Check against delivery. First delivered to a rountable event hosted by Jisc in March 2025.
My Journey with Careers Education
- My maiden speech in Parliament in 2010 as MP for Harlow centered on careers guidance and skills development
- I spoke passionately about how too many young people were being pushed toward university as the only path to success
- I emphasized the critical need for comprehensive careers advice that presents all options - academic and vocational - equally
- Throughout my parliamentary career, I've championed the cause of skills education and technical training
- I pushed through the Baker clauses on careers advice in the Commons after extensive debate and cross-party collaboration
- As Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, I implemented substantial reforms to prioritize careers education in schools
- These reforms included mandatory career strategies for schools and increased resources for careers advisors
- I've consistently argued that we're failing young people if we don't expose them to the full range of career possibilities
Progress Made
- We have witnessed significant positive changes in the careers landscape over the past decade
- The Baker clause now requires schools to allow training providers and colleges to speak to pupils about technical education
- The Apprenticeships and Skills Network has expanded dramatically, now reaching thousands of schools nationwide
- The Gatsby Benchmarks have transformed how schools approach careers guidance, providing a clear framework for excellence
- The Careers and Enterprise Company has made substantial inroads, connecting schools with employers and creating meaningful work experiences
- Career hubs have been established across the country, serving as centers of excellence and support
- Digital career platforms have begun to modernize how young people access information
- Employer engagement in schools has increased significantly, with more businesses participating in career events
Current Challenges
- Despite progress, the glass remains half full - we have a considerable journey ahead
- Data from the Office for National Statistics shows concerning trends in youth unemployment
- The latest figures show unemployment among 16-24 year olds at 11.1% - significantly higher than the national average
- Recent research reveals that 43% of Generation Z report receiving no formal career advice
- There persists a deeply embedded cultural bias favoring traditional academic routes
- University attendance is still viewed as the primary marker of success by many parents, teachers, and students
- Russell Group universities are disproportionately represented in school guidance materials
- Technical education and apprenticeships continue to battle against outdated perceptions
- Government welfare reforms have highlighted the alarming number of NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training)
- The ONS Labour Market Overview identified 929,000 job vacancies, with 214,000 classified as skills-shortage vacancies
- This paradox of high vacancies alongside high youth unemployment points to fundamental failures in our careers system
The Importance of Careers Guidance
- Quality careers guidance isn't a luxury – it's a necessity in today's complex job market
- Careers advice serves as the first rung on the ladder of opportunity for millions of young people
- It functions as the essential gateway to developing relevant, in-demand skills
- Poor careers guidance perpetuates inequality and limits social mobility
- The cost of inadequate careers advice is measured not just in individual disappointment but in billions of pounds to our economy
- The skills gap costs UK businesses an estimated £6.3 billion annually, according to the Open University Business Barometer
- Without a dramatic transformation in our approach, we risk another generation missing vital opportunities
Three Key Benefits of Metaverse Learning Immersive Careers Guidance
1. 21st Century Relevance
- Brings careers advice firmly into the 21st Century and beyond
- Interacts with young people and adults using the digital interfaces they're already comfortable with.
- The metaverse approach aligns perfectly with how today's digital natives consume and process information
- Employs gamification elements that increase engagement and motivation
- Provides visual and interactive representations of careers that text alone cannot convey
- Allows users to virtually "try on" different careers through simulations
- Creates emotional connections to potential career paths through storytelling and immersion
- Speaks the digital language of Generation Z and Alpha, who have grown up in an interactive world
- Continuously updates to reflect the rapidly changing job market, unlike static printed materials
2. Universal Accessibility
- Makes careers guidance accessible like the old Martini advert - "anytime, anywhere, any place"
- Can be accessed from multiple devices - tablets, VR headsets, or affordable £250 Chromebooks
- Eliminates geographical barriers that have traditionally limited access to quality careers advice
- Provides 24/7 availability, accommodating different schedules and learning preferences
- Scales effectively to serve millions of users simultaneously without degradation of experience
- Offers personalized pathways based on individual interests, abilities, and aspirations
- Accommodates different learning styles through multiple formats (visual, auditory, interactive)
- Includes accessibility features for users with disabilities, ensuring truly universal access
3. Democratisation of Opportunity
- ACCESSIBLE to all, ensuring equal opportunity regardless of postcode or background
- Democratizes careers guidance so the most disadvantaged can benefit from the same quality of information
- No longer will careers advice depend on the lottery of place, school quality, or parental privilege
- Provides impartial guidance unburdened from institutional biases or limited local employment options
- Elevates skills and technical routes to have genuine parity of esteem with academic disciplines
- Challenges the outdated hierarchy that places traditional university above apprenticeships and technical education
- Adults already in the job market will have the equivalent of an "Open University of Careers Advice" at their fingertips
- Creates a level playing field where opportunity is determined by interest and aptitude, not circumstance
- Directly addresses the information asymmetry that has perpetuated inequality in our education system
Evidence-Based Benefits of Immersive Learning
1. Superior Engagement and Focus
- According to PwC's comprehensive 2020 study on VR effectiveness, VR learners were four times more focused than e-learning students
- The same study found VR learners were 3.75 times more emotionally connected to content than classroom learners
- Jisc's 2022 Report on Immersive Learning found that 80% of UK educational institutions reported improved student engagement with immersive technologies
- This increased engagement is crucial for careers guidance, where maintaining interest can be challenging
2. Enhanced Retention and Learning Outcomes
- Research published in IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies (2022) found immersive learning environments increased information retention by 35-65%, depending on subject area
- A meta-analysis in the Journal of Educational Technology Systems (2023) showed immersive VR improved learning outcomes by 30% compared to traditional methods
- PwC's study demonstrated that VR learners completed training four times faster than classroom training
- These benefits are particularly pronounced in spatial understanding, procedural learning, and decision-making - all critical for career exploration
3. Improved Confidence and Decision-Making
- PwC found VR learners were 275% more confident in applying skills learned after training
- Students using VR for career exploration reported 45% greater clarity in career decision-making (IEEE Transactions, 2022)
- This confidence boost is especially valuable in careers guidance, where uncertainty and anxiety often hinder progress
4. Accessibility and Inclusion
- Jisc's 2022 report found 73% of institutions reported improved accessibility for diverse learners through immersive technologies
5. Future Workforce Preparation
- The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report (2023) cites immersive technologies as key tools for reskilling the workforce
- Companies adopting immersive training reported 40% faster onboarding times
- These technologies prepare learners for a workforce increasingly reliant on digital skills and adaptability
The MetaPathways Platform
- The MetaPathways platform exemplifies the potential of immersive learning for careers guidance, built on these evidence-based benefits
- It operates as a not-for-profit initiative, with every penny directed toward development and maintenance
- Rather than replacing existing tools, it interfaces with and enhances them
- The platform's highly visual nature caters to modern preferences for graphical information
- It's designed to be age-agnostic, serving users from 8 to 80 effectively
- Facilitates peer-to-peer learning and includes profiling elements for personalized pathway creation
- Serves as a powerful sector attraction piece for areas facing critical skills shortages
- Phase 1 focuses on creating a career hub for key shortage areas: healthcare, green skills, and manufacturing
- Users can create profiles, explore options, view cityscape visualizations of career paths, and take virtual tours
Conclusion
- The research is clear - immersive learning represents a significant advancement in how we deliver educational content, particularly for careers guidance
- The MetaPathways platform applies these evidence-based advantages to address our critical skills gaps
- This initiative represents precisely the kind of innovation we need to bridge the employment paradox
- We have a responsibility to embrace these new approaches to serve all learners better
- Immersive careers guidance can help us build a more skilled, more adaptable, and more prosperous workforce
- This is not just about economic benefit but about social justice and equal opportunity
- Together, we can create a careers revolution that ensures no talent goes to waste
