The transition from education to employment is becoming increasingly challenging, with more young people struggling to secure work or full-time education. Employers consistently seek workplace attitudes and aptitude, yet many young people find it difficult to define and demonstrate these qualities. The Skills Builder Universal Framework provides a structured approach to developing essential skills. By embedding these skills into careers education, we can better prepare learners for the workplace and bridge the gap between education and employment.

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In this webinar: 

This webinar provided another opportunity to 'Learn from Each Other,' featuring insights from speakers across the Skills Builder Partnership on how to effectively bridge essential skills and careers.

• Nial Sherrard, Assistant Headteacher at Upper Batley High School, explained how he had placed essential skills at the centre of the school’s careers offer, and shared top tips on achieving this.
• Becky Batty, Skills Builder’s Education Associate, shared her work on a project focused on workplace behaviours. She highlighted how essential skills can help build an enterprising mindset and showcased resources to support this.
• Sophie Holmes, Lead Associate for Skills Builder Employer Programmes, introduced resources from our Impact Directory, including work experience programmes, to help bridge essential skills and careers. She also shared top tips on working with employers to link essential skills to the world of work.
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Top tips for bridging essential skills and careers:

Place essential skills at the heart of your careers Programme:

• Dedicate time to explicitly teach and build essential skills—for example, through tutor time, focusing on one skill per half-term.
• Bridge curriculum and careers learning by embedding essential skills into curriculum plans and subject teaching.  This can help establish a common language of essential skills across the curriculum, reinforcing their importance in a variety of contexts.
• Use Careers Champions from each subject area to help ensure consistency and contribute ideas to your programme.
• Align essential skills with the Gatsby Benchmarks when planning careers provision to create a structured approach to skill development. Do this by identifying existing opportunities to integrate essential skills into your careers programme, such as employer encounters and work experience (see below)
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Build an enterprising mindset:

• Research has identified Problem Solving, Creativity, and Staying Positive as key components of an enterprising mindset.
• Develop these skills through explicit teaching using Short Lessons on the Skills Builder Hub, discussions about role models using Career Cards, and Short Lessons focused specifically on Creative Roles.
• Use extracurricular activities, such as our Careers Challenges, enterprise-themed Challenge Days, and Extended Projects to provide hands-on business and enterprise experiences that bring essential skills to life.
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Work with employers to bridge the skills gap:

• When inviting employers into schools for events such as talks, mock interviews, and careers fairs, encourage them to use the language of essential skills in their delivery.
• Ask employers to share how they develop essential skills and what opportunities they offer to support young people.
• Access accredited self-serve resources from employers, aligned with the Universal Framework, in our Impact Directory. Examples include SSE’s Power Changers, McDonald’s Taste for Work, and ICAEW’s Rise.
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Bring essential skills to life through work experience:

Work experience provides an invaluable opportunity for learners to apply and reflect on their skills in real-world settings.

• Use a structured support journal for learners and employers to record instances where essential skills have been applied in workplace scenarios. This can serve as evidence for future applications and interviews.
•  The Impact Directory offers accredited placement opportunities aligned with the Universal Framework from employers such as KX Recruit, A&O Shearman, and Amey.
• If in-person work experience is not possible, virtual opportunities are also available on the Impact Directory. Virtual Work Experience Modules are also available on the Skills Builder Hub, which provide a great way of linking workplace settings with essential skills development.

Bridging essential skills and careers education is key to helping young people transition into the workplace with confidence; ensuring that learners are career-ready and equipped to succeed in an ever-changing job market.

Find more resources and top tips on integrating essential skills into careers education in the webinar recording below.

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