‘Outcomes will be strengthened by working together’
DYNAMIC change in the post-pandemic economy and society requires a decisive change in the way we prepare and support people to engage and thrive in the future world of work.
The recent Review of Scotland’s career services aimed to achieve such a change.
While it confirmed that we have firstrate, all-age services that are the envy of countries across the world, it also revealed significant inconsistency, regional variation and fragmentation in our system that means, beyond national services, not everyone has equal access to the range of career services.
Ambitious recommendations to redesign the career ecosystem and make services more sustainable, especially for those who need extra support, are now being taken forward under the umbrella of the Career Services Collaborative.
In a unique alliance, career service providers and practitioners, passionate about the excellent services they deliver, have come together with service users and industry and third sector stakeholders, in a collective effort, nationally and regionally, to make services more coordinated and universally available.
Through the Collaborative they have been working together to identify shared answers to shared problems and to make the best use of all available resources.
Their commitment to collaboration has been exceptional.
It has been creative and innovative in identifying how resources can be applied for maximum impact.
Every part of our careers eco-system has developed its own action plan and a range of shared actions to achieve our collective vision for service users. Our local government partners have made an important contribution to this across a range of their functions, including careers education and employability services.
Over a year on from the publication of the final Career Review report, the reality is that the budget restrictions facing career service providers could have a significant impact on our ability to achieve our future vision.
I do not underestimate the challenge for our public services, in particular our local authorities, in balancing their budgets. However, our collaborative efforts to change, innovate and improve Scotland’s career services will only be realised if the resource needed to deliver the recommendations of the Career Review can be preserved.
Deprioritising career services, especially at a local level, risks exacerbating inequalities, leading to inevitable harm not just for the future of many of our young people, but also to the economic well-being of our country.
The Review recommendations will take time and investment to implement fully and I welcome the firm commitment from Ministers to the work of the Collaborative, alongside wider skills reform.
As the Chair of the Career Services Collaborative, I make an impassioned plea to conserve support for young people and those seeking to develop their careers.
The work of the Collaborative has already demonstrated that, by working together and applying our collective resources, we can strengthen existing services and deliver better outcomes for our young people, and our future. I ask simply that this be remembered when difficult decisions are being taken.
Find out about the Career Review and the Career Services Collaborative at careerreview.scot