The People Bulletin

Major British industries are facing a talent shortage unless they can shake their unattractive images, according to a new survey. The survey asked 1,100 14- and 15-year-olds from eight different schools across Birmingham, London and the South East their opinions on a variety of industry sectors.

The survey showed that the most popular job sectors were: 

• media;
• creative; and
• health and social care.  

The least popular jobs included: 

• public transport;
• energy; and
• environment. 

The survey also showed that a number of jobs that are essential for economic growth including careers in charities and the Civil Service were earmarked as “boring”. 

Jobs in transport, environmental services and the energy sector all performed consistently badly in the survey of pre-GCSE students, with jobs in transport also thought to be the “most boring”. Jobs in the media and creative industries were the only sectors to score consistently well among young people approaching working age. 

Other key findings of the survey included: 

• Less than 3% of young people would consider working in the environment sector – marked by David Cameron as a vital industry for economic growth.
• Just 3% showed an interest in the energy sector.

 Chris Horton, director of Magnified Learning, said: 

“The high levels of youth unemployment are alarming, but even more alarming is that our research shows that the industries in which there are likely to be jobs opening up for young people are not even being considered by the vast majority of them. 

“We believe tackling these negative perceptions is a two-way process, and it is important that industry leaders recognise their responsibility to engage with the next generation in order to foster new talent. 

“It will be impossible for the UK economy to thrive if we can’t convince young Britons that such career paths are worth aspiring to”. 

www.magnifiedlearning.com