Enterprise becomes employability

The lines between work-readiness, employability skills and Enterprise education are continuing to blur;  this will require some nimble thinking by teachers to align with new Government priorities.

Last week's budget was further confirmation that the Government is championing the benefits of creating Enterprising cultures within our schools with a shift in emphasis towards employability.  

Ruth Spellman OBE, Chief Executive CMI, was quick to point out to The House that “the majority of school leavers have little idea about the skills needed to run a business or work for an employer.” This echoes the existing view of employers and it seems the Government is now listening.

So what does this mean for schools? Work-readiness and employability skills are racing up the agenda and the best way to deliver these is via schools’ established framework of Enterprise education using their existing Co-ordinators.

In fact, good quality Enterprise programmes already deliver employability skills to students. However, here at CragRats we believe more emphasis needs to be placed on schools and education providers creating better, and more sustainable, links to the world of work and to businesses. To be successful, this means establishing relationships with both local and national companies. It is not difficult to see the benefits for both parties in doing so.

Spellman supports this by continuing: “True Enterprise education and genuine readiness-for-work will only be created if schools and employers are able to work together”.

The government is supporting this drive with a pledge to provide work-experience schemes for 100,000 young people over the next 2-years. Sceptics will raise a smile at this initiative, as teachers know very well just how hard this is to deliver in practice.

A new approach, which a number of our partner schools are working towards, is bringing CiAG and Enterprise much closer together. Driven by the uncertainties regarding the support that has previously been supplied by Connexions and Aimhigher services, it may be the time for an increase in joined-up discussions between Enterprise Co-ordinators and internal school Careers teachers. 

If you’d like to discuss how CragRats are working towards integrating Enterprise with work-readiness and careers, then please email william.akerman@cragrats.com 

CragRats are also helping businesses and schools to create links and has spent the last year developing MyKindaCrowd.com, the UK’s first student focused crowd-sourcing site for young people. For more information about how your young people can be involved in MyKindaCrowd.com and win fantastic prizes, please email william.akerman@cragrats.com