Earn an additional £2,000 by their mid-20s
Young people aged 14-15 from all backgrounds, could be earning an additional £2,000 by their mid-20s simply by more exposure to the world of work through career talks at school, new research has found.
The research was undertaken by Elnaz Kashefpakdel and Christian Percy and was published in the internationally peer reviewed Journal of Education and Work. Kashefpakdel presented her findings to our academy’s senior leadership team and subject leaders in 2016.
Her research reveals that, between ages 14-15, for each career talk experienced with somebody from outside of the school, individuals’ wages at age 26 were higher by up to 1.6% per talk. Other factors that influence earnings, including economic status, academic ability, and demographics were taken into account.
The earnings boost is greatest where pupils had career talks at age 14 and found them ‘very helpful’ at the time. As an example, a pupil who experienced six such very helpful talks could expect an average boost in their salary of £2,000 (in today’s money) at age 26, if in full-time employment.
Therefore, all children at Harris Academy St John’s Wood are given a rich variety of engagements with outside speakers and careers’ talks each year of their life with us. Kate Kopelman (Assistant Principal) and Laura Lewis (Vice Principal) lead on this area of academy life and it is central to our curriculum offer.
If you are a parent or employer and have any questions about careers education at HASJW or about supporting our children to get access to employment experiences please email us at kate.kopelman@harrisstjohnswood.org.uk and laura.lewis@harrisstjohnswood.org.uk.
