ADD : Career Academies table – p 26 of WITBG

1. School-mediated employer engagement and labour market outcomesAnthony Mann and Christian Percy27 February 2012www.educationandemployers.org

2. Research context and questionsSchool-to-Work Transitions (STW) in the C21 widely agreed to be:* longer duration* fractured and complex* socially determined?Policy analysts and makers have seen enhanced school-mediated workplace exposure as a means to enhance STW transitionsOECD (2010), Learning for Jobs, 16“More complex careers, with more options in both work and learning, are opening up new opportunities for many people. But they are also making decisions harder as young people face a sequence of complex choices over a lifetime of learning and work. Helping young people to make these decisions is the task of career guidance... [Career professionals] need to be able to call on a wide range of information and web-based resources. Strong links between schools and local employers are very important means of introducing young people to the world of work.”

3. In 2004, English, Scottish and Welsh ministries of education acted to encourage schools to offer work-related learning and enabled them to engage employers to support it’s deliveryWork-related learning: multiple objectives including improvement of ultimate job prospects“to develop their “employability skills” to make them more attractive to their future employers” - DCSF (2008), The Work-related Learning Guide • “

4. Existing International Research: Suggestive of Positive Impacts ADD : Career Academies table – p 26 of WITBG 1,764 subjects randomly assigned to CA and control groups, tracked 8 years after leaving high school. 80% retention. CA = vocationally focused, academic learning programme enriched by extensive employer engagement, taught discretely, ages 15-18. Reference: Kemple, J. J. with Willner, C. J. (2008), Career Academies Long-Term Impacts on Labor Market Outcomes, Educational Attainment, and Transitions to Adulthood. MDRC See also: Neumark, D. (2007), Improving School to Work Transitions. Russell Sage Foundation. Review of US and UK literature. Only 15 out of 161 sources robust. All show measurable positive impacts: better “preparedness for work”, development of job and work skills, improved work-based competencies, attitudes, behaviours, enhanced employability, higher initial wages. 8 of 15 show higher attainment. None reduced attainment. Reference: AIR UK (2008), The involvement of Business in Education: A rapid evidence assessment of measurable impacts. Department for Children Schools and Families. • “

5. Research QuestionsIs there a relationship between the extent of employer engagement arranged during school years (14-19) and the successful labour market progression of young adults (19-24)?Can evidence of impact be found in:* Wage premiums* NEET status • “

6. In early 2011, YouGov conducted a survey of 1,002 representative adults in the UK aged 19-24 about their employer contact at school Wage premium analysis - Key survey questions Question on employer contact Question on annual salary “Some schools and colleges arrange for their students (aged between 14 and 19) to take part in activities which involve employers of local business people providing things like work experience, mentoring, enterprise competitions, careers advice, CV or interview workshops, workplace visits, taking part in classroom discussions. Did you take part in such activities between those ages? If so, on how many different occasions (more or less) did it happen?” • “What is your annual salary before income tax or any other deductions you have to pay?” 800 Never Once Twice Three times Four times or more Don’t know Less than £10,000 a year £15,001 to £16,000 £21,001 to £22,000 £26,001 to £27,000 More than £30,000 N/A

7. To ensure a fair comparison, the analysis is conducted on a subset of 176 of the wage earning individuals Wage premium analysis – Data preparation Respondent selection Data management • Select only individuals earning an annual wage • Exclude individuals with missing answers • Exclude those in N. Ireland • Exclude 5 'outlier' individuals, e.g. experienced technical difficulties with the questionnaire • Midpoint of each salary range • Upper and lower ends – 10% above/below • "Four or more" = 4 (based on fit to data)

8. Linear regression suggests an average correlation of £300-£1,100 between annual wage and each additional employer contact Wage premium analysis – Results Control variables Key output [in significance order] • Age • Highest qualification • Ethnicity (white vs non-white) • Region • School type 14-16 • School type 16-19 • Gender Variable Co-eff St. error • Highest qual level • 1.1 • 0.3 • Y&H; W. Mids; West • -3.0 • 1.0 • Age • 0.5 • 0.2 • Employer contacts • 0.4 • 0.2 • Left education at 16 • 1.9 • 1.2 • Independent school • 2.1 • 1.5 Diagnostic tests • RESET test at 5% level • X-terms heteroskedasticity at 5% level • Shapiro Wilk at 5% level • Residual standard error of 3.1 • R-squared of 0.3

9. A separate analysis demonstrates a clear relationship between NEET status and number of employer contacts ”Which of the following best applies to you: a) I am at college or university b) Full-time employment c) Employed part-time d) Doing an apprenticeship/work-based training e) Not in education, training or employment f) Other” NEET predictive model – Raw correlation

10. Logistic regression develops a predictive method for whether or not a particular person was NEET at the time of the survey NEET predictive model – Data preparation Respondent selection Data management • Exclude individuals who reported their current activity as 'Other' • Exclude individuals with missing answers • Exclude those in N. Ireland • Exclude individuals attending special schools •  Reduces to 857 individuals • Geographical region is split into four areas: • London • North • Midlands • South • School attendance is analysed hierarchically: • Ever attended independent school • Ever attended selective school • State school pupil • Other school attendance • Highest level of qualification is split into: • Level 0-2 • Level 3 • Level 4-5 • "Four or more" = 6 (based on fit)

11. Controlling for background factors as possible, each employer contact improves the odds of being non-NEET by 29% NEET predictive model – Data preparation • Statistically significant at the 5% level • Each additional employer contact improves, on average, an individual’s odds of remaining non-NEET by 29% • Average odds of "base case respondent" being non-NEET for someone with no employer contacts, is about 11:1 in favour • Larger sample size required to analyse cross effects or more specific control variables

12. Explaining the results:Highly limited scope for pupil or school agency/self-selection* pupil agency largely limited to long duration enterprise competitions (13%); school agency to one-to-one mentoring (10%). Combined 21%.Probably not significantly greater human capital accumulation (‘employability skills’) Fullarton, S. (1999). Work Experience and Work Placements in Secondary School Education, Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) Research Report 10

13. Social capital theory: access to non-redundant, trusted informationGranovetter, M. (1973)“The strength of weak ties” American Journal of Sociology 78, 1360-1380Granovetter, M. (1974,1995), Getting a Job: A Study of Contacts and Careers. Chicago: University of Chicago PressErickson, L. D. et al (2007) “Informal Mentoring and Young Adult Employment” Social Science Research 36,1328–47 * Young adults who had access to higher volume of ‘informal mentors’ as teenagers experience much better labour market outcomes“Weak ties are valuable because they can increase the likelihood of receiving non-redundant information that expands knowledge of labor market opportunities.” (Erickson et al (2007), 1341)

14. Social capital, employer engagement and disadvantaged English pupilsRaffo, C. & Reeves, M. (2000) “Youth Transitions and Social Exclusion: Developments in Social Capital Theory” Journal of Youth Studies 3 Extended work experience: “young people are provided with an opportunity to gain information, observe, ape and then confirm decisions and actions with significant others and peers. Thus, everyday implicit, informal and individual practical knowledge and understanding is created through interaction, dialogue, action and reflection within individualised and situated social contexts. ..In this situations, individual strategic decisions about life choices are being affected by external .. actors .. beyond the structuring influence of locality and class. This results in these individualized systems of social capital for individuals becoming more open and fluid, with outside, symbolically rich, resources impacting more freely on their lives.”Lord, P. & Jones, M (2006), Pupils’ experiences and perspectives of the national curriculum and assessment – final report of the research review. NFER - pupils are attentive to external professionals across learning environmentsTextual analysis of written comments in the YouGov survey suggests employer contacts lead more frequently to new information rather than new skills

15. A test of social capital theory: more is moreYouGov sample: experience of career talks from employers

16. The price of indecision or confusion at 16: three longitudinal studiesYates, S. et al (2010) “Early Occupational Aspirations and Fractured Transitions: A Study of Entry into ‘NEET’ Status in the UK” Journal of Social Policy 10 * The 7% of British 16 year olds who are uncertain and 40% who are unrealistic about career aspirations are two to three times more likely to be NEET at 16-18 (controls)Staff, J. et al (2010) “Uncertainty in Early Occupational Aspirations: Role Exploration or Aimlessness?” Social Forces 89* The 10% of US 16 year olds uncertain about occupational aspirations have significantly lower wages at age 26 (controls)Schneider, B. “Challenges of Transitioning into Adulthood” in Schoon, I. & Silberstein, R. K. eds. (2009), Transitions from School to Work – Globalization, Individualization and Patterns of Diversity. Cambridge University Press. “Without goals and realistic plans, work is perceived as simply work, and the tedium and routine dampens the enjoyment and challenge of being cognitively and socially involved.” (287)

17. The influence of employer contacts on career decision making: pupil perceptions on work experience Sources: NEBPN National Support Group for Work Experience (2008), Students’ Perceptions of Work Experience. DCSF; Francis, B. et al (2005), Gender equality in work experience placements for young people. Equal Opportunities Commission; Rennison, J. et al (2005), Young people not in Education, Employment or Training: Evidence from the Educational Maintenance Allowance Pilots Database. Department for Education and Skills.

18. Source: West London Girls’ Secondary School. 191 Y9 pupils. Views taken immediately after participation in Careers Networking event. (short discussion with 7 different employers on 1-2-1 or 1-2-2 basis). 2012

19. The influence of employer contacts on career decision making: pupil perceptions on multiple employer contacts Source: Deloitte/B-live survey of 333 young people aged 11-18 (71% aged 13-16) from 120 different English schools. 2010. Unweighted data.

20. British studies of teenage career aspirations show little connection to labour market opportunities St. Clair, R et al (2011), The influence of parents, places and poverty on educational attitudes and aspirations. Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Method: 770 interviews + focus groups with pupils at 13 and 15 in 3 British cities“there was little correspondence between the structure of [local] labour markets and young people’s aspirations and expectations... Overall, there seemed to be a common lack of understanding of the way in which school, post-school education and vocations were linked.” (58, 64)Norris, E. (2011) Not Enough Capital. Royal Society of ArtsMethod: Staff, parent and learner interviews & 8 focus groups, 4 English FECs “some FE practitioners said that students are not fully aware of the diversity of jobs available in different sectors. This leads them to develop aspirations that are neither determined by ability nor based on a comprehensive understanding of the types of jobs available... FE learners do not find it easy to access people who have experience of the careers or education they would like to pursue. As a result, their understanding of particular sectors is often restricted to only the most visible roles and jobs, for instance in law – a barrister; in television – an actor. FE learners who decide on law, or broadcasting, consequently direct their energies into attaining the most desirable, competitive and visible jobs in those disciplines as they as they are the only jobs they know..” (16)

21. Available data shows mismatch between pupil aspirations and national labour market opportunities Occupational preferences of Year 7 pupils mapped against UK labour force by sector, 2009 Atherton, G. et al (2009) How Young People Formulate their Views abut the Future – Exploratory Research. Department for Children, Schools and Families.

22. School-to-work transitions in a liberal economy: a hypothesisOver the last generation, school-to-work transitions have become longer, more fractured and socially determined. In a liberal economy, it is assumed that young people will make rational decisions in securing qualifications and experience to optimise their employment/earning potential. Very many young people, however, lack access to reliable information about the broad range of jobs/careers which may suit their interests and abilities. Pupils routinely gain high value from first-hand employer contacts while in school because they are seen as trustworthy sources of information.

23. With higher volumes of contacts, the chances of information being non-redundant increases. Employer engagement serves to help young people explore, clarify/confirm and support identification of career aspirations and progression towards them, influencing their own navigation through education and training experiences, building profiles (which may include other school-mediated employer engagement activities) which create better fits with actual labour market opportunities. In this way, they are better equipped to show agency as rational actors within a liberal labour market, finding better matches within the labour market and ultimately competing more effectively for job opportunities with older workers.

24. School-mediated employer engagement and labour market outcomesAnthony Mann and Christian Percy27 February 2012www.educationandemployers.org