Careers Guidance for Young People

Written evidence submitted by Hilton Worldwide

Executive Summary

· Hilton Worldwide believes that at present, the current provision of careers services for young people of school age is too patchy and inconsistent.

· We think that it is important that young people have a chance to gain insights into different jobs and careers as they enter secondary school.

· The development of a national framework that makes it easier for schools to engage with external organisations is important and would give young people the opportunity to learn about careers that they may never have considered before and allows them to gain a better understanding of what is needed to be successful in whichever career or learning option they choose.

About Hilton Worldwide

Hilton Worldwide has over 100 hotels across the UK and over 12,000 team members. In the next few years we plan to open 24 new hotels which will help create over 1500 jobs. We are committed to raising awareness of the opportunities, rewards and benefits that a career in hospitality offers and we would welcome greater integration between schools and businesses to help highlight the many career options available to young people who are critical to the success of our industry.

Q. 1 - The purpose, nature, quality and impartiality of careers guidance provided by schools and colleges, including schools with sixth forms and academies, and how well-prepared schools are to fulfil their new duty

1.1 - In our view inspiring and guiding young people on the myriad of career and learning options available is imperative to helping them choose the path that best suits their interests, talents and aspirations.

1.2 - We believe that the careers advice given to young people is currently inconsistent across different schools, with some being very proactive in this area and others less so. With the onus being on individual schools to provide advice, without the help of specialist careers advisors, it is often down to an individual teacher whose role encompasses careers advice to initiate any kind of careers service. What that looks like in terms of the level and quality of advice given seems open to interpretation by each school so you are left with a service that is patchy and inconsistent. We see this issue less so in careers services for post-16 year olds.

1.3 - Impartial c areers advice also needs to be focussed on employability rather than only operating a means to an end in making immediate careers decision s , so that young people understand what it takes to start and build a career , and also the appropriate routes to achieve their ambitions, whether that’s apprenticeships, A-Levels, and so on.

Q. 2 - The extent of face-to-face guidance offered to young people

2.1 - Whilst we are unable to comment on the extent of face-to-face guidance given to young people, it is our view that offering students the opportunity to sit and discuss their career choices with a teacher or careers advisor is crucial so that the advice being given is specially tailored to suit their needs.

2.2 - Local and national businesses should also be an important resource for schools to draw upon in order to provide children with information about the routes available to employment, either through one-to-one sessions or to whole classes of pupils.

2.3 - In our experience, there is currently no national framework which can put schools in touch with business and industry to help provide such a service. We have over 100 hotels in local communities across the UK with 12,000 team members working across a wide range of disciplines who could go into schools and talk impartially about their careers and experiences. The same probably goes for many other organisations. Having a system that makes it easier for schools to engage with external orgnisations is important on two levels – it gives young people the opportunity to learn more about careers they perhaps had never considered before and secondly it gives them the chance to learn about employability skills and what it takes to be successful in whatever career or learning option they choose. This could also assist the drive to access independent careers guidance for pupils in school years 9-11 from September.

Q. 3 - At what age careers guidance should be provided to young people

3.1 - It is important that young people have the chance to gain insights early on about different jobs and careers, especially when they cover areas outside their immediate experience.

3.2 - We would like to see careers advice offered to young people after they enter secondary school, and certainly by around 13 years old, when many start making important decisions about what they might like to do in the future. However this advice should be provided on an ongoing basis rather than just in one burst so that they are effectively supported through their choices and given advice should they want to explore other options.

3.3 - Providing this advice early on would mean that young people taking their GCSE’s would be fully informed about how their decisions could impact on their career and learning aspirations.

Q. 4 - The role of local authorities in careers guidance for young people

4.1 - We feel the careers service would benefit from better integration with organisations and companies that can help impartially illustrate the choices available to them and it may be that local authorities would be able to help facilitate better engagement between schools and external organisations.

Q. 5 - The effectiveness of targeted guidance and support offered to specific groups, such as Looked After Children, children eligible for Free School Meals, teenage parents, young offenders, those with special educational needs or disabilities and those at risk of becoming NEET

5.1 - It is our view that each individual needs to be given advice that is personalised to their situation, needs and aspirations. This is especially so for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Q. 6 - The link between careers guidance and the choices young people make on leaving school

6.1 - It is our view that there is a strong link between the two which makes the provision of careers services so important. It is vital that young people leave school with a good understanding of the range of career options available and an awareness of the skills they need to succeed. Without this the transition from school to the workplace can be difficult, made more so if a young person does not know what they want to do, or how they even go about taking steps towards identifying the careers that best meet their needs.

Q. 7 - The overall coherence of the careers guidance offered to young people

7.1 - We would reiterate that there needs to be greater coherence and cohesiveness with the labour market to help equip young people with the options available to them when starting out on their career paths.  It is also critical that young people are offered advice on what to expect when they leave schools and what it takes to succeed in any given career.

 

October 2012