Where do we go from here?
Thoughts on supporting young people with career decisions.
It’s that time of year again…While many of our young people will be combing through prospectuses and websites for their desired courses of study, many others have no idea what to do next. How many of us have a clue what we want to do with our lives at seventeen or eighteen… or even forty? As one of the Careers and Future Destinations team at Lomond School in Helensburgh, I support school leavers in making these choices. While I certainly don’t have all the answers, I have found that asking the right questions and listening are the first helpful steps towards sensible decisions.
As we are aware, today’s workplace is changing rapidly; accelerated by the recent pandemic. According to a report by Universities UK (2023): “Over half expect people will need to retrain at least once during their career due to the pace of technology change.”{1}
The terms ‘gig economy’ and ‘hybrid working’ didn’t exist when I left school, and AI was the stuff of science-fiction. A career equated to a salaried job; mostly done in one place, with set hours and over a period of about forty years; but this is no longer the case. The one certainty in the workplace is change. While this might sound daunting, this impermanence is also very liberating. What young people choose to do after school is only the first step on a long path that will no doubt be full of turns and diversions. Therefore to thrive in their future careers school leavers need to become two things: adaptable and resilient. It is our role as teachers, parents and guardians to support them taking the steps that will build these skills and qualities.
However, that’s seldom as straightforward as it sounds. The majority of our young people have very limited experience of the workplace or forms of employment beyond their immediate family or social group, or what they see on television or the Internet – not much to go on when choosing the first step towards a career. Sometimes the conversation has to start with; what do you really not want to do?’
If a young person really hasn’t a notion of what to do next, there are other things you can get them to consider. I often start by asking; where do you want to live? What would you like to have achieved in your life by the time you’re twenty-five, or thirty? From exploring these notions, the question that follows is how can you make this happen?
Another useful exercise can be journaling or listing. Suggest keeping a list of activities (school, extra-curricular, community) over one week. Mark up the ones that were either enjoyable, motivating or most engaging. Does a pattern emerge? Perhaps all of these activities are creative, or involve other people. What would this indicate about a young person’s personality and interests? The myworldofwork and unifrog websites have suites of profiling and self-evaluation activities that can help get these conversations started.
Some young people will have a notion of their ‘dream career.’ As adults, it can be tricky to balance encouraging the dream and managing expectations. A ‘that’s ridiculous’ or ‘there’s no money in it’ comment can shut down conversations leading to a young person feeling invalidated. However, somewhere in that dream will be a spark of interest which, if nurtured in the right direction, can lead to fruitful discussions about choices. So your young person wants to be a TikTok celebrity? Using open questions can encourage them to consider this more realistically in terms of skills development and career longevity. Can you tell me more about how TikTok creators support themselves financially? What kind of skills do you need to be successful? What else do you need to create good content? If you need to develop your digital skills, what courses are available? What other careers could you develop if you had these skills?
As advisors, we need to accept that careers which sound precarious and unstable; alternating periods of contract work and world travel, for example, have become viable ways to earn a living (although not for everyone). The permanent, pensionable 9-5 is no longer the norm. There is no wrong way to work. We also need to ditch the notion that there is some sort of hierarchy of career pathways. At Lomond School, we say there is no wrong path. University may be aspirational, but it is not for everyone, and that’s completely ok. Furthermore, it’s not for everyone at school-leaving age. For many, going to college, taking up an apprenticeship, travelling or going directly into employment is a more suitable choice. Higher education might well make more sense at a later stage in life.
Weighing the perceived ‘value’ of STEM subjects against arts and humanities and vice versa is unhelpful. In truth, there are few courses of study (medicine being an exception) that qualify you for a job. Yes, a degree in engineering will develop problem-solving skills, but so will a degree in philosophy. I use my brother as an example – he has built a successful career in finance having studied Italian and politics. Skillset and mindset matter as much as, if not more than, subject knowledge. According to a 2023 report by the World Economic Forum, the most in-demand skills for the future workforce are: analytical and creative thinking, technological literacy and lifelong learning.{2} Surely these are the common denominators in any higher or further education course?
Career status-signalling and the glamourising of certain jobs on screen and social media masks the fact that most careers involve a lot of unglamourous hard graft. Entertaining such notions does nothing to help our young people. Instead, helping them find opportunities for work experience, shadowing and engaging with mentors provides valuable insight into the day-to-day reality of different careers. Furthermore, it shows initiative if this can be included in a personal statement.
In fact, work experience is increasingly the differentiating factor that admissions offices and employers look for and where adults can offer practical help. I will always be grateful for the friends of my parents who took me into their workplaces or let me sit in on lectures in my final years at school. Over the years, the careers and future destinations team at Lomond School has called on the expertise of friends, colleagues, local businesses and our parent community in securing work placements, mentoring and advice for young people or coming in to give a talk. It takes a village… If you are in a position to provide this to young people in your area or support a local school, it is one of the most valuable things you can offer.
To conclude, if you are in a position to advise a young person, look at it as an opportunity to learn and explore together. Go to open days. Do the research. Reach out to your networks for help. Don’t feel pressure to have the answers. The questions are even more important. Our young people already have the answers – our job is to lead them there. Good luck!
[1] Universities UK (2023), Jobs of the Future, https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/sites/default/files/field/downloads/2023-08/jobs-of-the-future.pdf, accessed 16/08/24
[2] World Economic Forum (2023) Future of Jobs 2023: These are the most in-demand skills now- and beyond.https://docs.google.com/document/d/131ViJzm70JCcrYnlr4GxqGbBnPcu3QHfujE-XHNbO4U/edit?pli=1 accessed 16/08/24