IMechE has 'real concerns' government will not meet career benchmark costings

The government is right to introduce new careers guidance benchmarks but risks creating “a new bureaucracy and little cultural change” if costings are not met, an expert has warned.

The Department for Education released the new Careers Strategy today, aimed at ensuring young people have “the skills they need and employers want” post-Brexit. The strategy includes £4m for dedicated “careers leaders” at every school and college, and an expectation of at least one “meaningful interaction” with businesses every year, with a particular focus on STEM industries.

Other funding designates £5m for new careers “hubs” to link together schools, colleges, universities and businesses, and £2m for pilot careers activities in primary schools. The strategy also incorporates eight benchmarks from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, including linking curriculum learning with STEM careers, work experience for every student, and providing good information on future career and labour market options.

The IMechE supports the benchmarks’ adoption but has “real concerns” that costings from multinational consultancy PwC of £207m for the first year and £173m for following years will not be met by the government, jeopardising their aims, said head of education and skills Peter Finegold.

Teacher placements in industry, which are not mentioned in the study, are also key for ending cultural prejudices against technical education and aligning careers advice with day-to-day learning in schools, he added.

“We know that one of the most powerful and cost-effective ways of achieving careers-readiness for young people is through teacher placements in industry,” he said. “This is why the institution developed and funds a STEM Insight scheme, in which secondary teachers spend five or ten days in industry. STEM Insight is predicated on the fact that teachers are among the most powerful influencers of careers decision-making.”