Education and Skills Bill

My Lords, I shall speak to Amendment No. 4. As I am sure all noble Lords will recall, on Report I called for a review of the provision of careers education in England in order to compare the service provided in England with the all-age services available in the devolved nations of the United Kingdom. We on these Benches have made it clear that we are not satisfied that the existing structure provided through Connexions is the best that could be available to young people. Providing careers education for 16 to 18 year-olds would be an obvious complement to the other provisions in the Bill. The thrust of this Bill is to keep those very same young people in education and training. The aim, which I have said many times before is a great one, is to provide young people with the wherewithal to stand on their own two feet and to go into the world of work with sufficient, if not always ample, skills to succeed at their chosen job or career. But that may not be enough—a great many people do not know what they want to do or might be capable of doing. This seems a natural time to provide them with specialised and professional advice on their career prospects. I believe that this would only help to reach the desired outcome of the Bill.