The first guide in ISE’s School and College Engagement Toolkit explains the importance of engaging with schools and colleges and why your business should invest.
Employers have a unique opportunity to shape the future workforce in today's evolving job market. Engaging with schools and colleges supports talent development, social impact, and brand building.
Early engagement is also a powerful way to address current and future workforce challenges, enabling employers to raise awareness of career opportunities, close skills gaps, and build a more diverse and prepared talent pipeline.
ISE has just launched a School and College Engagement Toolkit, providing evidence and best practice on how by starting early and engaging meaningfully, your organisation can make a lasting impact on both young people and your long-term success.
The toolkit includes a guide on why to engage with schools and colleges, a guide on how to engage and a guide on collaborating with others
Here we look at the importance of engagement and why to invest.
Understanding the business case
Understanding the real reasons why your business should engage with schools and colleges is key to the long-term success of your outreach efforts.
Your reasons for engaging may vary depending on your business's size, sector, or focus. Understanding your long-term business vision regarding talent—and identifying how schools and colleges can support it—is a powerful way to gain business buy-in and secure senior leadership support.
A good starting point is to consider who in your organisation will be responsible for school and college outreach.
For some, particularly those with a community impact driver, this responsibility may fall within their social impact teams.
For others, it may align best with your organisation’s early careers or HR team, where future talent pipelines will likely be a core priority.
8 reasons to engage with schools and colleges
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Stay competitive
Employers see the advantage of building awareness and interest in careers early on. This early engagement helps shape student perceptions, increases future readiness, and gives businesses a head start in attracting and developing future talent, especially in industries facing skills shortages or competition for young talent.
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Close skills gaps
In many industries, an ageing workforce is creating a growing skills gap. The roles where these skills gaps exist may not be as visible or trendy to younger generations, which makes early, targeted engagement with schools at all academic levels essential to promote these careers in an appealing and relevant way to address the skills gap.
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Unlock future talent pipelines
One of the most widely understood reasons for engaging with schools and colleges is their long-term benefit to future talent pipelines.
According to The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC), 75% of businesses working with schools say this engagement is helping to bring in new apprentices (Employer Standards One Year On, The Careers and Enterprise Company):
- Employers doing targeted, intensive outreach are 4x more likely to see an increase in apprenticeship applications.
- 83% of employers say their school and college engagement is directly helping them build talent pipelines.
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Enhance student decision-making
CEC’s Future Skills Questionnaire, surveying over 230,000 students, reveals a clear link between employer engagement and career readiness:
For instance, female students with high career readiness are twice as likely as their peers to express interest in engineering.
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Reduce recruitment costs
Engaging early builds future talent pipelines and can lower recruitment costs. Some employers have found that their recruitment expenses decrease because they do not have to promote their brand as heavily.
Among the 800+ employers using CEC's Employer Standards by September 2024:
- 37% report savings on recruitment
- That number rises to 43% for employers using the standards for a second year
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Drive diversity and inclusion
Engaging with schools and colleges plays a crucial role not only in building talent pipelines but also in driving greater workforce diversity.
Among 811 employers who had used the CEC Employer Standards in Careers Education self-assessment tool by September 2024 (now 1,000+), 65% were targeting to support at least two underrepresented groups—a figure that rises to 81% for those with longer-term outreach programmes.
Employers actively targeting underrepresented groups reported significantly better outcomes:
- +31% were more likely to say their outreach is helping to develop new talent pipelines (77% vs. 41%)
- +28% more likely to report improvements in early careers recruitment effectiveness (90% vs. 59%)
- +33% more likely to agree it’s helping to improve workforce diversity (80% vs. 52%)
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Engage employees
One often overlooked benefit of working with schools and colleges is their positive impact on your existing workforce. The chance to mentor or teach young people, especially seeing that ‘light-bulb’ moment, can significantly boost employee satisfaction while supporting skills development and confidence.
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Support client goals and the community
Many projects or businesses must meet client requirements around community engagement, social value, or local apprenticeship targets.
Attracting young people to specific industries in certain regions can be challenging, making engagement with local secondary schools essential.
Beyond career fairs and talks, building ongoing relationships with targeted schools and informing careers teams about your opportunities can significantly support client goals and benefit the community. Hiring local apprentices fulfils social value commitments, fosters team pride, and strengthens community ties.
ISE School and College Engagement Toolkit
Use the stats and case studies provided in School and College Engagement Toolkit to shape a strategy that aligns with your goals and build a compelling business case for meaningful engagement. It is made up of three standalone but connected guides:
Guide 1: Why engage
- The business case for engagement.
- Understanding the impact on young people and employers.
- Aligning engagement with your organisation’s values or objectives.
Guide 2: How to engage
- Practical steps for planning and delivering meaningful activities.
- Types of interactions you can offer – from talks and workshops to work experience.
- Tips for engaging different age groups and tailoring to diverse audiences.
Guide 3: Collaborating with others
- Building effective partnerships with schools, colleges, and external organisations.
- Measuring and sustaining your impact over time.