While the CMI has strongly welcomed the Government's response yesterday to the final report of the panel on Fair Access to the Professions - particularly its focus on building a network of career mentors for young people, Ruth Spellman (pictured), chief executive of the CMI, said: "So many of our employers lament the poor quality of today's work experience: too many programmes offer disappointing outcomes for both the student and employers.
"By bringing together a unique partnership of employers, youth charities that offer valuable challenges and initiatives and young people, we can create a mechanism to provide new structures for work experience and evaluation tools to really reap the benefits of experiential learning.
"The Government is right that aspirations need to change if professions are to become more accessible, but this will only happen if young people have access to quality work experience and an ongoing network that offers practical support and guidance. It must do more than simply provide information about the available career opportunities. Young people are inspired by the reality of the workplace and by access to business leaders, not by yet another fact sheet."
