Why Employee–School Engagement Is Still a Struggle (And How We Fix It)

We keep hearing the same frustration from both sides.

Schools say: “Young people aren’t work-ready.”

Employers say: “We can’t find talent that sticks.”

Both want better engagement. Both know the stakes are high. But the gap remains.

This isn’t about blaming teachers or criticising employers. It’s about acknowledging the system isn’t built to connect education and employment in a meaningful way.

So why is employee–school engagement such a struggle?

And more importantly, what can we do to bridge the gap?

Why Employee-School Engagement Is Failing

Mismatched priorities

Schools are judged on exam results and attendance. Employers are focused on teamwork, communication, initiative, and reliability. The two sets of priorities rarely line up.

Overstretched resources

Teachers are working under immense pressure. Employers are firefighting business demands. Neither side feels they have the capacity to make partnerships work.

One-off interactions

Too often engagement is a single careers talk, a quick work placement, or a token visit. Without consistency, young people don’t connect the dots between school and the workplace.

Lack of ownership

In many organisations, school engagement isn’t anyone’s job. It sits somewhere between HR, CSR, and “if we have time.” Schools face the same issue. It becomes ad hoc instead of strategic.

Inequalities in access

Some schools have great employer links. Others, especially in disadvantaged areas, have very few. That deepens social and economic divides.

Skills mismatch

Employers complain about “work readiness.” Young people often lack confidence, networks, and understanding of professional behaviour, not because they can’t learn, but because no one has shown them.

What Research Tells Us

The Education & Employers charity shows young people who have four or more employer interactions before 16 are five times less likely to be NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training).

The Careers & Enterprise Company reports that schools with strong employer links see better student attainment and stronger progression into work or higher study.

The Institute of Employment Studies highlights that engagement isn’t just about skills, it builds confidence, resilience, and aspiration.

How We Bridge The Gap

Start earlier

Don’t wait until GCSE years. Primary-age children should be exposed to the world of work in simple, inspiring ways.

Make it ongoing

Move from one-off events to ongoing programmes. Mentoring, long-term projects, and repeated touchpoints are far more effective than a single talk.

Co-design the approach

Schools and employers need to design engagement together. Employers must explain what skills matter most. Schools need to highlight their constraints so programmes are realistic.

Invest in dedicated roles

School–employer engagement needs ownership. Careers leaders in schools and community engagement leads in businesses should have time and accountability to make it happen.

Focus on behaviours as much as knowledge

Punctuality, communication, collaboration, resilience...these are teachable. They should sit alongside exam results in how we prepare young people.

Level the playing field

Employers must reach out to schools that don’t already have connections. Virtual work experience, online mentoring, and targeted outreach can make engagement equitable.

Why It Matters

This isn’t just a “nice to have.” Poor engagement has real consequences:

• Businesses face chronic skills shortages.

• Young people leave education without clear pathways.

• Inequality deepens when access depends on postcode or who your parents know.

  
  

When schools and employers genuinely partner, young people develop confidence, skills, and networks. Employers get access to future talent. Society benefits from higher employment, stronger resilience, and less inequality.

Conclusion

Employee–school engagement is broken, not because people don’t care, but because the system wasn’t built to make it work.

If we want to change that, we need consistency, co-design, and courage to do things differently.

Engagement can’t be an afterthought. It must be a priority.

So here’s the challenge: What’s the one step you, as an employer, as a school, as a leader, could take this year to bridge the gap?

If you would like to have a chat about how The Heald Method can help you, book a call here or drop me an email - rebecca@rebecca-heald.co.uk