Top Employers to help all primary schools offer careers education to pupils

Education Secretary Damian Hinds announces work with leading employers to help all primary schools offer top careers education

All primary school pupils will benefit from world leading careers education developed by top industry professionals including the British Chambers of Commerce and BP.

To mark National Careers Week, which runs from Monday 4 March, to Friday 8 March, Education Secretary Damian Hinds announced that the Department is working with industry leaders to help make first class career-related learning a reality in all primary schools.

The Department for Education has published research that shows 96% of primary schools are offering tailored career activities to pupils, despite not being compelled to, and is committing ensure this reaches 100% by working with industry professionals.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said:

“Careers advice has thankfully moved on from my school days, where I once did a multiple choice test and was told I should work in catering.

“Good careers education is such a valuable asset that will help children to explore future possibilities and go on to lead happy rewarding lives. I’m pleased to know that so many primary school pupils have access to career-related learning to expand their ideas of who they could become in the future.

“But we want to make sure that support is available to everyone and that it’s of the highest standard so that is why we are working with industry experts to produce support primary schools.”

Schools Minister Nick Gibb met business leaders for a breakfast meeting ahead of National Careers Week. During the meeting, representatives from BP plc, UBS AG, the Confederation of British Industries (CBI), British Chambers of Commerce, the Education and Employers Taskforce, Business in the Community, Linklaters and Greensill UK, discussed the importance of modern foreign languages in careers education and agreed to form an ongoing network and to develop an action plan setting out how they will support schools to help pupils gain the language skills their future careers could require.

Today’s announcements comes after the Secretary of State visited Barham Primary School in Kent to answer pupils’ questions about his career as part of the Primary Futures programme, which gives primary schools access to a wide range of professionals, who deliver sessions that help raise children’s aspirations and counteract stereotypes about the people who do different jobs.

Many primary schools are already thinking about how best to introduce young children to ideas about the work they might do in future. The Department, through The Careers & Enterprise Company, is investing £2million to develop and extend career-related learning in primary schools. A series of organisations have submitted bids for grants from the fund and The Careers & Enterprise Company will announce successful applicants later this year.

This is one of a number of funds announced in the Government’s careers strategy to support the development and expansion of effective careers provision, focusing on geographical areas of need and targeting the most disadvantaged young people.

The Careers & Enterprise Company will soon announce the successful applicants from a £2.5million pot of funding to help develop models for effective personal careers guidance in secondary school and the successful applicants from a separate £2.5million pot to develop models to help pupils benefit from effective encounters with employers.