A generation of young people are rapidly reassessing their career dreams according to this research by Engineering UK. Over one in five 11 to 19 year olds said that what they want to do as a career has changed (22%) and 30% agreed that what career they can do has changed as a result of the pandemic.
The report authors claim that this suggests that the pandemic is affecting – and in some cases, constraining – young people’s careers aspirations.
The figures show that despite improvements in recent years to careers advice, access to support is not universal. In fact, researchers found that 15 to 16 year old boys in Year 11 were 1.3 times more likely to receive careers guidance than girls. Concerningly, since school closures in March 2020, over three quarters (76%) of 11 to 19 year olds have not accessed formal careers activities.
The findings suggest that young people want more opportunities to engage with employers, through work experiences, job fairs and site visits. They expressed a need for more information, advice and guidance within schools, through career days, online resources and access to expert advice. Young people also called for more information on relevant exams or qualifications needed to pursue a career and clarity on different pathways into various professions.
The report highlights the importance of engineering and STEM careers provision in the context of uncertainty about the future that young people are facing, and how opportunities to learn about and pursue educational and career pathways into engineering could be made more accessible and equitable.