More than four in 10 UK teenagers want more work experience opportunities at school, with a similar proportion calling for more guidance on how to apply for jobs, a survey for the BBC suggests. The online survey, by Survation,, external asked 2,000 young people aged 13 to 18 about the world of work and the help they need to secure employment once they leave full-time education. Some called for more support with their communications skills and raised concerns about stress management and personal finances.
Skills Minister Jacqui Smith said it was the government's "mission" to ensure teenagers leave school "confident about their next step and equipped with the skills and experience they need to succeed". In England, the government wants to guarantee two weeks' of work experience for every young person, external during secondary school. It's an opportunity not all teenagers are currently given, the survey for the BBC suggests, with more than half of respondents saying they had not done any.
When teenagers were asked in the survey what skills or guidance they would like more of at school, the most common responses were more work experience opportunities (44%) and help managing finances (43%). Respondents said they also wanted guidance on how to apply for jobs (42%) as well as how to manage stress and mental health (39%) and develop their communication skills (38%). As part of the Teen Summit project by Radio 5 Live and Bitesize, the BBC followed four students from Newcastle - Param, McKenzie, Jasmine and Javaris - as they tried out roles for the first time as part of their work experience placements.
"I'm terrified about the future. I feel very uncertain about it," 15-year-old Jasmine said. Jasmine said she enjoyed her placement working on logo designs at web design and development agency Readysalted.
But she said the placement made her realise she was probably unsuited to an office job. "Hats off to all the workers that have to do this every single day," she said. She said it gave her a real taste of working life, but that she was still worried about making "the wrong decision" around what to do next.
"I think about exams and not getting the right grades, which leads to not getting into the right course and then not getting into university, and it's very stressful," she said. "That's always on my mind." A 15-minute walk up the road from Jasmine's placement, near the centre of Newcastle, her classmate Param had his work experience at social housing group Re:Gen. Param said it showed him there was more to work than simply having the right knowledge and understanding.
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