Why work with employers?

It has never been more important for schools and colleges to work with employers, and it has never been easier for schools and colleges to work with employers to make a difference to the lives of young people.

 

Benefits for students

By engaging employers, across all stages of learning and subjects of study, teaching staff can provide rich learning experiences that young people enjoy, find personally motivating, so improving their attainment and equipping them with skills that employers value highly.

 

Benefits for staff

The curriculum has changed enormously over recent years and will continue to do so as Diplomas become a universal entitlement at 14-19 and work-related learning become commonplace at earlier ages.  Employers can provide new resources for teaching staff working to improve literacy and numeracy at key stages one and two, support delivery the Economic Well-being and Financial Capability programme of study at key stages 3 and 4 as well delivery of 14-19 qualifications.  Employers can help provide new resources that bring learning to life within exciting and motivating learning experiences across the range of curriculum areas.

 

Benefits for governors and other school leaders

There has never been a more favourable time for school and college leaders to work with the local economic community to provide new support for staff and institutional governance.  Employers can support the professional development of classroom teachers and school managers; support the effective governance of the institution; and, provide new financial and in-kind resources.

 

Benefits for society

There is wide agreement that our future prosperity depends acutely on increasing the skills and knowledge of the working population. In a globalised world, countries find prosperity in optimising their competitive advantages and for the UK that must lie in the quality of its human capital, rather than the cheapness of its labour or the extent of its natural resources. 

Demand for skills has grew considerably over the last generation and, as the Leitch Review of Skills showed, skills will become ever more important.  Already people who do not achieve well from the education system struggle to find well paid work.  In the future, the penalty young people pay for entering adult life without minimal qualifications will get ever higher, leading to increased social costs.  And because educational underachievement is not shared equally across the population regardless of gender, ethnicity and social background, the growing cost of educational failure is set to exacerbate social inequalities.

The curriculum changes now being introduced engage employers to help young people develop the softer personal skills that allow them to prosper in the new economy and achieve more by exposure to different and potentially more motivating styles of learning.

 

Benefits for employers and employees

It is not always apparent why employers want to work with schools and colleges.  Hundreds of thousands already do and many recognize real business benefits in the partnerships.  Employers are interested in future recruitment, and look for opportunities to showcase themselves to the best future employees and encourage a wider pool of new talent to consider their industry.  Employers know that staff enjoy working with children and young people, it improves employee satisfaction and helps retain the best staff.  Moreover, many employers see staff opportunities to work with schools and colleges as a form of staff development, helping employees develop the skills and knowledge through practice, for example as a mentor or school governor, that they need to get ahead.  And, finally, working with schools and colleges is an effective means of raising the profile of an enterprise, product or service, securing the employer's reputation in the community.

 

Call for conference papers

 

The point of partnership: understanding employer engagement at the University of Warwick, Friday 15 October 2010

For further information and to subscribe to the event visit: www.educationandemployers.org/research/taskforce-research-conference-2010