The Poor Relation in Education

I recently mentioned that CEIAG, as a subject (if it indeed can be classed as a subject!) , is the poor relation within education. It's a subject (note the subtle change of use) that I have returned to discuss because I felt it needed expansion.

Although there are current rumblings that schools may be assessed on the quality of their CEIAG provision by the co-alition Government, I believe we are still awaiting a definitive statement on this particular issue, so as it stands CEIAG still remains outside of the Ofsted remit when it comes to school assessments.

Those that have the responsibility of delivering CEIAG within school have, historically, not always been the most well supported cohort when it comes to the vital tools of their trade; when you are working with students directly in the field of career options, relevant Labour Market Intelligence (Lmi), HE/FE and Training intelligence and an understanding of the person in front of you are all equally vital.

So why have we continually hampered the efforts of careers advisers in school by not recognising that these vital 'tools' need constant upgrading, redefining, assessing and sometimes replacing in favour of more contemporary and relevant alternatives? This community of careers advisers, many of them Connexions employees, many of them now facing redundancies on a scale never seen before, have, quite frankly, been doing the impossible job - trying to provide a service that is so outdated and archaic in its provision that it could be argued it has barely been fit for the young students it is there to help.

Is this the fault of the advisers, the system or even the professional bodies such as the ICG and the ACEG who, it could be argued, are light years away from the progressive work of some other membership organisations to keep up with the pace of a fast changing world?

True, it is often said that, when questioned, many of the public are able to recount a tale of poor career advice when at school - this kind of urban myth has echoed around the profession ever since there was a careers profession. But is it true? And if it is, on what scale? I know many great careers advisers, totally committed, innovative and motivational - they would be the first to agree that the quality of advisers responsible for careers provision in school has not always been a picture of consistent quality and expertise. They laugh when they recount their own version of the urban myth - the crocked P.E. teacher consigned to careers duty.

But, whether the myths are true or not, the issue is : CEIAG, the poor relation in Education?

If you combine the lack of support I mentioned (when it came to the right tools for the job), if you add to that an often non specialist careers advisory team, a lack of innovative leadership from the professional bodies that are 'representing' ,and, for good measure, underpin the whole cocktail with a 'subject' that is neither given the appropriate time within the school curriculum nor a financially-sustainable model for Local Authorities in the current climate to continually support at the same levels as historically witnessed, then, we have a problem Houston !

CEIAG has not only been the poor relation in education, it might actually become bankrupt in the eyes of those it needs to better serve - unless, or until, it is overhauled, enhanced, funded sensibly AND integrated within the curriculum so its not squeezed into 'collapse days' or hidden in PSHE sessions.

I've not even mentioned the lack of innovative technology in CEIAG - I'll save that for another day!