At this time of year there is much debate about the options that are open to young people. There are articles published that pass comment about the advice offered at school, the relative merits of University, Colleges and Apprenticeships. Many of them bemoan the fact that there are too many ‘Hairdressers’ and not enough ‘Engineers’. Reports are commissioned and published by many organisations representing training providers, employers, funders, and so on.
The one voice that often appears to be missing is that of the young person. Through the GetMyFirstJob site, we are able to monitor exactly what young people say they would like to do. This has nothing to do with applying for a specific job but instead is based on understanding the career that the young person would like to start.
Comparing data between this year and last, a number of trends are very obvious. Firstly, the message about hairdressing seems to have got through. Of all the careers on offer, this is the one that has seen the biggest drop.
So, what is gaining? Well, not only has the message got through about hairdressing, but youngsters also seem to be tuned in to the ‘new economy’ through programmes such as social and digital media as well as more traditional engineering.
If young people have got the message – and it seems they have – then what else needs to be done? Well, one of the most obvious things to do is to help ensure that employers in this sector are able to access high quality training and a responsive service that meets their needs and helps to get these youngsters off to a great start in their well chosen careers.
This survey is based on over 11,500 registrations and 14,500 career choices made by young people in July 2013 and July 2014 respectively and recorded through their GetMyFirstJob profiles.
