Fears about their future careers

Aug 29 2007 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post

Two in five North West teenagers lose sleep worrying about the future. Jane Gallagher reports

THE so-called iPod generation has had a bit of a battering over recent weeks. Critics claim the record GCSE and A-level results have been achieved because the exams are just too easy.

Confederation of British Industry boss Richard Lambert then sticks the boot in by complaining numeracy and literacy standards are so low that some young recruits need remedial lessons.

But the lucky ones who actually had the literacy skills to work their way through university application forms will need the numeracy to work out how to pay off their average £11,000 debt.

It sounds like a nightmare scenario. So no wonder then that a new report about teen prospects has been called “Sleepless Nights and Dream Jobs”.

Commissioned by the new NHS Careers service, the survey of 1,090 teenagers, between the ages of 14 and 19, revealed that youngsters in the North West are the most likely to be suffering insomnia due to thinking about their future career and work.

More than 40% are already losing sleep over future work plans and 38% are concerned about money.

No wonder they want to switch on their iPods and escape.

Or do they? We spoke to three teenagers and their reaction was mixed.

Fifteen-year-old David Thompson, of Southport, is about to enter his GCSE year at Range High School and seems rather laid back about his prospects.

“I don’t really have an idea of what I want to do in the future and it isn’t really a major concern for me,” he says. “I certainly haven’t lost any sleep over it.

“In my dreams I would love to become a professional golfer but in reality I don’t think that will happen.

“I’d like a well-paid job with good working conditions but beyond that I haven’t really thought. I do intend to go to university but my priorities at the moment are golf, friends and family.”

However, 15-year-old Alexander Gorman, of Gayton, Wirral, does admit to some uncertainties about the future.

“One career option is becoming a teacher but I find the prospect of having to fend for myself in the real world daunting,” he says.

“I think it is important to face up to the future now because I am about to enter the fifth year at King’s School in Chester and having to face GCSEs. But the thought of GCSEs only increases my anxiety as to my future career because good results are essential to enter a good university.”

Alexander has also been inspired to become an entrepreneur like his mother, Jules, who runs her own PR business, Lorien PR.

“My mum inspires me because she works at home with her own business but can also spend time with the family almost anytime she wants which is what I would like to have in a job.”

Amy Parker, 17, of Allerton, meanwhile, has already introduced herself to the world of work and is currently considering a career as an art therapist.

“For some time I have been producing unusual jewellery for a vintage shop in Liverpool to earn a small income, and I also volunteer on a regular basis at Sandfield Park Special School, working with special needs children.

”A career as an art therapist would allow me to use my creative abilities to assist others.

“However, I'm trying to put career aims at the back of my mind while I concentrate on my A-level work, which will hopefully get me where I want to be.”

Alarmingly, Amy says she has had little formal help in achieving her career aims.

“The careers advice I have received so far has been appalling.

“I said I was creative and they told me I should be a midwife or a librarian!”

Fast forward five years and Amy says she hopes to have a clearer idea of where her career will take her.

“I don’t have any role models as such, although my friend’s mother designs and paints china for a living,” she says.

“She has her own studio and sells her products in high-profile stores. The fact that she is her own boss and loves what she is doing is very attractive to me.”

So, while most young people are able to access mainstream careers advice, is there enough advice for enterprising youngsters such as Alexander and Amy?

Enterprise expert Maggie O’Carroll, of the Liverpool-based women’s enterprise agency Train 2000, says: “Research shows thatŠ entrepreneurs who received a university education are more likely to develop enterprisesŠ that have growth potential.

“Indeed, the issue of education and enterprise is inextricably linked in terms of the enterpriseŠ innovation, productivity, performance, internationalisation and sector diversity.

“Of course, we know thatŠBill Gates dropped out of Harvard to start Microsoft and more locally Sharon Hilditch, the founder of the highly successful Crystal Clear International, left school Šat 15. These inspirational entrepreneurs are Šmore the exception than the rule.

Š“However, neverŠ discount the idea of starting and running your own business. Of course you will need lots of drive and determination, but advice and support is available.”

But what about the post-iPod generation, the 20-25-year-olds for whom future work worries are already a reality?

Leanne Weston, 23, of Sefton, didn’t manage to achieve her dream job but she says she has found fulfilment in her role as a home search officer for One Vision Housing, in Bootle.

“I would have liked to have been a vet. But at John Moores University I studied for a degree in criminal justice,” says Leanne.

“I studied what interested me at the time, but it took me a long time to realise what I wanted to do career-wise.

“I have learnt that things aren’t always as they seem and you need to experience a job before you understand what it’s actually really like.

“I would advise younger people to do as much work experience as they can in the field of work or area they are interested in, and even in things they don’t feel they would be suited to because you never know until you try. “

However, 24-year-old Darren White has actually achieved his ambitions. He is working as a trainee solicitor for Morecrofts, in Liverpool, and will qualify in 2009.

“This is my dream job. I wanted to be a solicitor ever since I did my first work placement at the age of 14. When I first started work I was completely not ready for it,” says Darren, who lives in Runcorn.

“I thought I knew it all coming from university but I’ve learnt that no matter how many books you read there is nothing that can beat practical experience.

“I did panic a lot when I was younger. I didn’t know if I would get the grades to get into university and then I worried about if I was going to find a training contract.

“The careers advisers at my school didn’t really point me in any direction. It was a combination of my own determination and my parents’ support that helped me to decide the area of work that I wanted to go into.

“I would say choose a career that you are going to enjoy. A lot of my school friends went off to study courses in subjects that they were good at and others just went into any job in order to get some money.

“I’ve found that in later life they are struggling to decide what they want to do with their life.

“At least if you are doing something that you enjoy then enthusiasm will keep you focused.”

features