23 January 2026
Young Lives, Young Futures – vocational education for young people
King’s College London and the Edge Foundation have published ‘Young Lives, Young Futures’, a report based on a six-year longitudinal study exploring how vocational education and training in England can better support young people who don’t go to university.
The study included a survey of 10,000 young people and interviews with young people, policy makers and others in four areas. Key findings of the report include that those young people who don’t want to go to university are much less likely to;
The picture is one of school as an ‘alien and hostile environment’, with a disconnect between their preference for practical learning and the narrow, exam-oriented teaching. Young people could be left feeling bored and frustrated with content that didn’t mean anything to them and little feeling of control.
The report cites that careers support for this group didn’t meet their needs, being focused on universities rather than apprenticeships or vocational courses, reinforcing the sense that their preferences weren’t valued.
Read the Young Lives, Young Futures report.
The study included a survey of 10,000 young people and interviews with young people, policy makers and others in four areas. Key findings of the report include that those young people who don’t want to go to university are much less likely to;
- Have enjoyed school
- Work hard at school
- Feel that doing well at school meant a lot to them
- Feel noticed and listened to by teachers.
The picture is one of school as an ‘alien and hostile environment’, with a disconnect between their preference for practical learning and the narrow, exam-oriented teaching. Young people could be left feeling bored and frustrated with content that didn’t mean anything to them and little feeling of control.
The report cites that careers support for this group didn’t meet their needs, being focused on universities rather than apprenticeships or vocational courses, reinforcing the sense that their preferences weren’t valued.
Read the Young Lives, Young Futures report.
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