Careers guidance counsellors have been giving advice that is unfavourable, outdated dated and ill-informed, it has emerged.
The CTB research asked 800 teachers and careers guidance staff what they thought of the construction industry as a career; 35% believed that construction was an unattractive career option.
According to the report, Educating the Educators, cuts in schools’ careers guidance departments has led to a decline in the accuracy and relevance offered about careers in construction.
Mr Wates is calling on construction companies to seize the initiative themselves. “Our industry has to compete with many others for future talent,” he said. “That means that we must be in the thoughts and choices of pupils making decisions at school – not as they're about to leave or have already left.
“We can't leave this to existing careers advice because we need to reach teachers in order to reach pupils. Teachers need to be made aware of what training and careers construction has to offer their pupils in order to get our message across.”
The CITB has resources to help any employer willing to get involved in careers guidance in schools. For further details, contact Lorraine Gregory, lorraine.gregory@citb.co.uk
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