One-in-five young Brits not confident about their future – New Research

Two-in-five young people admit to feeling clueless about getting the experience or training they need for the job they want, according to a joint survey between Student Beans (@studentbeans) and One Million Mentors (@1millionmentor1). To combat this, research has shown that almost two-thirds of young Brits believe they would benefit from having a mentor.

Research also reveals one-fifth of young people admit to not feeling confident about their future, whilst half say they lack knowledge in certain areas and wished they knew more about aspects that would support them in finding work.

Four-in-five also wished they knew more specifically on the likes of careers, confidence, and interviewing:

• Career options [50%]
• Building confidence [47%]
• Interview skills [43%]
• CV writing [41%]
• Finding a job locally [39%]
• What to do at college or university [37%]
• Getting involved in community work / volunteering [32%]
• Building a network [28%]
• Careers without university [24%]

The importance of mentoring is clear – a recent survey from One Million Mentors found that self-pride increased by 48% following the mentorship programme, while three-quarters of young people said their mentor helped build their confidence.

Alongside releasing the joint findings, Student Beans has pledged up to 6,000(1) hours of mentoring support to the new charity partnership. This will be seen through the provision of 100 internal employee mentors and sign-ups of 400 student mentees, supporting 1MM’s growing engagement with young people by bolstering signups by an additional 20%.

Since 2017, One Million Mentors has continued to perfect its 1hr/month mentoring model and connected over 3,000 young people to a mentor. This marks a strong start towards its goal of becoming an independent organisation in 2022.

Rushanara Ali, Labour MP for Bethnal Green and Bow and Co-Founder ofOne Million Mentors, highlights the importance of the cause:

“With as many as one in five young people saying they don’t feel confident about their future, and lacking access to the kind of support needed to help ensure they make a smooth transition into the world of work, it is clear we all need to do more to help young people on their career journeys.  

“We are passionate about enabling young people to thrive, and are excited to see how the partnership between One Million Mentors and Student Beans creates more opportunities for our young people across the country.”

The partnership with One Million Mentors is one of the first official initiatives following the announcement of Student Beans’ social impact programme, which centres around its three CSR pillars: People, Students, and Planet; which are already being driven by existing partnerships with social enterprise, the 93% Club and apprenticeship provider Multiverse.

More information on the new Student Beans social impact programme can be found at https://partner.studentbeans.com/about-us/social-impact. Those wanting to sign up for One Million Mentors can do so at https://1mm.chronus.com/.