Teachers believe pupils are less ready for the world of work after COVID-19
New polling has highlighted significant concern amongst teachers and businesses about how prepared young people are for the world of work – particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The polling was released by education charity Teach First as it launched a new report, Careers Education: Investing in Our Country’s Future.
The report makes a series of recommendations on how improving careers education – and increasing business engagement with schools – can help level up opportunities for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The data reveals that almost eight in 10 teachers (78 per cent) in the South East region said their pupils are less ready for the world of work when compared to previous cohorts, while more than four in 10 (43 per cent) believe the pandemic has negatively affected pupils’ perceptions of their career prospects.
Teach First also conducted a survey of over 500 HR decision makers from British businesses and found they share this concern, with more than half (58 per cent) of South East businesses saying they are concerned that ‘lost learning’ from the pandemic will exacerbate the skills shortage amongst pupils and students.
While grades are hugely important, the research suggests that other skills are also highly valued by employers.
When asked to select the top three skills that they would consider most if recruiting young people, they were most likely to choose broader soft skills (71 per cent), literacy and numeracy (53 per cent), and digital and IT skills (39 per cent).
However, when asked to give their assessment of the preparedness of current school, college and university leavers, seven in 10 (71 per cent) local businesses said that they were concerned about their level of soft skills.
They also reported concerns about the level of literacy and numeracy (71 per cent) and digital and IT skills (47 per cent).
To help tackle this, Teach First believe careers education needs to start at primary school level.
Teachers agree, with two thirds of primary school teachers (65 per cent) in the South East believing career-related learning for their pupils will raise aspirations, and almost seven in 10 (68 per cent) said it will raise their pupils’ awareness of different career pathways.
The DfE recently made a commitment for a new careers programme for primary schools in disadvantaged areas in the recent Schools White Paper. In order to be as effective as possible, Teach First wants the DfE to work with sector leaders and publish a framework for effective careers learning in primary schools based on the Gatsby benchmarks and pair this with a new fund that trains and supports primary teachers working in disadvantaged areas.
Teach First estimates it would cost £8.5m to support the top 10 per cent most disadvantaged primary schools by pupils’ free school meal eligibility
Russell Hobby, CEO of Teach First, said: “Our country’s long-term prosperity depends on the next generation of young people. Careers education is an essential part of that – making a significant impact on a young person’s development at school, as well as their future employment opportunities.”