As of 2020 the following were the most advertised jobs of 2020:

• Courier/delivery driver 
• Sales roles 
• Customer service roles 
• Teacher 
• Project Manager 
• Cleaner 
• Government Admin 
• Mechanic 
• Electrician 
• Software developer 

Who was hiring in 2020?

• Goldman Sachs 
• NHS
• Facebook 
• Deliveroo 
• JP Morgan 
• Glaxo Smith Kline 
• Apple 
• Google 
• BBC 
• Recruitment Agencies

Which sectors are currently growing?

• Health 
• Care/Support Worker 
• IT & Communications 
• Engineering 
• Scientific roles 
• Logistics 

What about Apprenticeships?

In 2020 there were 319,000 Apprenticeship starts in the UK, with Advanced Apprenticeships (level 3) among the most widely available, with 138,000 opportunities. 23% of apprenticeship vacancies were offered to 16–17 year-olds, 29% were offered to 18-19 year-olds and 46% were offered to over 25’s. 

Comparing July 2019 and July 2020 in terms of the number of apprenticeships available, July 2019 offered 25,700 opportunities, while in July 2020 there were just 17,900.

If you’d like to know more about how COVID-19 has affected the opportunities for your students, speak to a member of our team today.

The impact of Covid-19 on the UK labour market

In April 2020, 1.6 billion people globally faced the immediate prospect of having their livelihood destroyed.

A great deal of uncertainty surrounds the long term impacts that COVID-19 will have on the UK labour market.  Unsurprisingly there has been a drop in the number of job vacancies available, with many firms putting recruitment on hold for up to 6 months.  Industries such as travel, leisure and oil and gas have seen seeing savage cuts to their operations and many jobs losses.  Conversely, industries such as health and care, online retailers and tech firms have seen a surge in recruitment. 

What does the UK labour market look like?

• Unemployment is at 5.1% – the highest for 5 years
• 2.6 million additional people are currently claiming out of work benefit 
• In February 2021 there were 726,000 fewer people on payrolls than at the same time the previous year 
• Of those 726,000 – 425,000 were aged between 18-24 years old 
• 6 million people are estimated to currently be on furlough
• 1 in every 16 people are currently employed, have changed their job and industry as a result of the pandemic. 
• Between Nov 2020 –Jan 2021 there were 559, 000 job vacancies advertised this is 211,000 fewer than over the same period of Nov 2019 – Jan 2020

What is the impact on young people?

• Previous evidence shows that, whilst recession increases unemployment across the population, it is those leaving education who see the most severe impact 
• Understanding the damage of unemployment during a recession is viewed as complex but main issues are health, wellbeing and earnings 
• This year there was an expectation that approximately 800,000 young people would be approaching the labour market for the first time 
• If we look at data from 2008/9, unemployment generally across the working age population was 8.5% whereas for those leaving full-time education it was 32% 
• Data also suggests that those leaving education in 2008/9 where much more severely affected by the crisis than those who left after 2011 
• It’s not just school leavers who are affected.  The impact us also felt by graduates, who are more likely to take ‘lower skilled jobs’ as supposed to ‘no job’.
• What are the chances of getting actually getting a job in a recession? 
  • Graduates – 15% lower 
  • Level 3 – 27% lower 
  • Level 2 37% lower 

This equates to some young people seeing their likelihood of finding work reduced by more than a third.

Under the Baker Clause of the Technical and Further Education Act 2017, every school must ensure that a range of education and training providers are given the opportunity to access all students in years 8-13 to inform them about approved technical education qualifications or apprenticeships. 

Every school is required to publish a policy statement that sets out their arrangements for provider access and they must ensure it is followed.  The schools must also publish a policy statement detailing the various ways colleges and training providers will be allowed access, including details of:

• any procedural requirements relating to requests for access; 
• grounds for granting and refusing requests for access; and
• details of premises or facilities to be provided to those who are granted access

The clause is enforced in three ways: 

1. As an absolute minimum, schools must provide details of how, when and to who access is given.
2. Action will be taken against any schools/colleges who do not comply with the clause. 
3. Any additional careers funding for the school or college will be dependent on them meeting their compliance requirements.

To find out how we can make your school/college compliant with the Baker Clause, talk to one of our experts today.

On Thursday 21 January 2021, the Department for Education published its latest white paper relating to compulsory and post-compulsory education.  Entitled Skills for Jobs: Lifelong learning for opportunity and growth, the paper sets out a range of proposals relating to the organisation of careers education and guidance in England.

Among its implications for schools and colleges are the following points:

• The Government will look to improve the National Careers Service website for young people to include more accessible labour market information (LMI) and career pathway content 
• The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) will work with the National Careers Service to better align careers provision in schools and colleges 
• Careers Hubs look likely to continue, along with training for Careers Leaders
• The statutory duty for access to independent and impartial access to careers guidance is likely to be lowered to Year 7 (it is currently Year 8)  

New Statutory Guidance is imminent!

Talk to us about how we can help your school/college to meet the requirements of the Skills for Jobs White Paper.  Get in touch with one of our experts today