What is good ‘employability’?
In the first of our ‘Is work a social problem?’ series: everything you need to know to make a positive contribution to the future of work
Reading the recent Taylor review into ‘Good Work’, two quotes struck a chord about the future of work:
1. “Over their working life, people will expect to obtain their income from more than one source, sometimes simultaneously …. Employability therefore becomes less about securing a first job, but about being able to maintain employment and obtain new new employment when required.”
2. “Two thirds of the UK workforce of 2030 having already left full-time education, this is not just a challenge for those who are starting out in their working life, but also for those who have significant experience behind them.”
For BeyondMe, these challenges have a double impact: they ask us to think about how we get support AND how we develop ourselves in the process of giving it.
First: As our movement is dedicated to tackling long-term societal challenges like employability, the question of what makes work ‘good’ is of central importance.
Second: Generosity, the shared value which unites us, has an effective role to play preparing our movement and those we support for increasingly diverse careers in roles that do not yet exist.
So what inspiration and learning can we do to ensure everyone is getting high-quality advice about our career development? What can we do to inspire others and support their aspirations? And how can we spot good learning opportunities when we see them?
What does a good employability scheme look like?
Looking for answers to these questions, we came across the work of educationalist, Sir John Holman, who was commissioned by the Gatsby Foundation to research how career guidance could be improved. In response, he developed ‘Good Career Guidance Benchmarks’ for schools that are now used by educational organisations like TeachFirst, the Sutton Trust and others to better prepare those seeking fulfilling work.
(Though originally written for schools, we have updated them for all recipients and providers of educational, personal or professional training or advice.)
Here are 8 principles he outlined to ensure that the advice being offered is effective:
1. A stable careers programme
Organisations should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by all.
2. Learning from career and labour market information
Everyone should have access to good quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities. They will need the support of an informed adviser to make best use of available information.
3. Addressing the needs of all
We have different career guidance needs at different stages. Opportunities for advice and support need to be tailored to the needs of each pupil. A school’s careers programme or workplace development programme, for example, should embed equality and diversity considerations throughout.
4. Linking curriculum learning to careers
All educators should link curriculum learning with careers.
5. Encounters with employers and employees
Everyone should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be through a range of enrichment activities including visiting speakers, mentoring and enterprise schemes.
6. Experiences of workplaces
Everyone should have first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities, and expand their networks.
7. Encounters with further educational options
Everyone should understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them. This includes both academic and vocational routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace.
8. Personal guidance
Everyone should have opportunities for guidance interviews with an informed career adviser, who could be internal or external. These should be available whenever significant study or career choices are being made. They should be expected in the lifecycle of a learning or development programme but should be timed to meet the individual’s needs.
The future of employability
Young people are served by schools, colleges and universities, yes. But increasingly businesses and charities are recognising the social value they can create when bridging the gaps between employability education and the future of jobs for all ages and stages of career development.
This very real appetite to cast a wider net when searching for the leaders of the future is proved by the warm reception greeting the first ever ‘Social Mobility Employer Index’. Released this summer by the government’s Social Mobility Commission and other organisations it is a testament to why BeyondMe are optimistic about the future of work. That said, there is still lots to do.
Our task is:
To ensure these efforts have a real impact shaping the future of work
If you work in an organisation on the index above, are at all involved in providing career assistance or are looking to develop your own career, Sir John Holman’s principles give a handy starting point for the kinds of questions you could be asking that might help develop and embed better employability in the future of career development
And if you are feeling generous, BeyondMe’s portfolio of charities need your support with projects to improve employability in communities where joblessness exacerbates other social problems.
