Students lament poor career advice

Recent online surveys indicate that students feel they are not receiving the right careers advice from their schools or colleges, particularly when it comes to A-level choices. Many feel that they are making uninformed decisions and are consequently restricting their career paths as a result of these choices.

An online forum, the Student Room, highlighted concerns from several students who explained that career advice was grossly insufficient. One student commented that "I was told further maths was only needed if you wanted to do maths at university and now I'm at a disadvantage when applying for engineering." Jason Geall, the Student Room chief executive states that, "there is a black hole in school career advice." As a consequence, the Russell Group, who consist of the top 24 universities across the UK, were asked to publish research on the issue, detailing a list of "facilitating subjects" to aid students in their A-level selections.

Research from the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) revealed that even though 84% of 14-19 year olds are optimistic about their future careers, 84% said that they would like, or would have liked, more advice from their school or college on their future options. It is believed the majority of advice received came from friends or parents, as research demonstrates that a quarter of young people are now seeking advice from home.

While advice from the home is important, many officials believe it should not be the primary source of information for young people. Corinne Mills, MD of Personal Career Management, noted that parents do not necessarily know what is best for their children career-wise. "They may not know of the available digital roles, available work in social media and technology. They're parents- not career experts."

Image courtesy of Flickr, Creative Commons