Its been a while since I last blogged, much has happened, but has anything changed in the fight to 'save' Careers?
I'll keep it brief - Government line has hardened, private sector activity in the space has increased, even what is left of the depleted Connexions service is being forced to sell its services to schools without the historic subsidy.
Politically, Gove has made his stance clear, Hayes just doesnt have the power or influence to deliver against his previous encouraging rhetoric, Burnham is trying is best, LibDem MP's like Simon Hughes talk a good line of support but is currently making a great claim for Political Hypocrite of the Year...a TV show i'd love to see ;).
The real losers? You guessed it, the alarmingly growing number of young unemployed people in this Country.
What I don't understand is why the Government is so short sighted with its Careers Guidance strategy; is it not obvious that unemployment comes with increasing cost to the state, an increasing social cost to community AND .... an immeasurable cost to the young people being disenfranchised from the world of work?
At exactly the time we need to have a robust Careers Guidance service for ALL young people, the Government is creating a post code lottery of quality provision; with so many providers, how can the so called 'service' remain a quality service that has consistency wherever it is accessed or experienced?
With this current landscape it is hard to remain optimistic on behalf of future generations of school leavers - but , WE owe it to all young people to do their bidding for them, especially at a time when the Political will is weak.
Between now (September) and next April 2012 we have a gap at the centre of Careers provision to young people, whatever our Political pursuasions, we must unite when it comes to ensuring pressure remains on the Politicians and we must use our own social capital to influence where we can.
It doesn't look good for the near future, but if it doesn't look good we must work to change the view, collectively.
Thanks for reading, if you feel strongly about this subject matter then contact me directly - we can all help.
