- Why focus on Education for Employability in the curriculum?
- Why use the term “employability” and what is it about?
- What is the scope and definition of Education for Employability?
- Rationale – why should Education for Employability be so important?
- Education for Employability – is it all new?
- How should schools plan to implement Education for Employability?
- Should there be a department for Education for Employability?
- Are Primary School children not too young for this?
Why focus on Education for Employability in the curriculum?
Northern Ireland needs a world class workforce to compete successfully in the global market. One of the main purposes of education is to prepare young people for the world of work. The school curriculum should play a significant part in helping young people to develop the skills, knowledge and qualities which are necessary for life and work.
Why use the term “employability” and what is it about?
The term Education for Employability, quite deliberately, is an all-embracing one and is intended to bring some coherence to the plethora of overlapping and sometimes confusing terms such as: vocational; work-related learning; effective career management; deployment of key transferable skills; creativity, and enterprise and entrepreneurship.
Distilled to its simplest, the school curriculum can make a significant contribution to the development of young people who are empowered to be an influence in the workplace and who, if necessary, are not averse to taking risks. While it is acknowledged that schools are not about job training, nevertheless, effective preparation for the world of work is an essential part of education. The school curriculum is central to helping develop the fundamental skills, knowledge, qualities and dispositions which are pre-requisites for entry to the world of work. These fundamentals are equally important for all young people including those whose aspirations are for a place at university.
The emphasis of teaching and learning in schools should be to encourage pupils:
- to learn how to learn and to think for themselves and to view learning as a lifelong endeavour;
- to be creative, innovative and empathetic thinkers in their response to problems and utilise the full potential of information and communications technologies;
- to apply what they are learning to life and work-related situations for the common good.
Education for Employability, therefore, is not a narrow marginal or separate activity. It is central to the role of the curriculum just as work is central to most people’s lives.
What is the scope and definition of Education for Employability?
The aim of Education for Employability is to ensure that all young people develop the personal qualities, skills, knowledge, understanding and attitudes which will give them a strong foundation for lifelong learning and work in a rapidly changing economic environment. Through relevant and stimulating activities schools, teachers will be expected to provide appropriate learning and teaching experiences so that pupils have opportunities to address:
- work in the local and global economy;
- career planning management;
- skills and qualities for work;
- enterprise and entrepreneurship.
Rationale – why should Education for Employability be so important?
Work in the local and global economy
New technology and sophisticated tastes of consumers has led to totally changed forms of production which focus on catering more for individuals, niche markets and high value added commodities. The more environmentally conscious workplaces of today are likely to be smaller and where people with relevant dispositions and qualities, particularly skills, are the key resource. Within the work environment employers and employees have a range or rights and responsibilities.
The world-of-work and the new knowledge economy are about ideas, creativity and enterprise. In order to function competitively in a dynamic global marketplace Northern Ireland needs a workforce that is adaptable, creative, enterprising and flexible. Employers expect that school leavers will join the workforce with good levels of attainment in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology. Increasingly they are looking for other personal qualities, competences and experiences. These include the ability to work in teams, to show an aptitude for problem-solving, and being able to deploy effective inter-personal skills. Young people also need to be able to apply the career planning process in order to cope with key transition decisions throughout their lives.
Whether or not young people decide to enter employment at the age of sixteen or continue in further or higher education and/or training it is essential that all young people begin to understand and develop the skills and qualities for future working life. Education is about stimulating the imagination and excitement of young people to the boundless opportunities in training and work – including the option, at some stage, of starting a business in a community which, to a large extent, will depend on a new spirit of enterprise and entrepreneurship; is about empowering young people to make positive contributions to an organisation and at the same time to be able to criticise the changing world-of-work rather than just respond to it.
Enterprise and entrepreneurship
All of us can and should be ‘enterprising’ whether as employers or employees. Employers are required to show initiative, be creative in the workplace and continually look for how to improve their performance and that of the organisation. Many people when very young or after a period of working take their enterprising attributes further and become an entrepreneur. Through coming up with an idea and gaining support for it they can develop a business plan and start operating. The Young Enterprise programme and the Shell Livewire Young Entrepreneur of the Year are examples of what is currently good practice in Northern Ireland.
Career management
At all stages of their school career young people need access to up-to-date careers information and impartial guidance. Young people at Key Stage 3, are not making a career decision but they are building on the activities which have taken place in the primary school. At Key Stage 3 pupils will be expected to engage in and practise the career planning process which they should then be able to apply at key transition points throughout their lives. Activities under career management should provide young people with opportunities to explore the potentially exciting work opportunities in the knowledge economy where people and ideas are the most valuable resources. Each individual can self-market themselves as ‘entrepreneurs’ of their own skills and abilities as they manage their working and personal lives more than likely in a range of jobs and contexts.
Skills and Qualities for Work
Pupils should produce evidence to show that they have developed competence in the skills, qualities and attributes required for work including:
- Creativity
- Critical Thinking for Problem Solving
- Managing Information
- Working With Others
- Improving my own Learning
- Communication
Education for Employability – is it all new?
The answer to this question is No. Indeed, much good practice, for example, in relation to careers provision exists in many schools. Some pupils have access to excellent enterprise activities. However, it is new in that:
- it is now intended to be an entitlement for all pupils;
- it should be explicit in both timetable terms and in schemes of work;
- building on the work in primary schools, it requires a coherent and progressive approach across all Year groups from Year 8 right through to Year 12 and beyond, if there is post-16 provision in the school.
- it requires the involvement of all staff each of whom has a unique contribution to make to this area of the curriculum.
How should schools plan to implement Education for Employability?
It is stressed that Education for Employability is a whole school agenda and, as such, should be reflected not only in the ethos of the school but it its policies, development plans and pedagogy.
The organization of Education for Employability will be through:
- discrete timetabled time;
- subjects and other curricular activities;
- whole school programmes;
- special events supported by outside agencies;
- other activities such as work experience, enterprise programmes and occupational qualifications.
Because of the whole-school scope of this work it is suggested that a member of the senior management team should hold an overall, accountable responsibility for Education for Employability.
Should there be a department for Education for Employability?
It is likely that schools will be considering the area of Learning for Life and Work in an integrated way since there are clear linkages across PSHE, Citizenship and Education for Employability. However, as far as Education for Employability is concerned it is expected that all classes will have some timetabled time. The current Year 8 pilot programme is already illustrating how schools are prepared to invest time and to alter their current provision to give priority to Education for Employability. This means that schools will need to create a “pool” of teachers who will be focusing particularly on employability issues although all teachers (see above) have a role to play. Those focusing particularly will need to avail of some training through the Education and Library Boards. This training should take place as Education for Employability is rolled out following the outcomes of any pilot work.
Are Primary School children not too young for this?
Within three years of leaving primary school, children will begin to discuss exam choices. These choices can only be informed by what they already know or have been told. Whatever decisions our young people make they will have an impact on the rest of their lives. In today’s world children increasingly need a strong foundation for lifelong learning and work in a rapidly changing economic environment. This is not to say that children should be thinking about career choices or that their teachers should be incorporating job training into their planning but it must be recognised that young children are receptive and responsive to learning about the world of work, indeed much of their imaginative play involves simulating adult roles.
