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Career Readiness

OECD Conference | Disrupted futures: International lessons on how schools can best equip students for their working lives

 

Disrupted Futures 2021

27-29 October 2021 – Virtual conference via Zoom

International lessons on how schools can best equip students for their working lives

Below you can find presentation videos and PowerPoint presentations from our 2021 conference, "Disrupted Futures: International lessons on how schools can best equip students for their working lives". During the conference, the OECD Career Readiness team presented the results of new analyses of national longitudinal datasets alongside 33 papers from researchers and practitioners working in 14 countries. The conference was attended by 521 people from 59 countries.

Full conference programme with abstracts

Presenter biographies

 

Background to the conference

The conference was held in October 2021 as countries turned their attention from handling a healthcare emergency to dealing with its economic consequences and rising concerns over youth unemployment. Even before the pandemic, young people in many countries had faced difficulties in their transitions into work. During the pandemic, young people commonly found themselves disproportionately affected by lay-offs and recruitment freezes. This OECD conference focused on what schools can do to prepare young people for their transitions through education into ultimate employment.

 

Indicators of career readiness

The conference began with the presentation by Andreas Schleicher (OECD Director of Education and Skills) of new analysis of data from multiple national longitudinal surveys which follow young people from childhood into adulthood. Using statistical analysis, it has proved possiblethe analysis to identify career-related indicators of career readiness: teenage attitudes, activities and experiences related to potential futures in work that are associated with better employment outcomes in adulthood. At the conference, the project team also presented tools derived from the indicators for use by policy makers and practitioners. Lastly, the conference also showcased wider research and practice relevant to more effective youth transitions into employment through 33 unique presentations from 14 different countries/economies. During the conference, the project team was joined by a distinguished panel of commentators to reflect on the study’s implications for policy and practice.


Table of contents

  • Day 2 - Thursday, October 28th, 2021
    • Breakout room 1A - Early career awareness and education
      • Pete Jones, Ambure Giborees, Leanne Gibson & Emma O'Riordan - "Preparing high school students for their Future in Work - whatever the shocks may be"
      • Olivia Groves, Kylie Austin, Nicola Cull, Laurie Poretti & Philip Roberts - "Best practice career education for middle-school students from low socioeconomic backgrounds: Two case studies."
      • Liv Pennie & Jim Bright - "Arriving where we started and knowing for the first time*: evaluating an inquiry-based approach to career exploration in 10-13 year olds."
      • Leela Darvall & Rowena Archer - "Supporting, strengthening and enhancing Victorian students' career planning and career and work readiness."
      • Janine Blake - "FURNCRAFT - Supporting Youth Transitions into Furnishing Careers"
    • Breakout room 1B - Disadvantaged students
      • Dawn Bennett, Jane Coffey, Paul Koshy, Ian Li & Alfred M Dockery - "The impact of socioeconomic status on students’ access to information on career thinking and exploration."
      • Wojtek Tomaszewski, Francisco Perales, Dr Ning Xiang & Melissa Johnstone - "Identifying school-level factors that drive long-term outcomes for students from regional, rural and remote areas in Australia – evidence from two largescale national cohort studies."
      • Anne Hampshire & Kirsten Hancock - "Improving access to career support programs for Australian students experiencing disadvantage: Who gets career advice at school, and does it relate to education and employment outcomes?"
      • Elizabeth Knight, Shuyan Huo & Melissa Tham - "Australian young peoples’ careers and skills: inequalities in both envisaged future and its attainment"
    • Breakout room 2A - Engaging with employers
      • Raimo Vuorinen & Jaana Kettenen - "Practical work-experience period as a student entitlement in Finland"
      • Lauri Vaara & Riikka Lehtinen - "Development of virtual practical work-experience period in practice - case Finland"
      • Funbi Akande & Rachael Saunders - "Building resilience and skills through virtual work placements during the pandemic"
      • Juan Jose Juarez & Hannes Brandt - "Inspiring encounters with professionals"
    • Breakout room 2B - Measuring career readiness
      • Steven Sek-yum Ngai, Chau-kiu Cheung & Lin Wong - "Youth Career Development Competency (YCDC) Scale: Factor Structure and Scale Validation among Hong Kong Youth"
      • Jill Hanson, Tristram Hooley & Vanessa Dodd - "Development of a Student Career Readiness Index to assess the impact of good career guidance in England"
      • Chris Percy & Ingrid Schoon - "The shape and consequences of teenage career concentration: Analysing an English cohort born in 1989/90"
      • Cristina Santos - "Perceptions of career conversations for the development of student career competencies"
  • Day 3 - Friday, October 29th, 2021
    • Breakout room 3A - Cultural and social context
      • Abhishek Ghosh, Joseph Chakma, Poonam Jain, Rayan Miranda & Gideon Arulmani - "Applying the Cultural Preparedness Process Model for Intervention Development Amongst High School Students: A Report from India and Bangladesh"
      • Raza Abbas - "Fostering Innovative Career Thinking with Parents & Students in Pakistan"
      • Glenda O'Brien & Megan O'Connell - "Models of Workplace Engagement K-12 NSW an alternative practice to work experience"
      • Joanna Sikora - "Gender as a predictor of planning a career with work-from-home options"
    • Breakout room 3B - Getting ready for work
      • HwaChoon Park & Hangu Ryu - "The Effects of Students’ Career Readiness and Self-conception on Outcomes in the Labor Market"
      • Wangyang Li - "How schools can better prepare young people for working life: Evidence from China"
      • Roopali Mehra - "Youth Career Readiness - A multi-stakeholder approach"
      • Dasha Karzunina - "How Gen Z career readiness is shaped by their backgrounds & what can we do? A UK perspective"
    • Breakout room 4A - Looking to the future
      • Iván Diego Rodriguez - "Building and Sustaining Successful Alumni Relations in VET Schools: How To Guide"
      • Sovran Berisha & Lumnie Mehmetaj - "Challenges of Teenagers in their Career Decision in Kosovo"
      • Santiago Cardozo, Maximiliana Cedrez, Tabaré Fernandez & Ángela Ríos - "Ready for work? Students’ experiences in middle school and labor market outcomes. Comparisons between Uruguayan First and Second PISA Longitudinal Study (2003 & 2009)."
      • Hassan Enayati - "Prediction of employment for youth with Autism"
    • Breakout room 4B - Career policies and career education
      • Mike Cusack & Ransford Lockhart - "New Brunswick's Centres of Excellence for Education: Enhancing Equitable Career Awareness through Virtual and Experiential Learning"
      • Tricia Berry & Andrew Culberson - "Applying universal design as a pathway to inclusive career education"
      • Deidre Hughes & Fiona Baker - "Using technology in careers practice: a city-wide collaborative approach"
      • Ed Hidalgo, Ian Martin & David Miyashiro - "A District Wide Approach to Integrating Career Development Starting in Primary"

Day 1 Wednesday, October 27th, 2021 | Opening plenary session

 

Opening plenary session

 

During the opening plenary session of Disrupted Futures 2021, OECD Director of Education and Skills, Andreas Schleicher, with his colleagues Catalina Covacevich and Anthony Mann presented findings from an unprecedented review of national longitudinal datasets from ten countries (Australia, Canada, People’s Republic of China, Denmark, Germany, Korea, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and Uruguay). Analysis explores how teenage attitudes and experiences relate to employment outcomes ten years later. The work identifies indicators of better employment outcomes linked to how students explore, experience and think about potential futures in work, providing new insights for countries and schools looking to optimise career guidance. Following the presentation of the results, an expert panel discusses the implications for policy and practice and the session will concludes with a presentation on engaging schools with employers from Nick Chambers, CEO of Education and Employers.

 

Panelists:

David L. Blustein – Professor of Counselling Psychology, Boston College

Hanka Boldemann – Executive Director Jobs & Skills International, Global Philanthropy at J.P. Morgan

Gert van Brussel – President of the International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance (IAEVG)

Sareena Hopkins – Executive Director of the Canadian Career Development Foundation and a Board member of the International Centre for Career Development and Public Policy (ICCDPP)

Deirdre Hughes – Co-editor of the British Journal of Guidance and Counselling: International Symposium Series

 

 

Day 2 Thursday, October 28th, 2021

 

Breakout room 1A - Early career awareness and education

 

 

Preparing high school students for their Future in Work - whatever the shocks may be

 

 

 Presenters: Mr Pete JONES, Manurewa High School; Ambure Giborees, Leanne Gibson, Emma O'Riordan, Manurewa High Business Academy

 

Best practice career education for middle-school students from low socioeconomic backgrounds: Two case studies.

 

 Presenters: Dr Olivia GROVES, National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, Curtin University; Kylie Austin, University of Wollongong; Nicola Cull, Australian Catholic University; Laurie Poretti and A/Prof Philip Roberts, University of Canberra

 

 

Arriving where we started and knowing for the first time*: evaluating an inquiry-based approach to career exploration in 10-13 year olds.

 

 Presenters: Ms Liv PENNIE, BECOME Education; Professor Jim Bright, Australian Catholic University

 

 

Supporting, strengthening and enhancing Victorian students' career planning and career and work readiness.

 

 Presenters: Ms Leela DARVALL, Department of Education and Training, Australia; Ms Rowena Archer, Braybrook Secondary College

 

 

FURNCRAFT - Supporting Youth Transitions into Furnishing Careers

 

 Presenters: Ms Janine BLAKE, Food Fibre and Timber Industries Training Council

 

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Breakout room 1B - Disadvantaged students

 

 

The impact of socioeconomic status on students’ access to information on career thinking and exploration.

 

 

 Presenters: Prof Dawn BENNETT, Bond University; Dr Jane Coffey, Curtin University; Paul Koshy, National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education; Ian Li, University of Western Australia; Alfred M Dockery, Curtin University, Australia.

 

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Identifying school-level factors that drive long-term outcomes for students from regional, rural and remote areas in Australia – evidence from two largescale national cohort studies.

 

 Presenters: A/Prof Wojtek TOMASZEWSKI, Institute for Social Science Research/The University of Queensland (UQ); A/Prof Francisco Perales, Dr Ning Xiang, Dr Melissa Johnstone, The University of Queensland (UQ)

 

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Improving access to career support programs for Australian students experiencing disadvantage: Who gets career advice at school, and does it relate to education and employment outcomes?

 

 Presenters: Ms Anne HAMPSHIRE, The Smith Family; Dr Kirsten Hancock, The Smith Family

 

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Australian young peoples’ careers and skills: inequalities in both envisaged future and its attainment

 

 

 Presenters: Dr Elizabeth KNIGHT, Victoria University; Dr Shuyan Huo and Dr Melissa Tham, Centre for International Research on Education Systems, Victoria University, Australia

 

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Breakout room 2A - Engaging with employers

 

 

Practical work-experience period as a student entitlement in Finland

 

 Presenters: Dr Raimo VUORINEN, Dr Jaana Kettunen, Finnish Institute for Educational Research/University of Jyväskylä

 

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Development of virtual practical work-experience period in practice - case Finland

 

 Presenters: Mr Lauri VAARA, Ms Riikka LEHTINEN, Economy and Youth TAT

 

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Building resilience and skills through virtual work placements during the pandemic

 

 Presenters: Mr Funbi AKANDE, Rachael Saunders, Speakers for Schools

 

Get the presentation

 

Inspiring encounters with professionals

 

 Presenters: Mr Juan Jose JUAREZ, Hannes Brandt, Bertelsmann Foundation

 

Get the presentation

 

 

Breakout room 2B - Measuring career readiness

 

 

Youth Career Development Competency (YCDC) Scale: Factor Structure and Scale Validation among Hong Kong Youth

 

 Presenters: Dr Steven Sek-yum NGAI, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Dr. Chau-kiu Cheung, City University of Hong Kong; Dr. Lin Wong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

 

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Development of a Student Career Readiness Index to assess the impact of good career guidance in England

 

 Presenters: Dr Jill HANSON, International Centre for Guidance Studies, University of Derby; Professor Tristram Hooley, University of Derby; Vanessa Dodd, Nottingham Trent University

 

 

The shape and consequences of teenage career concentration: Analysing an English cohort born in 1989/90

 

 Presenters: Mr Chris PERCY, University of Derby; Professor Ingrid Schoon, University College London (UCL)

 

Get the presentation

 

Perceptions of career conversations for the development of student career competencies

 

 Presenters: Ms Cristina SANTOS, University of Cambridge

 

 

 

Day 3 Friday, October 29th, 2021

 

Breakout room 3A - Cultural and social context

 

 

Applying the Cultural Preparedness Process Model for Intervention Development Amongst High School Students: A Report from India and Bangladesh.

 

 Presenters: Mr Abhishek GHOSH, Joseph Chakma, Poonam Jain, Rayan Miranda, Gideon Arulmani, The Promise Foundation Community College affiliated to Martin Luther Christian University

 

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Fostering Innovative Career Thinking with Parents & Students in Pakistan.

 

 

 Presenters: Mr Raza ABBAS, Pathway Global

 

Get the presentation

 

Models of Workplace Engagement K-12 NSW an alternative practice to work experience.

 

 Presenters: Ms Glenda O'BRIEN, New South Wales Department of Education; Megan O’Connell

 

Get the presentation

 

Gender as a predictor of planning a career with work-from-home options

 

 

 Presenters: Dr Joanna SIKORA, Australian National University

 

Get the presentation

 

 

Breakout room 3B - Getting ready for work

 

 

The Effects of Students’ Career Readiness and Self-conception on Outcomes in the Labor Market.

 

 Presenters: Dr HwaChoon PARK, Dr Hangu Ryu, Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training

 

Get the presentation

 

How schools can better prepare young people for working life: Evidence from China.

 

 

 Presenters: Dr Wangyang LI, Beijing Normal University

 

 

Youth Career Readiness - A multi-stakeholder approach.

 

 

 Presenters: Ms Roopali MEHRA, Transform Foundation; Mr. Rohit Choudhri

 

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How Gen Z career readiness is shaped by their backgrounds & what can we do? A UK perspective

 

 Presenters: Ms Dasha KARZUNINA, Group GTI

 

Get the presentation

 

 

Breakout room 4A - Looking to the future

 

 

Building and Sustaining Successful Alumni Relations in VET Schools: How To Guide.

 

 Presenters: Mr Iván DIEGO RODRÍGUEZ, Valnalon, Tim van der Ploeg, Alfa College; Paolo Nardi, Cometa

 

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Challenges of Teenagers in their Career Decision in Kosovo.

 

 Presenters: Mr Sovran BERISHA, Kosovo Career Development Foundation (KCDF); Mrs. Lumnie Mehmetaj

 

Get the presentation

 

Ready for work? Students’ experiences in middle school and labor market outcomes. Comparisons between Uruguayan First and Second PISA Longitudinal Study (2003 & 2009).

 

 Presenters: Mr Santiago CARDOZO, Maximiliana CEDREZ, Tabaré FERNANDEZ and Ángela RÍOS, University of Uruguay

 

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Prediction of employment for youth with Autism

 

 

 

 Presenters: Mr Hassan ENAYATI, Cornell University

 

Get the presentation

 

 

Breakout room 4B - Career policies and career education

 

 

New Brunswick's Centres of Excellence for Education: Enhancing Equitable Career Awareness through Virtual and Experiential Learning.

 

 Presenters: Mr Mike CUSACK, Ransford Lockhart, Education and Early Childhood Development, New Brunswick

 

Get the presentation

 

Applying universal design as a pathway to inclusive career education.

 

 

 Presenters: Ms Tricia BERRY, Mr Andrew Culberson, New Brunswick Department of Education and Early Childhood Development

 

Get the presentation

 

Using technology in careers practice: a city-wide collaborative approach.

 

 Presenters: Dr Deidre HUGHES, DMH Associates & Associate Fellow, University of Warwick IER, England; Fiona Baker, Head of Skills, D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, East Midlands, England

 

Get the presentation

 

A District Wide Approach to Integrating Career Development Starting in Primary

 

 Presenters: Mr Ed HIDALGO, Cajon Valley Union School District; Dr. Ian Martin, University of San Diego; Dr. David Miyashiro, Cajon Valley Union School District

 

Get the presentation

 

 

Closing plenary session

 

 

Closing plenary session

Panelists:

David L. Blustein (USA)

Deirdre Hughes (UK)

Jaana Kettunen (Finland)

 

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