Milburn Calls for Career Education to Begin in Primary School

Children in England should start learning about the world of work from the moment they enter primary school, according to a former government minister who has spent months examining why so many young people end up outside education, employment or training.

Alan Milburn, who previously served as a minister under the Labour government, is the author of a major review into youth activity across the United Kingdom. His central argument is that waiting until the teenage years to introduce careers guidance is a mistake, because the path towards becoming "Neet" – not in education, employment or training – frequently begins long before a pupil sits their GCSEs.

Under his proposals, children as young as four would be given the chance to learn about different occupations. He suggested that employers could visit primary schools to deliver talks and offer taster sessions, giving pupils a first glimpse of the opportunities that exist beyond the classroom. In his view, the purpose at this stage is not to steer children towards a particular job, but simply to widen their sense of what is achievable.

Speaking to the BBC, Milburn said the emphasis in primary school should be on "opening their eyes and giving them a sense about what is possible." He argued that dedicated space in the curriculum should be set aside to "broaden horizons," and that bringing employers into schools would help children understand the range of roles available to them.

The former minister is equally focused on the later years of compulsory schooling. For pupils in Key Stage 4, who are aged between 14 and 16, he wants work experience placements to be made mandatory, with students spending time in a real workplace and receiving feedback from their host employer. He described mandatory work experience as something that "makes a big difference" to young people's prospects.

Milburn pointed to what he sees as a serious inequality in the current system, noting that around four in ten people aged 14 to 16 receive no work experience at all. In some schools, he said, students are simply told to arrange their own placements, a task that often depends on the personal and professional networks of their parents. That, he suggested, leaves children from less well-connected families at a disadvantage.

The recommendations are due to appear in the final instalment of Milburn's government-commissioned report, which is expected to be published in the autumn. Education policy is devolved across the UK, meaning that although the review considers all four nations, any recommendations relating to schooling apply specifically to England. At present, careers guidance is compulsory for students in England aged 11 to 18, but work experience is not a statutory requirement.

The government has already signalled its own ambitions in this area, stating that its vision is to guarantee two weeks' worth of work experience for every young person in England. Milburn's proposals would go considerably further by embedding careers awareness into primary education and making workplace placements a legal obligation for teenagers.

The timing of the review reflects mounting concern about youth unemployment. According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, 981,000 people aged 16 to 24 in the UK were not in education, employment or training between April and June 2026. That figure represents a substantial share of the country's young population and has prompted questions about how effectively schools prepare pupils for the transition into work.

Not everyone is convinced that primary school is the right place to start. Emma, a grandmother from Kirklees with grandchildren in Years 1, 2 and 4, told the BBC that children are already being pushed to grow up too quickly. She said primary school should be a time when youngsters are allowed simply to be children, even while acknowledging that the world is changing and that learning remains important.

Another parent, Zoe, took the opposite view. She said introducing careers education early made sense because work is something everyone will eventually have to do, and learning about it sooner means there is less to pick up later on. The divide between the two responses illustrates how sensitive the question of childhood and formal career preparation has become.

Teaching unions have broadly welcomed the idea of starting career-based learning at a younger age, but they have also raised practical concerns. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, warned that primary schools are already operating under "significant pressure." He stressed that when new mandatory requirements are proposed, it is essential to be transparent about what might have to be sacrificed to accommodate them.

Whiteman also highlighted existing initiatives such as Primary Futures, a programme that invites volunteers from a variety of professions into schools. He said such schemes help challenge stereotypes and raise children's aspirations, and argued that the earlier young people can connect what they learn in school with future possibilities, the better.

Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said that bringing visitors into the classroom can genuinely awaken pupils' motivation and give them a sense of enthusiasm for opportunities beyond school. He did, however, acknowledge a geographical challenge, noting that arranging such experiences could prove more difficult in rural areas where employers and workplaces are spread thinly across a wide area.

Taken together, the proposals raise questions about curriculum time, funding and the readiness of primary schools to absorb a new responsibility. They also touch on a broader debate about whether careers education should be a discrete subject or woven through existing lessons. For Milburn, the answer appears to lie in early exposure combined with compulsory, properly supported workplace experience for teenagers.

With the final report still to come, the discussion is likely to intensify over the coming months. The central tension is clear: almost everyone agrees that young people need better preparation for working life, but there is far less agreement on when that preparation should begin and who should bear the cost of delivering it.