minister. The new policy discourse focuses on opportunity areas with six geographi-cal areas in England initially identified by the Secretary of State for Education as the most chal-lenged when it comes to social mobility. The CEC reported a £4 m cash injection for careers andenterprise provision across England (CEC, 2016b). From this, £1 m will be spent on opportunityareas and the remainder allocated to career and enterprise programmes in other parts of thecountry ‘which have had a proven positive impact on supporting young people into work,such as work experience, workplace visits, careers talks and volunteering’ (CEC, 2016b). Sixfurther opportunity areas were announced in January 2017 with a £72 m budget allocated bygovernment for local partnerships formed with early years providers, schools, colleges, univer-sities, businesses, charities and local authorities to ensure children have the opportunity toreach their full potential. It is unclear how much of this new fund will be allocated to theCEC. The Apprenticeship and Skills Minister with responsibility for careers education, informationand guidance has used the metaphor of an opportunity ladder in his first formal announcementon careers work linking high-quality careers advice to the government’s new Industrial Strategy(HMG, 2017):

I see careers advice as the first rung on a ladder of opportunity, a ladder that people will continue to climbthroughout their lifetime… It is something that needs to be built, grafted over and shaped to reflect ourmodern requirements. Government’s job is to be there to hold the ladder and help people to climb up… Atotal of £90 million is being invested in careers over this Parliament, which includes further funding to theCEC. (DfE, 2017b)

Barnes (2017) argues government holding an imaginary ladder and helping people to climb up isover simplistic, given fewer people in the twenty-first century have straightforward linear careers.In the gig economy where insecure portfolio and serial careers are commonplace and decent jobs,as referred to earlier in Warhurst’s assertion, can be hard to find – a lattice of modern day experiencesof learning and work seems more fitting. The Minister has stated his intention to provide furtherfunding to the CEC. Two years since its inception, there are now 80 enterprise co-ordinators frombusiness and over 1300 volunteer enterprise advisers working in around a third of secondaryschools across the country. He has emphasised:

The Careers & Enterprise Company are developing a ‘careers passport’ led by Lord Young, which will be a ‘Pass-port for Life’: a digital record for young people of their enterprise learning and work experience throughout theireducation to aid transition to employment. (DfE, 2017b)

However, in some schools and local authority areas, as well as in other private and third-sector careersproviders ‘enterprise passports’ that capture young people’s skills and achievements are alreadyunderway, for example, Devon Enterprise Passport (2016) in association with the Education BusinessPartnership South West region of England (2016). So far, the level of CEC expenditure and progressmade on developing the above-mentioned careers passport is largely unknown. Clearly, the CECmust find its ‘unique selling point’ (USP) in an overcrowded careers and enterprise landscape. Thekey design features of the CEC stem essentially from the Prime Minister Camron’s priorities andenthusiasm to ‘bolt on’ differing strategic rather than operational initiatives aimed at teachers andyoung people in schools at a pace. As in the Ancient Roman myth, ‘Janus’ has emerged, that is, acompany looking to the past – required to fulfil a long-standing ‘enterprise’ ambition of LordYoung, and looking to the future – setting up strategic brokerage arrangements between employersand schools, driving forward a national mentoring programme, managing grant schemes and

8 D. HUGHES

seeking to carve out an evidence-base research agenda. Such an evidence-base approach claims tofill important gaps in the value chain as data is transformed into information and usable knowledge(Head, 2008). But many government-funded scientific organisations, including national LEP and localauthority networks, universities, job centres and charitable bodies are already data driven in assessingand identifying both local needs compared to regional and national trends.

Blame culture and evidence-base

As in the days of transformation of careers services in England under New Labour (Hughes, 2005), ablame culture and evidence-based rhetoric have crept into the policy discourse. Recently, theApprenticeships and Skills Minister attributed poor careers advice to spending decisions by schoolleaders:

I do not believe that this is just a question of funding, but how a school chooses to spend its funding: schools thatprovide high-quality careers advice, like [.…]do not do so because they have a greater share of the pot, butbecause they see providing high-quality careers advice as being vitally important to the future of their pupils.(Schools Week, 2017)

At present, there are few incentives for school leaders in England to prioritise careers work, apart froma statutory and moral duty to do so. Fullan (2007) argues that in order to create a strong career-learn-ing environment this requires the ‘reculturing’ of schools. Reculturing is ‘a process of co-creating newmeanings regarding situations of ambiguity and uncertainty on a dialogical basis’ (Lodders & Meijers,2017). They and others indicate collective learning processes among teachers have to be guided bytransformational leadership (Baker & Gerler, 2008; Day, Gu, & Sammons, 2016). Destination measuresand performance league tables are emerging from government as policy levers to encourage schoolsto focus on preparing young people for the next stage of their education, training or employment.Clearly, there is potential to strengthen the focus on careers work through the Office for Standardsin Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted). But, fundamentally this requires the developmentof a shared understanding and meaning of what constitutes twenty-first-century careers workand the associated knowledge outcomes. With further cuts anticipated in school budgets by 2020this means tough purchasing decisions are on the immediate horizon. The extent to whichthere will be further erosion of careers education and guidance for young people has yet to bedetermined.

A key challenge for the Minister responsible for careers advice is whether to harness what appearsto be working well for adults – based on rigorous Ofsted inspection reports –, that is, the NationalCareers Service, and immediately extend its remit to provide independent careers guidance in Eng-land’s schools to address market failure. Or alternatively, to sustain the enterprise co-odinator andvolunteers from businesses model for schools and wait to see ‘what works’. Other alternativemodels may emerge later in the year when a long-awaited national careers strategy is published,but further delays are difficult to comprehend. Talk about the evidence-base is rampant. In previousyears, for example, a key principle guiding the former national careers service for young people inEngland (the Connexions Services) was ‘evidence-based practice – ensuring that new interventionsare based on rigorous research and evaluation into “what works”’ (DfEE, p.11). Similarly, the CEChas stated it: ‘is committed to being evidence-based, building on “what works”, and taking a prag-matic view of regional variations in the careers, enterprise and employment landscape, adaptingits approach as required’ (CEC, 2016c).

To its credit, the company has embraced match-funded initiatives and international research find-ings in the form of supporting key principles underpinning ‘Good Guidance’ (Holman, 2014). Sincetheir introduction in 2014, the Gatsby principles and benchmarks have been widely acknowledgedthroughout England. So far, the company has elected to focus primarily on encounters with employ-ers (benchmark 5) and experiences of workplaces (benchmark 6). It has issued grants to many com-panies previously in direct receipt of Department for Education (DfE) funds, for example, World Skills,Big Bang Fairs. It has co-funded, in association with the Gatsby Foundation, an online ‘Compass’ tool

BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING 9

for schools to evaluate and monitor improvements in their careers education programmes. However,the CEC has chosen to disassociate itself with the lack of funding and erosion of independent andimpartial careers guidance for young people in England’s schools. Meaningful dialogue or sharedaction with the UK careers development professional body representing around 5000 trained andqualified careers development professionals working in the interests of young people, parents andteachers has yet to be fully embraced. This could be potentially explained by the intention to estab-lish itself as a free thinker in the careers market, or a market-maker in the careers marketplace experi-menting with approaches to prove what works, or a future competitor in an open careersmarketplace when the National Careers Service inspiration agenda contract comes up for renewal.Whatever the reason, the demand for improved careers information and guidance in schoolsremains unabated (FE week, 2016).

Fundamental flaws

The core of the analysis by the government was the belief that a new business-led organisation,namely the Careers and Enterprise Company, with ‘a strategic focus’ will bring on an industrialscale more schools and colleges plugged into the world of work. But there are at least three funda-mental design flaws. Firstly, the Careers and Enterprise Company is a ‘market player’ competing withother national and local careers providers and relies primarily (though not exclusively) on enterpriseandmentoring volunteers from business, supported by government funds. Secondly,whilst it has fullyadopted a set of universally agreed benchmarks for ‘good careers guidance’ – welcomed by thoseworking in the careers sector – and supported a new tool for schools’ self-assessment against thebenchmarks – it has so far failed to make any serious attempt to achieve a stable careers programmein schools (benchmark 1); embrace or acknowledge the need for better use of labour market intelli-gence /information (LMI) (benchmark 2). This is clearly illustrated in its first published research report‘Moments of Choice’ (CEC, 2016d). The company remains silent on linking curriculum learning withcareers (benchmark 4) and young people’s access to personal guidance (benchmark 8). Andthirdly, it has chosen to prioritise use of scarce public funds to aid further experimentation ratherthan directly supporting impartial and independent careers guidance for young people to bemade available in all schools in England.

Local and regional frameworks

At a local and regional level people are beginning to notice the impact of cuts to their budgets. Alack of coordination across local areas has created an environment for schools and businesses thatbusiness leaders describe as ‘chaotic’ (Ofsted, 2016). The inspectorate reported projects such asthose sponsored by LEPs are at the very early stages of development. Business leaders haveraised concerns that there is little coherence to provision and a lack of strategy by government,business organisations or individual schools. They were largely unaware of the work of theCareers and Enterprise Company. Relationships were often hampered by poor communicationbetween school and business staff and a lack of clarity over what was wanted from the partnership.Instead, new forms of partnerships are beginning to explore ways in which they can co-createmore accessible and coherent careers support for young people, parents, teachers and employersin their area. They are seeking local solutions to a national problem by bringing key stakeholderstogether from the National Careers Service, Job Centre Plus, Careers and Enterprise Company, Edu-cation Business Partnerships, Local Authorities, School and College bodies together, for example,London (London Councils, 2015), Cornwall (2016), The Black Country, Somerset, and Yorkshire &The Humber – to name but a few. There are some signs of a renewed focus on a local all-agecareers offer for young people and adults in preparing a response to post-Brexit skills shortages,for example, Sheffield.

10 D. HUGHES

There are Ministerial plans for linkages between the different organisations and services includingthe National Careers Service, the Careers & Enterprise Company and the National ApprenticeshipsService to be reviewed. The role of Jobcentre Plus advisers now working with young people in Eng-land’s schools (since 2016) has yet to be mentioned by DfE. How might this be considered as part ofthe new careers strategy planned later in the year? More fundamentally, as local budgets for schoolsand local authorities further tighten, key questions on the efficacy and added-value of the Englishexperiment in the form of the Careers and Enterprise Company are likely to emerge. It is clear thatmore employers working with schools and enterprise activities are vitally important. But, so too iscareers education, information, advice and guidance (CIAG) in schools embedded within a strongcareers learning culture.

Conclusion

It is apparent that all schools and colleges require leadership and practical support if they are todevelop effective careers work (Lodders & Meijers, 2017). The present system of support forcareers work in England’s schools is chaotic and congested. If the English careers experiment(CEC) continues in its present form, greater fairness, transparency and accountability are requiredbetween private and public sector arrangements. An important and, as yet unresolved issue iswhether the role of government is to pump-prime a new player in the careers market (one whichis neither fully independent or fully-private ownership) – and for this to be self-sustaining within aset timeframe – or whether government’s role is alternatively to guarantee access to careers provisionand ensure quality by bringing coherence to an unregulated marketplace. There is a growing andjustifiable demand for Treasury funds to be directed into regions for more targeted delivery ofCIAG in schools and local communities. For Ministers and policy-makers in a post-General Electionclimate (June 2017), a renewed strategic focus combined with the economies of scale that can beachieved through an all-age national careers service merits further attention.

For those academics, policy-makers and practitioners within and outside of England, the pro-motion of a quasi-market experiment may, in principle, seem appealing to bring about systemschange. But, lessons learned from this historical analysis show part of the problem is that whenyou randomly bolt on initiatives, mix careers and enterprise nomenclature, for example, enter-prise co-ordinators reliant on employers and volunteers for careers work in schools, and overlookthe added-value contribution of career development professionals’ work, this complicates under-standing. More fundamentally, it fails to address the disparities that exist and social inequalitiesthat arise when young people have restricted access to independent and impartial careersguidance.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Dr Deirdre Hughes, OBE, is Principal Research Fellow at the University of Warwick, Institute for Employment Research (IER)specialising in careers policies, research and practice at an international, national and regional level.

References

Association of Teachers and Lectures. (2014, November 24). Careers advice is in a mess and underfunded – Association ofTeachers and Lectures Survey. Retrieved from https://www.atl.org.uk/latest/press-release/careers-advice-mess-and-underfunded-following-government-changes-atl-survey

Autor, D. H. (2001). Wiring the labor market. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 15(1), 25–40.

BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING 11

Baker, S. B., & Gerler, E. R. (2008). School counselling for the 21st century – 5th edition. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina StateUniversity, Pearson.

Barnes, A. (2017). Minister promises a comprehensive careers strategy later this year. CEGNET. Retrieved from http://www.cegnet.co.uk/news/minister-promises-a-comprehensive-careers-strategy-later-this-year

BBC News. (2010). Lord young replaces lord sugar as enterprise tsar. London. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11663262

Beilharz, P. (1989). Social democracy and social justice. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology, 25(1), 85–99.Bimrose, J., Brown, A., Barnes, S.-A., & Hughes, D. (2011). The role of career adaptability in skills supply. Wath-upon-Dearne:

UK Commission for Employment and Skills.Bimrose, J., McMahon, M., & Watson, M. (Eds.). (2015). Introduction in women’s career development through the lifespan: An

international perspective (pp. 1–9). London: Routledge.BIS. (2012). New national careers service launched. London: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Retrieved from

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-national-careers-service-launchedBIS. (2014, December). National careers service satisfaction and progression survey 2013–2014. London: Department for

Business, Innovation & Skills.BIS and DfE. (2013). Careers guidance action plan: Government response to recommendations from Ofsted’s Career Council

Report. London: Department for Education (DfE)/Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). Retrieved fromhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-guidance-action-plan

Blanden, J., Gregg P., & Machin, S. (2005). Social mobility in Britain: Low and falling. In CentrePiece (pp. 18–20). London:Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. Spring.

C&G. (2015). Great expectations: Teenagers’ career aspirations versus the reality of the UK jobs market. London: City & Guilds.Retrieved from: http://www.cityandguilds.com/~/media/Documents/Courses-and-Quals/Apprenticeships/EMSI%20reports/cggreatexpectationsonline%20pdf.ashx

Capgemini. (2014, December 11). Capgemini’s Christine Hodgson to head careers advice company. London. Retrieved fromhttps://www.uk.capgemini.com/blog/capgemini-news-blog/2014/12/capgeminis-christine-hodgson-to-head-careers-advice-company

Careers Wales. (2017). Changing lives: A vision for careers Wales, 2017–2020. Cardiff: Welsh Assembly Government.CBI. (2014). Careers advice in schools on life support. London. Retrieved from http://www.thecdi.net/News---Resources/

careers-advice-on-life-support-in-schools--cbi-chiefCareers and Enterprise Company. (2015, October 27). Multi-million pound fund to transform careers prospects of young

people most in need. London: Author. Retrieved from https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/news/multi-million-pound-fund-transform-careers-prospects-young-people-most-need

Careers and Enterprise Company. (2016a, November 28). £3.5 m in mentoring programmes. London. Retrieved fromhttps://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/sites/default/files/uploaded/faqs_cef2016.pdf

Careers and Enterprise Company. (2016b, October 4). £4 million cash injection for careers and enterprise provision acrossEngland. London: Author. Retrieved from https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/news/ps4-million-cash-injection-careers-and-enterprise-provision-across-england

Careers and Enterprise Company. (2016c, September 16). New enterprise advisers to connect young people to the world ofwork. London. Retrieved from https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/news/new-enterprise-advisors-connect-young-people-and-world-work

Careers and Enterprise Company. (2016d). Moments of choice. First research report produced by the Behavioural InsightsTeam, on behalf of the Careers and Enterprise Company, London. Retrieved from http://38r8om2xjhhl25mw24492dir.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Moments-of-Choice-report.pdf

Connell, R. W. (1993). Schools and social justice. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.Conservative Party. (2010, April). Invitation to join the government of Britain: The conservative Manifesto 2010. London.Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP. (2016). Cornwall careers offer 2016–2020. Author. Retrieved from http://www.cornwall.gov.

uk/media/23345753/cornwall-careers-offer-web.pdfDay, C., Gu, Q., & Sammons, P. (2016). The impact of leadership on student outcomes: How successful school leaders

use transformational and instructional strategies to make a difference. Educational Administration Quarterly, 52(2),221–258.

Devon Enterprise Passport. (2016). North Devon schools enterprise passport. Exeter: Devon County Council. Retrieved fromhttp://www.devonenterprisepassport.co.uk/aboutus.html

DfE. (2012). The education act 2011: The duty to secure independent and impartial careers guidance for young people inschools: Statutory guidance for head teachers, school staff, governing bodies and local authorities, section 15. London:Department for Education.

DfE. (2014, December 10). Employer-backed body to provide inspiration and education to pupils. London: Department forEducation. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-careers-and-enterprise-company-for-schools

DfE. (2016a, September). Participation of young people in education, employment or training: Statutory guidance for localauthorities. London: Department for Education. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/561546/Participation-of-young-people-in-education-employment-or-training.pdf

DfE. (2016b). Initial teacher training census for the academic year 2016 to 2017. London: Department for Education.

12 D. HUGHES

DfE. (2016c, January 11). David Cameron will announce a new generation of high-flying mentors to help struggling teensimprove their life chances. London: Prime Ministers Office and Department for Education.

DfE. (2017a, January). 16–19 accountability measures: Technical guide – for measures in 2016 and 2017. London:Department for Education. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/582992/January_2017_Update_Technical_Guide-_Version_6.pdf

DfE. (2017b, January 30). Robert Halfon’s careers speech. London: Westminster Academy, Department for Education.Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/robert-halfon-careers-speech-at-westminster-academy

DoE. (2016, March). Preparing for success 2015–2020: A strategy for careers education and guidance. Belfast: Department forthe Economy and Department of Education. Retrieved from https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/publications/preparing-success-2015-2020-strategy-careers-education-and-guidance

DWP. (2016, January 14). Jobcentre plus support rolled out to schools. London: Department for Work and Pensions.Education Act. (2011). Years 9–11 include young people aged 13–16. And Education (Amendment of the Curriculum

Requirements for Fourth Key Stage) (England) Order 2012 (SI 2012/2056). Retrieved November 20, 2016, from http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/21/section/29

FE Week. (2016). Apprentices ‘discouraged’ by schools demand better careers advice. Retrieved from http://feweek.co.uk/2016/10/04/apprentices-discouraged-by-schools-demand-better-careers-advice/

Fullan, M. (2007). The new meaning of educational change. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.Fullfact. (2015, July 15). Are people in poverty increasingly in work? Retrieved from https://fullfact.org/economy/are-people-

poverty-increasingly-work/Ginzberg, E. (1971). Career guidance: Who needs it, who provides it, who can improve it? New York, NY: Mc Graw-Hill.Head, B. (2008). Three lens of evidence-based policy. The Australian Journal of Public Administration, 67(1), 1–11.HMG. (2013). Inspiration vision statement. London: Her Majesty’s Government. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/

government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/238841/bis-13-1176-inspiration-vision-statement-R2.pdfHMG. (2015, December). English apprenticeships: Our 2020 vision. London: Her Majesty’s Government.HMG. (2016). Statement from the new Prime Minister Theresa May. London: Her Majesty’s Government. Retrieved from

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/statement-from-the-new-prime-minister-theresa-mayHMG. (2017, January). Building our industrial strategy: Green paper. London: Her Majesty’s Government.House of Commons. (2014). Careers guidance follow up inquiry. Written evidence, submitted by the Department for

Education, London. (para.32).House of Commons. (2016a, July 5). Inadequate careers advice is exacerbating the skills gap report warns. London: House of

Commons. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/education-skillsand-economy/news-parliament-2015/careers-advice-report-published-16-17/

House of Commons. (2016b, April). Oral evidence: Sub-committee on education, skills and the economy – Careers advice,information and guidance. London: House of Commons. Retrieved from http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/72f72f7d-eb1d-48a5-b075-ba029e44a26f

Holman, J. (2014). Good career guidance (p. 50). London: The Gatsby Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.gatsby.org.uk/uploads/education/reports/pdf/gatsby-sir-john-holman-good-career-guidance-2014.pdf

Hooley, T. (2014). Careers advice for young people is a postcode lottery. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/careers/careers-advice-young-people-postcode-lottery

Hooley, T. (2016). Effective employer mentoring: Lessons from the evidence. London: The Careers & Enterprise Company.Hughes, D. (2005, January). Connexions: Developing options and opportunities. Derby: Centre for Guidance Studies,

University of Derby.Hughes, D., & Chambers, N. (2014, September). Taking action: Achieving a culture change in careers provision: Second report

of the national careers council to the coalition government. London. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/355473/bis-14-1080-taking-action-achieving-a-culture-change-in-careers-provision.pdf

Hughes, D., Mann, A., Barnes, S.-A., Baldauf, B., & McKeown, R. (2016). Careers education international literature review.London: Education Endowment Foundation and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Hunter, A. J. (2001). A cross-cultural comparison of resilience in adolescents. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 16, 172–179.Hutchinson, J. (2013). School organisation and STEM career-related learning. York: National STEM Centre.International Centre for Career Development and Public Policy. (2017, June 18–21). Refer to separate country reports pre-

pared for the International Centre for Career Development and Public Policy Conference in Seoul. Retrieved from http://iccdpp2017.org/key-outcomes/country-paper/

ILO. (2014, September). Skills mismatch in Europe: Statistics brief. Geneva: International Labour Office.Institute of Directors. (2016). British businesses post Brexit. The Guardian. London: Author. Retrieved from https://www.

theguardian.com/politics/2016/dec/25/british-businesses-post-brexit-iod-theresa-may-eu-citizens-ukIPTE. (2016, April). Report of the independent panel on technical education (p. 7). London: Independent Panel on Technical

Education.Jones, S., Mann, A., & Morris, K. (2016). The ‘employer engagement cycle’ in secondary education: Analysing the testimo-

nies of young British adults. Journal of Education and Work, 29(7), 834–856.

BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING 13

Joseph Rowntree Foundation. (2015). The cost of the cuts: The impact on local government and poorer communities (p. 3).York: Author.

Killeen, J., White, M., & Watts, A. G. (1992). The economic value of careers guidance. London: Policy Studies Institute.Kujipers, M., & Meijers, F. (2014). Professionalizing teachers in careers dialogue: Effect study. Procedia 5th World Conference

on Educational Sciences, Vol. 116, pp. 82–87, The Netherlands.Lawrence, M. (2016). Future proof Britain in the 2020s. London: Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).Lengelle, R., Van der Heijden, B., & Meijers, F. (in press). The foundations of career resilience (p. 41). Springer Books.Lodders, N., & Meijers, F. (2017). Collective learning, transformational leadership and new forms of careers guidance in

universities. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling. doi:10.1080/03069885.2016.1271864Lupton, R., & Thomson, S. (2015, September). Socio-economic inequalities in English schooling under the coalition govern-

ment 2010–2015 (Vol. 13). London: London Review of Education.MacDonald, S., Lin, N., & Ao, D. (2009). Networks of opportunity: Gender, race and job leads. Social Problems, 56(3), 385–

402.McMahon, M., Arthur, N., & Collins, S. (2008). Social justice and career development: Looking back, looking forward.

Australian Journal of Career Development, 17(2), 21–29.Moote, J., & Archer, L. (2017). Failing to deliver? Exploring the current status of career education provision in England,

Research Papers in Education, London. doi:10.1080/02671522.2016.1271005National Audit Office. (2016, December 14). Government schools budget cuts. The Independent London: Author. Retrieved

from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/government-schools-budget-cuts-3bn-nao-a7473186.html

National Careers Council. (2012, April). The national careers council advises government on improving careers provision foryoung people and adults in England. London: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

OECD. (2010). Learning for jobs. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.Ofsted. (2013). Transforming 16–19 study programmes: The early implementation of 16–19 study programmes. London:

Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills.Ofsted. (2016, November). Get ready for work (p. 4). London: Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and

Skills.Oxford Economics. (2017). The green budget 2017, in association with ICAEW and the Nuffield foundation. Retrieved from

https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/8825Richmond, T., & Simmonds, J. (2016). The skills we need, and why we don’t have them: How apprenticeships should be

reformed to make the UK compete on the global stage. London: Policy Exchange.Roberts, K. (2013). Career guidance in England today: Reform, accidental injury or attempted murder? British Journal of

Guidance and Counselling, 41(3), 240–253.Savickas, M. L. (2012). Life design: A paradigm for career intervention in the 21st century. Journal of Counseling &

Development, 90(1), 13–19.Schools Week. (2017, January 25). Ministers review incentives and consider ‘toughening Ofsted’ over school careers advice.

Retrieved from http://schoolsweek.co.uk/ministers-review-incentives-and-consider-toughening-ofsted-over-school-career-advice/

Scottish Government. (2011). Career information, advice and guidance in Scotland: A framework for service redesign andimprovement. Edinburgh. Retrieved from https://education.gov.scot/Documents/CareerInformationAdviceGuidanceScotland.pdf

Scottish Government. (2014, December). Developing the young workforce: Scotland’s youth employment strategy – imple-menting the recommendations for developing Scotland’s young workforce (p. 35). Edinburgh. Retrieved from http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0046/00466386.pdf

Social Mobility Commission. (2016). State of the nation 2016: Social mobility in Great Britain. London: Social MobilityCommission.

Stott, J. (2017). What is inclusive growth and why does it matter? York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Symonds, W. C., Schwartz, R. B., & Ferguson, R. (2011, February). Pathways to prosperity: Meeting the challenge of preparing

young Americans for the 21st century. Report issued by the Pathways to Prosperity Project, Harvard Graduate School ofEducation.

Trade Union Congress. (2012). Generation lost: Youth unemployment and the youth labour market. London: Author. p. 36.Watts, A. G. (2013). False dawns, bleak sunset: The coalition government’s policies on career guidance. British Journal of

Guidance and Counselling, 41(4), 442–453.Wood, I. (2014, June). Commission for developing Scotland’s young workforce. Edinburgh. Retrieved from http://www.gov.

scot/Topics/Education/developingtheyoungworkforceUKCES. (2014, July). Climbing the ladder: Skills for sustainable recovery. Sheffield: Wath-Upon-Dearne. Retrieved from

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/378968/Summer_What_0v41.pdfWarhurst, C. (2017). Accidental tourists: Brexit and its toxic employment underpinnings. Dublin: Eurofound. Retrieved from

https://academic.oup.com/ser/article/doi/10.1093/ser/mww043/2896901/Brexit-understanding-the-socio-economic-origins

Wolf, A. (2011, March). Review of vocational education – The Wolf Report. London.

14 D. HUGHES