Search Results

This paper represents the results of collaboration between b-live Foundation (charity), the Education and Employers Taskforce and the UK Commission for Employment and Skills. It is published within the Taskforce’s occasional research papers series. It asks a simple question: is there any alignment between the career aspirations of young people, aged between 13 and 18, and the best estimates of actual demand within the current and future British labour market? The question is relevant to young people, employers and the UK’s future prosperity. The paper asks whether teenagers making educational decisions do so with career aspirations in mind which reflect realistic opportunities in the world of work. To employers, the importance of the question relates to flow of a new generation of workers with interests, skills and qualifications relevant to available jobs. The paper also addresses the question of whether young people are aware of the range of opportunities open to them. Is the youth labour market working effectively in signalling to young people the breadth of opportunities which are available and what they need to do - the decisions they needed to take at 14, 16 and 18 - to allow them to compete successfully in recruitment competitions. This study draws upon data supplied by the b-live Foundation. Over March/April of 2012 the Foundation surveyed 11,759 young people aged 13 to 18 across England about their career aspirations.

Excerpts from publication Show less