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School-Employer Partnership Guidance

This document outlines the core principles and ambitions set out at the beginning of the DYW programme in 2015 and offers guidance for schools, employers, DYW Regional Groups and Local Authorities in brokering partnerships.

The guidance supports the development of meaningful and sustainable, partnerships between schools/education establishments and employers, building on good practice and existing links.

The guidance outlines key elements of the individual and joint contributions partners should make to establishing and supporting these partnerships.

A key element will be to promote equality and diversity in the workforce by helping to remove real and perceived barriers.

PDF file: School Employer Partnership Guidance (510 KB)

This guidance forms the basis for the following 3 documents.

Employer Partnerships in Education – A framework to support evaluation and improvement

Based on the work of the DYW Regional Employer Groups, this document supports education establishments and employers to have a shared understanding of the range of employer partnerships, to help take stock of progress, evaluate their impact and support improvement planning.

The ambition is that through formal partnership working, all young people will become better equipped with the skills, knowledge and experience they will need to prepare them for the world of work.

This framework recognises the need to encourage more partnerships at an influencing level to meet the needs of all learners.

PDF file: Employer Partnerships in Education – A framework to support evaluation and improvement (124 KB)

How to get the best employer engagement for the young people in your school – A Strategic Toolkit

This document helps schools develop their employer engagement offer. It is based on and references key school-employer partnership guidance documentation and frameworks.

Embedded in the strategic toolkit are the following:

1. Learning tools, outlining the wider context of employer engagement and how it can help schools support their young people

2. Reflection tools, which can help schools reflect on their current employer engagement offer and how it could be further enhanced

3. Development tools, providing tools for schools to develop their current employer engagement offer.

PDF file: How to get the best employer engagement for the young people in your school - A Strategic Toolkit (2.1 MB)

School Employer Partnership Framework

This resource provides an overview of the how employer partnerships can contribute effectively to career education in relation to the Career Education Standard 3-18, in particular at key transition stages.

The age and stage approach outlined in this Framework helps to identify what pupils should be achieving as part of their career education learning journey. These outcomes are aligned with:

• The Career Management Skills outcomes delivered through the curriculum and through engagement with a careers adviser
• The Career Education Standard (3-18) I Can statements and;
• Sets out how the different types of Employer partnerships and associated employer activities can deliver these outcomes

The Framework will assist with baselining current activities and exemplifying good practice. Future offers in Marketplace, the online digital platform for employer and education engagement, will also be aligned to this framework. 

PDF file: School Employer Partnership Framework (103 KB)

Improvement questions

• What type of education-employer partnerships do I currently have in place?
• How do I ensure that these partnerships are effective and sustainable?
• To what extent do the partnerships contribute to the curriculum design and delivery?
• How do I intend to develop or enhance existing education-employer partnerships?
• What impact have our partnerships had on learners?
• What areas are there for improving  our partnerships?
• How can employer engagement help young people make a successful transition from education to work?