Youth Voice Census 2021: Insights From The Edge Foundation

Youth Employment UK’s annual Youth Voice Census Report is now available. Key findings for 2021 tell a story of mismatch and disconnect from young people in the UK.

We would like to thank co-sponsors The Edge Foundation for their support in helping us to make the collation of this vital data possible. Only when we know what young people face can we all cohesively work together to overcome barriers.

The Edge Foundation’s Executive Director, Olly Newton:

“Understanding the views of young people is a critical part of our mission to make education relevant, so we were delighted to collaborate with colleagues at Youth Employment UK on this year’s Youth Voice Census.

This has been a particularly challenging couple of years for young people in every aspect of their lives. As the labour market rapidly changes, it is essential that they have the chance to understand the skills they will need to succeed.So it’s a real worry that just a third of young people in school feel they understand these skills and less than 10% are confident about finding quality work. But it’s not a surprise. It’s not even a new phenomenon as a result of the pandemic, although that has of course accelerated the challenge.The truth is that current education policy is old fashioned and narrow, constraining hard working teachers to focus on traditional subjects and teaching to the test for written exams that rely on knowledge recall, with insufficient priority given to high quality vocational education.

Young people and businesses alike are crying out for change – a broader range of subjects, high quality technical and professional options, embedded careers guidance and regular engagement with employers, a real focus on developing employability skills like team working and problem solving, and looking to the future to bring digital and green issues to life.

It’s time to listen to young people’s voices and make education relevant for their futures.”