Overlooked and Left Behind: improving the transition from school to work for the majority of young people.
53% of young people do not follow the ‘traditional’ academic route into work. This majority of young people are significantly overlooked in their transition for work by the education system and the focus on apprenticeships is not suitable for everyone, the House of Lords Select Committee on Social Mobility has found.
Chair of the Committee, Baroness Corston, said:
“The current system for helping people move from school to work is failing most young people. They are simply not being adequately prepared for the world of work. This significantly disadvantages a huge number of young people and limits their opportunity for social mobility.
Recent governments have focused on higher education and apprenticeships as the way to help young people to be successful in later life. Both routes can work well – but it is absolutely not the case that they are suitable for everyone. To focus on university or apprenticeships, to the exclusion of other routes, is to the detriment of many talented and able young people.
We have found that without being taught life skills, given the right support, access to work experience and robust, independent careers advice, we are in danger of trapping these young people in low-skilled, low-paid work, with little chance of a rewarding career.”
With regard to disabled young people the report says:
“….there is some support for those not in education, employment or training (NEET) or with special educational needs or disability (SEND). However, they said, there is little focus on other groups including care leavers or those with mental health conditions. The support offered is towards a first employment outcome, rather than a career. This narrow focus does not raise aspirations, and so limits social mobility.”
Recommendations
The Committee makes eight recommendations to the Government, which support the development of a more coherent and straightforward system to help young people aged 14 and over through the transition from education to work.