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43 C A R E E R S teachwire.net/secondary ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jim Burton is CEO of the edtech and careers guidance technology provider Careers Advisory Service Computer Aid (CASCAid); for more information, visit cascaid.co.uk or follow @cascaid teachers are under immense time constraints, and that many are struggling to meet the continually increasing demands of the education system. Technology has driven limitless efficiencies in all other aspects of our lives, and I believe it should be leveraged to support careers education and planning. This is the only solution to the challenge of adequately preparing young people for their successful futures in the world of work. Better management of administrative tasks, opportunities to deliver highly personalised career skills and work experience at scale and the means to access turnkey lessons – all become possible society today. It’s almost inevitable that interests and abilities will change and mature. Being able to recognise and react to this is both braver and more beneficial in the long term than sticking to Plan A for Plan A’s sake. So I return to the original question: is it impossible to balance delivering careers education at scale with a truly personalised approach? My short answer is no – yet if it were really that simple, then surely we’d have achieved it already. What I hope I’ve triggered with my more detailed response is curiosity. I hope you are inspired to look at the incredible amount of information that we have at our fingertips and see that by leveraging technology as a means to make sense of that information, we stand a better chance of delivering highly personalised careers education at scale. This is about so much more than the systematic passing of information from educator to student. It’s about empowering and engaging students, igniting their curiosity. Technology offers a clear solution to the challenge of providing students with up-to-date information on skills and careers in a continually changing landscape. We now need to consider how we can support schools and educators in engaging with and implementing this critical technology for the benefit of students, yes, but also for society as a whole. When we do so, I don’t doubt that we’ll succeed in meeting the challenge posed. THE GATSBY CAREER BENCHMARKS Originally identified by emeritus professor of chemistry, senior education advisor and former headteacher Sir John Holman, the eight Gatsby Careers Benchmarks are intended to serve as a framework for efforts at improving careers provision within schools. 1. A stable careers programme 2. Learning from career and labour market information 3. Addressing the needs of each pupil 4. Linking curriculum learning to careers 5. Encounters with employers and employees 6. Experiences of workplaces 7. Encounters with further and higher education 8. Personal guidance “Wemust abandon the notion that careers education is a bolt-on to themain curriculum.” through appropriate use of technology. We must encourage educators to embrace this and employ it to positive effect in their delivery of careers guidance. BEYOND PLAN A The final core principle is a commitment to agility and flexibility. The world of work is forever evolving, and the way in which we prepare today’s young people must be similarly agile. This will ensure that we empower each and every student to be ready to adapt and change direction. Assuming that students will pursue a single career pathway is no longer realistic, nor does it reflect