Young returners to work are in insecure employment

A report by the Resolution Foundation has found that young people had returned to work rapidly in late 2021, with unemployment now slightly lower than pre-pandemic levels, but a third of the 18-34 year-olds back in the workplace were now in "insecure work". The young "returners", those who were employed pre-Covid but became unemployed in the pandemic, were now much more likely than those who stayed in work to be on a temporary or zero-hours contract, or doing agency work or unsteady hours. 33% of the returners, among 6,100 people surveyed by YouGov, were now in such roles, compared with 12% of those who had stayed in work throughout the pandemic.

Aspirations in 2018

The Milkround jobs site surveyed 5,709 ‘Generation Z’ new graduates to find out their views on jobs. They found that 55% plan to stay in their first role for less than two years, 70% said they’d stay in a role for up to five years (and 27% would stay for more than that), if their needs were met. They weren’t overly ambitious, with flexible working (flexible hours and working from home) and training and mentoring, their main requirements. However, they have high expectations on their career choice, with 65% believing that they will work in their dream industry.

And what are their "dream jobs", see a list published recently in the i newspaper:

Do "points always make prizes"?

On the day that Year 13 students across the nation are opening the envelopes that many see as containing their destinies, it's worth considering some statistics published by the Independent Newspaper earlier this year ...

And of course remembering that while three or four letters in an envelope may well record a candidate's effort, ability and the support they received from teachers, family and friends, they can never be a measure of the "whole person" and rarely convey an individual's personal qualities and those all-important employability skills ...

Millennials are reluctant to switch careers

A survey by of 1,000 young workers by Teach First has found that 53% of the "millennial generation" (those born between 1980 and 1999) have remained in the same job sector, with 3 out of 10 not moving on as they worry about starting at entry level in a new sector, or they fear that a career change will not work out. The charity said that the survey disabuses the stereotype of’ "footloose millennials" constantly swapping careers, rather than opting for a job for life and suggests young workers have more in common with prior generations.

Will robots take your job?

A study by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) has concluded that robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) could affect almost a third of UK jobs by the 2030s. However, the report also said that automation could create more wealth and additional jobs elsewhere in the economy. The study estimated that 30% of existing UK jobs were potentially at a high risk of automation, compared with 38% in the US, 35% in Germany and 21% in Japan. John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC, said that "more manual, routine jobs" which "can effectively be programmed" were the most at risk, whereas, "jobs where you've got more of a human touch, like health and education," would be safer ... You can already see on the railways that all these strikes are not unrelated to the move towards driverless trains”. The report said that with the UK at near record-low levels of unemployment, outsourcing more repetitive tasks to robots could free up people to do more valuable work. 

SECTOR MOST AFFECTED

• Transportation and storage - 56% of jobs at high risk from automation

• Manufacturing - 46%

• Wholesale and retail trade - 44%

• Administrative and support services - 37%

• Financial and insurance - 32%

• Professional, scientific and technical - 26%

• Construction - 24%

• Arts and entertainment - 22%

• Agriculture, forestry and fishing - 19%

• Human health and social work - 17%

• Education - 9%

Russell Group Informed Choices

The latest Informed Choices (2016-17) booklet, created by the influential Russell Group of universities, has been published. It contains guidance about applying to universities and which combinations of its "facilitating subjects" it recommends for various degree courses and careers. You can view a video about it and download the latest copy of the booklet here.

School leavers need better "soft skills"

An employer survey by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) found that 80% of school leavers require "significant training" in what is known as "soft skills" before being put to work. The top areas of weakness for new recruits are people skills and business skills, followed by technical skills. More than 90% of those surveyed said that their workload had increased as a result of skills shortages, with 66% agreeing it had increased the stress levels of staff and 44% that it had caused a fall in departmental performance.

Need a "Plan B"?

If your GCSE results were not what you expected and you need to re-think your options, DON'T PANIC, help is at hand! There are lots of things you can do. Start by reading this ...

• Talk to someone at school. Senior Staff will be available in school on Results Day (Thursday 25th August, 9.00-11.00am.) and you can book an appointment to speak to someone to get advice about what you can do next, for example, if you need to change your Sixth Form courses.
• Talk to our Youth Connexions Personal Adviser, Claire Blanchard. She will be in school on Results Day and you can also contact her through the St Albans Youth Connexions website. She can work with you on a late application to College or help you with other pathways such as entering employment, training or an Apprenticeship. 
• If you have an offer from College but need to change course or your level of entry visit Oaklands on Results Day and talk to the tutors there  - they are expecting visits from potential students.
• Visit the Youth Connexions "one stop shop" in Catherine Street. You can find out the details here. It will be open on and after Results Day  -  details here.
• Think about an Apprenticeship. You can find all the information you need at Apprenticeships.gov. You simply fill in your details - like a mini CV - and then you can search the opportunities available and applying is easy as your information is stored.
• Think about applying to Oaklands College. They have Open Days this month for late applications. You can find the details here as well as on the Oaklands website. 
• Check out ChannelMogo for general information and advice.
• Use the 'search' tool on this blog to explore further options.

Keep calm and talk to someone to get the impartial advice and guidance you need ... Good luck!

Applying to Medical School

Applying to study Medicine is always a potential "minefield", with conflicting advice from different sources. That said, the more information you have at your fingertips the better.

You can view slides from a PowerPoint, titled Applying for Medicine, which was delivered at a recent national careers conference, here.

Also useful, is a table of information about which Medical Schools will take any A/S level qualifications you have into account when applying for Autumn 2017 entry.  View it here.

Impact of the Digital Revolution

Students should be able to take Computer Science instead of a language at GCSE and schools should offer a 'technical stream' for 14-18 year olds, according to a new report, which also says the Ebacc is forcing students into a “19th century diet of academic subjects for all”. In The Digital Revolution, former education secretary and chair of the Edge Foundation, Lord Kenneth Baker writes that radical action is needed to help prepare children for the the impact of the digital revolution, which he terms the "fourth industrial revolution".

“The economy is changing at an unprecedented pace,” he said. “Every day, jobs are being lost in professions we used to regard as careers for life. artificial intelligence, robots, 3D printing and driverless vehicles will impact on sectors as varied as the legal profession, transport and construction.

“The UK’s future workforce will need technical expertise in areas such as design and computing, plus skills which robots cannot replace – flexibility, empathy, creativity and enterprise.

“Right now, this thinking is almost entirely absent from the core curriculum in mainstream schools.”

His report was prompted by the Bank of England’s prediction that up to 15 million jobs are at risk of automation across the UK economy.

Be a farmer!

Agriculture is the fastest growing subject in UK universities. There are over 19,000 people studying Agriculture and related subjects and while at first glance the subject may seem quite narrow, in fact those that do not wish to pursue a career in farming can find work with food retailers, suppliers or work in research, technology and education. Read more here.

Russell Group leads in studying STEM subjects

For those students with an eye on a Russell Group university, studying STEM subjects or languages are more likely to see them succeed. New research has found that 47% of students who study STEM subjects at A-level went on to a Russell Group university in 2011/12. Read more here.

More Graduates = Less Earning Power

A Bank of England study has shown that the growing number of university students is affecting graduate earning power. One in three workers now has a degree, compared to just one in 10 back in 1985. On the positive side, the survey also showed that those with a degree could still expect to earn more over their working life than those without academic qualifications. Understanding the opportunities, access routes and potential earnings are all important factors when it comes to deciding on a career path. Read the full story here.

How to "ace" your next interview ...

Careers in Law

As of April 2015 there were 132,087 practising solicitors, the total number on the roll was 167,147. Women make up 48% of the profession, however only 30% of partners are women. As of April 2014 there were 15,690 barristers of whom 81% were self-employed. Women make up around 35% of all practising barristers. As of May 2015 there were around 20,000 trainee and practising legal executives, of whom 74% were women. Please note that there are many more people taking law courses than there will ever be jobs for, and the minimum annual trainee salary has been abolished, which means that law firms can (and many do) pay the minimum wage.  [ source GTAssociates ]

What employers want

A major study of graduate recruitment practices was undertaken in 2014 by the Institute of Employment Studies and the Higher Education Careers Service Unit. They undertook in depth interviews with 76 employers of varying size and 30 stakeholders, including university careers services. Most employers said they had a huge number of applicants but often struggled to find the right people, with most large companies saying “They wanted fewer but better quality applicants”. A number of employers were giving much more attention to apprenticeships and ‘growing their own staff’ and there was a “blurring of jobs occupied by graduates and non-graduates”. 

Most recruitment activity is now online, this makes it more accessible but means that employers have a much higher number to sift through. Some employers are moving recruitment earlier to the start of the final year, with a few recruiting in the first and second year. Many employers used work experience to build relationships with students in their first and second year. Some used social media to attract and keep in touch with the type of student they want. Most large employers had specific links with some universities, with targeted institutions responsible for a large proportion of the graduates they hired. Work experience was, “Of high and growing interest to employers of all sizes and nearly all believed that work experience helps graduates develop the skills they require and so leads to improved performance both in selection and at work”.

Employers want to recruit graduates because “Of their perceived intellectual/analytical abilities, their ability to learn quickly and to bring fresh ideas”. The skills they look for can be summed up as; 

• Intellectual ability, including the ability to solve problems quickly and learn quickly. 
• Communication and people skills. 
• Positive work and commercial attitudes. 
• Flexibility and resilience in the face of change and adversity.

Careers in Healthcare

A new Health Careers website was launched by Health Education England this week, bringing together the information from NHS Careers, Medical Careers and PHORCaST (public health careers) websites. It provides detailed information on more than 350 roles in health, real-life stories and videos and a comprehensive course finder which lists more than 1,000 courses leading to a career in health. The new site also allows you to save your previous searches and personalises your homepage based on your interests. There is also a compare roles tool where you, you can get bite-size information on up to three roles in health and save them to your account. Health Careers has been built following in-depth research and user testing, and created with the user experience firmly in mind. It has been designed to be compatible with all browsers and devices, including mobile phones and tablets. Visit the site here.

Unusual Apprenticeships

The Daily Telegraph has compiled a list of "unusual" Apprenticeships. They range from training to be a crime scene photographer to becoming a fashion and textiles technician. Read more about them here.

Support for Work Experience

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has called for the government to bring back compulsory work experience for under 16s, saying that 82% of more than 3,000 bosses they polled supported the move. The coalition government scrapped compulsory work experience in England in 2012. BCC director, John Longworth, said scrapping compulsory work experience had been "careless... but it is not too late to correct the mistake". The survey found that 79% of employers agreed with the statement that ‘Work experience is vital for equipping young people with the skills they need’, whilst 55% valued volunteering and 69% said paid part-time work was key. However, 36% of employers admitted that their own firms offered no work experience. Large employers were most likely to offer placements, with 88% of firms with more than 250 employees offering placements. However, in employers with less than 10 employees 59% offered no work placements. 

[ source GTAssociates ]

Morrisby Career Profiling

The Vocare company is offering to run the Morrisby Profile in school for students in Years 10 to 12. This is a series of tests lasting approximately three hours which the Morrisby organisation uses to generate a profile of an individual’s interests, abilities and aptitudes relevant to the world of work. You can try some practice profile questions here.

If there is sufficient interest, Vocare would run the tests in school on the morning of 18th April 2016 which is the INSET day after the Easter holiday. If only a few Beaumont students wish to take the test, Vocare may offer them the opportunity to complete the profiling at another local school. This letter and pamphlet from Vocare provide additional information about the Morrisby Profile. If you wish your child to undertake the profiling, please return the slip to me at school as an expression of interest. No payment is required at this time but should the process proceed, payments can be made through the school's electronic payments system or by cheque.

The school has hosted Morrisby Profiling in previous years and students and their parents have valued the outcomes but please note that Vocare is a private company and not part of Beaumont School. Several organisations offer free, on-line, basic skills profiling tests, some of which can be accessed through this blog …