Lord Willis of Knaresborough
Main Page: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Willis of Knaresborough's debates with the Department for Education
(11 years ago)
Lords ChamberMy Lords, an investigation by the Engineering Employers Federation and SEMTA, looking at careers in science and technology, showed that more than 80% of careers advisers in schools come from an arts and humanities background. How likely is it that students who aspire to careers in science and technology will get good advice from people who have no experience of that at all?
I agree entirely with my noble friend that we do not expect teachers to be careers experts. That is unrealistic, which is why we expect all schools to engage with their local business and professional communities. I was recently in Leeds and Sheffield, where the Glass Academy has been formed by glass manufacturers specifically to engage with their local schools extremely effectively.