Nick Palmer: Our career guidance fails young people as they await A-levels

'IF you can find someone who'll pay you to do something you really enjoy then don't let them out of your sight'. This wise advice was given to the esteemed racing journalist John Oaksey by his father.
Do students receive adequate careers advice?Do students receive adequate careers advice?
Do students receive adequate careers advice?

As we enter A-Level results season it’s worth reflecting on this story because it illustrates three sizeable flaws in our careers system.

Firstly, in order to get paid for working, each individual must satisfy the needs of an employer. Finding employment is a two-way negotiation (and academic grades aren’t the answer).

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Secondly, it demonstrates the importance of parents in the career decision making process. Sadly, in our existing careers system, these two critical factors are often obscured by the interests of other stakeholders.

Finally, the story demonstrates that careers advice is most effective when the individual knows what they want to be in life. Unfortunately, most young people remain uncertain of their “calling” long after they have been forced to narrow their options in our academic system.

I have observed a great deal of careers activity in 25 years as candidate, employer and as a volunteer in schools. I fear the careers system today isn’t any better at supporting the long-term needs of the individual than it was last century.

Today’s A-Level students might expect multiple different jobs and “careers” during their working lives. Yet we send young people out into the world without the language they need to negotiate their career development. I consider this to be negligence.

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In John Oaksey’s case, he became a journalist in order to write about horse racing and rode as an amateur jockey. He used his skills as jockey and writer to earn a living within his favourite industry. This is intelligent career thinking

We don’t incorporate these elements of negotiation and planning in careers provision in UK. Instead we concentrate on academic attainment and the process of job application.

Traditional careers activity assumes that an academic qualification, with a “strong” CV will result in a job, and that a meaningful, secure career will automatically follow. These assumptions simply don’t hold true in real life

Individuals need more than knowledge of the application process in order to manage career changes. After all, even great jobs can be affected by economic, technological or cultural change.

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Sir Ken Robinson noted that an academic education system prevents individuals from realising potential that isn’t measured in the academic sense. His criticism of such education systems is 10 years old, and yet little has changed.

We already know that academic performance has no bearing on suitability for work or performance in work. Employers tell us that they value attitude and commercial awareness above academic attainment

We know that employers are not satisfied with careers advice available to young people, or levels of work-readiness amongst those leaving education.

This is where the role of parents is most important. The prevailing interests of schools, universities and employers are rarely aligned with the interests of the job-seeker. Parents need to demand more from careers provision.

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My company recently surveyed 1,000 parents of 16 to 23-year-olds. The results show 73 per cent of young people are not certain what they want to do for a living. In addition, 79 per cent of parents felt that young people were more focussed on academic progression than on life after exams. These figures result in heartache and disappointment.

It isn’t the exclusive purpose of education to create work-ready employees, but it is necessary to prepare young people for work more efficiently than at present. I recently submitted recommendations to the Department for Education calling for a broader range of subjects throughout school and the creation of at least one hour per week for careers training.

The hour would be ring-fenced from any national curriculum activity. There are plenty of impartial resources to support individuals, they just need time to use them.

I don’t imagine anybody involved wants the system to fail young people, but I do question why the long term career needs of the individual job-seeker are not better represented.

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When A-Level results are released, spare a thought for the uphill battle most students will have to get employed. They weren’t prepared for it.

Nick Palmer runs bizenko, a Yorkshire-based training company to coach individuals for better career results.