City and Guilds Report a Generation with Ambitions

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City and Guild’s first Youth Aspiration index has reported that British teenagers are an ambitious group of go- getters with an overwhelming desire for success.

The index, which is an annual monitor of career goals for Britain’s 14-19 year olds, found that job satisfaction was favoured above financial gain for most young people, where 85% of them are willing to work hard to climb up the career ladder. This comes at a time when a BBC Radio 5 report has established that whilst some young Britons would prefer to have a solid career structure, more than half seem to be eager to drive the economy forward through their own entrepreneurial activities and initiative.

Just How Ambitious?

Nearly 94% of teenagers questioned are fully prepared to work extra long hours in order to reach their goals and dispel the myth that today’s students hold little regard for their education. 85% stated that they want to use the skills they”ve learnt in their career.The reports also showed that Britain has raised a generation of natural born leaders- 49% have dreams of being their own boss and running the show. All 14-19 year olds interviewed also expressed a craving for fulfilment in their careers, with 97% of them wanting to make their family proud.

Despite Britain’s young generation being portrayed as money grabbers, surprisingly, most interviewed expect to be on a salary of £32,000 by the time they are 30. Also, most of them have a clear idea what profession they would like to enter; more than 55% respect the medical profession and at least 12% expect to see themselves working in this sector.

Teaching was found to be the second most popular and valued occupation, with 9% predicting their education will lead them back into the classroom. The third most popular sector was the media industry, where 5% of interviewees were keen to have a career in this profession. Vocational careers such as IT, engineering, beauty and hairdressing also hold a great attraction for eager enthusiasts.

Famous Faces Help to Push Forward

To help motivate and to encourage the youth of Britain into following their chosen career paths are well known faces such as Virgin entrepreneur Richard Branson, Bob Geldoff, Destiny’s Child singer Beyonce Knowles and Olympic Gold winner Kelly Holmes, who were just some of the list of the most inspirational celebrities.

Chris Humphries, Director General of City & Guilds, said: “The research shows that our teenagers are full of ambition and really keen to have a career that offers good prospects.”

Despite these encouraging intentions, it is now essential that young people are aware of all their career options, where there will be opportunities to hone their skills and ambitious aspirations to develop them into business leaders that the nation can be proud of.

Kavita Trivedi

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