The Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) is a four year programme of study for 14-18 year olds which aims to provide vocational and general education broadly related to employment trends. It was announced by the Prime Minister in 1982 and in 1986 the government signalled its intention to extend TVEI to all local education authorities (LEAs) in England and Wales. Although it is not yet clear how much of TVEI will be retained within or alongside the National Curriculum, elements of the Initiative will undoubtedly affect the future education of school students. The central curricular feature of TVEI has been work-experience and in 1988 the Department of Education and Science (DES) announced that this activity was to be extended to all secondary students in England and Wales. This paper analyses the recent development of work-experience, locates it within broader shifts which have taken place in the school-society relationship and uses data from eight LEAs to examine its organization and effects on participating students.

Low-SES students are under-represented in universities, but to what extent is this explained by differences in aspirations?

The paper uses data drawn from a four-year longitudinal study. Of the 3,504 students

·         71% stated that they knew what kind of work they wanted to do and then stated a specific occupation (the ‘Certain’ job outcome)

·         21% initially responded that they did not know what kind of work they wanted but provided a tentative occupation when prompted a second time (the ‘Tentative’ job outcome).

·         8% responded that they did not know what job they aspired to and did not provide any tentative suggestions (the ‘Unformed’ job outcome).

The impact of SES was most apparent in the career choices of doctor, which only appeared in the top five for students from high-SES backgrounds, and mechanic, only in the top five for students from low-SES backgrounds.

These results emphasise the importance of education in ensuring that a broad range of possibilities remains available to all students, including those from low-SES backgrounds. Knowing that achievement in schooling represents the cumulative histories of students’ prior achievement, as well as their lives outside school, these data demonstrate education’s critical role in overcoming rather than reproducing societal inequalities.

This study aims to harness insights from UK longitudinal studies to help careers professionals and other school teaching staff identify and prioritise pupils who require greater levels of careers provision as they approach key decision-making points.

The study identifies attitudes and experiences which schools can influence in order to better prepare their young people for adult working life. All the schools surveyed felt the questionnaire and scoring system enabled staff to identify and prioritise young people requiring greater support. The indicators were found to be particularly useful for those in year 11 but had more limited use amongst the year 9 respondents in this sample. Practitioners highlighted that this may be due to the patterned nature of careers guidance provision in UK schools - many careers programmes begin in earnest as students begin year 11

This article examines employer engagement in two reforms; Diplomas (2005–2010) and 16–19 Study Programmes (2011 onwards). It reflects on the extent to which employers are able to fulfil policy expectations and what lessons could be learnt from previous attempts to engage them in qualification design and delivery.

The article concludes that employer engagement within the 14–19 curriculum continues to be encouraged. The level of employer engagement, however, must be carefully matched to the expertise, experience, capacity and motivation of employers. It is argued that lessons should be learnt from previous experiences of qualifications development to avoid employers abandoning the journey completely.