ISCO , Independent School Careers Organisation

The origins of ISCO may be found in the the small Careers Advisory Bureau (CAB), run by the educational agents Messrs. Truman & Knightley from the 1920s onwards. In 1933, an Public Schools Section of the CAB was instituted, run by a Captain Pullein-Thompson. It was advised by a committee of headmasters Following the outbreak of war, the Public Schools Section of the CAB removed themselves from Truman & Knightley and formed the Public School Employment Bureau (PSEB) in 1939. This entity became a company limited by guarantee in 1942. The end of the war and the increasing numbers of public school leavers meant that the resources and staffing of PSEB were stretched to the limit. In 1947, an enquiry by a committee of the Headmasters' Conference, led by Sir George Schuster, came to the conclusion that PSEB needed to be radically overhauled. The new goals were to widen the range of help given to boys, improve contacts with schools and businesses, encourage schools to wrok out training schemes for 18 year olds, and assist careers masters by sending them prepared and classified information regarding openings throughout the whole country. The new organisation, known after May 1950 as the Public Schools Appointment Bureau (PSAB), was given a national structure and staffing, and was led by a Council composed of headmasters and representatives of school governing bodies. Regional offices began appearing in 1951, and PSAB provided a systematic placement service, various courses and summaries of training schemes. Though membership grew during the 1950s and early 60s, by the later part of the decade it had slowed due to the wish of students to attend higher education, economic fluctuations, and a lack of new schools eligible to join the scheme. PSAB responded by working more closely with parents, for example implementing the Parents Participation Scheme (later the Careers Guidance Scheme), where parents contributed money in exchange for packages of guidance, information and access to courses. In 1972, PSAB was renamed ISCO, the Independent Schools Careers Organisation, and the criteria for membership was relaxed to allow in non-HMS schools. Growth was maintained during the 1980s with the introduction of Morrisby tests and the computerisation of careers guidance. Joan Hills was the ISCO office manager from 1948 to the 1980s This information was taken from an unpublished work by Mike Hicks, 'Careers Work and Independent Schools 1920 - 2000: Eighty Years of Vocational Guidance', to mark the 50th Anniversary of ISCO. Mike Hicks is a member of the ISCO Council.