The Challenge

The UK has a serious social mobility problem. A young person's prospects today are still largely defined by where they grew up and what their parents did, and while a barrier to social mobility may be some young people's low aspirations, this is often not the case, but rather the simple fact that while talent is evenly spread, opportunity is not.

This has been severely exacerbated over recent events. In October 2020, findings from the Office of National Statistics show a worrying trend. In the year from July 2019 there was a 500,000 increase in unemployment, with over 60% being aged 16 to 24, including 119,000 redundancies in the 18 to 24 age bracket. Young people are clearly being hardest hit by the pandemic economy.

Young people highlight a lack of work experience as the number one barrier to getting a job. Yet more than a third of students have never been offered any form of work experience, despite a broad consensus that this will help them build experience, create networks, develop useful sills, and help inform decisions about their future. (Youth Employment UK - Youth Census 2020)

% of young people who 'agree' or 'strongly agree' that work experience helps them to:

Businesses agree, with 60% stating that school leavers lack the skills to succeed in the workplace, and two-thirds stating they want to recruit those with some level of work experience. However, less than 40% of businesses offer work experience to young people and young adults.                                                                                                                  (CBI 2019)

A growing number of research reports have found that sustained and meaningful engagement with the world of work can and does have a significant impact on a young person's likelihood of safely transitioning into employment, and on their subsequent life chances.

Based on these finding and others, the Social Mobility Commission 2016 'State of the Nation Report' recommended that the National Citizen Service deliver an opportunity fund so that all children between ages 14 and 18 can have a quality work experience.

Six key and influential reports are highlighted below:

1). In 'Education and Employers’ research, 'It’s Who You Meet', Anthony Mann, evidenced that young people who have four or more professional employer encounters while in education are five times more likely to transition to employment, education or training, and earn on average 16% more than their peers who did not have such opportunities. Read report here.

2). The Social Mobility Commission states there should be a new drive to extend quality careers advice and work experience to the children who need them most. Careers advice in schools, when done well, frequently and at the right age can add up to £2,000 a year to someone’s future earnings. There is evidence disadvantaged young people benefit the most from work experience, but are least likely to receive them. Read report here.

3). In 'Social Class Background and the School to Work Transition', Mortimer and Staff evidenced that disadvantaged young people can benefit the most from work experiences, but are least likely to have the networks that can unlock work experience from a wide set of professional and skilled careers. Amid growing evidence of skills shortages – particularly in the regions – there is a growing need to ensure that children are provided with high-quality work experience, and information and advice to make informed choices about their careers. Read report here.

4). The Social Mobility Commission also found that poor careers advice and work experience mean that even with the same GCSE results, one-third more poorer children drop out of post-16 education than their better-off classmates. Read report here.

5). Education and Employers report 'Work Experience: Impact and Delivery – Insights from the Evidence', found high proportions of both pupils and teaching staff believe that young people return from work experience more motivated to do well at school. Read report here.

6) Impetus‘s comprehensive research portfolio, Youth Jobs Gap, 2019/20, found that disadvantaged young people are 50% more likely to not be in education, employment or training than better-off peers, irrespective of their qualifications. Clearly academic attainment is not an indicator of employment success, Laura Jane Rawlings (CEO, Youth Employment UK) states “This report shows that localised support is vital and builds the picture of just how challenging young people are finding their transition." Read report here.