Why education reform is a shared responsibility

by Natasha Khan

Why is it important for employers to actively engage with schools, colleges and universities?

For most people, once you get your grades and your job, the education system isn’t given much thought. You may have contact with it through siblings, children or peers who work in the profession, but knowing the ins and outs of the discussions around education policies isn’t likely. As such, you’ll be forgiven if you don't know the following.

Since 2010 there have been 10 State Secretaries for Education, five of these positions were held for less than a year between 2021 and 2022. One of these only lasted 48 hours, only to be replaced by another that lasted two months. As you can imagine, this 'carousel of education secretaries' has left the education system fragmented and forgotten.

With each secretary comes new reforms, ideas and opinions. The cherry on top of this chaos is that very few of those who held the position have actually worked in teaching.

Coverage around the current government’s education policies has been light with the exception of Sunak’s recent crackdown on ‘low-value’ arts degrees which The Guardian has stated is “most likely to hit working class and Black, Asian and minority ethnic applicants”.

After reading Labour’s 5 Missions for a Better Britain and seeing the pivotal role given to education reform in “breaking down the barriers to opportunity at every stage”, it couldn’t be denied that the education system may finally be getting the attention it deserves. Labour’s Five Point Plan to overhaul the education system with a focus on nurturing confidence, creativity and digital skills is a far cry from statements of The Conservative’s 2019 manifesto of “expanding their programme to help schools with the worst behaviour learn from the best” as well as their “backing of head teachers to use exclusions”.

Throughout his speech, Starmer references the need to break the “class ceiling”, highlighting the reciprocal relationship between education and socioeconomic background. There’s an undeniable link between educational outcomes and the improvement of life chances whereby teachers and the education system play a significant role in improving social mobility and inequality.

However, questions instantly arise when I think about Labour’s plan as a former teacher. In an underfunded school system, what resources will teachers be using to carry out these reforms? Already overstretched, how will they find the time to incorporate these changes?

To put it straight: our current system isn’t able to give young people from all backgrounds the skills that employers require. Although Starmer’s proposed focus on skills such as oracy offers a promising future where skills are valued alongside attainment, true change needs to be thoughtful and long-term. How do we make sure sudden changes in the curriculum do not increase teacher workload and unintentionally increase the class divide within the education system?

The Five Point Plan is missing a key component: an integration between employers and educators. Teachers alone cannot be the ones to overcome the class divide that is so prevalent in education as well as the working world.

Employers have insight into the skills needed for employment, knowledge of the job roles, and the ins and outs of different industries. Why undercut their vital role in ensuring all types of career pathways are accessible to young people from all backgrounds?

They can use their knowledge and experience to educate, inspire and engage young people to think about their employment options post-education. Most especially in the creative industry, where career education is either minimal or archaic, we need to be forming cross-sector relationships so that young people feel empowered about their employment options.

In turn, the benefits are huge. In engaging with young people, employers are creating new recruitment channels to help fill the skills gaps that exist within so many industries. These new recruitment channels include a more diverse workforce who also bring with them new ideas, creating an output that speaks to a wider audience.

So my question for employers is: What are you doing to actively engage with young people in education to ensure that they are making empowered and informed career choices?