Posted 21 March 2025

Go Higher West Yorkshire (GHWY) Uni Connect (UC) welcomes the West Yorkshire All-Age Careers Blueprint.  

The document lays out the ambitious strategic vision of West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) to develop an ‘all-ages careers service’. This closely aligns with our aims to reduce inequalities in Higher Education (HE) access, with a key aspect of our work being to support learners aged 11 upwards to make informed career and education choices.  

In this blog we consider the opportunities and challenges faced by underrepresented learners in HE in relation to careers provision in the region, our achievements in this area, and how the Blueprint may address these. 

Person-centred careers support 

GHWY delivers the UC Programme and works in 16 schools and colleges in the region. We engage with learners who are underrepresented in HE due to factors such as the area they live in, their ethnic group, their gender, Free School Meals eligibility, they are disabled or are care-experienced. We develop outreach projects based on research and knowledge of our learners. 

The Blueprint outlines how vital the person-centred approach is when it quotes Careers and Enterprise Company research: “For young people, research shows that high-quality career advice increases chances of securing sustained education, employment, or training outcomes by a third among the most disadvantaged schools.”

This same research underpinned our Enhanced Careers Guidance and HE Careers Coaching projects in 2022-24 in our partner schools and colleges. These projects aimed to develop underrepresented learners’ locus of control and self-efficacy through providing additional reflective careers appointments with qualified careers professionals in our region such as C+K Careers, Skills House, Connexions, Prospects and Shaw Trust. Initial analysis shows taking part in these activities had a positive impact and this will be explored further in upcoming impact reports.  

We welcome the person-centred focus in the Blueprint and hope it gives scope to develop further more projects such as these. 

Our context and priority actions 

We know that school and college-aged learners in our region have lower than national Level 2 and 3 achievement, (DfE data, 2022-23), a lower progression to apprenticeships than before the pandemic (DfE data, 2022-23) and a slightly lower progression to HE than the national average. Some of our local authorities are experiencing a NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) crisis. Therefore, the priorities outlined in the All-Age Careers Blueprint will begin to address some of these issues.

Priority action 1. Focus on transitions and seamless support 

Joining up services such as the National Careers Service and Jobcentre Plus will help, and WYCA is seeking partnerships. We have a place in this to broker relationships and advocate for HE pathways with our strategic remit to signpost in the region using our website and networks. Activity to support learners at key transitions, such as between school and post-16, will reduce the number of NEETs by helping learners to make informed choices. 

Priority action 2. Linking local economy with career guidance

By embedding up to date labour market information in career guidance, learners will be able to make better-informed choices for their future. We promote the full range of HE pathways including degree and higher level apprenticeships, such as the Go Higher in Apprenticeships resource. We provide experiential, employer led collaborative taster days in partnership with WYCA, Go Higher In… events, themed around key growth areas with employers and HE represented. The most recent GHWY Impact report corroborates that: “Learners had improved knowledge of specific industries after taking part in a Collaborative Taster Day [the former name of our Go Higher In… events].”

Priority action 3. Focus on quality 

WYCA is adopting the skills builder framework, as explicitly evidencing essential skills helps individuals to identify and develop skills necessary throughout their lifetime. We have developed our evaluation outcomes framework in relation to the knowledge, skills and experience that will impact the ability of learners underrepresented in HE to progress to HE. This enables us to build clearly defined programmes that will help support our learners to develop essential skills for their future in relation to careers. 

Priority action 4. Use data better 

Data is our friend. It can be used to target those at risk of NEET, for example, or those who are less likely to achieve the GCSE results they need. We use data to target learners, so support this ambition. An example is the ‘Think and Go Higher’ Attainment Raising programme, which is targeted at learners who need additional support to achieve their GCSEs. It supports learners to develop metacognitive skills. Our recent Think and Go Higher Report demonstrates that the outcomes of the programme can improve progression. 

Conclusion 

We look forward to hearing what the next steps are for the all-age career service. We hope future proposals will also focus on developing higher level skills, the transformative effect of higher education, and strive for our West Yorkshire population to Go Higher. 

 

Jenny Scannell, GHWY Project Manager and Officer