This paper focuses on the relationship between participation in school-age (14-19) employer engagement activities (work experience, careers advice from employers etc) and labour market outcomes among young adults (aged 19-24).  The paper is situated within the context of comparative international data on the variation in youth (un)employment levels across the OECD countries.  Studies by the OECD and International Labor Organisation have highlighted school-level labour market understanding and experience as important supply-side drivers of successful school-to-work transitions.  A small number of mainly US studies (Neumark 2007; Kemble 2008) have found positive evidence of labour market impacts stemming from school-age employer contacts. 

This paper presents new data from a sample of 987 young Britons on correlations between the volume of employer engagement undertaken within education (at ages 14 to 19) experienced in education and wage premiums (for those in receipt of salaries) and likelihood of NEET status (at 19-24). Statistical analysis includes a number of controls, including highest level of qualification. A review of British educational practice demonstrates the very limited likelihood of variation in school-age activities undertaken being driven by personal agency. The paper draws on qualitative data, from the survey sample, and human and particularly social capital theories (Granovetter 1973, Raffo 2006) to provide insight into causal factors behind positive labour market outcomes.

AIR UK (2008). The involvement of Business in Education: A rapid evidence assessment of measurable impacts. Department for Children Schools and Families, http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/RRP/u015330/index.shtml Bourdieu, P., and Passeron, J.C. (1990). Reproduction in education, society and culture, (second edition), London: Sage Publications Clifford, J., Mann, A., Mason, S. & Theobald, C. (2011). Assessing the return on investment, evaluation and impact of Young Apprenticeships Scheme. London. Creative & Cultural Skills and Baker Tilly Deloitte (2010). Helping young people to succeed: How employers can support careers education – Increasing and improving employer involvement in providing young people with careers education, information, advice and guidance, London: Education and Employers Taskforce Granovetter, M. (1983). ‘The strength of weak ties: A network theory revisited’, Sociological Theory, 1, pp.201-233 Granovetter, M (1974), Getting A Job: A Study of Contacts and Careers. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University ILO. (2010). Investing in young people Kemple, J. with Willner C. (2008). Career Academies Long-Term Impacts on Labor Market Outcomes, Educational Attainment, and Transitions to Adulthood. MDRC Mann, A. (2010) What is to be gained through partnership, London: Education and Employers Taskforce Neumark, D ed. (2007). Improving School-to-Work Transitions. New York: Russell Sage Foundation OECD. (2010). Learning for Jobs: Synthesis Report of the OECD Review of Vocational Education and Training OECD. (2010). Off to a Good Start? Jobs for Youth Raffo C. (2006). “Disadvantaged young people accessing the new urban economies of the post-industrial city” Journal of Education Policy 21:1, 75-94 Schoon, I & Silberstein, R. K. (2009). eds, Transitions from School to Work – Globalisation, Individualization, and Patterns of Diverity. Cambridge University Press Yates, S., Harris, A., Sabates, R., and Staff, J. (2010). “Early Occupational Aspirations and Fractured Transitions: A Study of Entry into ‘NEET’ Status in the UK” Journal of Social Policy, 1, 1-22