King's College London

Far-reaching reforms are needed to better support young people who are interested in non-traditional post-school pathways, researchers and young people say.

At the end of a six-year ESRC-funded study, the Young Lives, Young Futures research team based at King’s College London and the Edge Foundation has published striking new findings about post-16 vocational education, training and work opportunities in England, filling gaps in existing research done in this area. Their study has found that young people who don’t want to go to university typically feel neglected by schools and experience a lack of careers support as a result of the prevalence of school cultures in which going to university is considered the most valuable pathway after school.

The research team’s recommendations for improving opportunities for young people include transforming organisational cultures in schools and workplaces, eroding job-status hierarchies and moving towards a whole-systems approach to government policy making.

While data from the Young Lives, Young Futures study shows that young people undertaking apprenticeships report levels of life satisfaction and wellbeing that are comparable to, or higher than, those reported by young people in higher education, this route is not readily promoted in schools. The limited availability of apprenticeships is also highlighted in the research, which found that demand far exceeds supply.

Participants in the study comment on a disproportionate emphasis being placed in schools on academic achievement and the traditional A Levels-to-university route as a gateway to a successful career after leaving school. This emphasis means that many students with high aspirations and creative skills who are interested in taking alternative routes into work face substantial barriers to achieving success.

The researchers also highlight a class ceiling operating at the ‘lower’ to ‘middle’ end of the labour market which leaves many young people from working-class and minoritised backgrounds trapped in low-wage, low quality jobs, unemployment or in a cycle of unemployment, low quality training and low-quality casual or temporary work.

The findings were recently presented at a reception at the House of Lords, where the project team emphasised the need for reform to an audience of policymakers, educators and others with an interest in supporting young people’s school-to-work transitions. A summary of the study’s key findings can be found on the project website.