Business and education need stronger relationships

Sitting quietly in the back row while students and teachers from Bathgate Academy chatted with business leaders, some of these obstacles clearly jumped out to me.

But probably the most fundamental issue is communication—schools and businesses are either speaking a different language or not communicating at all.

As fundamental as the communication breakdown might be, however, many of the problems it creates seem solvable by doing exactly what happened at Bathgate this week: putting businesses, teachers, and young people in a room and letting them explain their situations, challenges, and ambitions to each other.

David Reid, co-founder of Powering Futures, sits in discussion with S6 pupil Hannah Sloan and Georgina Scott about how businesses can better support students. (Image: © Stewart Attwood Photography 2024)

The roundtable was organised by Powering Futures, a group that facilitates relationships between business and education to prepare future generations of sustainable workers.

I have seen this approach work to great effect in parts of the US, where close relationships between local industries and the school system create a sense that students are already part of the local economy at a very young age.

Despite the boom in remote communications technology spawned during the pandemic, there is still no replacement for face-to-face communication.

At least, that's what Bathgate S6 Vyaan Dhokia told me when he was reflecting on the roundtable discussion. He left the conversation with a better understanding of careers which he didn't know existed that morning, and he said that he would never have felt as engaged if he'd read all of the same information off a company website or tuned into a webinar.

And ultimately, he thinks that more of this can help his peers broaden their horizons.

"There's a kind of mindset kids have that nothing is guaranteed anymore. There's this linear route from school to university to a job. 

"But what job? How can I benefit, and how can I be a benefit?"

"What job?" was a recurring theme of the day's conversations. The business partners on the Powering Futures panel circled back repeatedly to questions with the same foundation.

Vyaan Dhokia said that he feels the post-Covid world has made it hard to have the kinds of interactions that are most helpful to him and his peers. (Image: © Stewart Attwood Photography 2024)

How to introduce young people to the variety of jobs on offer in a seemingly niche industry such as forestry? How to convince young people that having an interest in computer science could lead to careers they have never heard of?

As business partners and Powering Futures representatives worked with students and staff throughout the afternoon, I overheard two conversations that illustrated not only how much ground there is to cover in closing the communication breakdown, but also showed how more interpersonal engagement can tackle the problem effectively.

During the roundtable, Powering Futures co-founder David Reid asked the students on the panel a straightforward question: "Would you like a career in energy transition?"

Silence.

"I think I'd probably like to know more about it first," Hannah Sloan said.

Mr Reid turned to Vyaan and asked what he knew about the industry or what came to mind when he heard the name.

Unsurprisingly, Vyaan associated science with the industry. If that were the extent of it, then it would mean that one of the most promoted and seemingly important developing careers is effectively closed to young people without an interest in science. 

But, as Mr Reid explained, that's not the case and far from it. The energy sector employs and is in many ways held up by a range of careers: from workers on building and digging crews, to communications specialists, to the scientists, engineers and technicians that sprang to Vyaan's mind.

Bathgate Academy headteacher Eileen Paxton, left, Amanda McRorie, and Joanne Melarkey from AECOM discussed how businesses and schools can better collaborate. (Image: © Stewart Attwood Photography 2024)

Many students don't know these details, or feel like they know the right people to ask, or aren't even quite sure exactly what to ask in some cases.

A separate conversation illustrated that last point. During a smaller discussion, a group of S6's outlined some of the obstacles they see along their career paths. Eryn said that she sometimes feels some careers, especially in STEM, aren't fully open to women. 

Although she doesn't think that gender imbalances have deterred her so far, she mentioned a reluctance to register for a course when she knows she might be the only girl in the room.

Another student said that lots of classmates are interested in becoming plumbers, but don't really have a sense of how wide-ranging that career can be.

"There's more than one kind of plumber," she said, before realising that varieties weren't exactly springing to mind. But I can't rattle off the varieties, either, not without asking someone in the field.

So young people clearly know that careers aren't as limited – or limiting – as they might seem. But knowing there's more isn't enough, and they can't be expected to have the details without help.

Bridging that gap is a central problem for businesses, and they rely heavily on school partners to do so. But schools have their own challenges: how to prioritise skills learning and career awareness in an exam-heavy system that pushes qualifications above all else.

As one teacher put it: "Children come out with all of these qualifications, but the meta skills are missing.

"And that's what employers are looking for.

She said programmes like those set up by Powering Futures are bridging the gap by connecting students directly to business partners and specific skillsets and career paths. 

This is crucial, she said, because ultimately, employers will decide whether young people have the right skills for their chosen careers.

"We can have all the academic qualifications, but if children can't come across like what organisations are looking for, and they can't come across as a well-rounded person, then we're not setting them up for the future."