The updated Gatsby Benchmarks have just been published and in this blog, Sue Riley, our CEO takes a closer look at what has changed and how schools can leverage their alumni network to meet the benchmarks.
The world has evolved; so have the Gatsby Benchmarks. In the last decade, schools and colleges have changed, technology has advanced and there have been significant developments to both the education landscape and the labour market.
We know that good careers guidance helps to bridge the worlds of education and work and is vital for economic prosperity and growth. It also challenges disadvantages, stereotypes and inequalities ensuring that young people from all backgrounds will benefit.
This week Gatsby published its Benchmark updates – woven throughout is an emphasis on the importance of tailoring programmes to the needs of each young person and for the first time criterion relating to the inclusion of role models and alumni.
In an education system that is stretched in terms of capacity, the role of alumni and employee volunteers play a critical role in a balanced careers strategy that is able to give all young people tailored support. Schools can only do this if they build meaningful partnerships in their communities.
Social mobility charity Future First is the only UK charity whose mission it is to help state schools and colleges build a supportive and active community of alumni volunteers and local employers. We help to provide students with relatable role models who offer experiences of the world of work and unlock access to previously gate kept sectors so that all young people can see ‘someone like me’
Many institutions draw on their alumni when setting up talks, mentoring programmes, encounters, visits and experiences of workplaces. It motivates young people to see people like them, who have sat where they are and are a few steps ahead in their journey. This is especially true when alumni and young people share similar backgrounds.
The headlines
All eight benchmarks and their titles remain the same, with updates only to those benchmarks that the evidence suggests will lead to improved outcomes for young people.
Five main themes emerged from the evidence that informed the updates:
- Careers at the heart of education and leadership
Careers guidance is both a whole-staff and a whole-institution endeavour.
- Inclusion and impact for each and every young person
Woven through multiple benchmarks are updates that emphasise the importance of tailoring programmes to the needs of each young person.
- Meaningful and varied encounters and experiences
Emphasised focus on flexible delivery and the impact of encounters and experiences of education and work. Expanded definitions of ‘meaningful’.
- Focusing on the use of information and data
The focus is now on using information to inform decision-making.
- Engagement of parents and carers
Updates embed parent and carer engagement into planning and the need to share information with them.
The importance of role models and alumni
Benchmark 3: addressing the needs of each young person focuses on three measurable criterion:
- careers programmes should challenge misconceptions
- requirement to showcase a diverse range of role models
- schools, colleges and ITPs should use alumni to support their careers programme
Throughout the benchmarks we have strengthened the need to ensure young people can get accurate and honest information from employees and students they can identify with.
Diversity
Gatsby has added a criterion that careers programmes showcase a diverse range of role models. Using role models challenges career stereotypes and can inspire and motivate young people. Role models should be varied, including employees, apprentices or entrepreneurs.
Together with the requirement to showcase a diverse range of role models, Gatsby have added the criterion that schools, colleges and independent training providers (ITPs) should use alumni to support their careers programme.
Stereotypes and misconceptions
Stereotypical thinking can limit young people’s beliefs about what is possible for them in the future. Good careers guidance should actively seek to tackle any assumptions about what the next steps can be for people with different characteristics or from different backgrounds. Some young people misunderstand what opportunities are available to them and what they involve. Using varied role models can challenge career stereotypes and can inspire and motivate young people.
Benchmarks 4, 5, 6 and 7
Benchmark 4 now describes how linking curriculum learning with careers should be part of the institution’s overall programme of careers education. It also highlights the need for all teachers in schools and all subject staff in colleges and (ITPs) to link curriculum learning to careers. Accessing local employers and alumni is a great way to do this.
The changes in the updated Gatsby Benchmarks 5, 6, and 7 stipulate that young people should participate in meaningful encounters and experiences and so the opportunity to access a pool of relatable alumni and employee role models becomes even more important as it opens doors to encounters with employers of different sizes and specialisms including the self-employed, that reflect trends in the labour market, regionally and nationally.
A meaningful experience gives the young person the opportunity to explore what it is like to work in that environment, what skills are valued in the workplace, their recruitment processes and what it takes to be successful. This could be achieved through visits to workplaces, work shadowing and/or work experience.
How working with Future First can help you widen your pool of meaningful encounters with alumni, employers and workplaces
Future First helps its member schools and colleges develop their own alumni networks, powered through the Future First Hub – a safe social media style platform that allows schools and alumni to connect, and supports virtual and in person volunteering. We have been working in this space for 15 years – and created over 1,250 alumni networks.
The Future First national network
As a Future First member your school or college can also access our national volunteer network: there are 1000s of volunteers located across the UK that want to make a difference to the communities in which they live. They span nearly 50 sectors including creative arts and culture, technology, teaching, engineering, finance, construction and transport.
Working with national employers
As a Future First member you also have access to our national employer programmes: these include insight days, mentoring, work experience, fast track apprenticeship programmes and talks by employers including Lloyd’s of London Foundation, Legal & General, GWR, Best Western and Allen & Overy.
Publicising your careers programme
This is so important. Many employers want to help – publicising your programme provides them with clarity over ways in which they can engage with you. In turn, employers will share their early career pipeline needs with you which will help you gather important LMI (Benchmark 2). Share your needs on the school website and the Future First Hub – here you can actively request support.
Gathering destination data
The emphasis is now on using sustained and longer-term destination data as part of evaluation processes. Signing your leavers up to be the next generation of ‘near peer’ mentors allows you to do just that – and benefit from a pipeline of accessible role models at the beginning of their careers.
Young people should meet employees at different stages of their career journeys, including those early on in their career, apprentices and alumni from their own institution. As we explored in the updates to Benchmark 3, encounters can be particularly powerful when they are with someone from a similar background.
Do you need support in building and making the most of your alumni network?
By engaging with your alumni, you can make a significant impact not only on your careers programme but on the students who will be inspired and motivated by meeting ‘someone like me’.
Our free guide is packed with practical ideas and tips to help you make the most of your alumni network and meet Gatsby Benchmarks.
Whether you are working with recent leavers – ‘near peers’, or those that have progressed in their careers, you have access to a wealth of expertise, access to industry and powerful mentors within your alumni network.
We are hosting a free webinar on Thursday 23 January in which we will explore in more depth how you can use this untapped resource to meet Gatsby Benchmarks.
