Careers Compacts & Discos

In the 1980s, as now, there were high levels of youth unemployment, leading to alienation, violence and riots. Employers blamed schools for not preparing young people adequately for the world of work. Schools accused employers for discriminating against pupils from ethnic minorities. This book describes how, in London, in the 1980s, a Compact was established between schools in the East End of London and major companies, such as BP and Whitbread. Anne Taylor who had responsibility for setting up links between schools and industry, was one of the ILEA group which negotiated the East London Compact with London businesses. Her teams organised teachers' secondments to industry; work experience for school children and work shadowing of Head Teachers by business people. Out of these exchanges, a better understanding both of the needs of industry and young people was achieved. Pupils' attendance, punctuality and examination results were improved by challenging targets. Businesses, for their part, offered priority hiring to pupils in Compact schools who met their targets. The East London Compact spread, first across the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA), and then across the country. With the abolition of the ILEA in 1989 and the withdrawal of Government funding, Compacts eventually disappeared, though some isolated examples remain. Individual activities, such as mini-enterprises, and reading- and number-partners, continue in schools to this day. Given the current levels of youth unemployment, some of the methods and techniques used in the East London Compact should be revisited. This book describes the impact made by the Compact in the hope of stimulating a modern version for the 21st century