Students are more engaged with subjects when they see how they relate to the real world. Linking subjects to careers and pathways can make subjects more meaningful and relevant for students.

It can also encourage students to be more aspirational and to realise that there are numerous pathways to success.

There is currently limited research/evidence of the impact of careers interventions, but the evidence that does exist suggests that impacts can be observed in the following areas:

personal effectiveness e.g. improving self-esteem, motivation, personal agency and self-efficacy beliefs;
career readiness e.g. improving career exploration skills, understanding of occupations, decision-making and decidedness and preparedness for transitions; and
educational outcomes e.g. improving attendance and raising educational outcomes.

2. How do I help students who ask me careers related questions?

Young people have a wide range of choices available to them and they are likely to ask staff for information and advice about future options and opportunities. They may ask you about your own education/ employment history. Pupils value these conversations they have with staff. Discussions around qualifications, routes into certain careers and post-16 options are very valuable. Do not worry that you are not qualified – they know they can see a careers adviser for ‘proper’ advice, but you can help them explore their ideas and ambitions.

You can remind them about their account on the Unifrog platform https://www.unifrog.org/ or other similar websites like https://icould.com/ or https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/.

You (or your Head of House) can make referrals to the school’s impartial careers adviser, Mrs Manjit Johal, who provides independent professional careers advice one day a week in school. She is available at break times on a Tuesday for ‘drop in’ support or by appointment for longer guidance interviews. Email sakhtar@saltley.academy to arrange an appointment.

Mrs Sham Akhtar, Careers Co-ordinator, also provides advice and support two days a week in school (Mondays and Wednesdays), helping pupils to choose and apply to the post 16 pathway that best suits their aspirations and ability.

3. How do I make links between my subject and related careers?

Each faculty/department has a named Careers Champion who will help you to find resources and plan activities, and they should be your first port of call for advice and guidance.

There are lots of ways you can link subjects to careers, including:

Teachers talking about their own career path.
Putting up a faculty careers display.
Setting real life work scenarios that expand students’ familiarity with different jobs. For example, a maths question about a quantity surveyor.
Using a newspaper or magazine article to spark discussion.
Inviting employers to speak about their career to students. If you haven’t got your own contacts you can link with organisations that link schools with employers, such as:
- Founders4schols https://www.founders4schools.org.uk/about/
- STEM ambassadors https://www.stem.org.uk/stem-ambassadors
- Inspiring the future https://www.inspiringthefuture.org/
- Speakers for Schools https://www.speakersforschools.org/educators-landing/
Employers running workshops and activities.
Visiting an employer or an event (such as The Big Bang STEM event at the NEC).
Taking students to a university subject master class.
Year 8 options: Ensuring your subject description conveys how the subject links to future opportunities.
Year 8 options: Running subject “tasters” and emphasising where the subject can lead (especially useful if you teach a subject that students have not studied before).
Students using websites to explore careers linked to subjects. We have a school subscription to Unifrog. Also, BBC Bitesize https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/careers and UCAS https://www.ucas.com/ucas/after-gcses/find-career-ideas/explore-jobs
Checking out resources on professional body and Royal Society websites, such as the Royal Society for Biology https://www.rsb.org.uk/careers-and-cpd/careers

4. Are teachers required to link subjects and careers?

The DfE and Ofsted expect schools to be working towards the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks that set out a framework for schools to deliver good career guidance (see table below). A termly audit is carried out against these benchmarks, in partnership with our Careers & Enterprise Adviser, to ensure we are constantly improving and evolving our CEIAG delivery.

https://www.gatsby.org.uk/education/focus-areas/good-career-guidance

Benchmark 4 conveys that all teachers should link curriculum learning with careers.

The Gatsby Benchmarks set out a framework for schools to deliver “good career guidance”
A stable careers programme	Every school should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by students, parents, teachers, governors and employers.
Learning from careers and labour market information	Every student, and their parents, should have access to good quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities.
Addressing the needs of each student	Students have different career guidance needs at different stages. Opportunities for advice and support need to be tailored to the needs of each student.
Linking curriculum learning to careers	All teachers should link curriculum learning with careers. STEM teachers should highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of future career paths.
Encounters with employers and employees	Every student should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be through a range of enrichment activities, including visiting speakers, mentoring and enterprise schemes.
Experiences of workplaces	Every student should have first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities and to expand their networks.
Encounters with further and higher education	All students should understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them. This includes both academic and vocational routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace.
Personal guidance	Every student should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a Careers Adviser. These should be available whenever study or career choices are being made.