Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 28 of her Department's report of December 2017, Careers strategy: making the most of everyone’s skills and talents, what objective criteria will be used by Careers and Enterprise Companies when expanding the number of cornerstone employers.

The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) will continue to grow its Enterprise Adviser Network, connecting senior business volunteers with schools and colleges to unlock relationships with local businesses. The network will help schools and colleges to deliver the commitment in the careers strategy to offer every young person at least seven encounters with employers during their secondary education. A meaningful encounter is one in which the young person has an opportunity to learn about what work is like or what it takes to be successful in the workplace.

So far, over 2,000 Enterprise Advisers cover over half of schools and colleges in England. The strategy includes a commitment that, by the end of 2020, all schools and colleges will have access to an Enterprise Adviser. Each Adviser would usually be matched with one school or college.

The CEC has built up a network of 50 ‘cornerstone’ employers and will triple this over the next two years. The CEC will continue to identify ‘cornerstone’ employers on the basis of their commitment to work with schools and colleges to offer more young people meaningful employer encounters through activities such as mentoring, work experience, mock interviews and career talks.

The government’s careers strategy, published on 4 December 2017, sets out a long term plan to build a world-class careers system that will help young people and adults choose the career that is right for them.