West Midlands Mayor Andy Street has today pledged to fund 40 full-time careers advisors in schools serving the region’s most challenged communities.
He said, “Despite improving in the last few years, careers advice is still patchy in some parts of the West Midlands.
“There are still too many young people who are not getting the right opportunities and guidance during the critical years when they are deciding what to do for work.
“In a world where youngsters are getting their career advice from people like Andrew Tate on social media, having trusted local grown-ups in schools is more important than ever.”
Andy launched the pledge while visiting Stockland Green School, in Erdington, where staff are succeeding in providing careers guidance while serving one of the region’s most deprived areas.
The school, which is part of the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership, was praised last year by Ofsted for the ‘tenacious’ approach of staff in driving up student aspiration.
Andy said: “Stockland Green is showing how, through a structured and engaging careers programme, students from challenged communities can be inspired to understand that opportunities are there for them too.
“By funding these 40 careers advisors, I want to see this kind of success repeated across the region.”
Figures from the 2023 Compass audit of 280 schools in the West Midlands has revealed that:
- 30% of our students do not have experiences of the workplace at all before leaving education at the age of 18
- 30% do not learn about the local labour market and pathways into employment, further education or training
- 14.5% of all of our students do not receive any form of personal careers guidance.
Andy Street said that having spoken to headteachers, it was clear that a careers resource tailored to their school would be of significant value.
He said: “This is one of those areas where we just haven’t had the budget, powers and responsibility to sort this until now, but I will get a grip of career education if I’m re-elected in May.
“It’s dedicated individuals who really shape young people’s lives. But they need the space to get to know youngsters, and build relationships with them over time. That’s why I’m committing today to funding these extra full-time careers advisors for schools across the West Midlands.
“We’ve got so many opportunities here in the region: jobs, training, apprenticeships, but often young people find it difficult to know what they want to do, and to navigate the system.”
The Mayor explained the personal reason this manifesto commitment is particularly important to him:
“At school, I was not particularly studious or interested in most subjects. My homework was often ‘left on the bus’, I got away with the minimum I could.
“But one teacher – Jack Cook – helped to jolt me awake aged about 16. Suddenly I could see the link between academic study and the world around me. I got interested and ambitious. Without him I think I would have drifted.”