§ 7. Mr. Marlowasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he intends to introduce any new proposals to improve the provision of careers advice in schools; and whether he proposes to make any changes in the training of teachers designated to have responsibility for careers advice.
§ Dr. BoysonMy Department has already drawn attention to the need to improve the careers advice given in schools, and will continue to do so. There is a variety of in-service training courses to help teachers in this area of their work, and we have no immediate plans for changes in these arrangements.
§ Mr. MarlowDoes my hon. Friend agree that with the present difficult position for youngsters contemplating leaving school, careers advice is very important, and that the Government should deploy all the resources and skills at their disposal to ensure that the best service is provided?
§ Dr. BoysonI agree with my hon. Friend. During the past three years the number of teachers on one-year full-time or equivalent part-time courses in careers training has doubled. It is important that all teachers are aware of the position outside schools. They will give better advice if they have experience of life in industry.
§ Mr. FlanneryDoes the Minister agree that although we want better careers advice, with more teachers undertaking in-service training—which requires additional financial provision—at the end of the day the Conservative Government have created a situation in which almost all youngsters are thrown on the scrap heap?
§ Dr. BoysonI am sure that no hon. Member wants large-scale juvenile unemployment. Unemployment in Britain began to rise under the Labour Government, and it has also risen throughout Western Europe. Until Britain manufactures goods at the right price and quality that people want to buy, there will always be unemployment.
§ Mr. HaselhurstWould not the task of giving careers guidance to youngsters at school, and guiding them over the bridge from school to work, be best given exclusively to a reconstituted careers service?
§ Dr. BoysonMy hon. Friend's point is interesting. Careers services provided outside schools are not under the control of my Department, but careers teachers in schools are under its control. It is important to link all aspects. It is also important to create the right atmosphere inside schools, for example, by showing films on different careers. Children should grow up realising that they must prepare for an outside world
§ Mr. FosterDoes the Minister realise that the amount of time that careers officers now devote to advising on the youth opportunities programme means that they must substantially reduce the amount of time that they spend in schools? There is no value in the Department issuing guidelines to head teachers and careers teachers when they are receiving such a poor service from careers officers.
§ Dr. BoysonI take that point. I made inquiries about this matter this morning. The number of pupils and students interviewed in the year to September 1981 was higher than in the previous year.