The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) yesterday published details of a study conducted to understand trends and it was revealed that 43% of all parents surveyed admitted to being stressed out about their children's forthcoming exam results.

Furthermore, a massive 80% of parents felt that it would be more difficult for their children to secure employment than it was for them.

Yet of the teenagers, nearly half (43%) believed that it would be easier for them to get a job than it was for their parents, while 68% remain confident about their future career prospects.

A common denominator for the resultant fear amongst parents was their lack of knowledge about vocational and academic routes for teenagers; a fifth of those parents surveyed (21%) admitted they had no idea about apprenticeships, for example.

Steven Gardner, LSC Director for Apprenticeships, commented: "This research gives us a unique insight into the views of school leavers and their parents and highlights that much parental stress is borne out of lack of knowledge about the range of options open to their children after their exams".

Focusing on apprenticeships, he noted: "The good news is that the majority of young people are positive about the future and well-informed about the vocational education options, such as Apprenticeships, that can lead them to a very successful and satisfying career. We hope that parents will take a leaf out of their children's book and be more optimistic, especially given the opportunities for young people these days".

And the validation of apprenticeships as viable and successful career paths was further propagated by the statistic that over a quarter (27%) of employers believe it to be superior over any other vocational qualification.

Mr Gardner pointed out the real-term implications: "Apprenticeships are currently providing a great career path for 270,000 young people in this country. Some of the biggest names in British business, including BT, Vodafone, Tesco, British Gas and Land Rover are employing these young people as apprentices and many go on to senior management positions within the business".

Vijay Pattni.