Monday saw the publication of the long awaited government Careers Strategy. For those of us in the Industry we had been waiting to see what this might bring in terms of new ways of working, shifts in policy and where Government might choose to invest.
So, now that we know, what do we know? From our perspective the Strategy goes a long way to re-inforce a lot of the work that we are already undertaking, working with a wide range of our partners across the South West of England and beyond.
There are a number of initiatives and programmes highlighted throughout the Strategy that we are delivering or partnering with others on that reflect the breadth and diversity of our experience and the skills of our team. We look forward to drawing on this further in order to develop existing work, support the pilot initiatives that have been indicated and inform future opportunities. We are particularly pleased to see that the ‘Generation STEM’ programme that we are delivering getting a specific mention. In a new piece of work, we are drawing on our existing skills and experience in Work Experience and look forward to seeing the results of running this trial and understanding the impact that this has on young people.
The role of employers is of course prominent throughout and the reference to engagement with children from a much earlier age is encouraging. This must of course be balanced with the requirements of the curriculum, something we have been working on through a number of our existing projects to ensure that schools, young people and employers can get the most out of their ‘encounters’.
We are encouraged that the over-riding ambition stated by Government, “We want every person, no matter what their background is and no matter where they are from, to be able to build a rewarding career”, is already at the heart of CSW Group, and we look forward to playing our part.