#FIRMday 2nd Oct 2014 Kaye Townsend, The Guardian - Early careers 2014, insights into graduate mindset
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Guardian Jobs wanted to find out what employers, young people and their influencers thought about apprenticeship schemes and offer employers advice about how best to engage with young talent. We will be presenting our research findings which seeks to answer some of these questions... - How are apprentices/school leavers perceived in comparison to graduates? - When do young people start thinking about their careers and who are their key influencers? - Who is ultimately responsible for providing young people with careers advice? - How and where can employers best engage with young people?
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#FIRMday 2nd Oct 2014 Kaye Townsend, The Guardian - Early careers 2014, insights into graduate mindset
- 2. Key Themes • Do young people still want to go to university? • Are apprenticeships a good alternative to university? • Should careers advice be taught at school? • Should employers come into schools? • And what do employers think?
- 3. Do young people still want to go to university?
- 4. University applications are at the highest level since 2011 Source: UCAS Applicant Statistics April 2014
- 5. More than half of students say they are put off by the costs of going to university Sample: 300 students 52% plan to go to university 55% “the cost of university puts me off”
- 6. Are apprenticeships a good alternative to university?
- 7. Only 1 in 5 students plan to do an apprenticeship Sample: 300 students
- 8. Teachers value apprenticeship schemes Sample: 430 teachers
- 9. Should careers advice be taught at school?
- 10. Students would like more careers advice at school Sample: 300 students
- 12. Ofsted calls for better careers guidance for young people Sample: 430 teachers
- 13. Should employers come into schools?
- 14. Teachers think it’s useful for employers to come in and talk to young people 57% of teachers said that employers come in and talk to their students Sample: 430 teachers 84% think this is useful for students
- 15. And they would like more contact with both parents and employers Sample: 430 teachers
- 16. Parents would prefer to have contact with teachers about careers advice Sample: 198 parents.
- 17. Parents are keen for employers to speak to young people about careers 96% of parents would like employers to speak to young people Sample: 198 parents
- 18. And what do employers think?
- 19. How many employers offer apprenticeships? Sample: 185 employers
- 20. How valuable are apprentices? 72%“apprentices offer good ROI for my business” Apprentices are more likely to progress and stay longer than graduates Sample: 185 employers
- 21. Employers want more visibility in schools Sample: 185 employers
- 22. Our Story: Young People at the Guardian Anne Eden-Russell & Jo Baddeley
Editor's Notes
- Early Careers and Apprenticeships have been a hot topic occupying the news agenda for some time. With a growing economy and falling unemployment, the fact that almost a million 16-24 year olds continue to be not in education, employment or training (Neet) is concerning. With higher education becoming less accessible due to the costs involved, more young people are facing the prospect of going straight into employment – but how prepared are they for the world of work? And how much do they really know about all the options available to them? There have been several pieces of research carried out asking young people their opinions on higher education and apprenticeships, but we were also interested to find out the views of the people that may influence young people as they make these life-changing decisions. We asked over 1,000 students, teachers, parents and employers how much they know about the options available for school leavers, their opinions on higher education and the perceived value of apprentices vs graduates, and who they think is responsible for careers training. A complete set of results from each of the groups can be found in this booklet, but for the purpose of today I’ve summarised the findings into five key topics.
- According to UCAS, university applications are up 4% from 2013 with over half a million applications – the highest number of applicants since 2011. All of this despite the rising costs of higher education. But how many students we asked, still planned to go to university?
- Half of students we surveyed said that they planned to go to university….but 55% of them said that the cost of university puts them off. So with half of students looking at the prospect of going into employment, it’s concerning that only 4% of them feel very prepared for the world of work. Apprenticeships are one of the alternative options available to young people, and have undergone a reinvention over the last few years. No longer are apprenticeships reserved for plumbers and mechanics, they are now available in every industry sector, for many different types of roles. But how many students have actually considered apprenticeships, are they perceived to be as valuable as higher education?
- And are they a good alternative to university?
- Only 1 in 5 students we asked said they planned to do an apprenticeship – and with half planning on going to university, it’s clear that students still favour higher education above anything else, despite the cost. and with 56% of students thinking that apprenticeships are a good alternative to university, there is still a lot to be done to raise the profile of apprenticeships. Can teachers help to change these perceptions?
- More than three quarters of teachers believe that apprenticeships are a good alternative to university. But despite this, half of students told us they had never been advised to do an apprenticeship scheme, suggesting that there is a lack of awareness or understanding about apprenticeships that is stopping teachers from recommending them as a viable alternative to university. So are young people receiving the best careers advice? And should careers advice be taught at school?
- Two thirds of students would like MORE careers advice at school. But worryingly, half of students have never been advised to look into an apprenticeship scheme, suggesting that either there is still a stigma attached to apprenticeship schemes, or schools simply don’t know enough about them to offer young people advice on all the options available.
- We asked Teachers who they thought was primarily responsible for providing careers advice – 71% of them said that they were primarily responsible for providing careers advice – although worryingly, 59% said they didn’t know enough about the options available for school leavers.
- According to Ofsted, poor careers guidance is having a direct impact on youth unemployment. Ofsted’s director for further education and skills, Lorna Fitzjohn, called for more to be done to help young people into work, as she launched a new report into youth education and training. The report highlighted a number of findings that paint a worrying picture of the careers guidance provided to young people, and claims that too few learners are able to progress to apprenticeships, employment or higher levels of learning. So what’s being done? To help to ensure that young people have the qualifications and experience to transition smoothly from education into working life - the participation age in education and training was raised earlier this year, to 17; next year it will rise again to 18. But we’re still left with young people with no work experience who are finding it difficult to get that first step on the career ladder.
- So if more needs to be done to integrate careers training into schools, can employers help by coming in to speak to young people directly about the various routes into employment? And what do teachers think about this?
- 57% of teachers told us that employers already come in and talk to their students …and 84% of them think this is useful for students.
- And 85% of them would like more contact with employers But how do parents fit into this picture? Well 62% of teachers would also like to have more contact with parents to talk to them specifically about careers advice.
- And parents want to be involved 81% want to be able to talk to teachers and 48% to employers about their children’s career options.
- In fact, parents are so passionate about their children receiving good careers guidance at school, that an overwhelming 96% of them would like employers to come into schools and speak to students about careers. So we’ve established that despite the high costs of university, apprenticeships are still not seen as a viable and valuable alternative. Perhaps apprenticeships are misunderstood and don’t receive enough credit from parents and teachers – which could be down to a misunderstanding of the benefits of apprenticeship schemes. But surely it’s the employers view that matters the most – they are the ones who employ young people and therefore can offer the most honest opinion of their value.
- Currently, just over half of employers currently offer some sort of apprenticeship scheme, with 47% of them offering a vocational (core functions) scheme and 39% offering skills based or generic schemes that allow apprentices to try different types of roles.
- But how valuable are apprentices to businesses compared to graduates? Many employers state on job descriptions that they are looking for degree-qualified applicants, but do graduates make better employees? Apprentices are more likely than graduates to stay longer at the company and progress, than graduates and 72% agree that apprentices represent a good return on investment for their business. It’s been reported that Higher Apprentices deliver almost 40% more in taxpayer returns than graduates from institutions previously known as polytechnics. A new study by campaign group Million Jobs’ revealed that for every £1 of funding, higher apprentices generate £85 of revenue to the Exchequer. Conversely, graduates from ‘new’ (post-1992) universities generate £51 per pound – that’s £34 less revenue.
- We’ve already mentioned that the overwhelming majority of teachers and parents want to see employers in schools – but do employers think this would be valuable? The vast majority of employers would like to have MORE presence in schools, and 67% would like schools to give more access to employers. Perhaps then the question is how can employers help schools to improve the standard of careers training for young people, keep informed about the options available to young people, and how can we change the perception that graduates are more valuable to employers than school leavers?