Generation YouTube: the young people turning to the internet for careers advice
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Loading... - MILEY LEVESQUE
- 10 Oct 2020
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School children are increasingly turning to social media for advice on their future, according to new research.
Landing the perfect job has traditionally relied on good advice from teachers or career guidance professionals. But according to the latest study on how young people make decisions about their future, this has all changed.
Dubbed the “self-service” generation, young people are increasingly spurning the conventional wisdom of teachers and careers advisers and turning to YouTube for advice on kick starting their careers.
Harry King is one such teenager. The 19 year old says the influence of social media was the main reason he started looking online for guidance.
He says: “[Online clips] tell people you don't have to conform and university is not for everyone”. He has just begun an industry-focused course which includes studying for a BA in professional business practice while working in a company.
“Without going online I wouldn't have known what was best for me and I could have made the wrong decision,” he says.
“Although my secondary school and sixth form had a careers adviser, she also had no information regarding the particular scheme I am on now. The YouTube videos I watched were about people who were reaching out to young people and saying, ‘go for it’ and ‘look what's out there’.”
The new study by market research firm Bilendi found 15 per cent of British school children now turn to YouTube for careers information.
This is coupled with a 12 per cent drop in the number who turn to teachers when planning for the future, compared to similar research in 2012. By contrast, a quarter now seek advice from their peers, 27 per cent use Google and 12 per cent use other social media networks.
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Significantly, just a third of young people said they seek help from a careers adviser. Meanwhile a recent survey by the Government's commission for employment and skills found that 43 per cent of vacancies in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) fields are difficult to fill due to a skills shortage.
Entrepreneur Edwina Dunn - the brains behind the Tesco Club Card - believes the traditional resources are missing out many able youngsters. To address the issue, she is spearheading a campaign ('Your Life') to directly target young people with careers advice through YouTube.
The social media platform has seen the rise of video bloggers, or vloggers, such as Zoe Sugg who have become internet sensations through their YouTube series.
Wax figures of vlog stars Zoe Sugg and Alfie Deyes joined a new YouTube area at Madame Tussauds last month (Getty)
Now Your Life, a government backed initiative to help teenagers into STEM careers, hopes to share a piece of the pie with its own YouTube channel. It will feature popular vloggers such as the Mandeville Sisters, who have 50,000 subscribers following their videos, to champion their cause.
