Uptree

How does careers education improve academic outcomes? We are very familiar with this question at Uptree and this blog will outline how this happens, as well as steps that schools and teachers can take to improve their careers education.

Ensuring that students are prepared to enter the workplace after school is a central aim for education providers. To be prepared for life after school, students need to understand the options available to them. Good careers education makes it easier for students to plan. It enables them to set goals and make informed choices. Despite its centrality in schools, careers education is often an underestimated component of the curriculum.

While at first-glance careers education and academic outcomes might appear distinct and separate there is clear evidence for their impact upon one another. Research conducted by the University of Derby found that learners in schools initially piloting the Gatsby Benchmarks showed ‘significantly better GCSE attainment’. Their research also indicated that teachers reported notable improvements in student engagement in class where careers education was embedded into the school culture.

This then begs the question – how does careers education improve academic outcomes?

There are four main factors that enable careers education to impact academic studies:

• Careers in the curriculum
• Clear goals
• Subject choices
• Broader context

Careers in the curriculum

Relating the content studied in individual subjects to relevant careers and workplace skills makes learning feel more holistic, interesting and applicable. Enabling students to see how they could apply these skills elsewhere leads to greater levels of engagement. With better engagement you get better academic outcomes. Education establishments who initially trialled the Gatsby Benchmarks found that through better careers education ‘there was a reduction in learners querying the point of particular subjects or topics because they understood the relationship between knowledge/skills and careers’. Teachers in this trial also reported that linking learning to careers enabled previously disengaged students to reconnect with their studies.

Clear goals

Quality careers education equips students with the ability to set more effective goals. Having an image of the career pathways that interest them makes it easier to set targets for their school performance. For example, knowing that they need a B in Maths to apply for an Audit Apprenticeship gives students a benchmark to work towards in their current education. This information enables students to set meaningful and actionable targets.

Subject choices

Students can be more purposeful in their subject choices when they are supported by a strong foundation of careers education. Giving a student the right advice to align their career aims, skills, and interests will give them the best possible opportunity at marrying academic success with positive post-school outcomes. Uptree careers courses are a great way for students to explore the requirements of various industries. For example, a student who develops knowledge around careers available in Marketing may come to understand that prioritising English while at school would be beneficial for their future career.

Subject choices often mark the first significant careers-related decision that young people make – an important shift in a student’s career journey. Students, therefore, require support from their school to make an informed choice about their subjects. Supporting students through this process makes it easier for the student to see the potential impact that their decision will have on their career.

Broader context

Good careers support also equips students with an understanding of the employment landscape within which they will enter. Having a better understanding of what they’ll face after school provides perspective that can improve academic outcomes. It is important for students to understand the current employment market as it allows them to make more informed decisions. For example, knowing that there is a skills shortage in their region or industry might indicate a fruitful direction for their future learning and career. Having knowledge of the broader employment context also gives students the ability to make more informed choices. A better understanding of the relationship between their current education and future employment will inform a student of how their initial education plays a role in their lifelong learning. Developing this perspective enables students to view their initial education as a stage in their on-going development, rather than their whole learning experience. By considering school as an initial stage of their careers journey, school becomes the foundation of their development – rather than just a place to get qualifications.

What next?

How can you improve your students’ academic outcomes through careers education?

1. You can embed careers education into your curriculum. Bring careers information into all subjects, provide examples of different careers which align with the subject and how the content connects with industry. Highlight the skills that your students are learning and how they could be applied in a professional setting. Uptree can help with this! Our employability workshops and online Careers Learning Programme are a great way to integrate careers education into your curriculum. These cover a wide range of topics, including employability skills, apprenticeships and industry-specific careers information to support a variety of subjects.

2. Help your students to establish clear goals for themselves. This could be through creating a 5, 10 or 20 year plan where they set out what they want from their career or by discussing what they want to achieve in their work. Once students have an idea of where they want to go, it is easier to work backwards to where they are now and what they need to achieve to take their next steps.

At this stage it is very useful to highlight the different routes a student can take to achieve their goals. It is important that students know that apprenticeships, further study, vocational training and employment can all be viable routes after school. Uptree’s work experience opportunities are a brilliant way for students to learn about career options. Our employer partners can provide insight into opportunities that your students might not have considered.

Students can visit the ‘Know Yourself’ module of our employability skills online learning to understand more about setting goals.

3. Support students in making their subject choices. Help them to examine their choices from a variety of angles – What are they good at? What are they interested in? What excites them? What skills do they want to learn? What qualifications might they need to pursue their career ambitions? Once students can answer these questions, areas that overlap may be strong indicators of which subjects will benefit them professionally. By creating a personal profile with Uptree, your students gain access to information on companies across industries and our online careers courses, which can help them to make informed decisions.

4. Ensure that students can understand their studies within the contexts that will impact their career – the economy, industrial change, global issues, local issues, their own ambitions, their own on-going learning. Having this context can give students alternative perspectives through which they can examine their career goals. Uptree’s work experience opportunities enable students to network with professionals. This broadens their understanding of the sectors they are interested in.

If you would like to learn more about how Uptree can support you and your students, please contact educationteam@uptree.co