In the face of potentially record high youth unemployment and a bleak economic outlook, the Chancellor’s investment in skills, apprenticeships and careers advice is undoubtedly a welcome move. At Education Development Trust, we share the conviction that careers advice is vital to ensuring that young people and adults have meaningful career management skills and awareness, to support both their futures and the economy.

The coronavirus pandemic has shocked the world of work: from working from home becoming the new norm, to millions of people being furloughed, to business plans having to be rethought entirely. It is no wonder then that this period has prompted many to rethink their careers and ask themselves what their next move might be.

Ending today #NationalCareersWeek ran from 2 to 6 March 2020. To mark it, Laura Bell @EdDevTrust considers the importance of guidance and information for parents supporting their children through #careers decisions in an ever-changing employment landscape:

EDT, the independent UK education charity that encourages young people into science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) careers, is supporting the current improvements in the numbers of women going into STEM by providing increases in available places on programmes which encourage young women to understand what STEM careers involve.

The current dominance of London and the South East in Tech Industry occupations threatens to further skew the growth of employment in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) industries in coming years, according to research by jobs market experts Emsi commissioned by education charity EDT. Regions will need to decide how best to retain local young people in STEM roles.