Education, training, skills and careers
Which of these are important to you, when you are
thinking about a career or job?
The most important things for 16- to 21-year-olds in a job or
career are a good salary (85%) and job satisfaction/finding it
interesting (84%); and three in five (61%) also mentioned
opportunities to progress. Around half say that job security (52%)
and making a positive contribution (49%) are important to them. The
least important things were that the job was not too demanding
(14%) and following someone else in their family (4%).
Choosing the right GCSEs and A-Levels
Six in ten young women aged 16 to 21 agree that they don’t get
enough advice about choosing the right GCSEs and A levels. When
this is broken down by age, 16- to 18-year-olds are more likely to
agree with the statement than 19- to 21-year-olds (65% compared to
52%).
How has the economic downturn affected your views
about staying on in full-time education in the
future?
The most common answer from this age range, chosen by 42%, was
that the economic downturn had made no difference to their views
about staying on in full-time education. A third (30%) said that
they were less likely to stay in education and a fifth (18%) said
that they were more likely to do so.