Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Paragraph: 22
Adults need clear and impartial advice and support on learning and funding.
Conclusion
Adults need clear and impartial advice and support on learning and funding. The National Careers Service is limited and overly centralised, particularly given the extent to which ASALL provision is now devolved. A far more proactive approach to promoting and communicating statutory entitlements and local offers is needed. 38% of adults have not participated in any learning since leaving full-time education— simply waiting and hoping that this group will decide to engage with the National Careers Service is clearly not the basis of an effective strategy.
Paragraph Reference:
22
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
22. Careers guidance is vital in helping to develop talents and opportunities for all, so that people have the skills they need and employers want post-Brexit and post-pandemic. 23. There are no plans to devolve careers budgets; all National Careers Service contractors are required to establish relationships with Mayoral Combined Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships and other regional stakeholders. This includes a requirement to agree and regularly review key performance indicators with MCAs and LEPs. 24. The National Careers Service is delivered in the community by contractors who work closely with a range of stakeholders, including Department for Work and Pensions, Jobcentres, FE providers, mayoral combined authorities, local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships. All of those organisations are also able to disseminate information and advice about learning and funding, so it is erroneous to suggest that the only source of information to adults is the National Careers Service—careers information, advice and guidance forms part of a much larger and wider spectrum of learning provision. 25. The redesigned National Careers Website8 contains a wide range of information and advice, including over 800 career profiles, tips on careers planning, careers and skills assessment tools and the Course Directory, where FE providers can upload their course details and has already successfully reached millions of people. Between January 2020 and December 2020, the website had 21.9 million views from over 4 million users, and between April 2019 and March 2020, the Helpline carried out over 130,000 activities with young people, adults and intermediaries. 26. Work will continue on the website with user input to develop more online tools to help make it easy for adults to access information on courses, improve their job search skills and update their CVs and their interview skills. The revamped website will bring together all the learning and careers routes available to people, along with improved content on work experience, the job market, and applying for roles. Underpinning this will be improved and updated local labour market information. 27. The Department has carried out behavioural insights research which shows that while raising awareness of skills offers is an important part of the initial steps on the customer journey, on its own, it will not be effective in increasing participation among adults. Adults, particularly those with lower skills, face significant physical and psychological barriers to learning. To drive uptake of Government funded or endorsed learning, we need a behaviour change strategy which sets a clear line of sight between training and a better job, delivered through joined up service delivery, communications and engagement across all customer touch points on the journey. We also know that we need to do more to simplify the complex landscape, enabling adults to understand their choices, judge which is most appropriate to their needs and job aspirations, and then be directed to their next steps. The Department is exploring these challenges and will be looking to address them in a communications strategy to be delivered in 21–22, whether through no-cost delivery with the support of our stakeholders, or through paid-for marketing activity.