In September 2021, OxLEP Skills received funding from the Careers & Enterprise Company to run a Hub Incubation Project called ‘Find Their Future Oxfordshire’. The project aims to answer the question ‘Will teachers’ increased knowledge of the Oxfordshire local labour market and engagement with employers lead to improved outcomes for young people?’
The project will give teachers of Year 8 students the opportunity to immerse themselves in the local labour market through interaction with a range of employers via workplace visits, webinars and virtual employer panel sessions. The aim is for the knowledge and understanding the teachers gain about the opportunities available in Oxfordshire to be carried forward into their teaching, to inform and inspire their students’ and help them understand the relevance of the subject with regards to their next steps.
As Oxfordshire businesses need a strong STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and maths) talent pipeline, the project’s intended outcomes are:
- to enhance the STEAM areas of the curriculum through teachers becoming more passionate, confident, and knowledgeable about real-life examples of the use of their subjects and discussing diverse labour market opportunities in their teaching
- to enhancing positive outcomes for students that maximise their potential career and education success by providing them with more in depth and contextualised knowledge of the local labour market
- to provide employers with opportunity to strengthen their potential talent pipelines by giving valuable input into students’ careers education
Teachers from 11 secondary schools are taking part in the project, which has been supported to date by 17 employers from a range of STEAM sectors, including Reaction Engines, Oxford Biomedica and Catapult.
The project has so far seen the teachers take part in a site visit to Harwell Science and Innovation Campus (pictured above), where they were given guided tours of Diamond Light Source and the Science and Facilities Technology Council. They have also attended virtual employer panels, with organisations such as the NHS, EKFB and Rebellion informing them about their businesses, sector and pathways and progression routes.
Further activities are planned for 2022, including support for teachers to work directly with employers to create resource and activities to bring the curriculum to life for students during their time in Year 8.
