ABSTRACT
Employer engagement can perhaps best be seen as a process through which schools access specialist resources to help pupils clarify, confirm and support identification of career aspirations and routes towards securing them. The high-performing independent schools see employer engagement as a means of identifying, confirming and supporting higher education aspirations and related career trajectories. Respondents saw employer engagement in general and work experience in particular as a means of developing the personal effectiveness of pupils in different social settings. A number of respondents identified employability skills to be gained from employer engagement activities, which would be readily recognisable in the state sector. One of the most common methods used to engage employers is alumni networks. Schools maintained alumni directories and databases and networked primarily for fundraising, but also used these networks to provide work experience placements for current pupils.
