England’s future workforce believes that success is about happiness, not money, according to a report released today by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).
The LSC is the government planning and funding body for post-16 education and training in England, up to but excluding higher education. Its Success Report 2004 questionned 500 employers, 1,000 young people aged 14 to 19, and 1,000 of their parents on success, and what they believe is needed to achieve it.
The research found that 93 per cent of today’s teenagers agreed that “doing something you enjoy is more important than making a lot of money”.
Respondents also have high expectations of employers for assistance in career development, with 91 per cent of both teenagers and their parents saying that employers should help them gain the necessary career qualifications if they do not already have them.
Nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of employers surveyed agreed that employers should help young people achieve qualifications if they did not already have them.
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The LSC said that given these findings, it was important for employers to think of other ways than money to attract, reward and retain young people.
Stephen Gardner, director of work-based learning at the LSC, said: “These are young people who are not, according to their own priorities, motivated primarily by money, but by feeling valued, supported and personally fulfilled within their jobs.”
