As the 20 new Careers Hubs are established to help transform careers education, we’ve seen increased interest from councils and LEPs in our careers and labour market tool Careers Explorer.
Our intuitive online tool is being used to support schools and colleges who are working to achieve the recommended Gatsby Benchmarks of Careers Excellence which they must meet by the end of 2020.
Background
The implementation of the Gatsby benchmarks was tested over a two-year period in a pilot with 16 schools and colleges in the north east of England. Every school and college in the pilot now achieves at least four benchmarks, where previously 50% of schools/colleges fully achieved none.
Careers Explorer is already helping colleges meet many of the requirements set out in the Gatsby initiative.
How Careers Explorer can support your careers provision
Careers Explorer is an engaging and user-friendly online tool which delivers evidence-based careers advice, including advice on training and apprenticeships, that incorporates labour market data and live job vacancies.
Learning from career and labour market information
“All students and parents should have access to high-quality, up to date information about future study options and labour market opportunities. Information should be presented in an easy to understand and engaging way.” (Gatsby Benchmark)
Careers Explorer brings LMI to your website, in a simple and engaging way. Users can view live job vacancies and apply for roles directly, as well as gaining a full understanding of occupations, skills requirements, salary expectations and local demand.
Encounters with further and higher education
“All students should understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them. This includes academic and vocational routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities and the workplace.” (Gatsby Benchmark)
A full range of pathways is clearly demonstrated using Career Explorer; based on the interests of the individual. Using a simple keyword search, users can explore all options within FE, HE, Apprenticeships or straight to employment opportunities. Course search results can be configured to only show courses offered by your college, or it can show all course options in the region, or even nationally. Results include links to the course website page, and direct links to apply. Apprenticeship vacancies are displayed via a direct link to NAS, and employment vacancies are displayed via the inbuilt link to Indeed Jobs.
Careers Explorer can be used as a standalone support site (see both Cornwall County Council and Plymouth City Council sites); or embedded as part of a council or college website (See Surrey County Council and Oaklands College examples).
Dee Turvill, the Commissioning Manager, Learning & Skills, Surrey County Council explains, “Careers Explorer takes our website from providing static information about progression pathways to offering real-time information to support decisions about sustainable careers in the local area. The wide range of information available, which is presented in a very user-friendly way, enables young people to look at the elements most relevant to them to make an informed decision about their next steps.”
If you’d like to view Careers Explorer in a short online session where we can answer any questions you may have, please get in touch with a member of the team.