Despite the number of young people leaving schools and colleges with increasing uncertain futures rises, the significant budget cuts in the careers profession and the near decimation of area-based grants from the Department of Education to local authorities, means that the position of the Connexions services looks increasingly fragile.
Connexions logo
Connexions offers advice on a wide-range of subjects for young people aged between 13 and 19. The service has provided young people with impartial advice, information and guidance on education, careers, housing, money, health and relationships for many years. Along the way, Connexions has helped to remove barriers to learning and progressions; enabling young people to make a successful transition into adulthood and working life. Without this service, young people that are not in education or employment are likely to be the most badly affected by these budget reductions.
There will be fewer apprenticeships available in public-sector organisations, coupled with a significant decline in job opportunities for school and college leavers, due to the public sector cuts. What will take the place of Connexions to offer impartial advice to individuals? Who will motivate and inspire individuals to aspire to more than claiming benefits?
There is a concern that schools and academies are to be expected to offer this impartial advice in addition to all other new responsibilities they are expected to undertake. Many schools, however, do not have the knowledge and experience to adequately fulfil the role of the service offered by Connexions.
Flier for connexions
“Save the Connexions Service” Campaign has been launched by Unison, exploring the option of a legal challenge to local authorities as councils have a legal duty to provide impartial careers advice to all young people in their local areas. (“The Guardian”, Aug 2010). Despite this, service cuts are looking to begin as early as September, which may affect those young people who fail to get on to higher education courses this year.
What is needed now are strategies to help reassure young people that major changes in public, private, voluntary and community sectors will not restrict access to frontline services.
IMJack CAFE (Career Advice and Further Education) offers access to careers information and real life stories about jobs students may be interested in pursuing. Thousands of employees, from businesses and organisations in all sectors of industry have made available their career profiles, including details of qualifications or training required, the best and worst aspects of the job and day-to-day tasks they partake in. Some mentors have furthermore made themselves available for pupils to question directly, using the secure and moderated communications systems within IMJack.
CAFE gives students the chance to browse many different career options at their own leisure; providing them the opportunity to access real information and experiences about various roles within businesses and organisations not be available to them in other formats. CAFE is no substitute for the comprehensive service provided by Connexions, but we hope that it can at least offer some support to pupils and other young people uncertain about their way forward when considering their career options.
For any more information about IMJack, please contact us via www.imjack.com.
Saphra Bennett, Stewart Boutcher, August 2010
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