WELCOME to the HOME of the #savecareers campaign.
For those that have been following the recent #savecareers Campaign, I can only thank you for your amazing support, debate and discussion.
I think this Campaign unites a broad cross-section of our society who understand and care about what is going on in the Careers/IAG world.
The cuts to Youth Services around the UK are going to leave a generation of young people without a Quality, Free and Face to Face Careers Guidance Service in school.
This Campaign is fighting for the Rights of those young people.
Thank You for Your support.
........................................................................................................................
Please support the #SAVECAREERS Campaign @savecareers on TWITTER
Tuesday 14 June 2011
Sunday 5 June 2011
How Do We #savecareers ?
First of all thank you to all of my new found Twitter friends - what a great place Twitterland is!
As many of you may know I have been prattling on about the plight of the UK Career Service since I started Tweeting this year; it was only because of my interest and my role on the Board of an EBP that I witnessed at first hand what was really happening down on the ground in Careers. Fortunate enough to work directly with many schools in the UK, I also saw the potential warning signs from Education when faced with budgetry cuts and difficult choices.
So, for the academics out there you could say that although im not a careers practitioner, all of my knowledge in this field is evidence based.
So on to the Question in hand - how on earth, in a landscape of severe Government cuts, can anyone or any organisation save our Careers Service? They cannot.
The Government does not have the money to rebuild what it is in the process of dismantling.
Hull, Birmingham, Cambridge...we havent got the time to list them all - its easier to list those youth services that are NOT affected by the cuts than those that are. Add to the money problem a poorly led careers sector with little or no influence with the Government and you can see why I answered the Question as I did. But...it is not all doom and gloom - at least not for all; I believe there is a strategy that is needed, and should be adopted at this critical juncture in the history of the Careers Service.
The future existence of the Careers profession could hinge on a single point - influence.
Its not about membership organisations getting together in the same old way, careers professionals having to agree with politicians and civil servants to ensure future grants, the status quo enjoying the status quo - no, it can, and needs to be different from here on in.
I believe that the Careers Profession has been highly successful at 1 particular thing - networking and providing a platform for individuals to further their careers - the lifelong career professional. But this is why it is now weak and vulnerable to the point of being D.O.A. by spring 2012 when we are supposed to see the AACS operating (rumours of JCP shop windows backed by a Sheffield Call Centre). The Government are only interested in high profile 'cases'. So here is the challenge : Putting Careers back on the Government agenda - for good.
I think we are talking about a roots-to-branch approach - no more top-down blue sky stuff...there is no time for more research or petitions (although the latter is great supportive material) - time for action.
Short term action:
1. To provide careers professionals in the field and schools/educational establishments with an effective peer-to-peer 'Knowledge Bank' , utilising social media, mirroring the highly successful TeachMeet model.
2. To support careers professionals and schools/educational establishments with quality and FREE resources to assist in the delivery of career guidance.
The above can be achieved with collaboration and goodwill - not additional funding from schools or LA's directly.
The BIG issue in CEIAG services to schools in particular is the issue of WEX - work experience/placements. I have heard some horror tales of re-badged Connexions solutions being offered by LA's to schools at (per student) fee levels that are just shocking. And this highlights the problem for Heads who given the scenario of reduced financial support for WEX are left with little choice - thankfully many still see WEX as a 'must have' and will now be more 'creative' in ensuring students still get the service.
How do we create a National WEX Programme that is affordable for schools? This is, I believe, the real Q that many seem to be ducking - and it is the Q that is at the centre of a new, realistic strategy.
Social Capital is at the heart of the WEX solution. Fewer Careers resources and budget will probably mean many students will miss out on the opportunity of WEX over the coming years - in order to minimise the negative affect of this, I suggest 'Those that can, DO' and 'Those that cant? we focus on!'. It makes sense to focus on those that may slip through and get disenfranchised at such an early stage in their lives - helped to find work placements by the few resources still in place (and the help of an online WEX matching platform).
Those that have been made redundant by their LA and were working as careers professionals - you have 2 choices: 1. You leave the profession OR 2. You accept what could be a great opportunity.
There is, and will continue to be, a demand from LAs to outsource many of its youth services - Its a crazy situation: they do not have the budgets and have already culled large numbers of staff in these disciplines across the UK...but now will have to buy-in or at least find willing partners to 'fill the gap' in the LAs service portfolio. Here lies the opportunity.
For those of you still employed by LAs you know its going to be difficult trying to 'sell' ceiag services to school this year at £10k after the same service was provided last year at a fraction of the price. You know what I am saying is happening.
For those of you that have been made redundant or are going to be made redundant in this latest round of LA cuts - the opportunity exists for you to unite with fellow careers professionals, re-badge your skills, and represent yourselves as a 'dream come true' solution for the LA that has just made you jobless; with the support of FREE resources and PEER-TO-PEER ongoing personal development you CAN compete with those other organisations that are now bidding to do your job (which many suspect will be a shadow of the previous service).
Now is the time to dig in and show that what the Government is doing is morally bankrupt - and not something we will take without a bottom-up fight back !!
This week we will be putting together a #savecareers website to coordinate the campaign to get Careers firmly back in the public eye; another reason for the weak profession - failure to engage with the average person - great at networking but failure to connect with the mass audience.
If you follow me on Twitter - @newmanswords - you will be kept updated on the #savecareers campaign.
Well done for making it through a very long Blog posting for me :(
As many of you may know I have been prattling on about the plight of the UK Career Service since I started Tweeting this year; it was only because of my interest and my role on the Board of an EBP that I witnessed at first hand what was really happening down on the ground in Careers. Fortunate enough to work directly with many schools in the UK, I also saw the potential warning signs from Education when faced with budgetry cuts and difficult choices.
So, for the academics out there you could say that although im not a careers practitioner, all of my knowledge in this field is evidence based.
So on to the Question in hand - how on earth, in a landscape of severe Government cuts, can anyone or any organisation save our Careers Service? They cannot.
The Government does not have the money to rebuild what it is in the process of dismantling.
Hull, Birmingham, Cambridge...we havent got the time to list them all - its easier to list those youth services that are NOT affected by the cuts than those that are. Add to the money problem a poorly led careers sector with little or no influence with the Government and you can see why I answered the Question as I did. But...it is not all doom and gloom - at least not for all; I believe there is a strategy that is needed, and should be adopted at this critical juncture in the history of the Careers Service.
The future existence of the Careers profession could hinge on a single point - influence.
Its not about membership organisations getting together in the same old way, careers professionals having to agree with politicians and civil servants to ensure future grants, the status quo enjoying the status quo - no, it can, and needs to be different from here on in.
I believe that the Careers Profession has been highly successful at 1 particular thing - networking and providing a platform for individuals to further their careers - the lifelong career professional. But this is why it is now weak and vulnerable to the point of being D.O.A. by spring 2012 when we are supposed to see the AACS operating (rumours of JCP shop windows backed by a Sheffield Call Centre). The Government are only interested in high profile 'cases'. So here is the challenge : Putting Careers back on the Government agenda - for good.
I think we are talking about a roots-to-branch approach - no more top-down blue sky stuff...there is no time for more research or petitions (although the latter is great supportive material) - time for action.
Short term action:
1. To provide careers professionals in the field and schools/educational establishments with an effective peer-to-peer 'Knowledge Bank' , utilising social media, mirroring the highly successful TeachMeet model.
2. To support careers professionals and schools/educational establishments with quality and FREE resources to assist in the delivery of career guidance.
The above can be achieved with collaboration and goodwill - not additional funding from schools or LA's directly.
The BIG issue in CEIAG services to schools in particular is the issue of WEX - work experience/placements. I have heard some horror tales of re-badged Connexions solutions being offered by LA's to schools at (per student) fee levels that are just shocking. And this highlights the problem for Heads who given the scenario of reduced financial support for WEX are left with little choice - thankfully many still see WEX as a 'must have' and will now be more 'creative' in ensuring students still get the service.
How do we create a National WEX Programme that is affordable for schools? This is, I believe, the real Q that many seem to be ducking - and it is the Q that is at the centre of a new, realistic strategy.
Social Capital is at the heart of the WEX solution. Fewer Careers resources and budget will probably mean many students will miss out on the opportunity of WEX over the coming years - in order to minimise the negative affect of this, I suggest 'Those that can, DO' and 'Those that cant? we focus on!'. It makes sense to focus on those that may slip through and get disenfranchised at such an early stage in their lives - helped to find work placements by the few resources still in place (and the help of an online WEX matching platform).
Those that have been made redundant by their LA and were working as careers professionals - you have 2 choices: 1. You leave the profession OR 2. You accept what could be a great opportunity.
There is, and will continue to be, a demand from LAs to outsource many of its youth services - Its a crazy situation: they do not have the budgets and have already culled large numbers of staff in these disciplines across the UK...but now will have to buy-in or at least find willing partners to 'fill the gap' in the LAs service portfolio. Here lies the opportunity.
For those of you still employed by LAs you know its going to be difficult trying to 'sell' ceiag services to school this year at £10k after the same service was provided last year at a fraction of the price. You know what I am saying is happening.
For those of you that have been made redundant or are going to be made redundant in this latest round of LA cuts - the opportunity exists for you to unite with fellow careers professionals, re-badge your skills, and represent yourselves as a 'dream come true' solution for the LA that has just made you jobless; with the support of FREE resources and PEER-TO-PEER ongoing personal development you CAN compete with those other organisations that are now bidding to do your job (which many suspect will be a shadow of the previous service).
Now is the time to dig in and show that what the Government is doing is morally bankrupt - and not something we will take without a bottom-up fight back !!
This week we will be putting together a #savecareers website to coordinate the campaign to get Careers firmly back in the public eye; another reason for the weak profession - failure to engage with the average person - great at networking but failure to connect with the mass audience.
If you follow me on Twitter - @newmanswords - you will be kept updated on the #savecareers campaign.
Well done for making it through a very long Blog posting for me :(
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