The Youth Voice Census 2021 discusses apprenticeships, mental health, the impacts of COVID-19 and much more.

Over 3,400 14-24 year olds shared their views on a range of issues. This year’s Youth Voice Census is the biggest it has ever been, both in the number of questions asked and in the volume of young people responding. We have highlighted some of the key findings below.

Key stats around apprenticeships:

• 86% of young people state that they have had apprenticeships discussed with them as an option
• 74.7% of apprentices found the accessibility and inclusiveness of the recruitment process ‘Good’ or Excellent’
• 77.6% felt that they had made the right career choice in choosing an apprenticeship
• 84.7% would rate their apprenticeship as ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ overall
• 54.7% would rate their salary as ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ overall
• 29.5% feel ‘Prepared’ or ‘Very Prepared’ for their end point assessment.
• 19% of young people currently in an apprenticeship had support from their school or college when applying

Key stats around finding work:

• 9.9% of young people are confident they will be able to find quality work where they live
• 25.9% think employers are supportive of hiring young people
• 54.1% of those aged 19 plus were ‘Confident’ or ‘Very Confident’ that they would be able to progress into a good job. 16.8% were ‘Not Very Confident’ or ‘Not Confident at All’ that they would be able to. Confidence is impacted by gender, race and ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals.
• Only 41.1% of apprentices rated the availability of apprenticeships near them to be ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’.

Key stats around working environment:

• 65.6% of young people would rate their employer as Youth Friendly
• 79.9% ‘Agree’ or ‘Strongly Agree’ that they are building useful skills in their job
• 25.7% rated their opportunities for promotion as ‘Poor’ or ‘Very Poor’.

Key stats on the impact of COVID-19

• 66.4% of young people thought their learning had been disrupted ‘A Great Deal’ or ‘A Lot’ with 3.4% saying it had ‘Not Been Disrupted at All’. Young women and those from Mixed or multiple ethnic groups rated disruption the highest.
• 27.3% of young people did not have a quiet place to work; young women and those eligible for free school meals were least likely to have somewhere quiet to work.
• 67% of young people shared the device they used for school work with at least one other person. 41.1% of young men had the device to themselves compared to 30.6% of young women.
• 41.3% rated the way their education provider handled coronavirus as ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’.

Other key stats:

• 4.4% of people at university thought value for money of their experience was ‘Good’
• 81.9% of young people don’t think there are enough opportunities to share their views on important issues in their area
• 28.8% of young people ‘Disagree’ or ‘Strongly Disagree’ that they can access mental health support locally

You can read the full report by clicking here

If you would like to comment on the report or make any suggestion or feedback, please contact [email protected]