11% of parents believe that their children are “too clever for an apprenticeship or school leaver programme
- 11% of parents believe that their children are “too clever for an apprenticeship or school leaver programme”
- 80.8% of students go to their parents instead of teachers for help making career decisions
- 45% of students mentioned pressure from parents, guardians and peers as key reasons for not exploring alternatives to university
There is a significant knowledge gap among parents, teachers and guardians when it comes to school leaver programmes and apprenticeships. This is just one of many eye-opening findings from the 2015 School & College Leaver annual research report, conducted byAllAboutSchoolLeavers.co.uk. Released in print on Thursday 25th June, it is the largest and most comprehensive school leaver research report to date.
Launched during an event at The Curzon Cinema in Bloomsbury, attended by government officials, employers and other key figures in the school leaver market, the report offers valuable insight into the career-related aspirations, habits and opinions of key groups.
Major findings of the report include:
Parents are the greatest influence on students’ career decisions.
- Only 40% of parents understand the meaning of a Higher Apprenticeship.
- 11% of parents/guardians believe that their children are “too clever for an apprenticeship or school leaver programme”.
- 96.5% of teachers are aware of university as an option for school and college leavers, but an overwhelming 81.7% wish they knew more about non-university options.
- 78.3% of employers believe the volume of school and college leaver recruits will outnumber the volume of graduate recruits within the next five years. 65.2% believe that this will occur in three years.
Despite continuing pressure to apply to university, only 54.33% of students interviewed said that they are only considering traditional university routes, which implies a significant number are considering other options.
Over 10,000 school and college students across the UK were surveyed, as well as over 1,000 parents, 500 teachers, 280 careers advisors, and 27 key employers offering graduate and school leaver programmes.
The results cover a wide range of topics: employee brand awareness, careers guidance practice, subject teacher knowledge of school leaver options, and how school college students and their parents make decisions, habits and form opinions.
With apprenticeships contributing a staggering £34 billion to the UK economy and the government’s promise of three million schemes this year, the graduate recruitment market is set to decrease rapidly within the next five years. It is therefore time that everyone was better informed about alternatives to university.