We asked teens what schools should teach them about work. This is what they said

Four teenagers, Jasmine, McKenzie, Param and Javaris standing in a line with a blue and yellow stylised background to the image.

ByKate BerryBBC Radio 5 Live and Vanessa ClarkeSenior education reporter

More than four in 10 UK teenagers want more work experience opportunities at school, with a similar proportion calling for more guidance on how to apply for jobs, a survey for the BBC suggests.

The online survey, by Survation,, external asked 2,000 young people aged 13 to 18 about the world of work and the help they need to secure employment once they leave full-time education.

Some called for more support with their communications skills and raised concerns about stress management and personal finances.

Skills Minister Jacqui Smith said it was the government's "mission" to ensure teenagers leave school "confident about their next step and equipped with the skills and experience they need to succeed".

In England, the government wants to guarantee two weeks' of work experience for every young person, external during secondary school.

It's an opportunity not all teenagers are currently given, the survey for the BBC suggests, with more than half of respondents saying they had not done any.

When teenagers were asked in the survey what skills or guidance they would like more of at school, the most common responses were more work experience opportunities (44%) and help managing finances (43%).

Respondents said they also wanted guidance on how to apply for jobs (42%) as well as how to manage stress and mental health (39%) and develop their communication skills (38%).

As part of the Teen Summit project by Radio 5 Live and Bitesize, the BBC followed four students from Newcastle - Param, McKenzie, Jasmine and Javaris - as they tried out roles for the first time as part of their work experience placements.

"I'm terrified about the future. I feel very uncertain about it," 15-year-old Jasmine said.

Jasmine is sitting in an office with two monitors in front of her and a large pad of drawing paper on her desk — Image caption,
Jasmine said she was determined to make the right choices with what she does after school

Jasmine said she enjoyed her placement working on logo designs at web design and development agency Readysalted.

But she said the placement made her realise she was probably unsuited to an office job.

"Hats off to all the workers that have to do this every single day," she said.

She said it gave her a real taste of working life, but that she was still worried about making "the wrong decision" around what to do next.

"I think about exams and not getting the right grades, which leads to not getting into the right course and then not getting into university, and it's very stressful," she said. "That's always on my mind."

A 15-minute walk up the road from Jasmine's placement, near the centre of Newcastle, her classmate Param had his work experience at social housing group Re:Gen.

Param said it showed him there was more to work than simply having the right knowledge and understanding.

"Social skills are just as important as academic skills," he said, after a day of meeting clients and working with people he had never met before.

He also spent time with staff carrying out quality checks on social houses, looking for loose fittings or uneven surfaces.

"It's given us a taste of the real world," he said. "It's bringing us out of our comfort zones."

As an aspiring pilot, he said schools should not just provide work experience opportunities, but additional teaching on other aspects of adult life outside of work.

"We need to know about houses, mortgages, selling and tax," he said.

Param is pictured wearing a high-visibility orange safety vest over a black collared shirt, standing indoors in front of a white panelled door. Part of a noticeboard and a white appliance are visible in the background. — Image caption,
Param said he enjoyed working with new people, which brought him out of his comfort zone

Javaris, who spent a week's placement at Siemens Energy alongside friend and classmate McKenzie, also said the work experience challenged his social skills in a new setting.

"I've really never been in a workplace with people I don't know, having to socialise and having to teach me about things I've never learned before," he said.

Javaris ultimately wants to become a doctor, but said the week had given him an insight into how different parts of a company are run.

McKenzie, who wants to study chemistry or become a firefighter, said he enjoyed speaking with people in different jobs and seeing the differences between "hands-on" roles and office work.

Javaris and McKenzie are pictured wearing visitor lanyards inside an industrial workshop beside large orange machinery. The spacious facility has high ceilings, blue steel supports and production equipment in the background, with another person working near the machinery. — Image caption,
Javaris and McKenzie were able to learn about how a business is run at Siemens Energy

In light of AI and new technologies in the workplace, nearly a third of teenagers responding to the survey (32%) said they thought school was preparing them badly for the future of work - although more than half of teenagers said it was preparing them well.

One of the areas young people said they wanted more help with was developing communication skills.

The BBC set Javaris and McKenzie a challenge to help develop their own communication skills, and put some of their thoughts directly to one of their work experience company's bosses - Aaron Smith, head of business for Group Technology Service at Siemens Energy.

So, beyond academic results, what skills are employers really looking for?

"You know, you can be extremely academically strong, but if you can't do a presentation, if you can't speak in public, if you are in a group exercise and you step back, these are the kind of softer skills that will be picked out in an apprenticeship assessment centre," Smith said.

Figure caption,

Teens ask bosses what they're really looking for

The pair were also keen to know if they should be studying AI as part of their education.

McKenzie said he thinks AI should be added to the national curriculum, adding that "it's getting harder and harder to see what's AI and what's not".

He said he was also concerned about the impact AI may have on the availability of jobs, but added that he was "positive" about his future prospects.

"Certainly AI is huge within the industry," Smith said.

"We're actively encouraging AI training, AI learning, AI applications in our business to make us better."

'Work experience should be mandatory'

The teens' deputy principal, Nigel Holmes, said while it was "really important" for schools to prepare students for their academic qualifications, "we'd be really remiss if we didn't look at those wider employability skills that I think we know are really important".

On Sunday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he wanted the government to "invest in the success of our young people", with plans for thousands of job opportunities expected this week.

Despite the backdrop of AI and a tough jobs market, more than three quarters of teens surveyed said they still felt positive about their futures.

In the weeks since their work experience placements, all four students have said they feel clearer about their future opportunities.

Javaris said he thinks work experience should be mandatory, and that it "really gives you an insight of what to expect [as] you get older".

For Jasmine, who prior to her placement was worried about what the future might hold, things now feel a little less uncertain.

After talking to her school careers adviser, she is considering studying psychology.

"I was kind of worried that I wouldn't get the grades I wanted. I still am a bit," she said.

"But I definitely know now that even if you don't get grade nines, you'll still have a future and you can still be happy with your job."