Gatsby Benchmarks
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The changing face of
learning and earning
Research by Barclays LifeSkills shows the decline of the Saturday job, but a rise in online
ventures and entrepreneurism among young people in education, writes Sarah Wild.
he humble Saturday job can be the start of
great things,” asserts Baroness Karen Brady
CBE, “first woman in football” and chair of
the Barclays LifeSkills Advisory Council. “My
part-time job at a hair salon taught me the skills that put
me on the path to a successful career in business –
problem solving, proactivity and hard work. Your first job
is more than just a point for your CV, it’s a life lesson.”
However, in 2015, research by specialist economics
and policy consultancy London Economics and the UK
Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) noted
“a long-term decline in young people combining work
with study”. Analysing the UK Labour Force Survey, its
report, entitled Death of the Saturday Job, pointed out
that, in 1997, 42% of 16-17-year-old students combined
learning with work, compared with just 18% in 2014.
Three main reasons were identified for this decline:
increasing preferences of young people to focus solely
on studies, a changing labour market affecting the
opportunities for young people to get part-time jobs,
and institutional difficulties with the incorporation of work
into study timetables.
Young people were under the impression that schools
and colleges were “dead set against” pupils combining
work with their studies, according to the findings. If asked
about combining work with study, the overwhelming
view was that schools and colleges would simply state
that “school comes first”, the report said; a number of
respondents suggested that the institutional stance was
down to the pressure to perform well in league tables.
A focus group of educationalists admitted that
(despite the potential positive outcomes associated with
“T
The humble Saturday
job can be the start of
great things
20 // EMPLOYABILITY