Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of career hubs for facilitating work experience for students.

Through the Careers & Enterprise Company and the network of Careers Hubs and Enterprise Advisers, the department is supporting schools and colleges to provide high quality experience of workplaces for pupils. In the ‘Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth’ white paper, the department set out its ambition to continue the extension of Careers Hubs across all communities in England. More than 90% of schools and colleges are now part of a Careers Hub.

Evidence tells us that sustained engagement with Careers Hubs leads to wider and more intensive employer engagement, helping more learners have a chance to engage with a range of local sectors.

81% of schools and colleges that have been in Careers Hubs since 2018 had at least 10 businesses involved in careers activity this year compared to 48% for those not engaged. As mentioned in the recent Education Select Committee for ’Careers education, information, advice and guidance’, 70% of schools and colleges currently have access to business advisers who are vital in supporting young people to access work experience.

The department will continue to assess the effectiveness of this work and Careers Hubs more widely in facilitating work experience for young people.