Teenagers around the world are adrift as they near high school graduation. They are deeply interested in future careers, but their expectations are outdated, and they have little awareness of their actual professional options.
That’s the message of a new report, The State of Global Teenage Career Preparation, by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The report surveys approximately 690,000 15- and 16-year-old students from more than 80 countries, including the United States. Here are five key insights from the report:
- Roughly 4 out of 10 students are unclear about their career expectations, double the number from about a decade ago.
- Almost half (49%) agree (35%) or strongly agree (14%) that school has done little to prepare them for adult life.
- There’s a gender gap in students’ aspirations to work in sectors like information technology and health care. For example, around 11% of boys report that they will work in information technology at age 30, compared with 1.5% of girls.
- Job preferences focus on a few, well-known professions, such as teaching, psychology and sports. For example, around half of girls and 44% of boys report that they expect to work in one of just 10 jobs, with little change in career preferences since 2000.
- The majority of young people don’t get connected to workforce professionals who can help them understand the opportunities available to them. Only 35% report attending a job fair, and just 45% visited a workplace.
