UNISON national reps for the careers service have met with shadow education minister Rushanara Ali for a roundtable discussion on the future of the service.
The meeting was also attended by leading stakeholders at the centre of the policy debate over the careers service, including employers and professional organisations. It was chaired by Professor Tony Watts, a leading expert in careers education guidance.
Jon Richards, UNISON’s national secretary for education & children’s services, said that the meeting reflected a “total recognition of the importance of the careers service to society, to the future of young people and to the economy”.
And he added: “UNISON was able to highlight the significant policy deficit in careers education and guidance – and how the service has been left to wither on the vine.”
Ofsted, the British Chambers of Commerce and the CBI are among those who have criticised the Coalition for its “hands-off” approach to careers guidance.
An Ofsted report has stated that in more than three-quarters of schools visited, new arrangements for careers guidance “were not working well”.
And in February the government revealed that it considered face-to-face careers advice for young people as “outmoded” – despite widespread condemnation of the current situation in schools.
“Young people deserve better,” said Mr Richards. “Good career guidance is critical if young people are to raise their aspirations and capitalise on the opportunities available to them.
“Changes in technology and in the labor market mean that increasing numbers of jobs require specific education and training. Key to this is access to good quality face-to face guidance by fully qualified careers practitioners.”
UNISON is campaigning to strengthen the statutory duties, to seek amendments to the Education Act to make face-to-face guidance a mandatory provision, and to reinstate the provision for schools to provide careers education commencing at year 8.