In this guest post from Lewis Clark he asks careers professionals and teachers working in secondary schools in England to participate in his research project about the future of work. Lewis is undertaking a PhD at the International Centre for Guidance Studies where he is examining how career education and guidance can meaningfully address the future of work.
The future of work is a complex concept consisting of many interconnected trends such as automation, climate change and Covid-19 that are likely to shape and disrupt the future labour market. For young people in particular, this presents a number of uncertainties that they will have to prepare for and navigate when entering the labour market. It is therefore very important that careers professionals understand the potential challenges young people may face and help to prepare them for their life beyond education.
My research will explore three important issues. Firstly, it will explore how careers professionals understand and interpret information about the future of work. As you will know, there are masses of articles and literature published on the future of work every week, so making sense of this can be difficult.
Secondly, it will explore where careers professionals locate information about the future of work to inform their overall knowledge. I am particularly interested in understanding whether there are specific information sources that are commonly accessed by careers professionals or if this is broader.
Lastly, my research will explore how careers professionals knowledge and understanding of the future of work informs their practice. Here, I am interested in learning specifically about what activities are commonly undertaken in schools to engage with young people about this issue and what additional support careers professionals need to improve this practice.
As part of my research, I would like to survey careers professionals who currently work in secondary schools in England to explore the issues above. If you are interested in this topic and would like to participate in the research, then please click the survey link below. It should only take around 10 minutes to complete and all data will be anonymous. Your response will be greatly appreciated!
The survey is open until Monday 6th December.
Complete the survey at https://shusls.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8fcgb4cau6kMUjs
Adventures in Career Development 