Career education that works

Effective Career Education

The benefits of fostering connections between employers and education have long been acknowledged and advocated within policy circles. Recently, the UK’s Department for Education issued guidance for schools emphasizing the importance of students learning from the world of work as part of their career development. Similarly, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has highlighted the advantages of business involvement in education (see, for instance, “Learning for Jobs”).

Despite the global interest in this topic, research has lagged behind policy assumptions regarding the potential benefits of career education for young people entering the workforce. In a new article published in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Education and Work, Elnaz Kashefpakdel and Chris Percy offer fresh insights into the correlation between career interactions with external individuals during school years and subsequent earnings. They build upon existing research, particularly the work of Mann and Percy (2014), who surveyed 1,000 young adults aged 19-24 about their school experiences and found a significant wage premium associated with the extent of students’ exposure to employer engagement activities facilitated by schools.

This new study analyzes data from the British Cohort Study (BCS70), which tracks 17,000 individuals throughout their lives, providing a comprehensive set of measures, including economic factors that may influence earnings, such as parental social class, academic ability, home learning environment, and demographics. Through statistical analysis, it is possible to identify factors influencing the impact of specific interventions on economic outcomes.

The BCS study offers an intriguing dataset for examining career interventions due to its timing, with questioning conducted in 1986 when respondents were adolescents. During the 1980s in the UK, the government introduced the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI), aimed at preparing young people for the job market and promoting greater activity within schools. As part of this initiative, students were often required to attend career talks and related sessions, though the nature of these activities varied widely across schools and local authorities.

Data collected in 1986 regarding students’ perceptions of any career talks they attended were compared with their earnings at age 26 using statistical analysis techniques. The results revealed that, on average, for every career talk with an external speaker experienced at age 14-15, students benefited from a 0.8% wage premium at age 26. These findings are statistically significant at the 5% level, indicating a 95% confidence that this relationship did not occur by chance. However, this relationship was not observed for those aged 15-16, suggesting that career talks held greater value for the younger cohort.

The analysis also found a statistically significant relationship between students’ perception of the usefulness of career talks and their subsequent earnings. Students who found career talks “very helpful” at age 14-15 were compared with those who found them “not at all helpful/not very helpful.” Findings showed that for students aged 14-15 who found career talks “very helpful,” there was a 1.6% increase in earnings for each talk attended. This effect was also significant for students aged 15-16, albeit with a smaller impact, resulting in a 0.9% increase in earnings.

These findings establish a clear link between the number and perceived helpfulness of career talks attended and relative earnings at age 26. This provides a robust evidence base for enhancing the quantity and quality of career talks with external speakers in education. The study also revealed that the impact of career talks was more pronounced for the younger age group (14-15) than for the older group (15-16). The authors argue that older students may be more focused on academic studies, while younger students are more likely to be receptive to career talks due to their exploratory nature at that stage. Thus, the most receptive age group for delivering career talks may be 14-15-year-olds.

The authors hypothesize that while it may be challenging to acquire new skills and knowledge, known as human capital, through brief engagements with the job market, students can access valuable information and networks while interacting with professionals in a meaningful way. It is through the accumulation of social and cultural capital that enables young people to gain relevant resources from activities such as career talks. Furthermore, these findings support the argument that repeated interactions with individuals outside of schools can provide young people with valuable information about pathways to their career aspirations.