Hard hat or graduation cap? That was the question Andy Burnham posed as he outlined his vision of technical and vocational qualifications for 14-year-olds. Trying to match local employers and future workers pre-GCSEs; trying to channel the flow of young people into non-university education as far upstream as possible. Laudable if doable, and the debate about the timescale and whether the lion’s share of delivering will fall on schools, UTCs or the under-funded FE network will rage on. At almost the same time as Burnham was posting videos with his hard hat on and his spanner in hand, along came new guidance from the DfE on the existing statutory requirements for schools and colleges to provide independent careers advice. These specify that this must be face-to-face with a qualified careers adviser. The DfE appears to be sending contradictory messages. On the one hand, back in the spring, the DfE put out to tender for continuing professional development (CPD) training for careers advisers in schools and colleges in England, following a policy to recruit 1,000 more staff. Clearly there is recognition that there is a gap in qualified professionals. But at the same time, the government announced its intention to replace the existing Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) and launch a new careers advice support service. Of course, with a new education secretary and occupant of Downing Street, we are waiting to see what will come of this apparent contradiction. Vital service But it all got me thinking about how vital and influential those career advisers can be, and if the new pathways and plans come to fruition, how much more important a well-funded and well-trained careers service will be. First, how can a single careers adviser possibly know about all careers and all pathways – especially now as we wait for details of the prime minister and education secretary’s plans? According to Alan Milburn, whose report on those not in education, employment or training (NEET) has been largely well received, if new career paths for technical and vocational courses are the new political focus, then careers advice needs urgent action. Milburn notes that access to high-quality careers advice remains “deeply unequal”, with only about one in three young people last year receiving face-to-face advice. One young woman quoted in the report said that the careers counsellor only wanted to talk about university pathways. Apprenticeships were discussed with just 18 per cent of students. Guidance is most lacking for those considering vocational pathways, including those at risk of being NEET. The Milburn report does have some good news. He notes the CEC’s success in improving employer-school connections and supporting progress on the Gatsby benchmarks, a framework of eight guidelines defining world-class career guidance for schools and colleges. “Over 90 per cent of schools now benchmark against the framework, meeting 5.8 of 8 benchmarks on average. Where schools achieve more benchmarks, NEET likelihood is reduced.” The CEC notes “the highest quality careers provision reduces the likelihood of young people being NEET by 8 per cent (post-16 and post-18), with double the impact for high free school meal (FSM) cohorts. Six opportunities “This is currently generating £300 million in annual fiscal savings through reduced NEET outcomes.” So far so good, I hear you say. And yet…. Under the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022, schools must meet their statutory duty to provide at least six opportunities for providers of technical education and apprenticeships to speak to all pupils in school years 8 to 13 about their education or training offer. So why, if there is a statutory requirement to provide the information on technical and other routes and to ensure it reaches all students, are we still hearing young people say they are being pushed towards an academic future? This is a particularly important question when there is a chronic skills shortage, particularly in construction, with an estimated 251,500 additional workers needed by 2028. Theoretically, these requirements should open up opportunities to learners from all backgrounds, empowering them to make informed decisions about the full range of academic and technical pathways. That’s surely the foundation to build on if the new Burnham vision is going to work? But let’s be honest, six visits potentially spread over six years is woefully inadequate to explore the vast range of opportunities out there that do not involve a university education. All candidates We also need to send the message that jobs and trades are open to all types of candidates. In my industry, commercial property and real estate, our stats aren’t fantastic. Ethnic minority professionals are 3.4 times less likely to secure a role than white applicants. Only 22 per cent of real estate employees come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, against 39 per cent nationally. LGBTQ+ representation sits below the national average. And disabled people make up only 3 per cent of the property sector workforce, despite around 18 per cent of the working-age population being disabled. One in four construction workers identify as neurodiverse, but do not necessarily have any accommodations made for their condition. In addition to the CEC, the government has been funding the National Careers Service, which is meant to provide free, impartial careers information via a website with web chat and a telephone helpline. This service is due to merge with Jobcentre Plus in England from October. With the future of the CEC in question and this merger, I have to ask whether this is a useful careers guidance service being quietly sidelined, making it even harder for those most in need to find help. As Burnham moves into Downing Street, he needs to think about how he can provide young people with much better resourced advice about theirs.