Can we discuss the lack of ambition in English youth

[SomeoneCalled]

How can we help English young people to feel more ambitious about their future

Do you mean British? And where’s your evidence?

yes, perhaps did not define it well: a job which pays for all of one's bills and leave some spare cash

British at large also....

Tv shows used to have a big impact.

Call the midwife caused a spike in midwifery interest.
Big Bang for physics

Now I see an increasing number of those wanting to be influencers.

I’m 51 and my DH is 63. He’s a chef, I e always worked in safeguarding (unwell currently). Skilled jobs I would argue but we’ve never had spare money.

To somehow de-influence the influencers. They are all chasing some sort of digital nomad life on a beach in Bali or living the van-life or getting sponsored products to do elaborate unboxing on social media.

I think it’s probably very mixed but I don’t recognise what you say ime. Meant this for the op.

On this post it can be done with sheer persistence.

What makes you think they don’t want one?

All the young people (and not so young people) I know would love a well paid job if they don’t already have one.

Even that though involves hard work and resilience. Posting even when things aren’t going well for you. Sometimes they need a reality check.

If I tell the evidence, I would be accused of benefits bashing and this is not my goal. I would like to know how people create ambition in their young teens

They need better policies for jobs for a start.

A complete overhaul of the 'one size fits all' school system! So, different types of institutions available and not just one huge building with the set subjects and the academic pressure that goes with it. Xx

You really think teenagers are aspiring for a life on benefits, or they finish school and go straight on benefits are allowed to remain on them for life?

I have teens and they don’t feel particularly ambitious to me . Laidback boys who don’t know what they want to do after school . One works hard at school , the other not so much .

We both are the first in our families to go to university, I knew what it was like to be hungry and cold as a child and was determined to achieve . My kids have never had the experiences I had and I wonder if that’s part of the problem - they don’t know what it’s like to not have spare cash .

Im in Cornwall. Kids have given up trying with college because a lot of the courses are boring (bricklaying, hairdressing etc) or they get cancelled due to low numbers. Or, university is extortionate and a job in the South West is badly paid so they don't see the worth in aiming higher.

E.g Businesses like the Eden Project are hiring senior marketing staff for only £28,000.

I'm sad for them. My generation had similar problems but we had the chance to leave and go to university without going into loads of debt.

The apprentice opportunities down here are similar to the ones in the 00s. Childcare, bricklaying, mechanics and beauty. Accounting if you're lucky. Maybe a bit of marketing?

Cornwall can't be the only place like this though.

Literally surrounded by redundancies so no idea how to spark enthusiasm in the younger generation

Maybe if there were more jobs and opportunities,
Or if it wasn't so difficult to buy their own place or even afford rent,
Or if you could still progress in jobs and you didn't stay at minimum wage
Or they hadn't spent 3 years working hard to get a degree which apparently is worth nothing and either can't get a job or can only get a minimum wage job not even in their field
Or if everything wasn't so expensive
Or that there wasn't this narrative that young people are lazy and just want to be influencers or go on benefits, then they'd feel more ambitious?? I dunno, I think this might make a difference?

I don't know anyone my age who feels enthusiastic about life at the moment, imagine what it's like starting out in this shitshow

What about all the essential but low paying jobs which dont cover all the bills never mind having money left over? Without many of those jobs society would collapse. All these high flying people with small children would have no child care, no clean streets, no-one to look after their elderly parents

Everyone is different. Just because a young person doesnt aspire to be a doctor or a lawyer doesnt mean they have no ambition. What about those who work in the Charity sector, in the lower rungs of academia , as a TA or in care work.

Sadly people seemed to judge ambition and success by what someone earns rather than also taking into account what they may be contributing in other ways. The problem is that lower paid jobs don't even.cover the cost of living.

Of.course this might be just a thinly disguised benefits bashing thread!

By accepting that 'ambition' looks different for everybody.
Not everyone should go to university.
There should be more options for all different types of ambitions, apprenticeships, trainee schemes, etc. Also opening it up for all ages, so people don't feel if they aren't in their career for life by 25 it's too late - we'll be working for decades, there should be support if people want to retrain in their 30s or 40s.

Nail on the head there. There's a very strong correlation between what children see/hear about what their friends/family are doing as adults, to what they "aspire" to. It's why the likes of doctors and dentists often have children who go into the same or similar professions, likewise accountants and lawyers and of course likewise where a child's family don't work at all, the chances of the child continuing that trend are very high indeed! A child's surrounding make the biggest impact on their future adult life. Next biggest impact is the school/teachers and unfortunately, career advice in schools is generally very poor and pretty much non existent at all until sixth form and even then it's brief and patchy.

Lots of truth in all that.

Britain & England are not the same.

There needs to be some big changes made in the current education system, because the 'one size fits all' approach doesn't work. Perhaps the introduction of more practical skills in schools might be better. I work partly with older teens. They might be 'nightmares' and not academic in the classroom, but pop them on a tractor and tell them to do a job, and they're brilliant. It's all about building their confidence and experience, and showing them that there's more to life than school.

Success means different things to different people. It's not all about who got the most GCSEs, A-Levels, degrees and who earns the most. No amount of money or exam success is worth your mental health.

We could also do away with the part of the British "sense of humour" that puts people down and makes them feel small and embarrassed, because the other person thinks that it's funny.

So, as you haven’t really answered any questions, are you basing this on the amount of young people receiving benefits? It appears that there definitely are more young people getting benefits than even five years ago, but most seem to be related to health, including mental health. Maybe you should be asking how can we support young people dealing with these issues rather than assume they have no ambition?

I think it totally depends where you live! I live in a really poor old seaside town, kids have no ambition at all but it’s because the town is crumbling around them, lots of adults don’t work if if they do they work every hour god sends to earn pittance, it doesn’t inspire children and the children don’t think they can break the mould because no one has told them they can.

very middle class children who attend private schools seem to have huge ambitions and know they can achieve greatness, because they’ve been told it’s possible and can see adults around them succeeding.

its heartbreaking the difference

Do you give them money?
Mine worked hard at babysitting and odd jobs/ gardening for whatever spending money they had (in the US).