Secondary Education

(asked on 15th October 2014) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that secondary education provides children with adequate skills for working life.


Answered by
 Portrait
Nick Boles
This question was answered on 22nd October 2014

The abiding principle of our plan for education is that schools should do everything possible to prepare young people for life in modern Britain. Ensuring that young people are prepared for the workplace and equipped with the skills, experience and qualifications that employers want is central to this.

My Rt hon. friend the Secretary of State for Education has made clear that she wants to see improvements to the quality of careers advice and guidance available to young people, with more schools and employers working together to ensure that pupils make the transition from education into work successfully. We have issued revised statutory guidance, underpinning the duty to secure independent careers guidance, to strengthen the requirement for schools to build links with employers to inspire and mentor students. We have also asked the National Careers Service to broker those relationships where that is needed. We are keeping these changes under review and are considering what further action may be necessary.

We are linking the education system more closely to the world of work with an emphasis on learning practical skills through new Technical Awards for 14- to- 16-year-olds, and Tech Levels for 16- to- 19-year-olds, providing a high-quality vocational alternative to A levels that leads to a recognised occupation. The introduction of Study Programmes for all 16- to- 19-year-olds is also expanding the provision of genuine work experience and work-related learning for all post-16 students. We have invested in new apprenticeships and introduced traineeships to give young people the skills and experience they need to compete successfully for a job.

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