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New report demonstrates impact of employer engagement on student outcomes

A report released this week by the Education and Employers charity shows that students who learn about the world of work through direct contact with employers are more motivated to achieve better grades at school – findings which correlate directly with the work we are already carrying out with schools and businesses here in the North East.

The findings of this report measured the impact of secondary pupils having talks, meetings and careers sessions with employers and found that students were more motivated when they had contact with people who work in different industries, with previously low achieving pupils in particular seeing an increase in motivation and time spent revising for GCSEs.

These findings are of significant interest to us here at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) as we have seen evidence of this positive impact on young people here in the North East through our Education Challenge programme, which aims to raise attainment in our schools by integrating an understanding of the world of work and career opportunities into the curriculum.

The North East LEP Skills team is working to bring schools and employers together to give young people the opportunity to learn about the range of career and education options open to them once they leave school, direct from employers, educators, and people who work in a range of industries. We know that these encounters with employers help young people to raise their aspirations and develop skills that employers are looking for. Pupils, parents, teachers and employers have all told us that this method of direct contact with the world of work helps to open young people’s eyes to the variety of opportunities open to them.

We want each and every young person in our region to have the best possible start to their working life and it’s reassuring to see that this new research fully supports the approach we are taking here in the North East to improving outcomes for young people and helping them to see the relevance of what they study in the classroom to their future lives.

Neil Willis, Regional Project Lead: Education Challenge, North East Local Enterprise Partnership.