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84% of Liverpool's School Leavers not pursuing their
passion as a career
AS GCSE and A-Level results come out
and thousands of young people across Liverpool make decisions on their futures,
the UK's leading independent training provider releases statistics which show a
huge mismatch in career dreams and career choices, with many risking missing
their true calling after leaving school.
Research released from Liverpool based Pitman Training and Censuswide, reveals
Liverpool as a City of sport lovers, with 25% of respondents admitting this is a
passion they would love to connect to their career. However, with results
showing that 84% of 16 to 24 year olds don't know how to turn their passions
into a career, and 49% feel lack of qualifications halts them exploring as pirational career opportunities, it's apparent that the next generation of
employees are at risk of career dissatisfaction soon after they enter the job
market.
A gap in support for young people exploring career options was revealed
nationally as 4 in 5 (80%) young Brits wish they knew more about options
available to them on leaving school.
On a positive note, the research found that Liverpool bucked the trend of young
people rebelling against 'traditional' jobs that could be door
openers to their dream careers. 3 in 5 (58%) young Brits (aged 16 to 24) believe
that working in admin or accounts is 'boring' and 'old
fashioned', however Liverpool sees opportunities in these roles, with
just 34% across all ages agreeing with these stereotypes.
Retail is considered an easy way of entering employment, with almost 4 in 5
(79%) of young Brits (aged 16 to 24) agreeing on this and in Liverpool 62% of
respondents agreed with this view.
84% of 16 to 24 year olds did not feel able to pursue a career in interests they
are passionate about, with interests broken down as follows:-
► Tech:- A quarter (25%) of 16 to 24 year olds and nearly a third (27%) of 25 to
24 year olds had a passion for tech
► Celebrities:- 14% of 16 to 24 year olds identified working with celebrities,
with Liverpool scoring just 3%
► Fashion:- Over a third (35%) 16 to 24 year olds identified fashion
► Music:- Nearly half 16 to 24 year olds (49%) identified music
► Drama:- A quarter (25%) of 16 to 24 year olds identified Drama
► Sport:- A fifth (20.8%) of 16 to 24 year olds identified Sport with Liverpool
scoring 8th highest across all age ranges
This week, in response to these findings Pitman Training is running open days in
their Liverpool centre (Cotton Exchange, Bixteth Street, L3 9JR) for school
leavers with free CV clinics and the opportunity to meet advisors and create a
career progression plan, along with a free skills analysis to help people
establish their current competency in things like typing and MS Office are
available all week.
Alongside these events Pitmans are also launching to help school leavers
discover how personality and passions can be channelled into careers. It also
shares tips from PAs who are ex-Pitman students and now work for the BBC and ITV
alongside the PA to Ann Summers CEO, who come together to challenge the myth
that being a PA is old fashioned and 'boring' sharing insight into their roles.
Dominic Charters, Pitman Training Liverpool Centre Manager said:- "We're
really excited about meeting school leavers not going to University to help them
structure their next steps because if at school age young people fall into jobs,
or further training that is a 'filler' rather than a vocation, they really risk
not achieving their true potential. Many of our training courses can open doors
to help people work in the industries they really want, if they are focused on
progression. PA, web design and accountancy courses in particular can open up a
huge variety of doors into interesting careers."
Hattie Wrixon, co-founder of
UnisNotForMe.com, which she set up when she
was 17 said of the research findings:- "When it comes to leaving school,
it's important that young people see no stigma in exploring alternatives to
university, and are fully supported on their journey. To work in an area you
love should not be so out of reach; in fact that should be the starting point
when exploring career paths. I found it terrifying to read of such high
statistics of people who don't feel they can follow their dreams."
Further findings from the research undertaken by Pitman Training and Censuswide
found that that:-
► 37% of 16 to 24 year olds stated they don't have the
confidence to turn their passions into careers
► Fear of failure halts 35% of 16 to 24 year olds following their dreams,
compared to 20% of 35 to 44 year olds
► Only 7% of 16 to 24 year olds cited their parents wishes and approval as a
barrier
► Only 65% of 16 to 24 year olds felt University wasn't the only way to a dream
career, compared to 51% of 45 to 54 year olds who felt it was
► 35% of 16 to 24 year olds feel like they've outgrown education
Pitman Training Pitman Training has been synonymous with office based training
since Sir Isaac Pitman invented shorthand in 1837, and the company now helps
thousands of students each year progress their careers through tailor made study
programmes and Diplomas with 1 to 1 support at over 100 local centres, as well
as via online courses, and short seminars to help top up skills.
* The research was carried out by Censuswide across the UK, with 1200
respondents.
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