by 
Every
day young people have to make important decisions about their future
career. Their desires and expectations change over time, with exposure
to a variety of influencers such as media, new technology, family/peer
group expectations and changes in social mobility. What is interesting
to educators, employers and learners is to see how young people’s career
interests have changed and which careers are increasing in popularity.How do we find out about young people’s career interests? One of the ways we can do this is by looking at data that is captured from an interactive careers interest tool used in the majority of secondary schools and colleges across the UK. Every year as part of their careers exploration, hundreds of thousands of young people use an online program called Kudos to help them with their career choices. The data captured from users of Kudos provides an insight into young people’s career interests and can highlight significant changes.
Data from Kudos for the academic year 2011/12 for around 425,000 young people from August 2011-July 2012 reveals the most viewed careers during this period,
Top 10 careers viewed:
1. Design Assistant
2. Teaching Assistant
3. Actor/Actress
4. Army Serviceman/Woman
5. Press Photographer/ Photojournalist
6. Commercial Illustrator
7. Animator
8. Accountant
9. Train Driver
10. Royal Marines Commando
Popular career interests
Comparing this list of popular careers with careers that were most viewed for the past four years, Design Assistant has consistently remained the most viewed career.
In contrast, the other careers in the top 10 have fluctuated in popularity considerably. Teaching Assistant has moved from number 9 in 2010/11 up to the second most popular career. Looking at the 2 top careers, there appears to be an increased interest in support roles.
Making a come-back is the career of Accountant which has re-entered the list at number 8 after falling out of the top 10 for the first time last year. Creative visual careers are also growing in popularity, with Commercial Illustrator entering the top 10 alongside Animator and Press Photographer/ Photojournalist. Other photographic careers, including Commercial/ Industrial Photographer and Fashion/ Advertising Photographer, also appear in the top 20.
Fading interest in careers with animals The user statistics also shows there has been a significant drop in interest in careers which involve working with animals. Veterinary Nurse, Kennel Worker and Horse Groom all appeared in the previous year’s top 10 but haven’t featured at all in the latest list.
Shifting away from STEM careers Perhaps the most disappointing indicator from the data on young people’s career interests, is the growth in negativity towards STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths)- related career interests. Half of the least popular careers viewed involve STEM, highlighting the need for more work to engage young people in these topics.
Broadening young people’s horizons CASCAiD, part of Loughborough University and a SEE (Social Economy Enterprise) has produced and supplied Kudos to the majority of UK schools and colleges for over 20 years. Richard Harrison, Chief Executive at CASCAiD commented:
“Our list of popular careers, which is based on a very large number of young people’s preferences, challenges the perception that young people are only interested in ‘celebrity’ type careers. In fact, fairly consistently over the last eight to nine years that we have been monitoring career interests, the only ‘talent’ career to appear in the top ten is Actor/Actress. This is despite the surge in media profile of jobs like singer, dancer, model and professional sportsperson.
The top ten has changed considerably over the years – partly due to the inclusion of a more diverse range of careers within Kudos, but also because young people are more confident in exploring different options.
In 2003, the most popular careers included Solicitor, Police Officer and Doctor. Whilst these ‘traditional’ careers continue to appear fairly high up, the growth in popularity of less obvious occupations shows how young people’s horizons are being broadened.”
Whatever motivates or encourages young people to pursue particular careers, it is interesting to see the changes and shifts in their interests. The results reflect on a combination of many factors in society including work opportunities, technological advancements, government legislation and changes in young people’s attitude and expectations. It will be interesting to see which careers continue to emerge as popular choices for young people.
Source: http://www.smaartadvice.com
