WRITTEN EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION (BYC032)

INTRODUCTION

Government wants all young people to have access to high quality and meaningful work-related learning. Work experience can offer an insight into a particular job or career and help young people to develop the employability skills to succeed in the workplace. For business, it can help to develop the skills for the pipeline of future talent.

The Department for Education is responsible for policy on work experience for young people. Our approach begins with all young people accessing a wide range of experiences and encounters with employers from an early age. For students over the age of 16, we focus on the delivery of work placements within study programmes. The new T Levels that will be introduced from 2020 will all include industry placements. We are working closely with employers, schools and colleges to make sure we get high quality work placements in place. We are pleased to have the opportunity to discuss this important issue with the Youth Select Committee.

GENERAL

1. What does “good quality work experience” look like? What do young people and businesses expect to get from it?

The best quality work experience is part of a structured programme of work-related activities, which may include wider careers education, job search and application skills, employer talks and employer-led projects.1 These work-related learning activities are designed to bridge the gap between education and the world of work. They can help young people to achieve specific qualifications and support the development of the employability skills and experience which employers say are critical when recruiting.

The Government’s careers strategy2 emphasises the need for young people to have regular, high-quality encounters with employers. Research from the Education and Employers Taskforce shows that a young person who has four or more encounters with an employer is 86% less likely to be not in education, employment or training (NEET) and can earn 22% more during their career.3 The Matthew Taylor review 1 NatCen & SQW, 2017 Work experience and related activities in schools and colleges. DfE Research Report DFE-RR65: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/601373/Work_experience_and_related_activities_in_schools_and_colleges.pdf 2 Department for Education (2017) Careers strategy: making the most of everyone’s skills and talents: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/664319/Careers_strategy.pdf 3 Kashefpakdel, E., & Percy, C. (2016) Careers education that works: an economic analysis using the British Cohort Study. Journal of Education and Work, DOI: 10.1080/136539080.2016.1177636: https://www.educationandemployers.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Career-education-that-works-an-economic-analysis-using-the-British-Cohort-Study.compressed.pdf Mann, et al. (2017) Contemporary transitions: Young Britons reflect on life after secondary school and college. London: Education and Employers: https://www.educationandemployers.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Contemporary-Transitions-30-01-2017.pdf

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also recognises the importance of high-quality work experience and encounters at different education stages.4

The careers strategy has been developed in partnership with the Gatsby Charitable Foundation which has developed a set of Benchmarks, based on rigorous nationaland international research, which define excellence in careers guidance.5 Schools and colleges are expected to use the Benchmarks to develop and improve their careers provision and meet them in full by the end of 2020. The Benchmarks set out that every student should have at least seven meaningful employer encounters, at least one per year from the age of 11. A meaningful encounter is one in which the student has an opportunity to learn about what work is like or what it takes to be successful in the workplace. Every student should also have at least one first-hand experience of the workplace by the age of 16 and a further such experience by the age of 18. This might be a work visit, work shadowing or work experience. To support this effort, Government established The Careers & Enterprise Company in 2014 to help schools and colleges to unlock relationships with local businesses.

Longer work placements are typically undertaken as part of a structured qualification. Studies repeatedly report that young people value the authenticity of such experiences – providing it is relevant to their needs.6 Benefits include a better understanding of the behaviour and conduct expected in a working environment, greater confidence, improved communication skills and, in some cases the chance to “taste” a potential career before committing to a particular course of action.7

It can be beneficial for young people to be actively involved in the identification of their work placements8, to make sure that they are well matched not only to their interests and career ambitions9, but also their course and home life.10 Thorough preparation is vital to make sure that both student and employer know what to expect. During the placement young people should be able to complete a structured 4 Taylor, M (2017) Good Work: The Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/627671/good-work-taylor-review-modern-working-practices-rg.pdf 5 Holman, J. (2014) Good Career Guidance. Gatsby Charitable Foundation: http://www.gatsby.org.uk/uploads/education/reports/pdf/gatsby-sir-john-holman-good-career-guidance-2014.pdf 6 OECD, 2010 OECD (2010). Learning for Jobs, Chapter 3: Careers Guidance: http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/Learning%20for%20Jobs%20book.pdf; Deloitte UK (2010) Helping young people succeed: How employers can support careers education. Education and Employers Taskforce.: https://www.educationandemployers.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/deloitte-eet-young-people-succeed-report-final.pdf 7 NatCen & SQW, 2017 Work experience and related activities in schools and colleges. DfE Research Report DFE-RR659. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/601373/Work_experience_and_related_activities_in_schools_and_colleges.pdf 8 ibid9 Buzzeo and Cifci 2017. Work experience, job shadowing and workplace visits. What works? Careers and Enterprise Company;: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/sites/default/files/uploaded/careers-enterprise-what-works-report-work-experience.pdf Department for Education (2017) T-level Consultation: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/implementation-of-t-level-programmes 10 Department for Education (2017) T-level Consultation: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/implementation-of-t-level-programmes

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programme of meaningful activities which will allow them to develop their skills.11 Young people have said that they would like to be supported in their placements by visits from school/college staff who know them well so that they can be honest and open about their experience.12. Finally reflection and evaluation are important to allow young people to consolidate what they have learned during their placement.13

There are many benefits for business. In response to a recent call for evidence in relation to industry placements as part of T levels, employers saw providing industry placements as a worthwhile investment, to revive their talent pipeline, provide development opportunities for existing staff members, raise the profile of the business in the local area and bring in a fresh perspective and new skills, whilst also providing employers with increased capacity at peak times14.

2. How important is good quality work experience to a successful industrial strategy?

Government’s view is that good quality work experience is central to executing a successful Industrial Strategy. The careers strategy with its clear focus on encounters with employers and experiences of workplaces is an important part of the Industrial Strategy.15 T Levels will provide a clear choice of post-16 education pathways - academic (A levels) or technical (T Levels and apprenticeships). One of the key elements of the T Level is a minimum 45 working day Industry Placement (formally work placements). They will provide the young person with the essential experience of the workplace, where they can apply and develop the technical skills learnt in the classroom – putting them in a much better position to apply for skilled work. We have invested close to £60 million in an Industry Placements Capacity Delivery Fund (CDF) for 2018-19, (with further investments for subsequent years) for providers to put in place the resource and infrastructure to enable them to deliver 11 NatCen & SQW, 2017 Work experience and related activities in schools and colleges. DfE Research Report DFE-RR659: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/60 1373/Work_experience_and_related_activities_in_schools_and_colleges.pdf; Buzzeo and Cifci 2017. Work experience, job shadowing and workplace visits. What works? Careers and Enterprise Company: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/sites/default/files/uploaded/careers-enterprise-what-works-report-work-experience.pdf Department for Education (2017) T-level consultation: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/implementation-of-t-level-programmes 12 NatCen & SQW, 2017 Work experience and related activities in schools and colleges. DfE Research Report DFE-RR659: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/601373/Work_experience_and_related_activities_in_schools_and_colleges.pdf 13 NatCen & SQW, 2017 Work experience and related activities in schools and colleges. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/60 1373/Work_experience_and_related_activities_in_schools_and_colleges.pdf; DfE Research Report DFE-RR659; Buzzeo and Cifci 2017. Work experience, job shadowing and workplace visits. What works? Careers and Enterprise Company: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/sites/default/files/uploaded/careers-enterprise-what-works-report-work-experience.pdf 14 Page 24-27, Work Placements: A Call for Evidence, Learning for Work and Fair Train, 2017: http://www.learningandwork.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Work_placements_-_a_call_for_evidence.pdf 15 Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (2017) Industrial Strategy: building a Britain fit for the future https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-strategy-building-a-britain-fit-for-the-future

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high quality industry placements from this September, and build capacity longer term in readiness for the introduction of first T Levels in 2020.

3. What evidence is there that work experience boosts social mobility?

Several studies16 have linked work experience to better economic outcomes and although causality is difficult to prove, the weight of evidence is growing. In addition work experience can:

Help young people get a foot in the door. Of employers who had offered work placements to school students, 11% offered an individual a job.17 The equivalent figure for further education or sixth form colleges was 13%.18

Enhance work-readiness, helping young people develop the confidence and skills necessary for employment, including team work, communication and interpersonal skills.19

Help young people clarify career aspirations and challenge occupational stereotypes, testing the realism of their ambitions and opening up new horizons.20 Work with students from low income backgrounds suggests that aspirational and well-supported work experience opportunities can make a material difference to the types of jobs they would consider applying for.21

However, the positive effects of work experience and employer contact are linked with the quality of the experience22 and too often young people from low income households and other disadvantaged groups, are not well-served in this respect. As

16 Hughes et al, 2016 Careers education: international literature review: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/publications/2016/hughes_et_al_2016_eef_lit_review.pdf Education Endowment Foundation; Mann et al, 2017 Contemporary Transitions: young Britons reflect on life after secondary school and college. https://www.educationandemployers.org/research/contemporary-transitions-young-britons-reflect-on-life-after-secondary-school-and-college/ Education and Employers Taskforce.17 Shury et al (2017) Employer Perspectives Survey 2016. DfE research Report DFE-RR693: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employer-perspectives-survey-2016 18 Ibid19 Sims et al 2013 Evaluation of the work experience placement trials. National Foundation for Educational Research. DfE RB298. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246252/DFE-RB298.pdf 20 Mann, 2012 Work Experience: Impact and Delivery – Insights from the Evidence. [Online]. Available at: http://www.educationandemployers.org/research/work-experience-impact-and-delivery-insights-from-the-evidence/21 Roberts et al, 2017 Experiential work-based learning as a social mobility mechanism for widening participation students. Journal of the National Institute for Career Education and Counselling, 38(1), 44-51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20856/jnicec.3807 ; Le Gallais, T., & Hatcher, R. (2014). How School Work Experience Policies can Widen Student Horizons or Reproduce Social Inequality https://www.educationandemployers.org/research/how-school-work-experience-policies-can-widen-student-horizons-or-reproduce-social-inequality/ ; Understanding Employer Engagement in Education, 190-201. https://www.educationandemployers.org/research/understanding-employer-engagement-in-education-theories-and-evidence/ 22 Mann et al, 2017 Contemporary Transitions: young Britons reflect on life after secondary school and college. Education and Employers Taskforce. https://www.educationandemployers.org/research/contemporary-transitions-young-britons-reflect-on-life-after-secondary-school-and-college/

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the following section makes clear, where quality of provision is poor, social divisions are likely to simply be replicated or reinforced.23

YOUNG PEOPLE

4. How do differences between young people (e.g. geographic location, socioeconomic background, ethnicity, disability) affect the work experience opportunities these people have?

Evidence suggests that certain groups appear less likely than others to undertake work experience. According to one long-term study24, in particular girls, those from minority ethnic groups, those with low levels of academic attainment, those seeking careers in law or science, and those from the north-east, north-west and Yorkshire. Other studies have found young people from low-income households, and whose parents had no experience of education, recalled lower levels of school-mediated employer engagements than their more advantaged peers.25 There are also variations in quality and type.

There is a clear social-class gradient in the quality of work experience, with those from lower socio-economic groups more likely to receive lower quality work experience. Schools in low-income areas can struggle to find the same range of high quality work experience as their more advantaged counterparts.26 However students from low income families may also sometimes be limited by their own and their families’, fairly restricted experience. As some schools rely on families to source work experience, this could explain why students from socially advantaged families are more likely to have undertaken “quality” work experience as their families are able to source higher quality opportunities.27 Outside school, the need to earn may also limit the type of work experience which young people are exposed to.

23 Le Gallais, T., & Hatcher, R. (2014). How School Work Experience Policies can Widen Student Horizons or Reproduce Social Inequality. Understanding Employer Engagement in Education, 190-201. https://www.educationandemployers.org/research/how-school-work-experience-policies-can-widen-student-horizons-or-reproduce-social-inequality/ 24 Archer and Moote, 2016 ASPIRES 2 Project Spotlight: Year 11 Students’ Views of Careers Education and Work Experience https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/education/research/aspires/ASPIRES-2-Project-Spotlight---Year-11-Students-Views-on-Careers-Education-and-Work-Experience.pdf 25 Mann et al, 2017 Contemporary Transitions: young Britons reflect on life after secondary school and college. Education and Employers Taskforce. https://www.educationandemployers.org/research/contemporary-transitions-young-britons-reflect-on-life-after-secondary-school-and-college/ 26 Le Gallais, T. and Hatcher, R. (2009; 2014). How School Work Experience Policies can Widen Student Horizons or Reproduce Social Inequality https://www.educationandemployers.org/research/how-school-work-experience-policies-can-widen-student-horizons-or-reproduce-social-inequality/ . Understanding Employer Engagement, pp. 190-201 https://www.educationandemployers.org/research/understanding-employer-engagement-in-education-theories-and-evidence/ .; Archer and Moote, 2016 ASPIRES 2 Project Spotlight: Year 11 Students’ Views of Careers Education and Work Experience. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/education/research/aspires/ASPIRES-2-Project-Spotlight---Year-11-Students-Views-on-Careers-Education-and-Work-Experience.pdf 27 Archer and Moote, 2016 ASPIRES 2 Project Spotlight: Year 11 Students’ Views of Careers Education and Work Experience https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/education/research/aspires/ASPIRES-2-Project-Spotlight---Year-11-Students-Views-on-Careers-Education-and-Work-Experience.pdf

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Independent school pupils have been able to provide in their UCAS statements evidence of high-quality, professional, often unpaid internships, while their state-school counterparts more frequently cite “jobs” - low-skilled, part time (usually paid) posts – with potential inequitable consequences for university entry.28 These consequences may even continue beyond higher education in those professions where employers may view unpaid, informal work experience as a demonstration of commitment.29 The danger is that such socially-differentiated provision may simply replicate or reinforce the existing social structures.

Gender stereotyping is reflected in the provision and uptake of work experience. Only a very small percentage of girls undertake work experience in traditionally “male” employment sectors like engineering, and are more likely than boys to undertake placements in stereotypically “female” childcare occupations, even where they have not expressed an interest.30

Concerns have been expressed over the availability and quality of work experience provision for young people with SEND. Even when available, they often do not offer a structured and supported approach that genuinely helps the young person to make progress31 or are not relevant to their needs, or provided “too late in their programme”.32 Yet, for this group the experience of work and on-the-job training is more likely to help secure employment than qualifications or classroom-based learning.33

To address these issues of inequality, Government is focusing resources on areas of greatest need. The Careers & Enterprise Company is helping young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to get the additional support they need to prepare for work, including opportunities for mentoring and guidance. An Investment Fund will make £2.5 million available for activities that support employer engagement taking place in schools and colleges, with a particular focus on supporting those students who are most disadvantaged. A further £2.5 million will be made available to support personal guidance. The Careers & Enterprise Company has established a new Enterprise Adviser Network which is already providing 2,000 schools and colleges with senior business support. The Enterprise Advisers are working with senior

28 Jones, 2014 The Role of Work Experience in the UK Higher Education Admissions Process. In Understanding Employer Engagement in Education: Theories and Evidence (Routledge, 2014) eds. Anthony Mann, Julian Stanley and Louise Archer. https://www.educationandemployers.org/research/understanding-employer-engagement-in-education-theories-and-evidence/ 29 Francis, 2015, Legal Education, Social Mobility and Employability: Possible Selves, Curriculum Intervention and the role of Legal Work Experience, Journal of Law and Society 42 (2) http://eprints.keele.ac.uk/280/1/Legal%20Education%20Employability%20and%20Social%20Mobility%20JLS%202015.pdf 30 Francis, et al (2005). Gender Equality in Work Experience Placements for Young People. Equal Opportunities Commission. https://www.educationandemployers.org/research/gender-equality-in-work-experience-placements-for-young-people-2005/ 31 Beyer, et al (2008). The transition of young people with learning disabilities to employment: what works? Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 14(1), pp. 85–94. https://repository.edgehill.ac.uk/5430/ 32 OFSTED, 2016. Preparing learners with high needs for adult life. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-learners-with-high-needs-for-adult-life 33 Hubble, 2012 Support for students with learning difficulties and disabilities in post-16 education in England. http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/22778/1/SN06341.pdf

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leadership teams to bring in new employer contacts, including for work experience placements.

Respondents to the recent T Level consultation34 highlight potential challenges involved in delivering industry placements and the risks involved in terms of equality of opportunity. A strong theme was the need for T Levels to be inclusive and take account of the needs of learners with SEND. We will be taking forward key recommendations, including:

• Working with employers, providers and SEND organisations to learn from existing good practice so that appropriate flexibilities can be built in.

• Making sure that employers and providers receive guidance so that all students with SEND are set fair and appropriate objectives and are able to access support to provide reasonable adjustments.

5. How could resources to help young people find out about and access work experience be improved?

Each school or college will have their own methods for working with employers but the Government has established The Careers & Enterprise Company to provide more support in this area. The Company’s Enterprise Adviser Network is already providing senior business support to over 2,000 schools and colleges to improve their employer engagement plans. There are also a variety of private sector organisations and products that help young people to find or apply for work experience placements.

Government wants to make sure that all students will be able to access new T Level industry placements. Access for students in rural areas can be difficult due to low concentration of local employers and restricted availability of public transport. The 2017/18 Industry Placement Pilot and ongoing work with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs will examine these barriers and explore what measures are needed most to improve accessibility to industry placements. Equally, students should not be prevented from undertaking an industry placement due to travel and subsistence costs. To address this initially, the 415 providers in receipt of Capacity and Delivery Fund funding have also been allocated additional 16-19 Discretionary Bursary funding in 18/19 of just under £2.5 million, to help support additional travel and subsistence costs incurred by their students from going on an industry placement.

SCHOOLS AND BUSINESSES

6. Should compulsory work experience for under-16s be reinstated? What is the right age for work experience within compulsory education: 14-16 or 16-18?

34 Department for Education (2017) T-level Consultation https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/implementation-of-t-level-programmes

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The Coalition Government removed the duty to provide work-related learning and gave schools the freedom and autonomy to decide how they prepare students for the workplace. We are prioritising frequent and early contact with employers rather than making sure that everyone gets a formal work experience placement before the age of 16. Statutory guidance which underpins the legal duty for schools to provide independent careers guidance sets clear expectations. Every young person should receive a minimum of one employer encounter per year from the age of 11, in addition to a first-hand experience of the workplace by the age of 16. The Government’s careers strategy also announced £2 million to test what careers activities are appropriate and work well in primary schools. Government’s approach is based on the evidence cited earlier that multiple encounters with employers can lead to better employment outcomes for young people.

The introduction of 16-19 study programmes has brought a greater emphasis on preparing young people for employment during their 16-19 education, responding to evidence that employers believe schools and colleges should be prioritising the development of employability skills (71%)35, having reported weaknesses in employment skills36. Additionally, with the new legal requirement for young people to remain in education or training until age 18, it is right that the focus of work experience has shifted to 16-18 year olds. The evidence suggests that work experience undertaken closer to entry into work can optimise opportunities for jobs to be secured, and is seen as more effective in aiding entry to higher education.37 Study programmes and traineeships have placed work experience at the heart of 16-19 provision, offered as part of an personalised programme that allow students to gain the employability skills and insight, relevant to their career aspirations. Further Education colleges in particular have led by example and there is now a wealth of good practice and materials/tools that providers can draw on. The Association of College’s Study Programme Central38 site provides examples of how providers are successfully sourcing work experience. DfE research into work experience and related activities in schools and colleges39 also includes good practice in providing effective work placements.

7. How could schools and colleges be better supported to help their students access quality work experience?

Government is providing valuable support through The Careers & Enterprise Company’s Enterprise Adviser Network, which will help schools and colleges to provide all pupils with at least one meaningful interaction with business per year, with

35 CBI Skills Survey (2012) http://www.cbi.org.uk/media/1514978/cbi_education_and_skills_survey_2012.pdf 36 CBI Skills Survey (2012) http://www.cbi.org.uk/media/1514978/cbi_education_and_skills_survey_2012.pdf 37 Mann, 2012 Work Experience: Impact and Delivery – Insights from the Evidence. https://www.educationandemployers.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/work_experience_report__april_2012_.pdf 38 Website: https://www.aoc.co.uk/teaching-and-learning/study-programmes-central/work-experience-non-qualification-activity-and-0 See also: Implementing the Work Experience Element of the 16-19 Study Programme: A Good Practice Guide, AELP & Fair Train39 NatCen & SQW (2017) Work experience and related activities in schools and colleges. DfE Research Report DFE-RR659: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-experience-and-related-activities-in-schools-and-colleges

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a particular focus on science, technology and engineering employers. Over 2,000 schools and colleges are matched with an Enterprise Adviser, focusing first on those areas most in need of support. By 2020, an Enterprise Adviser will be made available to all secondary schools and colleges. The Network is diverse – 52% of volunteers are female and more than 42% are from small businesses. The Company has an ‘activity finder’ on their website which enables schools and colleges to search for providers of careers activities in their area, including brokers of work experience opportunities. Schools can also seek support to deliver high quality work experience placements from local Jobcentre Plus advisers through the ‘Jobcentre Plus Support for Schools’ initiative.

To prepare for the introduction of T Levels, we have invested nearly £60 million in the Capacity Delivery Fund to support 415 providers deliver high quality industry placements to 10% of their eligible student cohort from this September, and we will continue to support providers over the coming years. We expect institutions to use this funding to hire dedicated resource to build relationships with local employers, many of which will be smaller, untapped employers. There are also benefits to local institutions working collaboratively with local employer networks, such as Education Business Partnerships and Local Enterprise Partnerships to make sure that demand is met.

We have commissioned the National Apprenticeship Service to explore options to make the industry placement vacancy filling process for T Levels more manageable and streamlined for employers. This will include looking at the feasibility of a digital platform for employers to host industry placement opportunities, and students to apply to apply for vacancies where relevant.

The industry placement pilots conclude this summer which has placed over 2,000 students in relevant industry placements. We have listened to feedback and propose a number of additional measures as set out in the recent T Level consultation response40, to support providers and employers to foster strong relationships, and in particular to support employers to offer industry placements.

8. Are services to help schools and colleges develop relationships with businesses working well? How could they be improved?

The Careers & Enterprise Company is making good early progress. There are now 2,091 Enterprise Advisers appointed in their Enterprise Adviser Network, connecting over 2,000 schools and colleges with employers in England. The first Careers & Enterprise Investment Fund has provided 380,000 young people with encounters with employers, including 170,000 new encounters with science, technology and engineering employers.

We know that there is further to go. The careers strategy announced further investment to help to put in place the infrastructure that schools and colleges need to develop high quality careers programmes with employer engagement at their heart. Government will provide £4 million to fund the development of new training

40 Department for Education (2017) T-level Consultation https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/implementation-of-t-level-programmes

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programmes for Careers Leaders. This will support at least 500 schools and colleges in training their Careers Leader in 2018/19 and 2019/20. Government will also invest £5 million to test Careers Hubs in 20 areas. These hubs will consist of between 20-40 secondary schools and colleges, working with universities and other local organisations to improve career outcomes for young people.

We have invested £5 million into the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) to raise awareness and promote T Level industry placements through their employer networks as part of their employer engagement support role. This includes establishing a dedicated National Contact Centre to offer support and advice to employers, a team of National Account Managers to offer tailored support to the top 1,000 largest employers and enhance local intermediary support networks to support smaller employers, and a referral ‘matchmaking’ service, putting employers and local providers in touch with one another to organise industry placements.

9. How could barriers to businesses (including small businesses) offering work experience be overcome?

Not all employers are willing or able to participate in providing work experience opportunities. This is more commonly an issue for smaller employers. Reasons can include lack of time and resources, financial reasons and/or barriers created by health and safety and insurance regulations, delays in DBS checks, or because they simply could not see the benefits of such engagement for their company.41 42

Government has responded by revising and slimming down the health and safety guidance, removing the need for DBS checks in most instances and confirming that employers' liability insurance covers work experience and work placements. In partnership with the Health and Safety Executive, we have published clear and simplified work experience guidance. This includes advice on risk assessments.

We will publish a ‘how to’ guidance for employers on implementing industry placements, including setting out the responsibilities and legal requirements of employers. Part 1 of this guidance was published on 4 June, with more detailed guidance to be published over the coming weeks43. We have established a cross Government working group to agree how Government departments can offer T Level industry placements and encourage the public bodies and private sector employers they work with to offer them. We are also gathering the evidence base to determine what additional support employers, particularly SMEs, might need to support them to deliver industry placements.

41 Bimrose et al (2014). Understanding the link between employers and schools and the role of the National Careers Service. BIS Research Paper. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/386030/bis-14-1271-understanding-the-link-between-employers-and-schools-and-the-role-of-the-national-careers-service.pdf 42 NatCen & SQW, 2017 Work experience and related activities in schools and colleges. DfE Research Report DFE-RR659. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-experience-and-related-activities-in-schools-and-colleges 43 AoC Website: https://www.aoc.co.uk/teaching-and-learning/t-level/industry-placements-guidance-resources, The Challenge Network, 2018

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10. What does good practice in offering, advertising and recruiting for work experience look like, and how can businesses be encouraged to follow it?

When recruiting young people into jobs, employers most commonly rely on informal methods such as word of mouth.44 Similarly, schools and colleges often rely on the personal networks and contacts of key staff in sourcing employers to provide work experience.45 The Employer Perspectives Survey notes that this apparent reliance on informal networks could have potentially adverse consequences for social mobility and equality, offering further advantage to the well-connected. We need to encourage employers to offer a fair and transparent recruitment process, thereby providing opportunities to all interested students to apply for work experience, so candidates are selected based on merit.

As mentioned above, the National Apprenticeship Service will be exploring options to make the industry placement vacancy filling process for T Levels more manageable and streamlined for employers, including looking at the feasibility of a digital platform for employers to host industry placement opportunities, and students to apply where relevant. This will counter the barrier that is continually cited by employers, that they already experience fatigue as a result of the number of requests they receive from education providers, and that a more coordinated approach will be necessary to ensure this issue is not exacerbated46.

11. Does work experience benefit businesses? What are the motivations for businesses to offer work experience?

Employers offering work experience and inspiration activities to young people identify a number of fairly immediate benefits including helping with recruitment and with workload. They also identify medium term advantages such as raising their profile in the recruitment market47 and their knowledge of the local labour market.48 However, many employers (69%) offer work experience for essentially altruistic reasons49 which typically include: ‘gives them [young people] experience’ (51%) or ‘doing our bit/uphold relations with the local community’ (29%). For a minority this is ‘part of formal corporate social responsibility policy’ (7%).

44 Shury et al (2017) Employer Perspectives Survey 2016. DfE research Report DFE-RR693. [Online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employer-perspectives-survey-2016 45 NatCen & SQW, 2017 Work experience and related activities in schools and colleges. DfE Research Report DFE-RR659: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-experience-and-related-activities-in-schools-and-colleges 46 Page 41, Work Placements: A Call for Evidence, Learning for Work and Fair Train, 2017: http://www.learningandwork.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Work_placements_-_a_call_for_evidence.pdf 47 Shury et al (2017) Employer Perspectives Survey 2016. DfE research Report DFE-RR693: http://www.learningandwork.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Work_placements_-_a_call_for_evidence.pdf 48 Pye Tait Consulting. (2017). Fuelling Young People’s Futures: An Evaluation of The Careers & Enterprise Company’s Enterprise Adviser Network. London: The Careers & Enterprise Company: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/sites/default/files/uploaded/fuelling-young-peoples-futures-pye-tait.pdf 49Shury et al (2017) Employer Perspectives Survey 2016. DfE research Report DFE-RR693. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employer-perspectives-survey-2016

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The Challenge Network, who ran the Industry Placement pilot have recently published a suite of guidance and materials – one being the ‘Business Case for Industry Placements’, that sets out the business benefits to employers for taking on students for Industry placements. Employers involved in the pilots reinforce the message above and also cite benefits, such as, encouraging a pipeline of talent for entry level jobs where there are skills shortages at low recruitment cost, improving equality of opportunity which is considered essential for a productive workforce and increase opportunities for existing employees to develop management and coaching skills.50

At the strategic level employers mention securing future recruitment and labour supply51. In this, work readiness has a significant role to play. Work experience is regarded as critical or significant in recruitment decisions by 65% of employers. However, employer perceptions of the work-preparedness of young people have fallen slightly in recent years52 and it remains a source of dissatisfaction for many employers.53 Lack of work and/or life experience appear to be key factors in this,54 so work experience offer one way of addressing this issue, potentially benefiting employers by enhancing the work-readiness of their recruitment pool. The Employer Perspectives survey notes that there is a “disconnect” between the perceived need for greater work-preparedness and the importance of work experience on the one hand and the number of employers willing and able to offer work experience (38%) on the other.

OTHER SERVICES AND ORGANISATIONS

12. What role should the Government have in making sure that young people have access to quality work experience? We have placed high expectations at the heart of our schools, with a rigorous new curriculum, world class exams and an accountability system where schools are recognised for the progress all pupils make across a broad range of subjects. Through the work of The Careers & Enterprise Company and others, Government is making it easier for schools and employers to interact with one another, joining up across government and making it clearer for schools what is expected of them and what works.

50 https://www.aoc.co.uk/teaching-and-learning/t-level/industry-placements-guidance-resources51 Pye Tait Consulting. (2017). Fuelling Young People’s Futures: An Evaluation of The Careers & Enterprise Company’s Enterprise Adviser Network. London: The Careers & Enterprise Company. https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/sites/default/files/uploaded/fuelling-young-peoples-futures-pye-tait.pdf 52 Shury et al (2017) Employer Perspectives Survey 2016. DfE research Report DFE-RR693. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employer-perspectives-survey-2016 Department for Education (2014) Employer Perspectives Survey https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employer-perspectives-survey-2014 53 CBI. (2017). CBI/Pearson Helping the UK thrive: CBI/Pearson Education and Skills Survey. http://www.cbi.org.uk/index.cfm/_api/render/file/?method=inline&fileID=DB1A9FE5-5459-4AA2-8B44798DD5B15E77 54 Shury et al (2017) Employer Perspectives Survey 2016. DfE research Report DFE-RR693: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employer-perspectives-survey-2016

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As set out in the recent Government response to the T level consultation, we remain committed to delivering the new reforms and bring our technical education system in line with the best in the world and make it as prestigious as our world leading academic institutions. As part of this, every 16 to 19 year old student following a two-year technical classroom-based education programme, will undertake a structured, quality industry placement. Quality industry placements are critical to the success of T Levels; they will enable young people to put into practice and further develop the practical skills and workplace behaviours that they have learnt in the classroom.

13. Should the Government invest in resources to help young people find work experience independently? What would these resources ideally look like?

As described earlier, the Government’s focus is on helping schools and colleges to identify good quality work experience placements for young people. The Careers & Enterprise Company is ensuring that every young person has access to inspiring encounters with the world of work, including work placements, work experience and other employer-based activities.

A number of organisations provide tools to support young people to find work experience placements. Many of these operate regionally as young people don’t travel far for work experience.

14. How could private and third sector organisations be better supported and encouraged to help young people access quality work experience?

Through the Enterprise Adviser Network, schools and colleges are being supported to grow relationships with employers, third sector organisations and other intermediaries who can help to deliver high quality employer-led activities.

Access to industry placements for T Levels will be supported through the Capacity Delivery Fund. Institutions can hire dedicated resource to build relationships with local employers and work collaboratively with local employer networks, such as Education Business Partnerships and Local Enterprise Partnerships.The National Apprenticeship Service will support the Departments’ employer engagement strategy by:

Providing a single point of contact for employers to go to for advice, guidance and support on industry placement delivery from September 2018

Promoting and raising national awareness of industry placements with employers and sell the benefits and increase interest in industry placements

Establishing an industry placement Ambassador Network Working with key intermediary organisations that have national reach to

promote the industry placement offer to employers via their memberships. Provide a referral and matchmaking service, putting employers and providers

in touch with one another to organise industry placements

15. What lessons can be learned from the approaches of the devolved administrations and other countries to work experience?

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Lessons are often limited by differences in the overall education structure – many countries which have particularly strong and successful work placement programmes also operate separate academic and vocational routes from early or middle secondary years. Finland is notable for operating work experience for all young people from age 13 (usually initially in the workplace of a parent).55

The OECD56 note that work placements tend to work best when they are “credit bearing and formally integrated into the curriculum” allowing the two forms of learning (work and school-based) to reinforce one another. Quality assurance and regulation need to steer a course to facilitate high quality without burdening employers with over-stringent requirements. High quality industry placements are an essential part of making T Levels stand out as a world class technical education offer. Based on this best practice, industry placement will be fully integrated within the T Level programme and students will need to complete an industry placements to be accredited for their T Level.

A review of Scotland’s work experience offer noted the demands which a universal offer placed on the system, the difficulty which schools sometimes had in devoting sufficient time and resources – particularly to elements such as debrief and reflection - and the difficulty of aligning the work experience placement with the wider curriculum.57 Variations in quality and consistency tended to reflect the priority placed on work experience by the schools.

In Ireland, around 600 schools and 30,000 students participate in a transition year programme which offers a less structured curriculum including work experience. This aims to re-focus the education away from the purely academic and towards personal, community and vocational learning experiences, with the specific aim of preparing students for adult life and is reported to be “a widely accepted success”.58

June 2018

55 Holman, J. (2014) Good Career Guidance. Gatsby Charitable Foundation: http://www.gatsby.org.uk/uploads/education/reports/pdf/gatsby-sir-john-holman-good-career-guidance-2014.pdf 56 OECD http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/connecting-learning-at-work-and-learning-at-school.htm 57 Adams et al. (2008). Work experience in Scotland. [Online]. Available at: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/249899/0072298.pdf58 Moynihan, J.A., 2015. The Transition Year: A Unique Programme in Irish Education Bridging The Gap Between School and The Workplace. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 8(2), p.199: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1085870.pdf

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