Social Mobility: Careers Education

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the role of careers education in improving social mobility.

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Lewell, and I thank the Backbench Business Committee for providing time for this debate. The term “social mobility” is used widely and in many contexts, but it is worth setting out what it means. The Social Mobility Commission defines it as

“the link between a person’s occupation or income and the occupation or income of their parents.”

Where there is a strong link, there is a lower level of social mobility; where there is a weak link, there is a higher level.

For a long time, the focus often centred on moving a select few from the bottom to the top, but there is now a move from a one-size-fits-all model to a broader view of distinct kinds of social mobility, sometimes over shorter distances for a greater number of people. That means not only focusing on, for example, those with the top grades getting into elite universities and then moving to London to work for a top accountancy or law firm, but celebrating the children of parents who were long-term unemployed growing up and getting jobs in their local area.

Such short-range mobility is equally important and should be encouraged, which is why the time is right for a renewed conversation about the role that careers education can play. Over time, we have developed a framework of careers education in our classrooms, but the framework is there to be challenged and improved on, and I look forward to debating it further today.

A report released towards the end of 2024 by the Office for National Statistics showed that around 872,000 young people aged between 16 and 24—about 12% of them—were not in education, employment or training. In many cases, that is not because young people are not willing or do not want to work, but because they perhaps lack the opportunities or support to pursue it. Evidence shows that the earlier the intervention we can make in a young person’s life, the greater chance their chance of succeeding.

Students who are on free school meals are less likely to move into work, education or an apprenticeship when compared with their peers. Part of the reason for that is unequal access to the information and guidance that enable young people to develop their ambitions and make informed choices in relation to their studies. Those from lower social and economic backgrounds are less likely to feel career ready, less confident talking about their skills in job applications and do not always have the support at home and elsewhere to make crucial and important decisions about their own futures.

Crucial skills for job applications—which are too often not talked about, but make a significant difference—include effective communication, problem solving, the ability to plan and adapt, leadership and effective teamwork. These skills, sometimes referred to as soft skills, are often taken for granted, but the reality on the ground tells us a much different story. A National Foundation for Educational Research study found that by 2035 up to 7 million workers may lack the essential skills they need to do their jobs.

Almost 90% of the 2.2 million new jobs that are expected to be created between 2020 and 2035 are set to be in the professional sector. We need to send school leavers out with the mindset that these skills are just as important as their technical or academic qualifications, and just as crucial when it comes to progression in their chosen profession. It is therefore vital that when it comes to careers education, we seek to ensure that soft skills education becomes common practice in educational institutions and other environments across the UK. As suggested by the Skills Builder Partnership, we could look to achieve that by adopting a common language for essential skills and introducing a national standardised framework for teaching and assessing them, starting at a younger age and with clear milestones. We want all our young people to have ambition in abundance, but ambition is too often frustrated not by talent or ability but by a postcode or someone’s background.

When we think of careers education, including our own experiences, we are probably more likely to remember it as being part of our secondary or further education, but it is increasingly clear that attitudes towards ambition and achievement are often set much earlier—at primary-school age or sometimes before. Evidence also tells us that children begin to form ideas about their futures when they are as young as five or six. By the age of 10, many young people have already made career-limiting decisions, which can be set in stone by the age of 14.

When asked as part of the covid, social mobility and opportunities survey, 16 and 17-year-olds from low-income or “never worked” households were more likely to agree that people like them do not have much of a chance in life, particularly when their household net income was £19,000 or less. The Social Mobility Foundation found that parents and their social networks are the key source of careers advice for 76% of young people. As it rightly said, such reliance on parental support risks replicating existing networks and employment structures. The parents and their individual networks are more likely to have sector knowledge, therefore making parent-child career replication far more likely.

The issue is further compounded by geography. Rural areas are less likely to have the same diversity of employers and sectors as cities, reducing opportunity and crucial interactions that can have an incredible impact in broadening horizons.

One part of the solution can be found in Wales, where careers and work-related experiences—known as CWRE—cut across the curriculum for students from the age of three up to 18. The aim is to ensure that, from the offset, children develop the attitudes and behaviours that support them in overcoming barriers related to employability. The Rofft primary school in Wrexham reported that it supported the development of children’s self-growth, confidence and employability skills, as well as authentic, purposeful, world-of-work experiences.

It is very welcome that in their “Get Britain Working” White Paper the Government have set out a vision for a youth guarantee that includes an entitlement to two weeks, or 15 hours, of work experience for all school and college students. However, we must ensure that with quantity comes quality, and that work experience is both worth while and impactful for every young person’s prospects. One way to ensure that could be through a national platform for work experience that enables virtual opportunities, and allows schools to select opportunities that fit the needs of their pupils, removing a large part of the administrative burden that can so often emerge.

Funding is, of course, also crucial. When asked, almost half of schoolteachers in the state sector said they wished to see more resource and funding allocated to careers guidance in schools. Notably, there was recognition of the need for remuneration for those who work as career leaders, to give them more time to focus on that work. Private schools are estimated to invest up to four times more in careers education than the state sector. If we do not act and take practical steps to close that gap, we risk further educational divides and entrenching low social mobility outcomes.

I have spoken about work experience in the school years, but it is also important to look at what it can offer to young people for whom, for whatever reason, education may not have worked, or who have fallen through gaps. WeMindTheGap, which is based in Wrexham, works with people aged between 16 and 25 in north-east Wales and north-west England. Known as “gappies”, those taking part engage in an 18-month fully-funded programme that offers work placements, including a paid six-month placement, and a mentor who is with them every step of the way. The results and effects on young people’s lives have been transformational.

I have some testimony from people who have been through the programme. The transformation is clear in what they have experienced. Vicky finished college and had been on jobseeker’s allowance for nearly a year when an adviser suggested the programme. Vicky spoke of being shy and withdrawn, and of her life not having focus. She said:

“Going for interviews then, I never heard anything back”,

but by the end of the programme

“I was far more outgoing and could not stop talking, thanks to all the support I received from the charity. I enjoyed all my placements, especially the Ramada Plaza Hotel. I got a job at the end of the programme, but the biggest change was that I started to draw again. I did a placement at Glyndwr University, who took me to their Art Department. Laura”—

one of the mentors—

“encouraged me to show them my drawings. After all these years of being told I cannot draw I found that people like what I do, and people call it a talent.”

Sophie was 16 and found herself living in a hostel in Wrexham. Her supporter at the hostel said that she should apply for the programme at WeMindTheGap. Sophie said:

“Looking back, I must have been horrible. If I did not like doing something I would say so, loudly; if things went wrong for me, I did not know how to try again. I liked all my placements, but my favourite part of the week was Essential Skills. We always started with a maths quiz, and I would win easily. I had GCSE maths and Pam helped me think about getting more qualifications. I asked the team to help me apply for an Apprenticeship in a Bank or Finance office because even I realised I was good at numbers.

“I got nervous at the end of the programme about leaving but Laura and Diana said they would still be there for me. I had no other work experience and I was just 18 and it was hard getting a job. All the other gappies on my course got something and I felt if I wasn’t careful, I could slip back into my old habits. So, I asked if I could come into Moneypenny and volunteer over Christmas. I had so much fun and loved being part of the team. Diane told the Finance Director how good at numbers I was and after a couple of months, I was offered a permanent contract! Diane got in touch with Coleg Cambria and got me on an Apprenticeship accountancy course to help me alongside.

“I am Moneypenny’s first Finance Apprentice. I completed my course in June 2019. I work 4.5 days in the busy finance team and am responsible for looking after client accounts, reconciliations, and debt recovery. I have a much better relationship with my family —they are proud of me. I’ve also been on my first holiday abroad. I participate in We Belong sessions, I love meeting new gappies.”

Those are but a few of many success stories from that one body doing that work, but there is a wider general message: if we meet young people where they are, recognising their circumstances and their hopes and aspirations, we give them a greater chance to succeed. Fewer than one in five 16 to 21-year-olds feel that they have had sufficient guidance, so there is a clear need to rethink how we support young people during those pivotal years. Rather than expecting them to navigate an often complex and unequal system alone, we need to invest in personalised, compassionate guidance that acknowledges their lived experiences. This means more than just providing opportunities: it means building trust, offering consistent mentorship, and creating environments where every young person feels seen, heard and believed in.

To summarise, there is a lot to be proud of when it comes to careers education, including the fantastic work being done by careers leaders in schools to guide young people, and the many organisations opening doors and broadening horizons. It really has come a long way but, none the less, we still need to be more ambitious. I have set out a few areas in which I believe we can be, and I look forward to hearing colleagues’ contributions. One of this Government’s overarching aims is to break down the barriers to opportunity; let us be ambitious and put careers education at the heart of achieving that and improving social mobility.

I remind Members that if they wish to be called, they should bob. I am imposing an informal four-minute time limit.

It is a privilege to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham (Andrew Ranger) for introducing this important debate, and I welcome the thoughtful contributions that we are about to hear from across the Chamber. I make my speech within the context of my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

This discussion about careers education could not be more timely, with almost 1 million young people in the UK currently not in education, employment or training, and our universities facing unprecedented challenges. I am therefore grateful for the opportunity to speak on this subject. It is deeply concerning, as we have heard already, that children eligible for free school meals are 20% less likely to progress into higher education. Shockingly, in Scotland, a total of 1,351 pupils—enough to fill an entire school—left school last year without a single qualification. Even for those who reach university, funding has been reduced since 2013. University student funding in Scotland has seen a real terms cut of 22%, and as my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham rightly highlighted in opening the debate, many of our young people are also being let down within that context.

We all recognise the transformative power of education in creating equality of opportunity, yet in recent years it feels like that has faltered. Too many young people are not receiving the skills training and support that they need to navigate a rapidly evolving job market. Addressing that requires targeted investment in left-behind communities, focusing support—as we have heard—on lower-income families and reforms to ensure that our service delivery achieves the best possible outcomes for children of all backgrounds. One key avenue for achieving that is through careers education. It plays a vital role in improving social mobility by equipping young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, with the knowledge, skills and social capital needed to better access opportunities.

We will now have a formal three-minute time limit.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell.

In my constituency of Tiverton and Minehead, we have almost no sixth-form provision, with the exception of a small number of places at Petroc college in Tiverton and West Somerset college in Minehead. At the crucial juncture of 16 to 18, when most people will begin to look ahead at future career paths, my younger constituents are in the unenviable situation of lacking access to conventional careers guidance. Instead, they have to travel long distances, often entirely at the mercy of the quirks of an unreliable and insufficient public transport network. There are very high levels of socioeconomic deprivation in my constituency, particularly along the coastal belt of west Somerset, which is 324th out of the 324 areas of England on the social mobility index. There are very few options to attend post-16 education, and the transport system is underdeveloped and unreliable. That is hardly a recipe for improving social mobility.

The recently launched Ada in Porlock community initiative looks to propel young people with potential, particularly those of lower socioeconomic status, into careers in science, technology, engineering and maths. The initiative seeks to reimagine careers support by providing resource-rich guidance and a pathway into dynamic networks of opportunity and mentorship. At its recent launch, I was inspired by the project, which is named after Ada Lovelace, who created the first computing system in 1844, more than 100 years before Alan Turing. It will act as a stimulus for my many talented young constituents, especially young women. As their MP, my message to all my constituents is: think big, dream big and always aspire to be the best person you can be. They can rely on me to do my best to help to make it happen.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I congratulate and thank my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham (Andrew Ranger) for bringing this really important debate to the House.

Growing up in Salford, I saw how regional inequality limits opportunity. My journey to Parliament involved luck and being in the right place at the right time, but opportunity should never be a lottery. As the MP for Leigh and Atherton, I am proud to serve in a Government where 92% of the Cabinet is state educated, yet background still shapes outcomes. Too often, talent is overlooked because someone did not attend the right school or speak with the right accent. Professionals from working-class backgrounds still face a pay gap. That is not just unfair; it is a drag on our economy.

Careers education is vital, but we must look beyond the classroom. Leigh ranks in the top 1% for transport-related social exclusion. Poor connectivity limits access to jobs, education and services, trapping people in poverty.

Education alone is not enough. Systemic barriers such as financial constraints, discrimination and limited mobility continue to hold people back. Although 81% of employers value outreach, more must be done. Expanding free school meals for families on universal credit is a huge step forward, but a degree no longer guarantees success. Apprenticeships, internships and work experience are now essential. I served my time on an apprenticeship, which got me a fantastic career in marketing, so I cannot promote them enough—they are a vital part of social mobility. Initiatives such as the MBacc in Greater Manchester are helping to unlock local talent and boost productivity.

Improving social mobility could add £1.8 billion to the UK’s business profits annually. Failing to act costs us £19 billion a year. Last week, I hosted the launch of the Social Mobility Alliance in Parliament, and one voice stood out: Salma from Sheffield, an Oxford student who spoke about the hidden financial barriers to university applications.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham (Andrew Ranger) on securing the debate.

Social mobility is the backbone of this country, as the Leader of the Opposition knows from her short stint in a McDonald’s one summer. Although Members on opposite sides of the House might disagree about how to facilitate social mobility, we all agree that every child should have the opportunity to realise their full potential.

Some children grow up knowing precisely what they want from life and precisely how to get it. Most children, however, grow up with some idea of their direction but little clue about what their ultimate destination could be or, more importantly, how to get there. Careers education provides two opportunities: to broaden children’s horizons by providing career guidance and to allow children to experience their desired careers at first hand through work experience placements.

On the first point, a study by the Sutton Trust found that parents, friends and wider social networks are the main source of careers education for more than three quarters of young people, but a child from a working-class family may have never met a barrister, an engineer or a scientist. They may not even know those professions exist, let alone understand the pathways to reach them. On the island, the assumption is that tourism is the only career; it is not. It is for those children that careers education is most crucial, but the unfortunate reality is that they are the least likely to have access to it.

Equipping schools to showcase the full range of possible careers to secondary school students will be pivotal. We should all welcome the 1,000 careers advisers that the Labour Government will recruit, as well as the additional £1.2 billion per year that the Government will invest in skills by 2028-29.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham (Andrew Ranger) for securing this important debate. I associate myself with many of the comments made by other hon. Members.

Given the time limit, I will focus my remarks on the creative industries. The creative industries will be highlighted in the Government’s industrial strategy, which will be coming forward soon, and they have huge potential—particularly for my constituents in north Wales. We have a brand-new creative industries hub, which has been launched by Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, and new film studios on Ynys Môn. The new series of “Game of Thrones” is being filmed nearby. There are huge opportunities, but many children and young people do not know that those opportunities exist, as my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Mr Quigley) just said. If they do not know that these jobs exist, they will never be inspired to go for them.

Let me put this in context. I grew up in north Wales, but as an adult I went behind the scenes of Granada Studios in Manchester, and saw for the first time the variety of jobs there, such as storytellers or set designers—a huge number of jobs that I had never thought existed. I went behind the scenes of ITN News and saw the same thing. There was a group of children from Manchester there. I thought, “That’s fantastic,” but there are so many children growing up in rural areas, far away from cities, as my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham said; if they do not have parents, peers or people around them working in these kinds of jobs, they will not know they exist. My hon. Friend made some good points about that.

I completely agree with my hon. Friend that we need far more ambition. I went to meet advisers at Llandudno jobcentre recently. They were talking about the youth guarantee, which we already have in Wales—that is fantastic—but they were saying that too many 16-year-olds arrive with no idea of what they want to do after they leave school, because they are leaving those decisions too late. We need to start talking to children and young people far earlier and inspiring them about the jobs of the future. Whether in the creative industries, advanced manufacturing or cyber-security, children and young people need to know that jobs and opportunities exist. That should be a shared ambition for us all in this place. We must do whatever we can to drive that agenda forward.

It is a pleasure to serve under you as Chair, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham (Andrew Ranger) for securing this vital debate.

I want to stress how important it is for disabled young people that we have careers education that supports social mobility. Nearly half of families with a disabled child are living in poverty, and just this week we learned that the attainment gap for pupils from poorer backgrounds in Scotland is still widening. It is frustrating that the Scottish Government have not done more to address that. In Scotland, we know what works in terms of support for young people to make the often challenging transition from school to work or continuing education.

Before I was elected to this place, I had the privilege of working for the charity Enable, which runs a programme called Stepping Up. The programme is delivered in 75 schools in Scotland, across 15 local authorities, to more than 1,000 young people every year. It builds confidence, life skills and employability through real-world experiences and personalised coaching. It ensures that young people are equipped not only to reach positive destinations but to sustain them. That leads to lasting change and improved educational and employment outcomes. Over the course of its work, Stepping Up has supported more than 5,000 young people, 98% of whom go to positive destination—either a job, a modern apprenticeship, training or college. Ensuring that all our young people can be supported to have confidence in themselves will be vital if we are to improve social mobility in this country.

In Lochgelly, in my constituency, one in three children lives in poverty. Careers education is vital to their life chances. The developing the young workforce programme at Lochgelly high school is making that difference. Led by the co-ordinator of the programme, Pauline Abbie, it provides 100 work experience placements to pupils every year. It gives pupils a fantastic insight into the world of work in a whole range of industries, from hospitality to engineering, as well as into opportunities in education.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham (Andrew Ranger) for securing this important debate. I have seen at first hand the decimation of good careers, education, work experience and guidance in our schools. The link between strong careers, education and social mobility is undeniable. The latest Social Mobility Commission report shows that Wolverhampton North East has real potential, with strong prospects, growing industries and young people determined to succeed despite the odds.

But it is on the fourth factor, conditions of childhood, where Wolverhampton falls into the red zone. This measure looks at child poverty, parental education and occupation, all of which shape a child’s life chances. The picture in Wolverhampton and Willenhall is stark. Around 40% of children are growing up in poverty, which is one of the highest rates in the west midlands. Fewer than a quarter of pupils on free school meals achieve a strong pass in both English and maths at GCSE. Many parents are working in insecure or low-paid jobs, with little access to training or upskilling. Those realities too often dictate how children in Wolverhampton and Willenhall grow up and, crucially, what they believe is possible for themselves. That is why good careers education is so vital.

I have seen the work experience requests from students who grow up not knowing a lawyer, engineer or scientist. Their aspirations are often limited not by their talent, but by exposure. I have worked with students who have lacked connections and the confidence and opportunity to try something new. Good careers education shows young people what is actually out there, tailored to the local labour market and what they are capable of. We need a careers system that starts early, in primary schools through to post 16 and beyond, embedded in the curriculum, delivered by trained professionals and connected to local sectors, whether that is advanced manufacturing, green technology, digital, defence or aerospace.

For too many people, the belief that intelligence, hard work and perseverance will be rewarded no longer holds true. The ladder of opportunity that once allowed previous generations to climb to a better future is now harder to reach and sometimes even harder to ascend. This is not just a personal frustration; it is a societal warning sign. When talented, hardworking individuals feel stuck, and when they see that no matter what they do they will not achieve what their parents did, we are not only wasting potential; we are eroding trust in our economic system.

Social mobility must not be viewed as a bonus only applicable to the good times. It is the foundation of a fair and functioning society. Without it, resentment grows, division deepens, and our social fabric begins to fray. First and foremost, we must recognise the pivotal role that our education system, our schools and our teachers play. Education remains the single most powerful engine of mobility. Great teachers do not just pass on knowledge; they ignite ambition, unlock potential and open doors that otherwise remain shut. But teachers cannot do this alone. They need investment, support and the resources to reach every child, not just the ones already on a path to success.

Part of that support must include a renewed focus on careers education. For too many people, particularly those from lower-income households, the guidance that they need to navigate future pathways is patchy at best and absent at worst. Careers education bridges the gap between parental knowledge and wider opportunity, and it is often the only structured support for those who lack the social capital to network their way into the world of work. Beyond the school gates, as I have discussed before, our youth services must be at the heart of the solution.

Youth workers, clubs and community programmes are often the safety net, and sometimes the springboard, for young people who need extra support. They provide mentoring, build confidence, offer practical life skills and connect young people to opportunities they might not otherwise see. When I look at youth services across my constituency, from local authority-funded provision to sports and community clubs, I see a patchwork of services funded from a variety of pots of money. I call on the SNP Scottish Government, if they are serious about equity and opportunity, to fund properly our local councils and commit to long-term support for youth services.