HR Magazine - Young people face unemployment because they ‘shun’ sectors with job prospects, Magnified Learning reports

With unemployment at a 17-year high and the unemployment total for 16-24 year olds at 991,000, young people shun careers in key growth industries, according to Magnified Learning.

Major British industries are facing a talent shortage unless they can shake their "unattractive images", according to a survey published today by industry and education specialists Magnified Learning.

According to more than 1,000 young people aged 14 and 15 years old, the jobs that are essential for economic growth are "boring" and among the jobs that ranked poorly when asked which jobs they would most like to do.

Less than 3% of young people considered the environment sector - marked by prime minister David Cameron as a "vital" industry for economic growth.

Least popular was public transport with less than 2% of young people choosing a career in the sector and just 3% showed an interest in the energy sector.

Jobs in transport, environmental services and the energy sector all performed consistently badly in the survey of pre-GCSE students, with jobs in transport also thought to be the "most boring."

Jobs in the media and creative industries were the only sectors to score consistently well among young people approaching working age.

Chris Horton, director of Magnified Learning, said: "The high levels of youth unemployment are alarming, but even more alarming is that our research shows that the industries in which there are likely to be jobs opening up for young people, are not even being considered by the vast majority of them.

"We believe tackling these negative perceptions is a two-way process, and it is important that industry leaders recognise their responsibility to engage with the next generation in order to foster new talent.

"It will be impossible for the UK economy to thrive if we can't convince young Britons that such career paths are worth aspiring to."

The statistics are the results of a survey of more than 1100 young people between the ages of 14 -15, from eight different schools in Birmingham, London and the southeast.

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