It was reported in the press recently that most students find careers advice pretty useless. “The Association of Colleges found that 55 per cent of students believe teachers steer them towards courses which the school does best, rather than what is right for the student…” and “The ICM poll of more than 1,000 university students found that 66 per cent wished they had received better careers advice.” (TES,  06/10/06) So, what can we do about it?   

On the train back from the consultation last year I sat opposite a young man who was reading Homer’s Odyssey. I asked him whether he was studying Classics at Uni and he said no, that he had read English at Bath and had never got round to reading Homer. When I asked what he was doing now he told me that he was working for a market gardening firm testing soil. This seemed to embarrass him, he had already felt a little awkward admitting he had not read Homer, and felt that an English degree should have led him into a different occupation.                                                              

We then began discussing the kinds of thinking and communication skills he has to use in his current job. I suggested that if he thought about it the right way his degree had probably equipped him quite well.  At this point the businessman who had sat down next to me folded his lap-top and joined the conversation. He had read psychology and anthropology at uni, after graduating he started working for a telecommunications firm. It wasn’t long before a manager spotted his talent for analytical thinking and his good interpersonal skills. He is now a telecommunications consultant and very successful.      

What has his job got to do with telecommunications? Nothing formally, should he have studied telecommunications at uni? He was adamant that for the kind of analysis and problem solving he needed to do, probably, his degree was of more value. What mattered was that he enjoyed his studies and benefited from them, it was the eagerness to explore and develop his thinking skills that has become so useful to him.         

Second example, to study law or psychology at degree level do you need A-Levels in law and psychology? Answer, not if you want to study law or psychology in the universities with best reputation in these disciplines. You will need a good set of A-Levels to be accepted but you won’t need these subjects in particular. For psychology the best departments would prefer you to have biology and maths and for law economics and history would be of more use. These departments will teach you the law or psychology you need. Law and psychology A-Levels are of use to weaker candidates where the uni is worried about retention and can take these qualifications as indicators of commitment. How many students choosing their A-Level courses think through their options in this way? Not many.                                                                     

So, can we have a series of programmes which focus on people in different occupations and traces their routes into theses jobs? Two individuals could be presented from each profession/occupation, one who followed a more conventional route, and another who entered through the side gate. The programmes could draw attention to the transferable knowledge and skills, acquired formally and informally, that are essential to success. As well as explore the ‘softer skills’ necessary. Through interview and discussion, connections could be made to help students see more relevance in their current studies to work in the real world.                                                            

More ideas on this later. What do you think?