More than a third of employers keen to engage with young people, research reveals
HR has a crucial role to play in helping employers to bridge the gap between education and the world of work, CIPD chief executive Peter Cheese told People Management at a special careers event held at a London school.
“The world of work is always changing and I think we all recognise that [providing] careers advice and guidance in schools is not always easy,” he said. “Employers have to work closely and collaboratively with schools and, as the function that is most focused on bringing people into work, HR needs to be the conduit.”
The good news, according to CIPD research, is that more than a third (35 per cent) of UK employers have got the message about the need to engage with schools and colleges. But the survey of around 1,000 UK employers, conducted as part of the Learning to Work programme, also revealed that just under a quarter (24 per cent) of employers did not receive a single application from 16-24-year-olds during the past year.
Cheese was speaking at an Inspiring the Future event at Dunraven School, which was designed to provide year 10 students with insights into the world of work. A number of employers, including Barclays, Capgemini and the London Fire Brigade, talked to the young people about their organisations and a trainer was on hand to give CV advice.
“Employer contact has a significant impact on young people and should form part of wider efforts to help overcome youth unemployment,” said Cheese, ahead of the event. But rather than bombard schools with individual requests, he urged employers to channel their work with schools through established programmes such as Inspiring the Future, which was set up by the Education and Employers Taskforce to match business volunteers with local state schools and colleges.
Nick Chambers, director of the Education and Employers Taskforce, and founder of Inspiring the Future, said: “Research shows that there is a massive information gap between the real demands of employers and what young people know and where their aspirations lie. This is why Inspiring the Future gets volunteers from all jobs, professions and career stages – apprentice to chief executive - into state schools and colleges to give real life career insights to pupils. Our partnership with the CIPD helps young people at school meet HR professionals who can help give a rounded picture of employability skills.”
So far 70 per cent of state secondary schools in England have signed up to the initiative and, through its partnership with the CIPD, more than 1,200 HR professionals have signed up to volunteer over the past six months, delivering career insight talks and CV and interview advice sessions.
Further results from the CIPD research can be found in the research summary: The opportunity – information gap: the role of employer engagement with schools
Find out more about the CIPD’s Learning to Work programme: http://www.cipd.co.uk/publicpolicy/learning-to-work.aspx