Foreword

This review focuses on the design, delivery and impact of teenage career development in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It explores how effectively, efficiently and equitably schools in the state are preparing young people for their early working lives. It does so through a detailed study of provision in the state and by drawing on new data from current and former students within the system, allowing comparisons with international practice and the best available international evidence on how guidance can be expected to enhance the employment outcomes of young people.

There are strong reasons for governments to look afresh at the ways in which they prepare young people for their working lives. Across the globe, students are staying in education longer than ever before, entering the labour market more highly qualified than previous generations. However, in many countries such ostensive increases in the accumulation of human capital are not automatically translating into better economic prospects for young people, nor systematically addressing long-standing skills shortages. Within education systems, it is the role of career guidance systems to help young people make good decisions about their investment in learning and to develop skills, experience and networks which enable good transitions. With labour markets undergoing radical change in light of automation, digitisation and the response to climate change and with post-secondary education and training becoming more marketized in many countries, the need for effective guidance grows.

For a long time, policy in this field has been hindered by lack of evidence on the long-term impact of different career guidance measures. In spite of its importance as a policy tool, longitudinal evaluations of career guidance systems have been limited, hampering capacity for comparisons between jurisdictions. This challenge has been recently addressed through new analysis undertaken by the OECD which draws on longitudinal data from multiple countries, including the United States, to evidence the ways in which particular aspects of teenage career development can be positively associated with better employment outcomes through statistical analysis. Evidence shows that students can commonly expect long-term employment benefits linked to particular ways in which they explore, experience and think about their potential futures in work. Such analysis identifies activities and attitudes which serve as predictors of better outcomes. OECD PISA data subsequently provides a means of comparing systems in terms of how successful they are in helping students to engage in forms of career development which can most confidently be associated with better starts to working life. Such new evidence allows governments to adopt more strategic approaches in supporting young people through their schooling and transitions out of secondary education into ultimate employment.

These developments provide an important context for this first OECD review of career readiness. It is fortunate to have been undertaken in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state which strongly acknowledges the importance of career readiness and which works in partnership to put in place programmes that prompt students to reflect on their career progression and to develop skills and experience relevant to the working world. The OECD review team was impressed by the commitment of stakeholders across the state in ensuring that a strong system of career preparation is in place for young Virginians. This review highlights practice which will be relevant to other US states and more widely. Opportunity now exists for educational jurisdictions to build upon Virginia’s example to strategically learn from one another. As further jurisdictions engage in review processes, it is possible to look forward with confidence to a time when career guidance systems, based on the best available international evidence, will provide all young people with the knowledge and resources that they require to plan effectively and confidently for their working lives.