Futures
Supporting young people’s transitions from education to employment
At EDT, we have extensive expertise in transitions from school to work, which informs our approach to ‘future readiness’: ensuring young people and the education systems which support them are equipped for the transition from education into a changing employment landscape.
In the UK, our substantial portfolio in this area includes helping young people make critical decisions about their futures, promoting technical and vocational education and training (TVET) routes through apprenticeships, and supporting students at risk of becoming NEET (not in education employment or training). We also have expertise in work experience for school and college students.
Ensuring successful post-secondary school transitions has also been an important feature of our work to support marginalised girls in Kenya through the Girls Education Challenge programme, while our Future Ready programme in Jordan has challenged gendered career expectations among secondary students.
Why future skills
are important, and translating this into action
Across the globe, there are various challenges – from technological change and growing inequality to armed conflicts and unforeseen shocks – which have disrupted the world’s workforce and labour markets. Meanwhile, there is significant concern over the career and employability readiness of students, as well as over poor social mobility. These challenges pose questions about the future of work and the skills that countries, economies, and individuals will need to thrive, but young people everywhere should be entitled to support and opportunities for meaningful, productive work as they complete their education.
At EDT, we believe that education systems have a powerful part to play in addressing these challenges and providing such support. We focus on the challenge of how education systems can meaningfully and effectively prepare students and young people for the future, including the world of work.
Through our research and experience in system strengthening, and in delivering effective careers and employability programmes, we have devised a model for a healthy, future-ready education ecosystem which adopts the following principles to shape policy and practice:
Take a systems lens:
Our systems approach means we not only consider the needs of the individual transitioning from education into work, but we also focus on the capacity of the education system to be future ready, allowing us to develop contextualised interventions.
Adopt a multi-sectoral approach:
We consider the wider context in which an education system sits, supporting systematic and data-rich engagement between different stages of the education system and industry ministries and bodies. This deep understanding ensures that education policy and pathways are aligned to skills needs and responsive to change.
Utilise labour market information:
To ensure their contextual relevance and improve outcomes for both individuals and economies, future readiness programmes and policy need to be informed by, and regularly reviewed alongside, up-to-date labour market information.
Embed future readiness in the school curriculum:
We know that how young people think about their futures in education and employment has a significant impact on their employment outcomes as adults. Embedding future readiness knowledge, skills, and dispositions into their curriculum, and making the world of work seem real and relevant, is therefore critical.
Engage with parents and the wider community:
Engaging parents, carers, and community members in future readiness activities can open a range of unforeseen pathways for young people, often through challenging preconceptions about different pathways (e.g. TVET routes) or gendered stereotypes, as well as considering emerging industries.
Engage the middle tier within the education system:
Our research has shown that education experts working at the regional level are often the difference between policy success and failure. With the correct engagement and support, these people can act as a strong bridge between policy and implementation and impact at the school level.
Engage employers:
Interaction with employers can offer young people a new perspective on the value of education and the career pathways available to them.
Start early:
Build the capacity of school leaders and teachers:
School leaders and teachers are critical actors in helping their students to build future readiness, but will require support and professional development opportunities to do so. Therefore we embed support structures for schools on additional career guidance, future readiness provision, and ways to engage with local employers, into workforce professional development.
While career-related learning may seem like an issue for older students, introducing this type of learning in primary schools may inspire children and help them to begin to connect their education with the world of work.
“ Your guidance has had a significant impact on our pupils, helping them to explore and consider their future pathways with confidence and enthusiasm ”
Associate Assistant Principal
Making a global impact: Supporting young people with their career choices and transitions
In 2023-24, our employment and careers teams worked with over 120,000 young people, alongside thousands of educators, in the UK to support them as they made the critical transition from school to further learning and employment.
Inspiring Careers Programme
Through our Inspiring Careers Programme, we worked with schools to deliver careers information, advice, and guidance to young people, and support them with work experience placements, consultancy (including the Quality in Careers Standard), tracking, and data reporting services.
Future Ready
Future Ready was our innovative careers education and guidance programme for young people in Jordan. The programme applied our extensive expertise in careers-related education in the UK, alongside the latest international evidence of effective careers guidance in schools, to a pilot of a new careers-education programme for Jordanian school students.
Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK)
We also raise awareness and encourage the uptake of apprenticeships among young people through our Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) programme, funded by the UK’s Department for Education (DfE). In 2023-24, the programme provided over 100,000 students with a greater understanding of apprenticeships and traineeships. Government statistics showed that students from participating schools and colleges were 21% more likely to move on to apprenticeships than their peers in other settings.
Working closely with Jordan’s Ministry of Education and local partners, the programme took a holistic approach to careers education, drawing on the support of the whole school, families and employers to find solutions for young people considering their futures. Engagement with employers, who provided work-based opportunities including workshadowing, had a significant impact on students’ perceptions of work and careers.
As a result, both girls and boys in the programme – and the adults who supported them –were able to challenge gender-stereotyped career expectations and develop a greater understanding of both vocational pathways and the skills needed in the workplace.
Research project on girls’ transitions
Difficulty transitioning from school to higher education or work remains one of the key barriers facing girls in disadvantaged contexts, with far-reaching implications for their futures and wellbeing. In the first phase of a threeyear research project on girls’ transitions into higher education or work in Kenya, we sought to understand the challenges facing these girls and highlighted promising interventions to support their transitions – including in challenging contexts where marginalisation persists.
Our research has moved beyond recent quantitative studies on gender-related barriers to school participation and learning, to explore the wider evidence base on girls’ education to identify the key skills necessary for transition, and the interventions needed to make effective transitions happen. Our report also provides lessons for policymakers, particularly highlighting the need for effective transitions to be supported across education systems in an integrated way, rather than through isolated individual programmes.
Lifelong Learners
We are currently developing and piloting our innovative Lifelong Learners programme in Jordan, with funding from our Alexandria Schools Trust, which has been a part of EDT since 2014. The Lifelong Learners initiative, designed to empower high school students from Jordanian government schools and Palestinian refugee communities, incorporates all the essential elements of our future readiness approach.
Participants are learning about digital technology, climate action, financial literacy, navigating the job market, and looking after their own wellbeing, while also developing their creativity and critical thinking capabilities, their ability to collaborate and adapt, and their communication skills as fluent English speakers. We look forward to reporting on the impact of this groundbreaking programme across the Middle East and Asia in the months and years to come.
Recently published research and insights
Supporting girls’ transitions across the education system and into work
From foundational learning to future readiness: a call to action to tackle the youth crisis in Africa
Head to edt.org to read our recently published research and insights.
Insight Insight
Learning to change the world
Education is one of the most powerful levers for change. When it’s equitable, evidence-informed, and of high quality, it has the power to create opportunity for everyone.
As a not-for-profit organisation, we exist to increase the life chances of individuals by improving education and skills outcomes.
For nearly 60 years, we’ve partnered with governments, donor agencies and school networks across the globe to strengthen education systems, shape career pathways, and support people to thrive. From classrooms to communities, early years to adulthood, our work delivers meaningful impact that lasts.
To find out more about edt Futures, our research, and how EDT is working to improve life chances through improving education and skills outcomes, please get in touch. enquiries@edt.org edt.org
LinkedIn: Education Development Trust
