Reed bridges career advice gap with free guide for schools

• Reed has launched a free guide for pupils to help them make informed decisions about their future
• The guide helps bridge the career advice gap experienced by schools, with many not having the funding and resources to deliver guidance
• Developed alongside the Alec Reed Academy

Leading recruitment agency Reed has launched a careers guide for secondary school students to inform them on potential future careers. 

The guide ‘What’s next? A guide to starting your career’ sets out the different routes available for school leavers including going into work, further or higher education, apprenticeships, traineeships and volunteering. It also advises young people on the salaries and career paths available in different sectors and some popular entry-level roles so they can make a more informed choice on their future.

When it comes to careers guidance for pupils, there are clear struggles for teachers. Research from The Sutton Trust has found that 39% of state secondary school pupils were not confident in their next steps in education and training. Almost a third (32%) of teachers in state schools said they don’t have enough funding to deliver good quality careers education, with more than half (51%) saying there wasn’t enough staff time to do so.

Reed launched the guide as part of its partnership with the Alec Reed Academy. Sir Alec Reed was the founding sponsor of the school, investing in development of state-of-the-art facilities for the new academy. Reed has continued its support for the school for more than 17 years to provide opportunities for its students.

The guide is available for all schools to download and use on the Reed website.

Gavin Beart, Divisional Managing Director of Reed Education, said: “We work extremely closely with schools across the country, and from our conversations with headteachers it’s clear that pupils across the UK need careers guidance. Our teachers are struggling with the resources for careers advice, and this is an area where we are able to help.

“We’ve used our expertise and data across the recruitment market, as well as our experience working with schools to pull together this guide and a new programme called Gateway to Work to start pupils on their journey after education.

“Being able to see the route into a profession and what the salary and career path looks like before they need to make a decision can help students make an informed choice for their future.

“It’s important to get across to young people that there are options outside of the traditional university route, and they can consider apprenticeships, traineeships, volunteering, or even going straight into work after they finish education.”

Phil Cosby, Principal and CEO at Alec Reed Academy, added: “There’s a real gap for our pupils when it comes to careers advice. It can seem like there are endless options so having something for them to refer to for advice, on what a career path actually looks like in terms of earnings and how to get there, is invaluable. We were delighted to use our partnership with Reed to influence the guide for all schools to access freely.

“It’s important to showcase the different routes into a career, while some may need to go into higher education to get the qualifications they need, others could benefit from learning on the job and going into an apprenticeship or traineeship. Giving students the information they need on what qualifications are necessary for a role and what it involves, means they can plan for their future armed with the knowledge on what career is suitable for them.”

Reed’s School Salary Guide delves into different roles within various sectors. The careers guide covers the following industries:

• Science
• Technology
• Engineering and manufacturing
• Accountancy and finance
• Green and renewable energy
• Business support and administration
• Care
• Health
• Education
• Further education
• Hospitality and leisure
• Human resources
• Insurance and financial services
• Legal
• Marketing, creative and PR
• Procurement and supply chain
• Property and construction
• Security cleared professionals
• Sales

The guide forms part of Reed’s Gateway to Work programme, a six-step digital careers package for secondary schools. – The salary guide can be downloaded from: www.reed.com/guides/careers-advice-for-students