An aspirational nation: creating a culture change in careers provision

More complex careers, with more options in both work and learning, are opening up new opportunities for many people.  However they are also making decisions harder for young people and adults given the financial and emotional penalties associated with making wrong decisions.

There are around 1.09m young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), yet at the same time according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), over one-half of businesses are not confident they will find sufficient recruits.

This is particularly acute in certain sectors that are vital to the growth of our economy, for example, 23% of businesses face difficulty in getting experienced staff with expertise in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. As recent studies have shown there is a significant mismatch between the career aspirations of young people and reality of the jobs market.