Higher education (HE) is just one part of a much larger educational ecosystem that students will attempt to chart a course through during their lives.
Unfortunately, there is often so much happening from both a policy and day-to-day perspective that it can be easy to forget that it can be difficult to look beyond the student life cycle.
So it is unsurprising that many of us who are involved in the planning and delivery of career development and employability activity in higher education institutions (HEIs) are not always aware of the careers landscape prior to, and post, HE. This is despite the fact that they are likely to be working with many students and staff who will have received some form of support from careers professionals in schools and colleges before making the transition to university.
While the outcome of last year’s Education Select Committee inquiry into Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) in England has led to more focus on the creation of an all-age careers system, a renewed commitment to the Gatsby Benchmarks as the framework for quality careers provision in schools and colleges, and a continued emphasis on the importance of primary-age careers education (to bridge the gap between different stages of a student’s educational journey), the role and responsibility of HE careers services in this discussion has been notably absent.
