Youth ambassador calls for better career education

North East youth ambassador Rylie Sweeney says more needs to be done to improve careers education in schools

A young people's spokesperson is calling for careers education in schools to be urgently improved and embedded in the national curriculum.

Rylie Sweeney, who is 19, champions the views of young people in the north-east of England as one of the Children's Commissioner's ambassadors.

She believes pupils also need more meaningful work experience, "working on a real project for a local business, or contributing to a community initiative where they can see the impact of their work".

The Department for Education says "ensuring young people receive good quality careers advice and work experience" are key priorities for the government.

Ms Sweeney, from Hartlepool, moved to a technical college at the age of 14 and was later accepted as an apprentice at a local construction firm.

She has been a youth ambassador since 2023.

"I was lucky enough to get a great careers education but I know that not all young people are that lucky," she says.

Ms Sweeney wants to break down barriers between young people and employment, and campaigns for more to be done to improve the career prospects of school leavers.

She would like to see careers advice embedded into the culture and ethos of every school from a younger age.

Rylie Sweeney is now a global policy advisor in education and youth for the United Nations

Historically, schools have only been advised to provide up to two weeks work experience for Key Stage 4 pupils - those aged 14-16.

From September, schools and colleges will be encouraged to start earlier, from the age of 11.

The Gatsby Benchmarks have been updated and now advise that students should have at least one placement by the age of 16, and another by the age of 18.

Miss Sweeney said offering work experience from 11 was "great progress" but she still hoped the government could "make careers and skills part of the national curriculum".

"It could mean teachers linking lesson content to real-world situations, employers visiting schools regularly, and trained careers advisers being available whenever students need guidance," she said.

While the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) - the national body for careers education in England - welcomes September's changes, its chief executive, John Yarham, agrees that work placements needed to be meaningful.

The CEC has been working with schools, academies and employers - such as the Newcastle United Foundation - to create a new system, where young people have different types of experiences throughout their education and within their work placements.

"It doesn't have to be photocopying and making the tea, it's about different experiences that employers can provide, that meet their needs as well," he said.

John Yarham wants to see work experience of a higher quality

The latest statistics suggest about one in eight young people aged between 16 and 24 were not in education, employment or training (known as NEETs) in the first three months of this year.

But this is not because of a shortage of jobs. The Office for National Statistics estimated there were 718,000 vacancies in the UK between May and July.

Employers say it is a shortage of skills - or an unwillingness to learn - which is causing recruitment issues in many sectors, including construction, health and manufacturing.

A recent report from the Edge Foundation said the scale of skills shortages across the UK continued to grow.

Jeff Hudson, the managing director of Hudson Lifting, which recently opened a base in Gateshead, said: "I think kids are under a lot of pressure.

"When I went to school it wasn't all about the qualifications, it was more about attitude."

He said schools should be teaching skills, as well as aiming for good grades.

"What we really look for is attitude and effort, more than anything else," he said.

Managing director of Hudson Lifting, Jeff Hudson, said schools were too focused on grades rather than skills

Paul Blake, the managing director of another company, Chippendale Plant, which provides construction equipment across the north of England, said recruitment was a challenge.

"Nobody sees this as an exciting business to be part of," he said, adding that school leavers were instead drawn towards the technology industry, even though the plant industry had a lot of technical involvement.

"It's just about letting school leavers know about the opportunities available," he said.

Schools are not within the remit of North East Labour mayor Kim McGuinness but she is pushing for powers to be devolved from central government so she can make changes.

She said she had brought employers into more than 400 schools and colleges to give pupils advice as "we know that this is what prepares them for their future career".

"It really helps them to succeed," she said.

One of the biggest challenges was when children decided to leave school at 16, she added.

North East mayor Kim McGuinness was interviewed by Rylie Sweeney

Even for those with a university degree, there is no guarantee of a job. Graduates make up 10.6% of the latest NEET figures.

In response, Teesside University has developed a strategy to prepare students for employment.

Deputy vice-chancellor Prof Mark Simpson said "soft skills" were vital.

"Things like building confidence, making sure that students have got the right mindset," he said.

Teesside was also one of the first universities to develop a plan for artificial intelligence (AI), "embracing new skills that students will need", he added.

Teesside University deputy vice-chancellor Mark Simpson said students needed skills in areas like artificial intelligence

A study by the Key Group in October suggested only 2% of secondary school pupils in its survey had completed two weeks of work experience, with 49% only finishing one.

In its manifesto, Labour said it would "guarantee two weeks' worth of work experience for every young person, and improve careers advice in schools and colleges".

However, the plans being introduced from September to offer experience to pupils earlier in their school career make this a recommendation, rather than a requirement.

The Department for Education said what it was calling its Youth Guarantee would mean every 18-21-year-old in England would have "help to access an apprenticeship, quality training and education opportunities or help to find a job".

"Local career hubs are working with thousands of employers to improve careers advice, with a focus on early outreach and curriculum integration," a spokesperson said.

The government also said that, in the North East, its ambition was to work with the CEC and local employers to "inspire a diverse and skills future talent pipeline" and support more young people into opportunities within the region.