An exploration of the views of young people and adults about the future of work

WORKSMAKING

SURE

TOMORROW

An exploration of the views of young people and adults about the future of work Research undertaken by the Future Foundation on behalf of the City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development

September 2012 Claire Donovan

Making sure tomorrow works: An exploration of the views of young people and adults about the future of work Research undertaken by the Future Foundation on behalf of the City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development

3 Introduction

4 Key findings

5 Methodology

7 Guide to charts

8 How do young people view enterprise and entrepreneurship?

13 What do young people think of careers guidance?

16 How optimistic are young people?

22 How do young people rate their mathematics abilities?

23 Women in the workplace

25 What kind of company do young people want to work for?

26 What young people ‘don’t know’

28 How young people see their futures - in ten years from now

30 Young people’s hopes, fears and aspirations

31 Comparing the views of young people with adults

36 Conclusions and recommendations

38 Appendix A – Guide to the questions and results key

40 About the organisations involved

Contents

3Making sure tomorrow works

Introduction

This publication is part of our work to improve understanding of the motivations and aspirations of young people. The City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development invited the Future Foundation in 2012 to explore the attitudes of young Britons aged 14-20 and put them in the setting of economic and social change which has happened, and is happening to the UK over the next few years. It also explores key areas (mathematics, careers guidance, enterprise, and optimism) highlighted by Ways into Work (May 2012); a City & Guilds publication which explores the hopes and aspirations of 3,000 young people across the UK and their experiences of the education and training system to date.

The Future Foundation gathered the views of some 1500 young people. Some of the questions were also put to 1000 adults as well, in order to create a compare-and-contrast. Balanced representation between genders, age categories, and socio-economic status in the young people was also achieved. The following charts give a flavour of the views of young people and adults.

The questions covered expectations of the future, personal and general; how best to earn money and build careers; and measures of optimism from both adults and young people.

As a nation, we are facing an extraordinary combination of economic and social challenges. Are young people ready for the future, and how can we all do more to help them thrive – and make sure tomorrow works?

Using this reportThis report is based on a quantitative survey of young people and adults’ views. The data is presented in charts, with in-depth reporting by gender, age group and socio-economic grouping for some key areas of interest. A description of the question is included in italics beside each chart, and significant or interesting elements of the findings are highlighted in ‘What do the results tell us?’. The City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development hopes that these data sets will stimulate debate and raise questions. We have therefore added a commentary under ‘Thoughts, comments, questions’, which we plan to utilise in our future work.

You can download a copy of Ways Into Work from www.cityandguilds.com

4 Making sure tomorrow works

Key findings

Young people are optimistic for their own futures, although they are less so for the UK as a whole, and for others in their generation.

They strongly believe that hard work and skills are rewarded.

They think that they themselves will have a decent standard of living, and may well own their own home in ten years’ time.

But:

They have doubts about the UK economy maintaining its global competitiveness.

They are unconvinced that their generation will be as financially wealthy as their parents’ generation.

Girls are not quite as interested as boys in gaining enterprise skills, and are less likely to see self-employment in their future.

Confidence in career choices increases with age from 14 to 20.

Those from higher qualified/occupational backgrounds are concerned about their lack of a clear idea about which career to choose, but it is those from lower qualified/occupational backgrounds who want better sources of advice.

The desire to improve mathematics skills is much higher among those from less highly qualified/occupational backgrounds.

There is a great deal of commonality in the views of adults and young people in certain areas (such as the future costs of learning, lifelong learning, and general levels of optimism).

Adults are less convinced than young people that a good degree from a good university remains the best guarantee of a good career throughout life.

Adults are more worried than young people about the value of their pension, but 47% of young people still express concern about how valuable their pension will be during retirement.


The Future Foundation drew on a ‘panel’ of specially selected young people aged 14-20 to provide a representative base. The young people completed an online questionnaire. In order to give a complete and comparative perspective, more than 1000 adults’ views were also collected via an online adult omnibus. 485 men responded, and 520 women. The adults were aged 21 to 75+.

The Future Foundation segmented the 1544 young people’s responses to ensure representative results relating to gender, age and socio-economic group. 745 boys and 799 girls took part, while 509 respondents were aged 14-15, 510 were 16-17, and 525 were 18-20.

Information on the young people was collected to determine their occupation, or that of their family’s chief income earner. Segmentation by NRS social grade is therefore possible, and represented in the charts following, but was not a priority in terms of equally representative sample sizes. Throughout the report, we will refer to these groupings in terms of the respondents coming from ‘highly qualified/occupational backgrounds’, etc.

Methodology

DEOccupation Semi and unskilled manual workers, casual or lowest grade workers, pensioners and others who depend on the welfare state for their income

223 respondents

C1Occupation Supervisory or clerical and junior managerial, administrative or professional.

356 respondents

C2Occupation

Skilled manual workers.

211 respondents

ABOccupation

Higher/ intermediate managerial, administrative or professional.

354 respondents


The geographical spread of the young people is shown to the left (region/nation, number of respondents).

Making use of the ‘Don’t knows’‘Don’t know’ was a permitted response for some of the questions. Instead of excluding these from the report, we have analysed these responses to give an indication of where young people feel the most uncertainty. This is presented in Figure 20.

Scotland 122North East 91

North West 200

Northern Ireland 20

Yorkshire & Humberside 145

East Midlands 107

East of England 138

South East

236London

179South West 142

Wales 42

West Midlands 122


Some of the questions in the survey asked respondents to select from a list. Others asked them to rate the likelihood of certain things, or to state whether they agreed or disagreed with certain statements. The data are presented in charts with the ‘positive’ responses (ie if they selected the item from the list, or chose ‘quite likely’, ‘very likely’, ‘agree’ or ‘agree strongly)’ ABOVE the axis. Negative responses (ie ‘quite unlikely’, ‘very unlikely’, ‘disagree’, or ‘strongly disagree’) are shown BELOW the axis.

The response of ‘neither agree nor disagree’ was possible on some questions, and these responses are not represented on the charts, as we wished to focus on the degree of positivity and negativity each question stimulated. In some questions, we refer to the ‘balance’ of responses – this is simply an observation on the volume of answers above the axis, compared to the volume below.

Structure of the report The report looks first at the views of young people about some key areas identified by Ways into Work – enterprise and entrepreneurship; careers guidance; optimism; and mathematics. We then explore a specific question around the future of women in management, before reporting what young people are really looking for in an employer. We then move on to the analysis of the ‘don’t knows’ before exploring young people’s hopes, dreams, aspirations and expectations. We conclude the data presentation with comparisons between the views of young people and adults on some key issues. The report closes with some suggestions on how the findings might inform future thinking.

Guide to the charts

Chart example

20%18%

6%6%

11%12%

6%8%

23% 24%

8% 10%

3% 3%2% 2%

% responding ‘very likely’

% responding ‘quite likely’

% responding ‘quite unlikely’

% responding ‘very unlikely’


Young people’s interest in enterprise and entrepreneurship is arguably a measure of how the next generation entering the workforce will embrace self-employment and business start-up. In this section, we test young people’s views on gaining enterprise and entrepreneurship skills, as well as their views on the usage of these skills in the economy as a whole.

What do the results tell us? Girls are lagging behind boys in their desire to gain enterprise skills, but not by much.

Young people from less highly qualified/occupational backgrounds do not aspire to entrepreneurship in the same way as those from higher qualified backgrounds.

Thoughts, comments, questions The falling interest in gaining enterprise skills by qualification/occupational grouping is very interesting.

Perhaps it is a question of confidence, with those from highly qualified backgrounds feeling that they are more likely to be in a position to start up a business in the future, while those from lower qualified backgrounds are more cautious about the risks and potential losses associated with new companies.

Overall, interest in gaining enterprise skills is lower than might be expected, with more than 70% of young people not selecting gaining these skills as an aspiration.

How do young people view enterprise and entrepreneurship?

This question was designed to measure demand from young people for enterprise skills. It does not assess the reasons why they may be interested in gaining these skills, which might be intrinsic interest, or a more grudging acceptance that these skills may be needed in the future to secure an income.

Figure 1: ‘I wish I knew how to start my own business’ % of young people selecting this aspiration

By gender By age group By socio-economic groupAll aged

14-20

Girls 16-17 AB C2Boys 14-15 18-20 C1 DE

24%27%28%28%29%28%28%28%30%29%


What do the results tell us? There is a significant percentage (29%) of young people who believe it is quite or very likely that they will be running their own business within the next ten years. However, the balance of results is below the line, ie more young people think it is unlikely than likely that they will be self-employed or will have started their own company within the next ten years.

Boys are more likely than girls to think that they will be self-employed or will have started their own company in the next ten years. However, there are still a quarter of females who think it likely they will be running their own business in the future.

The group with the highest expectation of self-employment for themselves in the next ten years are the 18-20 year olds.

Thoughts, comments, questions Perhaps reflecting the findings of Figure 1, where young people expressed their interest in gaining enterprise skills, young people are not overwhelmingly convinced that self-employment is in their near future. At 14, it is probably difficult to imagine yourself running a company by the age of 24. The interest of the older age group suggests that once people have progressed in their education, and possibly entered the workforce, the prospect of self-employment becomes more possible and/or attractive.

Those from more highly qualified backgrounds are more likely to see themselves as self-employed or having started their own business within the next ten years, which is mirrored in their interest in gaining the skills to start their own business in Figure 1.

The responses to this question were on a scale of ‘very likely – quite likely – quite unlikely – very unlikely’. The young people were asked to visualise themselves in ten years from now. The place in which an individual expects to be at 24 can be quite different at 30, so the age groups here are particularly interesting.

Figure 2: ‘In ten years’ time, I will be self-employed or I will have started my own company’ % of young people thinking this likely/unlikely

22% 25%20% 21% 21%

24% 21% 24% 21%17%

7% 9%6% 6% 5%

10%8% 6% 4% 6%

Boys Girls 14-15 16-17 18-20 AB C1 C2 DE

35% 34% 35% 36% 37%31%

37% 34% 35% 34%

20%16%

24%16%

22%22%

21%20% 20% 23%


14-20

quite unlikely

very unlikely

very likely

quite likely


What do the results tell us? There is consensus among young people that ‘working for themselves’ is likely to be far more common for people in the future.

There is little variation in the degree to which this is felt to be likely, although the youngest age group has the fewest responses below the line (i.e. thinking it is unlikely).

Thoughts, comments, questions Taken with the results documented in previous charts, it is perhaps surprising that such a large percentage of young people see ‘many more’ people involved in self-employment, given that they do not see it for themselves. This could be for a number of reasons, including:

While it is easy to imagine self-employment growing in the economy, it is more difficult to see it specifically in your own future. It is natural for a little disconnect to occur in people’s thought processes.

It may be that young people believe setting up in business is not something to be expected before you are 30, and that there are many people older than them who will launch companies in the next ten years. Young people may think self-employment is in their future, just not in the next ten years, while older people are closer to making this decision.

Measured on a likely/unlikely scale, this question tests the views of young people on the future of enterprise in the UK population as a whole. It circumvents the views of the young person about their own future, and instead asks them about what the economy will look like.

Figure 3: ‘Within the next ten years, many more people will be working for themselves’ % of young people thinking this likely/unlikely

Young people may think self-employment is in their future, just not in the next ten years, while older people are closer to making this decision.

46% 47% 45%49%

44% 45%51%

43%49%

43%

9% 10% 9% 7% 11% 10% 7%10%

9% 10%


23% 21%25%

19%25% 25%

20% 23% 23% 20%

7% 7%7%

7%7% 7%

7% 7% 8% 9%


14-20

quite unlikely

very unlikely

very likely

quite likely


What do the results tell us? There is a strong and healthy comparative admiration for entrepreneurs among young people.

Few disagreed with the statement, but girls, and those aged 14-15 were less emphatic in their admiration for business people.

Thoughts, comments, questions The results from this question perhaps give hope to those who despair that young people live in a celebrity culture which does not recognise or admire commercial skills. Young people are emphatic in their regard for entrepreneurs and successful business people over those whose success comes from more transitory sources. Given

the level of admiration for entrepreneurs, it is surprising that young people do not have a strong sense of self employment as part of their own futures (Figure 2), or an overwhelming desire to gain enterprise skills (Figure 1). There is perhaps potential to turn some of this positive feeling towards entrepreneurs into more energy and enthusiasm in young people to be part of the expansion of enterprise which they themselves predict (Figure 3). It seems that young people do not yet regard entrepreneurs as ‘people like them’, but rather as people with different skill sets, motivations and opportunities.

This question tests whether young people actually admire those people who are entrepreneurs more than those whose talents attract more conspicuous attention. The survey was anonymous, so young people were free to select an honest answer.

Figure 4: ‘I admire people who build their own businesses more than I admire TV/pop stars’ % of young people agree/disagree

It seems that young people do not yet regard entrepreneurs as ‘people like them’, but rather as people with different skill sets, motivations and opportunities.

40% 41% 38% 40% 40% 38% 39% 42% 43%37%

33% 35%31% 26%

35% 38% 35% 34% 31%31%


5% 4% 7% 6% 5% 5% 5% 4% 6% 7%1% 1%2% 2% 1% 1% 1% 2% 1% 1%


14-20

disagreedisagree strongly

agree strongly

agree

BO

YS

GIR

LS


What do the results tell us? The claim of young people that they admire entrepreneurs more than pop or TV stars is borne out by these scores. People from the business world were clearly admired a lot more than those known for less substantial accomplishments.

Girls tend to admire the women in the list more than boys, and they also admire the men less than the boys.

Thoughts, comments, questions The importance of role models to young people suggests that girls are currently missing out. Their results suggest that they find male role models less inspiring than boys do, and women more so. This points to the need for more female role models, to inspire girls in a wider range of accomplishments and areas of success, a finding borne out by other recent research from Girlguiding UK (2012).1

We asked young people to think about these celebrities’ achievements, and tell us if they admired them or not. Scores above the axis indicate the percentage who ‘Admire a lot / Admire a little’, scores below indicate ‘Do not admire at all’.

‘Who do young people admire?’ Figure 8: At the top...

1 Girlguiding UK (2012). Girls’ Attitudes Explored… Role Models. UK: Girlguiding UK.

66%

12%

6%

70%

14%

6%

67%

18%11%

60%

26%

6%

39%

26%

5%

35%

36%10%

42%

37%9%

47%

32%

17%

49%

35%10%

38%

38%

23%

35%

36%

26%

35%

39%

20%

77%

12%

4%

68%

16%

5%

33%

32%9%

44%

24%

6%

42%

34%9%

56%

27%

13%

41%

38%

14%

53%

29%

13%

50%

30%

14%

41%

35%

19%Figure 9: And at the bottom...

Bill Gates

Justin Bieber

JK Rowling

Kim Kardashian

Richard Branson

Kate Moss

Barack Obama

Jeremy Paxman

Alan Sugar

Stella McCartney

Emma Watson

Carol Vorderman

David Beckham

Cheryl Cole

Mark Zuckerberg

Gordon Ramsay

The Dragons

Lady Gaga

Brian Cox

Rihanna

Andy Murray

Simon Cowell

47% 60% 56% 37% 46%

18%37% 41%

32%35% 21%

59%

44% 45% 38% 39% 30%28% 32%

25%30% 17%

38%27% 28%

45%37%

49%

35% 30% 38% 34%47%

32% 33% 32%42% 35%

46%38% 32% 39%

31%39%

11% 8% 11% 14% 13%

25% 24%16% 20% 15%

26%7% 14% 14% 15%

20% 19%30%

18%27%

19%

33%

Don’t admire

Admire a lot

Admire a little

Admire a lot

Admire a little

Don’t admire


Young people need help when making choices about their future. What do they think about the guidance they have received, and how ready do they feel to make these choices? This section looks at the desire of young people for more and better sources of advice, and their wish for clarity in their thinking.

What do the results tell us? Career uncertainty diminishes with age – an unsurprising finding, but 38% of people aged 18-20 still feel they lack this clarity about the career on which they will very shortly embark, if they have not already done so.

Those from highly qualified/occupational backgrounds have the highest level of uncertainty about their future career. This contrasts interestingly with their high levels of satisfaction with the sources of advice they have on building skills (Figure 9).

Thoughts, comments, questions How desirable is it that young people have a career in mind at the age of 14? While 49% of those aged 14-15 wish they had a better idea about their career, that leaves 51% who did not select this as one of their ‘wishes’. This may be because they either have a plan, or do not see the need for one yet.

When is ‘too late’ to develop a clear idea about what career you want? Such a large percentage of people aged 18-20 wishing that their career plans were clearer suggests that many people are ‘drifting’ into university and work without a proper understanding of how their choices might affect their future.

If you lack an idea about the kind of career you want, you may close off opportunities unknowingly. We did not ask this question of the adults, but it may be the case that career plans for some people never become clear, and their working life is instead a product of circumstance, accident, and occasional opportunity.

What do young people think of careers guidance?

The numbers of young people who selected this aspiration show the level of uncertainty which they feel about their future career. The question did not ask if they knew exactly what career they wanted, only if they had a clear idea about the kind of career they thought they would want.

Figure 7: ‘I wish I had a clear idea about what kind of career I want in the future’ % of young people selecting this aspiration


14-20


43%42%40%47%

38%41%49%

42%43%42%


What do the results tell us? Girls are less confident about their own abilities to manage their careers at the start than boys.

There is still a significant percentage (38%) of people aged 18-20 who seem to be willing to hand over planning of their careers to someone else.

Thoughts, comments, questionsThe issue of permitting another individual or organisation to manage your career may relate to ‘ownership’ or engagement with the career development process. Young people selecting this statement may be uninterested in career planning, or feel that they do not have the skills necessary to do so. Alternatively, it may stem from frustration relating to the personal effort required to access useful information. Young people may also be finding it difficult to make decisions about a career which may be quite distant.

We asked the young people a question to test if they were having difficulty managing their career choices. Those who selected this aspiration were making a statement about their own unwillingness/inability to ‘sort out’ a career path, or expressing their frustration at their own efforts to find good information.

Figure 8: ‘I wish I knew somebody who could just sort out a good career for me’ % of young people selecting this aspiration


14-20


44%41%42%40%38%42%41%41%39%40%

Girls are less confident about their own abilities to manage their careers at the start than boys.


What do the results tell us? There is a slight decrease in the dissatisfaction of young people aged 16-17, but overall more than 70% of young people are not dissatisfied with the quality of their guidance on skills development

Dissatisfaction with sources of advice on how to build skills is higher in those from lower qualified/occupational backgrounds.

Thoughts, comments, questions Are young people a good judge of the quality of skills advice? The fact that those from highly qualified/occupational backgrounds are less dissatisfied may stem from:

Actually receiving better guidance.

Receiving guidance which matches their expectations of ‘good guidance’, but which might not be accurate or unbiased.

Believing that quality advice on skills development is not as important to them as quality advice on careers or university choices, and therefore not being concerned.

This aspiration reveals a desire among the respondents for better sources of advice and guidance on skills. It reflects the judgement young people have made about the quality of the advice they have received on skills development. It does not attempt to measure the actual quality of the advice which young people receive, only their views on whether they wish it were better.

Figure 9: ‘I wish I had better sources of advice on how to build useful skills for myself’ % of young people selecting this aspiration


14-20


31%31%29%23%

30%26%

30%29%29%29%

There is a slight decrease in the dissatisfaction of young people aged 16-17, but overall more than 70% of young people are not dissatisfied with the quality of their guidance on skills development


How optimistic are young people?

Figure 10: ‘The British economy will still be among the richest in the world in ten years’ % of young people thinking this likely/unlikely

In measuring levels of optimism, it is important to distinguish between optimism for oneself (i.e. how positive an individual feels about their own situation and future which is in their control), and optimism about the environment in which they will be living and working. We asked a number of questions to test how young people felt about their own prospects, and those of the country in general.

What do the results tell us? Boys are slightly more optimistic than girls.

Optimism about the future of the UK economy diminishes with age and increases with qualification/occupation background level.

Thoughts, comments, questionsYoung people may have picked a response in the ‘unlikely’ range for more sophisticated reasons than a simple belief that the UK economy is shrinking. The emergence of other nations as global competitors may have influenced their view that the UK will no longer be in the top ‘tier’ of countries. They may believe that the UK economy will still be ‘rich’, just not as rich as others.

This question gave respondents the chance to indicate the relative global position which they felt was likely for the UK economy.

30% 30% 29% 30% 32%28%

31% 30%24% 26%

6% 6% 5% 5% 6%6%

6% 4%3%

5%


32% 31% 33%28% 32% 36% 33% 30% 31% 34%

18% 19% 17%18% 18% 19%

15%24% 25% 22%


14-20

quite unlikely

very unlikely

very likely

quite likely


What do the results tell us? Young people do not believe that this generation will unquestionably benefit from the same level of relative income growth which previous generations did – more disagreed with the statement than agreed with it overall.

Girls are more pessimistic about this generation’s relative wealth, as are those from lower qualified/occupational backgrounds.

Thoughts, comments, questionsTaken with the results in Figure 10, it is clear that some young people are positive about the future of the UK economy, and its upward trajectory in terms of increasing wealth, while others are not convinced. Some young people are clearly absorbing the messages about economic concerns, but should we be hoping for a little more optimism? These are the people who will build this future for themselves, and the lack of optimism suggests they are already not confident that they will have solutions or be able to implement them – should we be doing more as a nation to encourage confidence in our young people?

A question to test if young people see a generational gap in wealth in their favour. Successive generations in the UK have, for many years, seen personal and household wealth increase, but the current economic climate has thrown this trajectory into doubt for many forecasters.

Figure 11: ‘Young people today will be wealthier than their parents are/were’ % of young people agree/disagree

20% 21% 19% 20% 21% 19% 19% 21% 21%15%

6% 7% 6% 6% 5% 8% 6% 8% 5%6%


31% 30% 31% 31% 32%30%

34% 35%

27%

36%8% 8% 8% 6%10%

9%8% 8%

9%

10%


14-20

disagree

disagree strongly

agree strongly

agree


What do the results tell us? Overall, the youth of Britain are convinced that Britain recognises skills and hard work.

The older age groups are a little less sure that you can ‘do well’ if you put your mind to it, but the balance is still overwhelmingly positive.

Thoughts, comments, questionsThe overtly positive response to this question is a commentary on how young people view opportunities in the UK. It is clear that they firmly believe that opportunities to do well still exist, and are within the reach of those who are prepared to learn and apply themselves. This is a reassuring indication of their linking success with these two concepts, and a refreshing lack of cynicism. However, the question did not establish whether they thought skills and hard work were the only ways to get ahead, and there may be some who think they will do equally well without these.

A question designed to establish whether young people feel competence and effort are rewarded by the various systems in the UK. ‘Doing well’ was not defined in terms of salary, status, or other measures, so the young people responded based on their own measures.

Figure 12: ‘If you build your skills and work hard, you can still do well in the UK’ % of young people agree/disagree

Overall, the youth of Britain are convinced that Britain recognises skills and hard work.

56% 55% 58%62%

55%

21%

52% 58% 57%58% 54%

21% 22% 20%20% 22%

22% 20%20%

19%


6% 6% 6% 4% 7% 4% 9%8% 9%1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1%4%2%

4%


14-20

agree strongly

agree



What do the results tell us? Young people are upbeat about their own future – nearly 70% think they will have a good standard of living in ten years’ time.

This confidence drops with decreasing qualification/occupational background, with those from lower qualified/occupational backgrounds being less confident that they will be enjoying a good standard of living.

Thoughts, comments, questions We are starting to build a picture of the views of young people, which shows a potential disconnect between how they view themselves and their prospects, and how they think ‘everyone else’ will fare. Figures 10 and 11 show that in ten years’

time, they think the nation as a whole may not be among the richest in the world, and that their generation may not increase their wealth compared to the previous one. This chart shows a real optimism that they as individuals will be enjoying a good standard of living. In fact, the two earlier questions test the young people’s views about the relative positions of the UK economy and their generation, while this one asks them to make an absolute judgement about their own cirumstances. Also, the concept of a ‘good standard of living’ may vary significantly from person to person, and the amount of money and other factors necessary to secure it is therefore a valid question.

Given the economic difficulties that the UK currently faces, this question tested whether young people were optimistic about their own medium-term situation. The definition of a ‘good standard of living’ was not specified, so young people selected an answer based on their own values.

Figure 13: ‘In ten years from now, I will be enjoying a good standard of living’ % of young people thinking this likely/unlikely

The concept of a ‘good standard of living’ may vary significantly from person to person, and the amount of money and other factors necessary to secure it is therefore a valid question.

17%

55% 53% 57% 56% 57%51%

60% 61%54%

44%

14% 14% 13% 12% 12% 12% 11%8%

14%


15% 16% 15% 13% 15% 18%14% 11%

20%19%3% 3% 3% 2% 3%

4%2% 2%

2% 6%


14-20

very likely

quite likely

quite unlikely

very unlikely


What do the results tell us? Expectation of home ownership in the next ten years increases with age, however, 37% of 18-20 year olds think it is unlikely they will become home owners in this timeframe.

There is a small majority agreeing with this statement, but overall, 41% of young people think it is ‘unlikely’.

Thoughts, comments, questions Home ownership is traditionally bound up in positive ideas of stability, planning for the future, and local community involvement. Young people are right to suspect home ownership may not be in their near future. Recent figures from price comparison

website Moneysupermarket (2011), reveal that the average age of firsttime buyers is now 38.2

However, there are negative aspects also associated with home ownership – long periods of debt, ‘responsibility’, even repossessions. While the results may be an indication of young people’s belief that they will not be in a financial position to own their own home in the next ten years, some may not be seeking to achieve this, given the potential negative aspects.

This question examines how likely young people think home ownership is for them in the next ten years.

Figure 14: ‘In ten years from now, I will be living in a home that I own’ % of young people thinking this likely/unlikely

2 Moneysupermarket (2011). Age of first-time buyers hits 38. Retrieved on Aug. 12, 2012 from http://www.money supermarket.com/c/news/donot-give-up-on-the-mortgage-game/0011592/

Boys Girls 14-15 16-17 18-20 AB C1 C2 DEBy gender By age group By socio-economic group

All aged

14-20

29%26% 25% 28%32%

24% 23%27% 29%

24%

15% 17% 13% 15%

14% 14% 13% 13%18% 23%

32%31%

33%10%

34% 34% 34%

15%16%

14%

29%

16% 18%14%

31%25%

10% 14%34%

13%very

likely

quite likely

quite unlikely

very unlikely


What do the results tell us? Almost half (47%) of young people agree that they are worried about their pension income.

Girls are more concerned than boys about the value of their pension in retirement.

Worry increases with age, despite the fact that 18-20 year olds are only likely to be at the very start of their careers.

Thoughts, comments, questionsThe percentage of young people expressing concern about their pensions illustrates the extent to which they understand that pensions investment is part of their future prosperity. While they may not be familiar with the trends away from final salary to defined contribution schemes (which usually provide a lower return), they are still clearly aware that a large pension is not an automatic reward for a working lifetime.

Young people are not immune to the cares and concerns of those older than them, but this question highlights whether they have absorbed the older generation’s specific anxieties around pensions.

Figure 15: ‘I am worried about how valuable my pension will be during my retirement’ % of young people agree/disagree

5%


8% 8% 7% 7% 7% 8% 10% 8% 8%2% 2% 2% 2% 3% 2%4%

3%1%

1%


14-20

30%27%

34%

26%31%

34%29%

17% 18%16%

14%

16%19%

16%

29% 30%

17%15%

31%

17%agree strongly

agree



The importance of maths in the modern technological world is growing. The survey asked young people if they felt their maths skills were currently lacking.

What do the results tell us? Girls are significantly more likely to think their maths needed improving than boys. Less than 29% of boys aspire to improve their skills, compared to 37% of girls.

The older the young person is, the less likely they are to see improving their level of mathematics as desirable. Even so, more than a quarter of 18-20 year-olds feel their maths is not at the level they would like.

There is a markedly higher incidence of dissatisfaction with their maths abilities among those from lower qualified/occupational backgrounds.

Thoughts, comments, questionsAre girls actually worse at maths, or do they lack the boys’ confidence? In 2011, almost the same percentage of girls achieved A*-C as boys (58.6% compared to 58.9% {JCQ, 2011}.3 At A level, girls did better at A, B and C grades, although the boys did better at A*, and significantly more boys than girls took the Mathematics A level (49,828, compared to 33,167).4 It is clear that girls who would be capable of achieving A level are currently not taking mathematics forward beyond GCSE. The findings also raise the question – should we all be striving to improve our mathematics, at every age? When should we be satisfied that our maths skills are ‘good enough’?

How do young people rate their mathematics abilities?

This question tests demand for maths learning among the various groups. It does not indicate actual ability in mathematics.

Figure 16: ‘I wish I were better at maths than I am now’ % of young people selecting this aspiration

3 Joint Council for Qualifications (2011). GCSE, Applied GCSE and Entry Level Certificate Results Summer 2011. London: JCQ. 4 Joint Council for Qualifications (2011). A, AS and AEA Results Summer 2011. London: JCQ.


14-20


35%37%30%30%

33%34%37%37%

29%33%


The views of both young people and adults on whether women are on an upward trajectory in senior management is of key interest in the current economic climate. With UK business needing to improve productivity and profitability to climb out of recession, and Lord Davies’ inquiry gathering evidence that companies with women in senior management perform better, it makes sense to look forward to a future where women play a greater part in leading British business.5

What do the results tell us? Although the balance of young people thinking this is likely or unlikely is strongly positive, there is still a significant percentage (23%) of young people who think it is unlikely there will be more women at the top in future.

Girls are more positive than boys, but in total, only 65% of girls think the numbers of women in top management will increase – the rest disagree or ‘don’t know’.

Belief that women will increase their numbers in business management decreases with socio-economic grouping.

Women in the workplace

We asked a specific question to measure views on the likelihood of women increasing their numbers in top management.

Figure 17: ‘In the next ten years, there will be more women in senior positions in business than is currently the case’ % of young people thinking this likely/unlikely

5 Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (2011). Women on Boards. London: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

16%17% 17% 18% 16% 18% 18% 12% 19% 18%

5% 5% 6% 5% 6% 5% 5% 6% 6% 6%

51% 49% 52% 50% 51% 51% 53%

12% 11% 13% 9% 13% 14% 16%

51% 45%

9% 10%

53%

10%

quite unlikely

very unlikely

very likely

quite likely

Boys Girls 14-15 16-17 18-20 AB C1 C2 DEBy gender By age group By socio-economic group

All aged

14-20


What do the results tell us? There is a difference in the views of men and women – women are less sure than men that they will see more women in top management in business in the future.

Thoughts, comments, questions To give these findings some context, the percentage of female directorships in FTSE 100 companies has increased from 5.8% in 2000 to 12.5% in 2011.6 The percentage of non-executive directorships in FTSE 100 companies held by women has increased from 2% to 15.6%, and the total number of companies with no female directors has halved from 42 in 2000 to 21 in 2011.

One might think that these increases indicate a trend which is strong enough to continue for the next ten years, and the percentages of young people and adults who think it either very or quite likely ‘there will be more women in senior positions in business than is currently the case’ are between 74% (adult men) and 55% (young people from the lowest qualification/occupational background). However, this does still leave a significant percentage of both adults and young people who thought it was very unlikely, quite unlikely, neither likely nor unlikely, or simply didn’t know.

Comparing the results for young people with those of adults reveals some generational differences. Adult males are more convinced than boys that women are on an upward trajectory, while adult females are a little less convinced than girls.

It is also perhaps surprising that only 65% of the girls who responded, many of whom will not yet be in the workforce, think it likely that women will increase their presence in business management. If only 65% of girls are looking forward to a future where they are more likely to be at the top, and given the current relatively low levels of female representation on FTSE boards, there is still work to do in inspiring girls to aim for this level of achievement.

For this question alone, we are showing a breakdown for the adult responses to this question by gender, as the relative views of men and women are particularly relevant.

6 Vinnicombes, S., R. Sealy, J. Graham, E. Doldor (2010). The Female FTSE board report 2010. Cranfield: Cranfield School of Management

Men Women

Figure 18: ‘In the next ten years, there will be more women in senior positions in business than is currently the case’ % of adults this likely/unlikely

18%very likely

13%very likely

13%quite unlikely 20%

quite unlikely

56%quite likely

50%quite likely

5%very unlikely

7%very unlikely


We asked the young people to choose three features of company practice from a list, which would make it the kind of place where they would like to build their career.

What do the results tell us? Young people are focused on what a company can offer them in terms of training and progression, personal reward, and a fun working environment.

When balanced with other features, a company’s commitment to supporting the wider community, and to its environmental obligations, are not ranked highly by young people.

Thoughts, comments, questionsThe four features selected by most young people at the top of the chart could be regarded as focusing on the personal rewards of employment. It does not mean that young people do not care about how an organisation manages its community or environmental obligations, merely that when asked to pick only three from the list, these features do not factor highly. This could be viewed as an expression of a ‘want it all now’ attitude in young people, but employers could take heart from the fact that their future workforce is so ambitious and is likely to respond to incentives which are largely within its control, such as training and salary.

What kind of company do young people want to work for?

Figure 19: % young people choosing this element of company practice

Gives the young people it employs a chance at promotion and leadership

Has a good training programme for all

Makes life fun for those who work there

Is committed to paying staff as much as it can

Puts its customers’ interest first at all times

Is constantly inventing new products/trying new things

Is always striving to beat the competition and do well

Makes big profits every year

Takes seriously its obligation to the wider community

Takes seriously its environmental obligations

Has been around for a long time

54%38%36%

28%26%

23%19%16%16%13%

8%


In the questions in the survey, ‘Don’t know’ was sometimes an option for response. The chart opposite shows the percentage of young people who were not able to offer an opinion for each element.

What young people ‘don’t know’

What do the results tell us? Young people are the most unsure about whether they will be able to earn enough to make ends meet from a single job.

The next greatest areas of uncertainty are around where they will be working – either in London or overseas.

Young people are also unsure about whether to be concerned about their pension.

Thoughts, comments, questionsThis analysis is useful to show those areas where young people feel they ‘don’t know’ enough about their current situation and direction, or the future economic climate, to make a judgement as to whether an outcome is likely or not, or whether they feel able to agree with a statement or not.

Young people are the most unsure about whether they will be able to earn enough to make ends meet from a single job.


I will have two jobs in order to make ends meet

I will be working abroad

I will be working in London

I am worried about how valuable my pension will be (or remain) during my retirement

I will be self-employed or will have started my own company

There will be more women in senior positions in business than is currently the case

Many more people will be working from themselves

The best way of making money will be to get employed by a big company

The British economy will still be among the richest in the world

I will be enjoying a good standard of living

I will be continuing to study in some way

I will be living in a home that I own

Public sector employers care more about the welfare of their employees than private sector ones

Many people will go to university to study for a degree more than once in their lives

I will have a career in a profession I specially chose for myself

Young people will be wealthier in the future than their parents are/were

In the years ahead, I expect to have to move around the UK to find the best jobs and opportunities

Colleges and universities will be charging much more for courses than they do today

Everyone will have to learn new skills throughout life

A good degree from a good university remains the best guarantee of a good career throughout your working life

I admire people who build their own businesses more than I admire pop/TV stars

University will be too expensive for many families

If you build your skills and work hard you can still do well in the UK

It is very important for me to be good at doing certain things

High level of uncertainty

Medium level of uncertainty

Low level of uncertainty

21%19%

18%16%

15%

15%14%14%

13%13%

12%

11%10%

8%

7%

6%

3%3%

3%3%

2%2%

1%

19%

Figure 20: Young people’s areas of uncertainty % of young people answering ‘don’t know’

“I will be workingin London.”

“I will be living in a home that I own.”

“I will have a career in a profession I specially

chose for myself.”

Figure 21:

“I will be workingabroad.”

“I will be self- employed or I willhave started myown company.”

“I will be enjoying a good standard

of living.” “I will be continuing to study* in some way”

“I will have two jobs in order to make

ends meet.”

*Distance learning, part time courses, training provided by my employer.


How young people see their futures - in ten years from now

6%7%

10%

8%6%

14%

15%

27%

31%35%

24%31%27%

15%26%

11%

27%22%42%23%21%

55%

32%

15%20%11%

20%27%

3%

15%

4%

49%

quite unlikely

very unlikely

very likely

quite likely


It is interesting that more young people have ruled out working in London than working overseas, suggesting it is something about the nature of the UK’s capital which is the issue, rather than the idea of moving. It may be that they do not find the prospect of working in London appealing, or that it does not seem feasible (due to concerns about house prices, the competitive job market in a capital city, etc).

What do the results tell us? Young people are largely positive about many aspects of their futures. They are particularly sure that they will be able to follow their choices in terms of careers, and that those choices will enable them to have a good standard of living.

Young people are also fairly sure they will still be in some kind of learning in ten years’ time.

There is less certainty around where their careers will take them, but a reasonable percentage (29%) think it is likely that they will be working overseas.

The majority of young people think it is unlikely that they will have started their own company, as discussed in Figure 2.

Young people are equally balanced about whether they will need to have two jobs to make ends meet – this was also the question in the survey which elicited the highest percentage of ‘don’t know’ responses.

Thoughts, comments, questions Several of these results have been examined in more detail in previous sections, but two aspects which invite further analysis relate to lifelong learning, and to the question of whether one job will be enough to live on. In other questions, young people have made it clear that they think ‘everyone will have to learn new skills throughout life’, but only 52% think they themselves will be actively studying in ten years’ time. This may be related to their expectation of the costs of learning increasing (Figure 23), and being unable to see exactly how they would pay for study. It may also be that they have distinguished between ‘learning new skills’ and ‘studying’, and are expecting to incrementally add to their skills through informal methods over a long time period, as opposed to studying through more formal channels.

The idea that having two jobs might be necessary in order to ‘make ends meet’ is somewhat at odds with other responses where young people are optimistic that they will be able to enjoy a good standard of living.

BOYS BOYS BOYS BOYS BOYSGIRLS GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS

29% 33% 29% 30% 6%37% 27% 29% 28% 8%

BOYS BOYS BOYS BOYS BOYSGIRLS GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS

48% 46% 43% 39% 34%54% 50% 42% 41% 42%


One of the questions in the survey specifically asked young people to think about their particular aspirations, and to choose as many as were relevant from a selected list. This gives us an insight into the areas causing young people the most concern, and those aspects about themselves that they want to improve.

What do the results tell us? Young people have particular concerns about earning money.

Girls have more concerns than boys about their currrent levels of skills such as public speaking, languages and mathematics.

Boys find learning/training more boring than girls.

Girls are more likely than boys to aspire to work for a charity, but neither gender is particularly enthusiastic for working in the third sector over the private sector (6% of boys, 8% of girls).

Thoughts, comments, questionsYoung people are clearly concerned about earning money, although it is not clear whether this is based on having to earn money right now while they are young, or if it relates to concerns about how they will earn enough to live on in the future. Either way, it is clear that young people need some reassurance about the transaction of earning money, how it works, and how they can improve their understanding and skills to reduce their concern.

Young people’s hopes, fears and aspirations

Figure 22: % of young people selecting this aspiration

“Did not have to worryabout earning money

here and here.”

“Had better sources of advice about how to build useful skills

for myself.”

“Could speak more confidently in front of other people.”

“Knew how to start my own business.”

“Had a clear idea aboutthe kind of career

I want in the future.”

“Could work for a charity rather than

a business.”

“Knew somebody whocould just sort out a good career for me.”

“Could speak anotherlanguage.”

“Were better at mathsthan I am now.”

“Did not find learningtraining so boring.”

“In the future, university will be too expensive for many families.”

Young people Young peopleAdults Adults

“In the future, colleges and universities will be charging much

more for courses than they do today.”


We wanted to be able to compare the views of young people with adults on some of the issues, so adults were also surveyed on some of the questions. In the charts following, you can see how the two groups’ responses compared.

What do the results tell us? There is a wide consensus that the costs of learning, whether at university or college, will increase within the next ten years.

Both groups believe that university is going to move out of the reach of many families.

Thoughts, comments, questions Only very small percentages of young people and adults think that university and college learning will not increase, an unsurprising finding which reflects the understanding that the costs of learning to the individual have increased already.

Everyone understands that the reduction of public funding for learning is having a significant impact on where funding for learning comes from, and that the individual (and perhaps employer) is expected to contribute more. However, to see such a large percentage of both young people and adults thinking that university will be out of reach for many families suggests that most people think the costs of higher education in particular will put it beyond many people.

Comparing the views of young people with adults

Figure 23: The costs of learning % respondents

strongly negative

negative

strongly positive

positive

54%

37%

3% 4% 2% 2%5% 7% 5% 6%

46%

42%

49%

41%

45%

44%


What do the results tell us? Both young people and adults are not convinced that university will be an attractive or viable proposition for many people to experience more than once.

The need to keep learning new skills is appreciated by a large majority of respondents.

Adults are less sure than young people that a degree is necessary for a good career.

shows a need for alternatives to university education in order to maintain and improve skills.

The fact that adults are less convinced of the value of a degree is perhaps as a result of exposure to the workplace, where people can witness the relative success of graduates compared to those who have chosen alternative routes. Although many adults (37%) do believe that a degree gives you the best grounding for a good career, 36% do not agree with this statement.

Figure 24: Approaches to learning % respondents

Young peopleYoung peopleYoung people AdultsAdultsAdults

“A good degree from a university remains the best guarantee of a good career

throughout your life.”

“In the future, everyone will have to learn new skills throughout life.”

“In the future, many people will go to university to study

for a degree more than once in their lives.”

46%

45%15%

34% 11%

26%

47%

44%

6%25%

5%31%

28%

9%

34%

23%

33%

26%

2%4% 2%4% 22%

6%

Thoughts, comments, questions The lack of conviction that multiple degrees are a likely element of future learning is perhaps linked to Figure 23, where the costs of university (even for a first degree) were thought to be moving beyond many families’ financial means. However, the positive response to the lifelong learning question indicates that both young people and adults understand the need to continue studying in some way. Perhaps this also

strongly negative

negative

strongly positive

positive


What do the results tell us? Young people and adults have similar views on the future position of the UK economy, and on whether young people today will be more wealthy than their parents.

Both sets of respondents show a real positivity about skills and hard work being rewarded by success.

Adults are considerably more concerned about the value of their pension.

Thoughts, comments, questions The difficult economic environment appears to be affecting young people as much as adults. The first three sets of responses present a picture of lack of confidence in the future, with outright negativity in relation to pension provision.

However, the final question shows that both young people and adults are very optimistic about the rewards which are possible through expertise and effort. We might have expected adults to be more cynical and negative about whether the UK is still a meritocracy in the current climate, but it appears their experience matches the optimism of youth.

Figure 25: Optimism % respondents

Young peopleYoung peopleYoung peopleYoung people AdultsAdultsAdultsAdults

“If you build your skills and work hard, you can still do well in the UK.”

“Young people today will be wealthier

than their parents.”

“I am worried about how valuable my pension

will be (or remain) during my retirement.”

“In ten years’ time, the British economy will still be among

the richest in the world.”

5%22%

21%

56%

23%

55%

6% 2%6% 2%8%2%

11%

31%

6%20%

8%

31%

6%30%

5%34%

17%

30%

32%

42%

18%

32%

21%

31% 6% 1%

strongly negative

negative

strongly positive

positive


What do the results tell us? Adults see the future of self-employment in largely similar terms to young people.

A significantly higher percentage of adults admire entrepreneurs more than pop/TV stars.

Thoughts, comments, questionsBoth groups see many more people self-employed in the wider economy in the future, perhaps reflecting the perceived current instability of the labour market. However, about 30% of both young people and adults did not think it was likely that many more people will be working for themselves – perhaps they do not anticipate a large scale increase in self-employment, only a small one.

Figure 26: Entrepreneurship and enterprise % respondents

“In ten years from now, many more people will be working for themselves.”

Young people Young peopleAdults Adults

“I admire people who build their own businesses more than

I admire pop/TV stars.”

9%46%

7% 9%

1% 1%

23% 22%

5%1%

9%50%

33%

40%

52%

37%

strongly negative

negative

strongly positive

positive


What do the results tell us? Adults are less convinced than young people that large companies present the best opportunity for a good salary.

Young people are significantly more likely to expect to have to move in order to progress their careers.

Both young people and adults are evenly split in terms of the view of public sector employers as more ‘caring’.

Thoughts, comments, questionsAdults perhaps have had the benefit of exposure to the relative earnings possible in both large and small companies, which is why they are less convinced that big companies are the ‘best’ way to make money.

The anticipated position of women in senior management has been looked at in depth elsewhere in this report (Figures 17 and 18), but it is worth reiterating the marked difference between young people and adults in this regard.

The recent cuts to public spending may have impacted on people of all ages in terms of their views of public sector employers as ‘caring’, but without longitudinal data to

test this, it is not possible to say that this is the reason so few believe that they will be better taken care of in a public sector job. It may be that public sector employers have never had a strong reputation for attention to staff welfare.

Unsurprisingly, a much higher percentage of adults disagreed that they will move around the UK for the sake of their careers in the future. The strength of agreement with this statement which young people express shows that they understand this may be a necessity, and may come from an honest appraisal of the probable opportunities which are available in many localities.

Figure 27: Working lives % respondents

Young peopleYoung peopleYoung peopleYoung people AdultsAdultsAdultsAdults

“In the years ahead, I expect to have to move around the UK to find the

best jobs and opportunities.”

“Public sector employers care more about the welfare

of their employees than private sector ones.”

“There will be more women in senior positions in business

than is currently the case.”

“The best way of making money will be to get

employed by a big company.”

9%

16%16% 12%

7% 7%21%

15%

49%8%

28%

21%

14%7%

6%5%

10%7%

8%

24%

21%

21%

45% 42%51% 53%

18% 27% 17% 17% 1%9%

strongly negative

negative

strongly positive

positive


The research has provided an insight into the thinking of young people, and what the future which they will build might look like. While many of the responses are interesting in isolation, when compared, they provide a more complete but more complex picture. The following conclusions and recommendations are a few of the things which stood out for us.

Training is the new currencyYoung people are sometimes accused of wanting and expecting unrealistic outcomes from their employer. However, the strength of young people’s desire for opportunities for training, and for leadership and promotion (Figure 19), is a natural and logical result of perception of changes to work patterns. While there is no empirical evidence that job tenure is reducing (OECD, 2011), and that job mobility is increasing, perhaps the perception is that ‘work’ is less stable and secure than it has been previously.7 If young people are receiving this message, it makes sense for them to put training and progression at the top of their ‘wish list’ for an employer. Knowledge, skills and experience are currency in the adult world, and they are also an intrinsic acquisition which an individual retains, no matter what happens.

Key message for employers – Employers can capitalise on this interest by putting training and progression at the heart of their engagement with young people. It would be useful for employers to consider:

Using training and progression programmes in recruitment promotion, to attract young people who are looking for these as a priority.

Setting up formal programmes to motivate and reward existing young employees, where these do not already exist.

Encouraging young people to reflect on their own skills accumulation and progression, to help them build realistic expectations.

Communicating the ‘real life’ levels of opportunity and progression which are possible in the workplace.

Young people see themselves differently from the way they see ‘the rest’ A revealing aspect of young people’s thinking is illustrated in comparing their responses around the wealth of the nation and their generation in general, and their expectations of their own success.

Superficially, it looks as though young people have understood but not accepted the implications of a future in which the UK economy is no longer thriving, and the generational wealth differential falls. Despite the balance of belief that the UK economy will not be among the richest in the world, and that young people today will be less wealthy than their parents, when asked whether they thought they would have a good standard of living in ten years, most young people agreed. The real insight into their thought processes stems from Figure 12, where their innate belief that hard work and skills are the key to success is clear. Else- where in the survey, the young people made it clear that they were willing to work hard:

Figure 21, where more than half of young people say they have not ruled out having two jobs to make ends meet, and the same proportion expect to be studying in ten years’ time.

Figure 27 which shows that nearly two thirds of young people are willing to consider moving round the UK in pursuit of employment.

Figure 4 which demonstrates the level of respect those who exemplify hard work and creativity engender in young people.

Conclusions and recommendations


Key message for policy-makers and opinion- formers – young people realise the potential difficulties they may face, but also understand some of the potential solutions. They are taking their futures very seriously, and deserve support to explore these mitigating activities. Careers education, information, advice and guidance can play a key part here in helping young people make the right choices. Work experience can help young people build realistic expectations of both behaviours and rewards in the workplace.

Here come the girls (maybe) Despite the continued increase in women in top management, the respondents in the survey were not unanimous in their belief that numbers of women at the top would grow. Of most significance to our way of thinking, was the finding in Figure 17 that only 63% of young people think the number of women in senior management is on an upward trajectory. Even among girls, 35% of respondents did not think it was ‘likely’ that there would be more women in senior management in the future – they voted ‘Don’t know’ or ‘unlikely’. Further analysis around the enterprise questions shows that girls are not as sure as boys in terms

of seeing self-employment in their futures (Figure 2). They also have a stronger desire to improve skills such as public speaking, maths and languages than boys, which could be interpreted as a lack of confidence in their current abilities (Figure 22). Girls also scored the male celebrities less highly than the boys did (and the female celebrities less harshly) – Figures 5 and 6.

Key message for all – girls clearly need more and better role models in business to inspire them to think more optimistically about their futures. They are not yet responding as positively as boys to efforts to encourage entrepreneurship and enterprise.

Careers guidence for social mobility The findings of the research around careers guidance highlight the apparent disparity between those from different qualification/occupational backgrounds. Those from lower qualification/occupational backgrounds are clearly more dissatisfied with the sources of advice about how to build useful skills for themselves (Figure 9). Figure 2 also shows a significant drop in interest in starting a business as the qualification/

occupational background falls. Young people in these groups are also a lot less confident that they will have a good standard of living in ten years’ time (Figure 13), all of which sets the scene for a debate on current policies to improve social mobility. Balanced against these findings is the fact that more young people from the highest qualification/occupational backgrounds think they lack a clear idea about the kind of career they might want (Figure 7).

Key message for schools, colleges and careers guidance providers – young people across the spectrum are desperate for good quality guidance and information on careers and skills. Providers of careers guidance have a great opportunity and an ‘open door’ to show young people the whole range of opportunities and options which are possible.

7 OECD (2011). Employment by job tenure intervals – average tenure. Retrieved on Aug. 12, 2012 from http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?QueryId=9591


Following are tables which show the questions asked in their original form, and a guide to where the results can be found in this report.

Please take a moment to consider the following propositions and tell us whether you think they are likely or not likely to happen in the future, ie within the next 10 years. (Very Likely / Quite Likely / Quite Unlikely / Very Unlikely, Don’t Know). These question was asked of young people and adults.

University will be too expensive for many families. Figure 23

Many people will go to university to study for a degree Figure 24 more than once in their lives.

The best way of making money will be to get employed Figure 27 by a big company.

Everyone will have to learn new skills throughout life. Figure 24

Colleges and universities will be charging much more Figure 23 for courses than they do today.

The British economy will still be among the richest in the world. Figures 10, 25

There will be more women in senior positions in business Figures 17, 18, 27 than is currently the case.

Many more people will be working for themselves. Figures 3, 26

Please take a moment to tell us whether you agree or disagree with the following statements. (Strongly Agree/ Agree/ Neither Agree nor Disagree/ Disagree/ Strongly Disagree, Don’t Know). This question was asked of young people and adults.

In the years ahead, I expect to have to move around the UK Figure 27 to find the best jobs and opportunities.

Public sector employers (such as the NHS, local government, Figure 27 state schools...) care more about the welfare of their employees than private sector ones.

A good degree from a good university remains the best Figure 24 guarantee of a good career throughout your working life.

I am worried about how valuable my pension will be Figures 15, 20,25 (or remain) during my retirement.

Young people today will be wealthier in the future than Figures 11, 25 their parents are/were.

I admire people who build their own businesses more than Figures 4, 26 I admire pop/TV stars.

If you build your skills and work hard you can still do well in the UK. Figures 12, 25

Please take a moment to reflect on the achievements/talents of these people and tell us whether you personally admire the following people. (Admire a lot/ Admire a little/ Do not admire at all, Don’t know). This question was asked of young people only.

Kate Moss, Andy Murray, Simon Cowell, Bill Gates, Figures 5 and 6 Emma Watson, Kim Kardashian, Brian Cox (astronomer), Lady Gaga, Barack Obama, Justin Bieber, Alan Sugar, Carol Vorderman, Cheryl Cole, Gordon Ramsay, Stella McCartney, J K Rowling, Jeremy Paxman, The Dragons (from the Dragons’ Den), Richard Branson, Rihanna, Mark Zuckerberg, David Beckham.

Appendix A – Guide to the questions and results key


In ten years from now, where do you see yourself? Please consider each option and give it a plausibility rating. (Very Likely/ Quite Likely/ Quite Unlikely/ Very Unlikely, Don’t Know). These questions were asked of young people only.

I will have a career in a profession I specially chose for myself. Figure 21

I will be living in a home that I own. Figures 14, 21

I will be enjoying a good standard of living. Figures 13, 21

I will be working in London. Figures 20, 21

I will be working abroad. Figures 20, 21

I will be continuing to study in some way (distance learning, Figure 21 part time courses, training provided by my employer...).

I will be self-employed or I will have started my own company. Figures 2, 21

I will have two jobs in order to make ends meet. Figures 20, 21

Everybody has needs, dreams and ambitions. We are interested in yours. Please complete the following sentence by ticking all the statements that are true for you? (Select / Not selected, no limit on number of selections). These questions were asked of young people only. The statement began: I wish I…

Were better at maths than I am now. Figures 16, 22

Had a clear idea about the kind of career I want in the future. Figures 7, 22

Did not have to worry about earning money here and now. Figure 22

Had better sources of advice about how to build Figures 9, 22 useful skills for myself.

Could speak another language. Figure 22

Knew somebody who could just sort out a good career for me. Figures 8, 22

Could speak more confidently in front of other people. Figure 22

Did not find learning / training so boring. Figure 22

Knew how to start my own business. Figures 1, 22

Could work for a charity rather than a business. Figure 22

We are interested in your opinions about what makes a good company - and by good we mean the kind of place where you would like to build your own career. From the list below, please pick your three top features, the three features that would make a company good in your view. Please pick only three. These questions were asked of young people only.

Is committed to paying staff as much as it can. Figure 19

Has been around for a long time.

Has a good training programme for all.

Makes life fun for those who work there.

Takes seriously its obligations to the wider community.

Is always striving to beat the competition and do well.

Puts its customers’ interests first at all times.

Is constantly inventing new products / trying new things.

Gives the young people it employs a chance at promotion and leadership.

Takes seriously its environmental obligations.

Makes big profits every year.


City and Guilds Centre for Skills Developement The City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development is a not for profit research and development body for vocational education and training. It works to influence and improve skills policy and practice worldwide through an evidence based approach. It is part of the City & Guilds Group. The desire to integrate evidence into skills policy and practice sits at the heart of what we do. That’s why we work closely with policy makers, practitioners, employers and learners to:

understand current challenges and find evidence based solutions

provide research findings that are relevant and practical

link research, policy and practice by sharing knowledge and good practice.

For further information about our work, visit www.skillsdevelopment.org

The Future FoundationOur core expertise is based on identifying and forecasting social and consumer trends and determining the extent of their impacts on markets, services, brands and products.

Since our launch in 1996, we have worked to meet the strategic needs of businesses through the application of insight. We identify, measure and examine trends, attitudes and behaviours through the rigorous analysis of quantitative and qualitative research. Our robust programme of research provides businesses with the grounding and confidence to anticipate the likely impact of the evolving consumer environment and identify new market and revenue opportunities.

The goal is to ensure that our customers receive a tangible return on their insight investment. Our library of case studies is testament to the concrete and measurable results that we have achieved for many brands over the years.

For further information, visit www.futurefoundation.net

About the organisations involved

City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development 1 Giltspur Street London EC1A 9DD United Kingdom

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An exploration of the views of young people and adults about the future of work