Disconnected: Career aspirations and jobs in the UK

This report reveals a disconnect between young people’s career aspirations and jobs in the UK, whether current vacancies or projected demand. This report is based on an international survey of over 8,500 people aged 14-18. There were over 7,000 responses from young people in the UK and this report focuses on their responses. The massive disconnect between aspirations and reality is not confined to this study – the phenomenon has been identified consistently in multiple studies. For instance, the Your Voice survey confirms previous work such as Drawing the Future and Nothing In Common that show a discrepancy between aspirations and available jobs. Nothing in Common looks at whether the aspirations of UK young people have anything connection to labour market demand. Disconnected was timed to be launched alongside new analysis of PISA data by the OECD, also published on the 22nd January 2020 in partnership with Education and Employers. The launch of “Dream Jobs? Teenagers’ Career Aspirations and the Future of Work”, took place at the secondary school in Davos during the World Economic Forum (WEF). The students at the school were been asked to write about their views on the future of the world, the issues that matter to them and their own career aspirations. A number of WEF delegates visited the school and talked to the students about views and aspirations – the first time the WEF event has been used as a direct catalyst for supporting career events at local schools.