Social Mobility: Careers Education Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Education
Louise Jones
Main Page: Louise Jones (Labour - North East Derbyshire)Department Debates - View all Louise Jones's debates with the Department for Education
(1 day, 18 hours ago)
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Louise Jones (North East Derbyshire) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham (Andrew Ranger) for securing this important debate. I want to touch on a couple of points that hon. Members have already eloquently made.
First, on careers education for those with special educational needs and disabilities, the SEND system in Derbyshire is failing many of our young people. Many of my constituents are struggling to get their children adequately cared for in school or to secure them a place in school at all. I would like to highlight Landmarks specialist college in Eckington, which does a fantastic job in weaving careers education throughout the general education it provides, and sees the core of its mission as preparing its young people to enter the world of work and achieve their full potential.
In careers education, as well as highlighting the many fantastic careers that young people can go on to do, it is important to have an industry approach to careers and advise young people of the breadth of careers available within a specific industry, if that is what excites them. Many young people tell me that they are excited about becoming a YouTube influencer, or something related, and there are many fantastic careers in the industry, such as being a video or sound technician, that they might get just as much out of.
My hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North East (Maureen Burke) spoke eloquently about the social mobility opportunities available later in life. That reminded me of my mother, who could not go to university until she was my age, and what a difference it made to her life.
I have often seen that at first hand when people leave the military. Many people serve in the military for only a few short years before they go on to another career. It is important to say to young people aged between 12 and 18 that the decisions they make now will not lock them in for the rest of their lives. Many of the opportunities that are available—such as university and further education—will be there for them in their 20s, 30s, 40s and even beyond. One of the people I served with started her A-levels in her early 30s and is now a fully qualified doctor. It is never too late to change your future.
I hope that the Minister will be able to give us some assurances when it comes to careers education. Although we should tell young people about the opportunities, jobs and so on that could be out there, we should also tell them to focus on the industries that they are interested in. Although the decisions they are making have a large impact, they should not forget that they will have plenty of time throughout their adult lives to take advantage of other opportunities.