As I wrote in my review of the Labour Party manifesto before the last election, the Party had considerable, and largely positive plans for career guidance after the election. But, we are now more than a year on from the election and to say that progress has been slow, would be generous.
Because of this, I have collaborated with colleagues in the Career Development Policy Group to draft a new briefing on current government policy. In it we argue that:
- The provision of career guidance in schools is critical to the life chances of young people.
- Over the last fifteen years career guidance services have been radically
defunded in ways that have left the system in desperate need of attention. - These measures are vital in boosting opportunities for ordinary people across the
country and delivering economic growth. - Recent policy proposals from the Labour Party promised the injection of £85
million of new funding with key proposals focused on the delivery of 1000 new
careers advisers and a new and more robust approach to work experience. - At the point of publication, none of these proposals have been funded and the
Career Development Policy Group has been informed that the 1000 new careers
advisers policy will not be taken forward at the present time. - The government should reaffirm its support for these proposals and develop a
new approach for career guidance in schools and across the life course that can
support policy aims for economic growth and the reinvigoration of lifelong
learning.
To read more, please download the briefing from the CDPG website.