Member Article

Teens turning to parents for career advice

Over half of 16-to-18 year olds have confessed that their biggest future concern is not being able to find the right job, according to new research commissioned by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), the professional body for insurance and financial planning. With so many career paths available to young people today, and a world of information at their fingertips, what is the cause of the poor state of career confidence amongst 16-18 year olds in the UK?

Nearly 96 per cent of 16-to-18 year olds turn to their parents for career advice over social media or job search engines. Parents can play a pivotal role in helping their children make informed career choices by understanding the options out there, including apprenticeships.

However, only 22 per cent of 16-to-18 year olds think that an apprenticeship provides the best opportunity for their future despite the Government’s Apprenticeship Levy coming into effect on 6th April 2017 that will open up more employment pathways for young people than ever before.

University still ranks high amongst young people despite the average university debt per student estimated at £44,000. And while two in five of 16-to-18 year olds admitted that debt is one of their future concerns, nearly 66 per cent said they plan on going down the traditional university route regardless of the fact that they are likely to come out with high levels of debt and no guarantee of a graduate job.

To help raise awareness about the benefits of apprenticeships, and to educate young people about their career options during National Apprenticeship Week 2017, the CII have on hand a panel consisting of Educating Yorkshire’s Mathew Burton, 4Music’s presenter Maya Jama, a successful apprentice working in the city, Louise Tidball, Talent Adviser at Markel Insurance and Caspar Bartington, Education Relationship Manager at the CII, to discuss the pros and cons of apprenticeships versus university and the career options available for teenagers after school or college.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Broadcast Exchange .