Careers leaders know that Labour Market Information (LMI) matters.
We also know the reality:
There isn’t time for long careers lessons, tutors aren’t specialists, and everything risks being squeezed into one-off events like National Careers Week.
So here’s an idea for an approach that helps deal with these barriers.
Instead of trying to do everything at once, build small, consistent exposure to LMI through tutor time. Five to ten minutes. Once a week. Done well.
Over a term, that’s 12 meaningful conversations about jobs, skills and pathways.
Labour market by <a href=”http://www.nyphotographic.com/”>Nick Youngson</a> <a rel=”license” href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/”>CC BY-SA 3.0</a> <a href=”http://pix4free.org/”>Pix4free</a>
Students don’t need more information. Information on it’s own is often ignored. What students need is regular, low-pressure exposure to the world of work AND the opportunity to examine, to discuss it and most importantly, start to understand how it affects them personally.
Using tutor time is ideal because it:
Reaches every student
Builds knowledge gradually and allows for regular recall and use of previous knowledge.
Normalises conversations about careers
Takes pressure off one-off events
Most importantly, it helps students start to answer three key questions:
What jobs exist?
What do they involve?
What might suit me?
The key is to keep it simple.
Each session should:
Focus on one idea only
Use discussion, not delivery
Require no preparation from tutors
Here’s how a 12-week model might look.
Start by widening horizons.
Week 1 – Job of the Week
Introduce a role students may not know (e.g. marine biologist, foley operator etc).
Focus on: what the job involves and linked subjects.
Week 2 – Guess the Salary
Students rank jobs by pay.
Reveal answers and discuss why salaries vary.
Week 3 – Skills in Demand
Explore key employability skills like communication, digital skills and teamwork.
Ask students where they already use them.
Week 4 – Local Employers
Focus on your local area.
Who employs people nearby and what jobs exist there?
Now start connecting jobs to routes.
Week 5 – Jobs You Might Not Know
Highlight a growth role (e.g. wind turbine technician).
Why is it growing?
Week 6 – Pathways Discussion
Pick a job and explore routes into it.
University? Apprenticeship? Technical qualifications? Experience on the job?
Week 7 – Technology and Jobs
How is tech changing work? Maybe start with some jobs that are disappearing e.g. checkout operators being replaced by self serve tills
Let students share examples.
Week 8 – Sector Spotlight
Focus on a key sector like health or construction.
What roles exist within it?
Shift towards student decision-making.
Week 9 – Future Jobs
Which jobs might grow?
Why?
Week 10 – Transferable Skills
Take one skill (e.g. teamwork) and explore its value in work.
Week 11 – Work Preferences
Do students prefer working with people, data or things?
Indoors or outdoors?
Explore their own likes and dislikes.
Week 12 – Reflection
What have they learned?
What interests them now?
This only works if tutors don’t have to plan anything and can pick it up without having to study it in detail before they deliver. Time is of the essence.
Careers leaders should provide:
A single slide per week
A few prompt questions
Optional extra discussion points
That’s it.
No training sessions. No long briefings. No extra workload for the staff delivering.
Just open, read, discuss.
Over 12 weeks, students will:
Hear about multiple new careers
Understand how pay and demand work
Recognise their own skills and preferences
See clearer links between school and work
And crucially, they begin to build career curiosity, which is often the missing piece.
For careers leaders, this approach:
Supports Gatsby Benchmark 2 (LMI) in a meaningful way
Builds a whole-school culture of careers
Engages tutors without overwhelming them
Creates consistency across year groups
It also provides something tangible to show inspectors, parents and senior leaders.
If you’re thinking, this sounds great but I don’t have time to create it — that’s exactly why I’ve put together a ready-to-use version for paid subscribers which takes the outline above and delivers it in a fully editable PowerPoint ready to go. If you have a free subscription then I’m sorry but you’ll have to do the PowerPoints yourself.
The 12-week tutor-time LMI pack includes:
One slide per week
Ready-written prompts
Carefully chosen examples of jobs, skills and sectors
No prep required. Just send it to tutors and go.
Careers education doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective.
A short conversation each week can have more impact than a one-off event.
The goal isn’t to tell students everything about the labour market.
It’s to help them start noticing it.
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