It is well past the end of the school day, but Paddington Academy’s biggest classroom is packed with students and an almost deafening chatter fills the air. Forty pupils aged 14 and 15 from local schools are forgoing the pleasures of after-school television to attend what may well be their first careers event.

The classroom is set up along the lines of a speed-dating room but, instead of looking for love, these children are finding out more about the world beyond school. At the desks sit volunteers, including doctors, lawyers and civil servants. The pupils rotate around the desks at seven-minute intervals, grilling each professional on what their job involves and the qualifications it requires.

The event at the school in west London is organised by Jobsmart, one of several social enterprises aimed at improving careers services in schools. It was founded this year by three young Teach First teachers, who believed that the careers advice for pupils in their schools was wholly insufficient.

“The children we teach are perfectly bright, but they just don’t have the same kind of aspirations as kids from private schools,” says Emma Bowers, one of Jobsmart’s founders.

“Even if they are ambitious, they don’t necessarily have a clear goal that they can work towards. Some of our pupils want to become lawyers or doctors but they’ve never met anyone who has done that. At our first session we had a straight-A student who wanted to be a doctor but didn’t realise he needed to study science.”

What Bowers has observed is part of a nationwide problem. Last week the National Careers Council called for a big culture change in careers provision, observing that employers are struggling to recruit even though youth unemployment is high.

Research suggests that more than half of employers — 53% — believe young people receive inadequate careers advice. Peter Cheese, the chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said: “Many young people are leaving education without an understanding of the world of work or how to access it.”

Jobsmart’s careers programme tries to give pupils this understanding over three stages: assessment; “speed-dating”; and more focused mentoring, which, it is hoped, will lead to work experience in a relevant field.

The organisation is encouraging young professionals to give their time and experience to help young students learn more about what careers are available.

“We realised that a lot of our friends with professional jobs might want to do something a bit different out in the community,” Bowers says. “There is this huge, untapped resource which we can use to help our pupils learn about careers.”

Both young professionals and pupils stay on well after the Jobsmart event is finished to carry on discussing the world of work. Bilal Mohammed, 15, says he enjoyed the session because he “doesn’t get enough guidance” at his London state school.

“It would be good to do this kind of session at school. It was exciting to hear people from different careers tell us what we could do when we are older. I found out a lot of information on new careers, things I hadn’t even thought about which might interest me.”

Clare Darley, a vice-principal at Paddington Academy, says: “A lot of it is about knowing what is possible.

“Teachers can tell you things until they are blue in the face, but seeing people from outside tell you things is very different. There’s a buzz in the room; it’s not a lesson.”

Enterprises such as Jobsmart have become an important tool for schools seeking to boost their careers provision and fill the gaps left by cuts to state funding.

Careers advice services used to be the responsibility of local councils and were organised by Connexions, an independent service funded by the Department for Education. But in 2011 the Education Act placed this responsibility directly on to schools, and cut Connexions back to become a solely phone and online service.

This has left many students floundering in the dark. A report in January on careers services from the Commons education select committee said “too many schools lack the skills, incentives or capacity to fulfil the duty put upon them”.

Jonathan Black, the head of the Oxford University careers service, says he is no longer surprised when students come to him entirely unprepared for life after education. He believes pupils need to have direct contact with careers advisers.

“The current service is insufficient,” he says. “Some schools buy in psychometric tests from Morrisby or Briggs Myers. These can be helpful, but it isn’t enough.”

Black also believes that universities could be empowered to go into schools and provide careers advice.

Whether it is through social enterprises such as Jobsmart, universities or schools, it is clear that more needs to be done.

Bilal says: “If you are a student who is extremely motivated, you can get advice. But for those who are a bit shy or don’t necessarily look for what opportunities are available, there isn’t enough support.

“I often look at my friends and think they are smart but they don’t realise it and they aren’t making the most out of themselves. They could definitely do with more help.”

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