10 November 2026
CEC publishes learner career readiness insights for 2025-26
The CEC publishes it’s ‘Learner career readiness in 2025-26’ report, based on the annual Future Skills Questionnaire which had over half a million responses from young people in nearly 2,000 education settings across England.
There are three themes that are highlighted in the report. The first is the importance of building career readiness earlier, with career readiness too low among students in Years 7 and 8. The second theme is to turn understanding into action, with young people develop their future plans earlier than they have the confidence and connections to act on them. The third theme is to use a common measure to target support. The report finds that, while there may be similar levels of career readiness across some regions, this can mask local differences and challenges facing young people with certain characteristics.
The results show that career readiness rises from 53% in Year 7 to 71% in year 11, but while 84% of Year 11 students have a plan for their next step, only 44% have contacted someone in a role that they have an interest in.
The difference between technical and vocational education routes is highlighted by 62% of Year 9 students understanding apprenticeships, but only 20% saying the same for T Levels. However, by Year 11 T Level understanding ranges from 42% (in London) to 57% (in the North West).
The availability of work experience is widespread though the value of it is mixed, with 84% saying they had a workplace experience but only 65% saying it helped shape their plans.
Read more of the Learner Career Readiness in 2025-26 report.
There are three themes that are highlighted in the report. The first is the importance of building career readiness earlier, with career readiness too low among students in Years 7 and 8. The second theme is to turn understanding into action, with young people develop their future plans earlier than they have the confidence and connections to act on them. The third theme is to use a common measure to target support. The report finds that, while there may be similar levels of career readiness across some regions, this can mask local differences and challenges facing young people with certain characteristics.
The results show that career readiness rises from 53% in Year 7 to 71% in year 11, but while 84% of Year 11 students have a plan for their next step, only 44% have contacted someone in a role that they have an interest in.
The difference between technical and vocational education routes is highlighted by 62% of Year 9 students understanding apprenticeships, but only 20% saying the same for T Levels. However, by Year 11 T Level understanding ranges from 42% (in London) to 57% (in the North West).
The availability of work experience is widespread though the value of it is mixed, with 84% saying they had a workplace experience but only 65% saying it helped shape their plans.
Read more of the Learner Career Readiness in 2025-26 report.
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