What Does a Good
Education Look Like?
Careers
I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I left school, having only received 1
session of careers advice. The session consisted of a short interview whereby Mr
Careers Guide asked me a series of questions, then wrote down my answers
verbatim on a planning template (this was 2002, after all). At the end, I had a
sheet of paper that formalised the mixed up thinking that was occurring in my
head; the session had been a waste of both of our time. The only step missing
from the action plan was “throw this sheet of paper in the bin”.
The one thing my school told me was compulsory was a university education. This
was the destination of choice for the sort of people who wanted to “make
something of their lives”; not the other sort; the ones who got funnelled into some
watered down half-brother of education, consigned to the scrapheap of aspiration,
never to make anything of themselves (many of whom are now making more
money than their university brethren). University was a must. I subsequently
defaulted and travelled to Australia, to play cricket and learn to stand on my own
two feet. Feeling isolated in my career decision making process, I had done my
best to avoid the issue. Upon return to the UK, I was more independent and had
matured, but was still none the wiser in my aspirations and how to achieve them.
However, I followed through on the university dream, achieved a First Class
degree in Chemistry and graduated at the top of my year. I was therefore (more
mature, but hugely naive!) puzzled to find that I was still struggling to be noticed
by graduate recruiters. The whole process was soul destroying.
The world of careers guidance and support has been turned on its head in recent
years. The responsibility of career services’ funding and provision has shifted to
our educational institutions, with services such as Connexions becoming obsolete.
Inevitably, this has led to a disparity across the country in the robustness and
quality of provision. Heads of establishments are grappling with how best to
administer careers services as an integral part of their students’ education, whilst
still dealing with the pressures of delivering their core curriculum. It is hard to do
careers education full justice when the responsibility falls on staff who have little
training in careers and already full timetables.
The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) announced, on the 24th
March, a 6 point plan to overhaul careers guidance in school and colleges, thus
ensuring that the provision for our young people is of high quality and fit for
purpose. The plan stresses the importance of placing the young person firmly at
the centre, with their needs considered above those of the institute. The plan
outlines means of addressing aspiration, social mobility and range of choice. The
points outlined are as follows: –
·
Careers education and advice should be part of the curriculum and be led
by a senior leader.
·
Partnerships should be built with businesses to give young people work
experience and other opportunities to help better prepare them for work.
·
Young people should be given opportunities to speak to the full range of
education and training establishments, and employers, so they can make the best
decision on what is right for them.
·
Parents and carers should be encouraged to participate in the decisionmaking process by inviting them to activities and events such as option evenings
and careers fairs.
·
Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds should be given help and
support to raise their aspirations, confidence and skills, through access to role
models who can provide information and advice, and opportunities for workrelated learning.
·
Staff providing careers information and advice should receive regular
professional training to keep them up-to-date with labour market information and
qualification pathways.
This code resonates strongly with us here at Kloodle, as the points echo our
founding principles. We created Kloodle to give young people the chance to
showcase and evidence their skills, qualifications and extra curricular
achievements, in order to access career opportunities they thought were beyond
their reach. We are creating a network that allows young people to access a world
where, at every turn, they exclaim “I didn’t know I could do that!”
By following (on Kloodle) and engaging with a wide range of the country’s most
prestigious employers, as well as local SME employers, students gain information
about a wide range of careers they did not know existed. We are building a
platform that allows educational institutions to seamlessly integrate employers
into their careers education processes, incorporating both employers with which
the college or school has an existing relationship, and those who have stand alone
profiles on the site. Kloodle provides college students a place to interact with
potential employers; a channel through which young people can access
opportunities and help them to fulfil their career aspirations.
We know that our schools and colleges are working endlessly to deliver world
class education to our young people; providing access to extra curricular
activities that engender soft skills and employability. We also know that
employers are looking for students who possess soft skills such as team working
and problem solving in addition to academic qualifications. Too often, students do
not realise that the teamwork skills they build through playing school sport can be
as important as the A* they achieve in their Physics A Level.
Kloodle supports students to develop a”skills mentality”. Our students’ profiles
enable them to showcase these skills through blogs, photos, videos and work
documents. At every turn, they should be cultivating their employability and
showcasing themselves to future employers through their Kloodle Profile. For
example, by snapping a presentation they give during class on their iPhone and
uploading it to their Kloodle profile, students can continuously reinforce the soft
skills they are developing on their course. By evidencing such skills in a strong
and meaningful way, we provide young people with a means to tell their story, a
means to stand out from the crowd.
Increasing numbers of colleges, for example Holy Cross College in Bury, are
integrating Kloodle into their core curriculum.Their students are encouraged to
upload information to their individual Kloodle profiles, so that they are continually
evidencing their employability. In addition, their students have access to careers
information posted by organisations on Kloodle, for example, a video on how to
pursue an apprenticeship with Balfour Beatty, a blog written by the college on
how to be great at an interview, or a status from a university alerting them to the
next open day for a rage of courses.
By creating a network where careers stakeholders rub shoulders, we aim to fuel
aspiration. We want to encourage young people, regardless of their background,
to think “I could do that job!”, the attitude to “just go for it”. There is much talk
about the challenges around Social Mobility, whereby young people, regardless of
their economic backgrounds can aspire to climb the career ladder, if they have
the gumption, skills and work ethic to do so. A Kloodle profile allows young
people to evidence to future employers that they have got the skills, aptitude,
work ethic and drive to succeed.
Many employers who use Kloodle are as in interested in the skills and extra
curricular achievements of students as they are in the students’ exam grades.
These two are not mutually exclusive, but there is a call from employers for young
people to demonstrate that they are capable of thinking creatively, solving
problems, innovating and working as part of a team. Employers are greatly
enthused by students’ stories, told through blogs, photos and videos. This
information provides employers with insights into a young person’s
characteristics, personality and their future potential as an employee.
The Foundation Code produced by the 8 member bodies is music to Kloodle ears,
we share the same vision and aspirations for our young talent. We believe that
careers and employability should be a cornerstone of our education system. We
believe that employers, students and education institutions should be rubbing
shoulders in a dynamic community designed to fuel aspiration. We believe that,
despite the dedicated and talented professionals who inhabit our schools,
diversity in background and opinion of the people who offer career advice is key
to getting to the crux of what our young people want to do. The greater number of
options we can expose them to, we increase our chances of finding something that
resonates strongly.
The Code represents a blueprint from which a world class careers education
system, supporting the UK’s emerging talent, can be developed, implemented and
become the envy of the EU. The use of Kloodle by FE colleges will facilitate these
values…… and add a little more.
You
can
download
a
copy
of
the
Code
here http://www.ascl.org.uk/utilities/document-summary.html?id=C893DB30-3C4
3-4131-99E7D90050BCC6B6