The government's announcement that no extra funds have been set aside to provide better careers advice for pupils has worried UNISON, a trade union for students, who believe that this move will lead pupils to seriously suffer when it comes to choosing careers and university choices.
School budgets for the coming year will not increase to take into account their new legal responsibility, as set out in the recent Education Bill, to provide careers guidance for young people. John Richards, the senior national officer for UNISON, was quoted to say that 'The Secretary of State has admitted that there have been no extra funds put aside for schools' and that the schools themselves 'are expected to take on this huge new responsibility'. This means that schools will be forced to find funds for careers advice from existing budgets, and thus most probably not being sufficiently invested in. This also means that private schools, which generally have greater private existing budgets, will be able to invest more in supplying adequate careers advice for pupils than state schools will, adding to the already existing discrepancy in careers advice between private schools and state schools.
John Richards went on to explain that by cutting funding on careers advice, the government is failing to provide young people with the best start when entering the working world. Students are being denied the proper guidance they need, and, especially in this difficult graduate environment, a lack of decent careers advice could be detrimental to their futures.
UNISON also warns that the cuts on careers advice will mean that careers services will fail to hold information on the education, employment and training outcomes of young people (aged 16-18 years), facts crucial to students looking for jobs. Therefore, it is increasingly more important for students to do adequate research on careers before entering the working world, as advice provided by schools is simply not enough due to governmental cuts. Hence why websites such as the 'Graduate Recruitment Bureau' are so important in providing neutral, clear careers advice to students.
Kate, GRB Journalist
