Student career readiness in 2023/24

Listening to students is key to delivering good career education outcomes

During the 2023/24 academic year, nearly ¼ of a million students from almost 1,100 secondary education institutions completed the Future Skills Questionnaire (FSQ), solidifying its position as the biggest ever set of learner feedback on careers education in England. This briefing highlights key findings from this national survey, bringing insight into students' own perspectives on their career readiness (such as who they get information from, how much they know about career choices and understand pathway options), skills and confidence.

The FSQ, launched by The Careers & Enterprise Company in September 2021 as part of the Compass+ careers programme management tool, is freely available to state-funded secondary schools, special schools, and alternative provision across England. It is a self-completion survey that tracks students' career readiness at key transition points throughout secondary education.

The FSQ enables Careers Leaders to plan, target and evaluate career programmes using student feedback. The continued growth in participation (more than double last year) reflects the increasing engagement of Careers Leaders with digital tools
and data-driven practices.

The largest ever study of young people’s career aspirations and work readiness shows:

Insight 1: Young people show high levels of interest in critical sectors such as construction, digital and health. There are opportunities to ensure they are further inspired by these and other growth sectors.

• Young people express ideas about what they would like to do in the future from Year 7 across a range of occupational sectors. This is often informed by personal interests such as sports, leisure and lifestyle. As they progress through school, interests become more aligned with the labour market.
• By Year 11, the most popular industries cover critical sectors linked both to the Government’s Industrial Strategy Paper and those identified by Skills England. These include healthcare, construction and digital, in part reflecting the effectiveness of the education outreach demonstrated by those sectors through the careers system (including through Careers Hubs).
• There is an opportunity to further align school and college careers programmes with regional and national growth priorities as part of the careers system. Large scale student data included in this report demonstrate the ‘demand’ side of skills to inform the development of the system, including how employers can respond.

Insight 2: Young people feel more career ready as they approach key transition points, such as Year 11. There are challenges for those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds – and girls - that quality careers education can mitigate.

• Young people feel more career ready through their school journey, increasing on average from 49% in Year 7 to 68% by Year 11 and 79% by Year 13. However, those eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) and girls start off at a disadvantage which is difficult to overcome.
• Students at a disadvantage are less confident talking about their skills when applying for courses or jobs. They have career ambitions but are less sure footed when engaging independently with future employers.
• The highest quality careers education can – and does – compensate for this starting disadvantage.

Insight 3: By age 16, young people feel confident in most work-related skills but rate themselves lower on speaking, listening, leadership and teamwork.

• Students’ reported levels of essential skills needed for work dip during Years 8 and 9.
• This can have an impact on how ready they feel for work. Young people with well-developed skills are more optimistic about their next steps.
• By Year 11, despite most skills catching up, speaking and listening, teamwork and leadership do not return to Year 7 levels. This supports the case for earlier intervention. A new model of work experience – spread over a young person’s time in school and focused on building skills - has the power to make a difference.

FSQ Insight Briefing Data Tables