Wales’ new school curriculum - Careers Wales gives assurance that it will be good for business

A new school curriculum in Wales to prepare pupils better for the world of work has been released for consultation until 19 July, it will be ready for schools to use in January 2020 - and all schools will use it from 2022. Visit www.gov.wales/educationischanging for an overview of the changes and business page to hear from Leigh Hughes, CSR Director, Bouygues Construction in UK.See how you can work with schools by visiting www.CareersWales.com.

So how will the new curriculum be good for business? Careers Wales Press Release - 'Employers tell us that they want young people to be ‘work ready’ when they leave education, with skills such as problem solving, team work, and communication skills, as well as good literacy, numeracy and increasingly digital skills. The new curriculum will focus on the ‘purposes’ of education – the qualities we all want to see in our youngsters by the time they reach 16. It will be about creating ‘enterprising, creative contributors’ and ‘ambitious, capable learners…’

In the new curriculum, digital literacy will be a core cross curricular requirement, alongside literacy and numeracy. Broader skills such as resilience, communications and problem solving will help young people apply the knowledge they acquire at school and apply to real life situations. Skills and experiences will become important alongside knowledge, because this goes wider than preparing for exams – it’s also about preparing for the changing work environment and life. Critical thinking and problem-solving, planning and organising, creativity and innovation and personal effectiveness will all be developed.

An understanding of the world of work will begin at an early age. We have consulted on making sure that all children and young people in primary as well as secondary school will be able to learn about careers.Six ‘Areas of Learning and Experience’ will replace single subjects, and lessons will be more authentic and relate to real life circumstances. For example, teachers might include entrepreneurship as part of Science and Technology or Expressive arts. 

And digital skills will be taught across the curriculum from 3 to 16, alongside literacy and numeracy. Qualifications will evolve to respond to the changes, so Qualifications Wales will be consulting on future qualifications in Autumn this year, and it’s possible that they will look quite different, although the GCSE ‘brand’ may be retained when changes arrive in 2025.

What role can business play? Business has an important role to play. Primary and secondary schools will be doing more to make children aware of careers options, so please welcome them for visits that make children more aware of what’s out there. They’ll also be looking for projects that can be used to create real-world learning experiences. As education is changing, businesses must be willing to help it do so'.