The LLEP Careers Hub has been praised by careers leaders in a report setting out its impact – with value placed on the Hub’s practical approach to supporting local schools and colleges.
The Careers Hub, which is part of the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP), was established in 2018 with 20 trailblazer schools and colleges. It now works with all of the 91 secondary schools and colleges in its city and county.
The LLEP commissioned an independent report from Little Lions Research to coincide with the Hub’s third anniversary and research progress and impact made in careers provision at the original group of 20 schools.
It has now concluded that the Hub is valued by partners and stakeholders for its joined-up approach, providing strategic direction to local schools and colleges, and providing help with funding and peer networks.
Careers leaders were also positive about insights provided by the Hub into the local labour market, as it enabled them to design programmes relevant to the local economy.
Data shows that the LLEP Careers Hub was ahead of national averages in five of eight performance benchmarks when research was conducted at the start of the year.
There have been particular gains made in publishing careers programmes on school websites, involving governors in careers, and giving pupils meaningful encounters with FE colleges.
But the report notes that challenges remain, with four in five careers leaders reporting that they continued to face at least one barrier to further progress.
The three biggest challenges cited were lack of staff time, lack of funds and difficulties in tracking activities.
Andy Reed OBE, interim chair of the LLEP Board, said: “The report is really encouraging and shows the positive impact that strategic planning of careers resources is having in schools and colleges across our region.
“We know that there is more to be done and that the disruption of the Pandemic forced changes. However, it’s great to read about the value our careers leaders are placing on the Careers Hub’s offer.
“The Careers Hub is spearheading a joined-up approach, offering support with funding, and providing young people and careers leaders with genuinely useful information about the local labour market.”
Enterprise Advisers (EAs) are one of the ways that the Careers Hub is helping shape how schools and colleges embed practical labour market information and opportunities into their careers programmes.
EAs are industry volunteers who go into schools to offer the benefit of their first-hand experience of what industry really needs.
The report notes that 79% of careers leaders surveyed found the support and advice provided by local EAs to be useful and the LLEP is currently recruiting 10 more business representatives to act as volunteer EAs.
Gerarde Manley, LLEP Careers Hub manager, said: “Commissioning an independent report has been a really useful exercise in tracking gains made in our original cohort as the Careers Hub has grown from 20 to 91 of our schools and colleges.
“The report contains several recommendations for making further progress and these have been mapped to our strategic plan through to March 2023 and beyond.
“As a Careers Hub, we will continue to build capacity and listen to stakeholder feedback as we play our part in delivering the LLEP’s strategic priority of making Leicester and Leicestershire more inclusive for all.”
