Talking about career: the language used by and with young people to discuss life, learning and work

This report describes the findings of research conducted by the International Centre for Guidance Studies (iCeGS) at the University of Derby on behalf of the national HE STEM programme. The research set out to understand how young people conceptualise career vocabulary in order to help those tasked with supporting their career decision making to do so in a way which was both engaging and effective. The research found that there is considerable confusion about a range of career vocabulary both amongst young people themselves and between young people and the adults who seek to influence and inform their careers. This report has also argued that confusion about vocabulary cannot simply be solved by teaching young people the “correct” meaning of different words. The report explores the relationship between the words that we use to talk about career and the way that we think about career. In particular it examines how the different vocabulary and conceptions of career held by young people and adults complicate the career learning that takes place both in school and outside of school. The report notes that current policy suggests that schools are going to have to take increasing levels of control over careers education and a key element of this is supporting teachers and other adults working with young people to talk more effectively about careers and related issues. The report argues that it is important that career educators attend to the career literacy levels of learners and pay close attention to the career vocabularies that they utilise. In particular an argument is made that those young people who are considering STEM careers have additional vocabulary and concepts to learn that relate to the disciplines and sectors within which STEM careers are pursued. The report explores how people talk about career and identifies a range of factors that are likely to influence this. It demonstrates that there is considerable diversity in the ways in which people define and use a word like “career”. It notes that people often use metaphors to describe the concept of career and identifies a wide range of different metaphors that people use. As with the choice of particular vocabulary, the choice of metaphor suggests different ideas about career which educators are likely to want to explore and, at times, challenge. The research was conducted during autumn 2011 and involved interviews with 82 young people, and nine career helpers from schools and organisations largely based in the Midlands. This is a small scale study and the results are therefore presented to open up debate and thinking in this area and do not constitute an exhaustive exploration of the subject. The main findings of the research are presented under five headings each of which represents a major theme of the research.National HE STEM Programm

Making use of icould: learning from practice

icould, is an online careers resource which provides individual’s with access to the work and life experiences of hundreds of people in the form of online careers films. The films are supplemented with labour market information and other resources. This approach seeks to provide both a self-directed resource for career explorers and a resource that can be used by career and education professionals to enhance their practice. In addition, icould provides a range of information, games, interactive activities and other resources that can also be used either directly by a career explorer or as underpinning resources for professionals working in the field. icould is a technically innovative product which utilises multi-media content, interactivity and social media in new ways to provide career support. icould has become popular with career professionals and other educators and is frequently used as part of the delivery of career support. icould has produced a very useful suite of resources for teachers to facilitate its use in practice. However, up until now there has been no investigation of the ways that icould is actually being used in practice. Consequently in this project we sought to draw this practice together and to present it in a way that might stimulate, inform and inspire future practice. To do this a diverse group of practitioners were recruited to form a community of practice (COP). This report provides new ideas and insights into the way which the icould website is used by practitioners

Building a progression culture: exploring learning organisations’ use of the Progression Matrix

This research paper explores the implementation of The Progression Matrix in schools, colleges and other learning organisations such as training providers. The project builds on existing research on The Progression Matrix and finds evidence which suggests that the approach provides a useful conceptual model around which learning organisations can re-orientate their practice and deliver enhanced progression for learners.Aimhighe

EU - Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and e-learning in Education Project - Phase II

The training needs analysis was conducted beteeen February and April 2015 for the EU funded project: ICT in Education in Kosovo. The processes required to perform the traning needs analysis have been. The design of a framework of competences; The identification of target groups; The creation and implementation of an online survey to assess the competence of education sector personnel against the competences contained in the framework; The collation, preparation and analysis of the survey data; and Reporting the research findings.European Union Office in KosovoEuropeAid/133846/C/SER/X

Enthusiasm Trust and Community Space Challenge: impact evaluation

The aims of research were:- • To build a body of evidence of impact regarding environmental volunteering services on young people, and on the community • To provide an overview of the types of young people who have participated in the past • To document aspects of previous projects that encourage young people to participate and to achieve, and those that discourage young people from participation or from sustained engagement • To identify the key resources that underpinned successful project delivery • To identify specific achievements of young people that are attributable to the programmeEnthusiasm Trus

NHBC Foundation: improving recruitment of young people into home building : a literature review

This literature review was undertaken to support research into young people's attitudes to careers in house building. The review is based on database searches supplemented by the evidence gathered during stakeholder interviews and through requests made to the wider careers and home building sectors. In order to fully answer the main research questions, the literature mapping the barriers faced by young people to working within the sector was explored. Based on the review a set of criteria for analysing and categorising industry sector initiatives will also be developed. The criteria will be presented as a separate compendium of opportunities.National House Builders Council Foundatio

Career learning journeys of Derby and Derbyshire NEETs

Young people (aged under 25 years) typically represent a third of all unemployed people across Derby and Derbyshire. The numbers of young people aged between 16 and 18 years old who are either not in education, employment or training (known as NEETs) in Derby and Derbyshire is a concern for local communities, businesses, support organisations, and families. In early 2010 changes to support services and structures were being undertaken, whilst at the same time the economic downturn was affecting opportunities for employment and training. The opportunity that arose at this time through the EMIEP project to undertake research both about, and with, the local NEET population was seized upon locally as a way to better understand the realities of being NEET through systematic analysis of the NCCIS database alongside qualitative analysis of interviews with 40 young people who were categorised as NEET. It finds that those young people with multiple disadvantage feel better supported by services than those whose NEET status derived from just one or two disadvantaging factors.East Midlands Improvement and Efficiency Partnershi

A career of choice: attracting talented young people into house building

The purpose of this research was to establish a better understanding of how young people view house building as a career choice and to provide insights to improve recruitment of those with enthusiasm and talent into the sector. It collected the views of over 500 teenagers and young men and women between the ages of 14 and 24, and the views of those who advise them on careers.NHBC Foundatio

Preparing the next generation of career development practitioners.

This article reviews the progress being made at the University of Derby in teaching the new qualification for career development practitioners: The Qualification in Career Development.N/

Establishing Croatia’s lifelong career guidance service

On July 1st 2013, Croatia became the 28th member state of the European Union. One requirement for Croatia’s accession to the EU was the establishment of comprehensive life-long career guidance (LLCG) provision. In 2011, the Croatian Employment Service, the traditional provider of career guidance services to the unemployed, embarked on a programme to establish eight public facing pilot LLCG centres funded through EU transition funding. This article uses the results of an early evaluation of the new LLCG centres undertaken at the end of the pilot stage to explore the inter-relationship between this EU imperative and the policy and practice developments required to establish LLCG in a post-conflict and post command economy emerging EU country