Source · Select Committees · Science, Innovation and Technology Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 44
The careers advice and support pupils receive from the earliest years must promote diverse and...
Recommendation
The careers advice and support pupils receive from the earliest years must promote diverse and inclusive role models. Just as it is desirable for children to see themselves in what they learn, they should also see themselves in who they aspire to emulate. The Government should consider how best to support schools and existing programmes, such as STEM Ambassadors, Speakers for Schools, and the Careers and Enterprise Diversity and inclusion in STEM 51 Company, to ensure children access a diverse range of role models from research or industry. Careers advice guidance and support should also be regularly reviewed to ensure they reflect a full range of diverse examples.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government states it is taking forward a programme of work to ensure that both primary and secondary aged children have multiple opportunities to meet inspiring role models from a range of backgrounds to raise their aspirations.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
44
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government · verbatim extract
Acknowledged
64. As mentioned in paragraph 11, the Department for Education recognises that young people of all ages can benefit from seeing role models from diverse backgrounds, from across different sectors and industries. This not only helps to raise aspirations but also increases young people’s exposure to the widest possible range of career pathways. 65. The Department’s new £2.6 million careers programme will target primary schools in the 55 Education Investment Areas and include a focus on role models from industry. We want to inspire primary aged children by giving them opportunities to meet a wide variety of role models from sectors including the green economy, technology, engineering, aerospace, and construction. The programme will run until March 2025, and we will review its effectiveness, including the impact of access to role models, to inform future policy for careers provision in primary schools. 66. We are grant-funding our delivery partner, The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC), up to £29.7 million in 2023–24, to support secondary schools and colleges to embed best practice in the delivery of careers information, advice and guidance, including through networks of Careers Hubs and Enterprise Advisers. Young people will be able to see a broad range of employer role models, including in the STEM sector, to help build awareness of the full range of training and careers available to them. Examples include STEM employers funded by the CEC to meet young people include Engineering UK, Greenpower Trust and Manufacturing UK. 67. 90% of secondary schools and colleges are now part of a Careers Hubs, a tried and tested model for partnership and collaboration in careers education. This approach is giving young people more breadth and depth of exposure to employer role models. More than four in five schools (81%) in a Careers Hub since 2018 engage with at least 10 businesses, compared with 48% who are not in a Careers Hub.9 68. There are early indications that careers education, including access to diverse role models, is starting to steer young people towards choosing to pursue opportunities in areas of the economy and jobs where the demand for skills are more acute. The top four sectors of choice–including construction and engineering - coincide with those with high reported vacancy rates and skills needs. 9 The Careers & Enterprise Company (2023). Ready for the Future: A review of Careers Education in England 2021/22. London: The Careers & Enterprise Company 69. We are working across Government to identify other career-related programmes that focus on ensuring young people are exposed to a diverse range of role models from research and industry. We want to explore opportunities for the best possible alignment between careers programmes with similar aims, which are currently funded and delivered separately, so that we can retain a strong cross-Government focus on promoting diverse and inclusive role models.
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