Drawing on her experience engaging employers, including her time at an Education Business Partnership (EBP), Caroline shares her top tips for meeting the benchmark and building lasting employer relationships.
With the new statutory duty, the benchmark hasn’t changed dramatically, but it’s been refined to ensure employer engagement is meaningful, inclusive, and aligned with your careers strategy, with space for student reflection. And with the new Skills White Paper, this is all more important than ever.
Get networking
You can no longer rely on a small pool of willing employers. The new duty calls for varied encounters, virtual, in-person, and blended, across sectors and company sizes. Networking is key: reach out directly, attend events, and use LinkedIn to understand employer needs and how you can support. Focus on HR, L&D, recruiters, and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) leads; they know skills gaps and can open doors across the organisation.
Don’t forget internal networking too: SLT support is vital, but so are teachers, admin, reception, and facilities staff who help encounters run smoothly.
For more inspiration, see UCAS work experience reimagined for ways to engage employers for all activities.
You don’t have to do it alone
UCAS Discovery events offer students face-to-face encounters with employers, universities, colleges, and apprenticeship providers. Engaging talks, hands-on activities, and access to sector specialists give students real-world insight to make informed choices.
Making It meaningful
Encounters can’t be one-off or disconnected. Students and employers both need to understand why the activity is happening and what it’s designed to achieve. Build in time for reflection – you can adapt models like the ‘Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle’ to help students think deeply, rather than relying on simple 'happy tick sheet' evaluation forms. Use reflection to strengthen relationships too: have students thank employers and share insights to show real impact.
Also build lasting relationships with employers by ensuring they’re properly briefed, they understand what to expect, and use clear communication avoiding school jargon.
Be student-centred
Employer encounters must meet the needs of all pupils. A mix of in-person, virtual, and blended activities helps reach different students. Work closely with SENCOs, tutors, and students themselves to plan what will work best, and make sure accessibility is considered, from providing advance information to loaning laptops for virtual sessions. Students can access virtual experiences programmes through their UCAS Hub account to support real-world experiences.
Employer mentoring can be transformative. Future Leaders offers workshops and mentoring tailored to neurodivergent students or those from diverse or disadvantaged backgrounds.
Next time we’ll be looking at GB6 – Experiences of workplaces where much of this information will also be useful.
