‘Give up dream job hope’ in epidemics under 25

More than three young people say they have lost hope of getting a dream job because of the coronavirus, the Prince Trust said.

The charity said a survey of 2,000 people aged 16 to 25 in the UK showed that 44% had low aspirations for the future as a result of the epidemic.

Jonathan Townsend, its UK chief executive, said the epidemic had eroded the confidence of young people.

The charity said steps needed to be taken to prevent a “lost pay generation”.

According to research conducted by Sensuvide, 1% of young people believe that their future goals now seem “impossible to achieve”, up from 50% in a survey with a poor background.

Young 38%, more than a third of young people feel that they “will never succeed in life”. This increases to 48% of poor households.

‘I think trains will always depend on’

Bristol’s Pete White epidemic – strives to establish itself in one of the industries most affected by rail transport.

Pete is a railway sender and dreams of becoming a rail driver. Prior to the outbreak, he was admitted to a training program for Great Western Railway drivers, but was caught for a long time due to the outbreak.

“I resigned to make it happen this year, maybe not next year,” he said. “There has been a very significant reduction in the number of people using public transport and that puts a question mark on it.”

He finally got the word that the program is starting again and has been going to classes since last week. But with fewer people traveling by train as a result of the epidemic, the railway landscape is looking different these days.

Although Pete is undoubted. “We rely on a lot of different modes of transportation and I don’t see that changing,” he says.

“We’re all looking to travel in the new world, but I think trains will always depend on it.”

‘Aspiration distance’

Other findings include:

• More than a quarter (28%) believe they have to “take the job I get”
• One in three (35%) believe they have to “quit my dream job for any job”.
• Some 43% of young people say, “I expect to never have a job that I really like.” This increases to 55% for people from poor backgrounds
• And 45% of young people say they have to get paid less to be “ultimately satisfied”.

Mr Townsend said the findings showed the epidemic had done more than disrupt vital education, training and employment opportunities for young people.

“It has eroded their confidence in the future, where some feel they may never succeed in life.”

“We have an aspiration gap, young people have lost hope for the future and, unfortunately, people from disadvantaged backgrounds have hit very hard.”

He called on the government, charities and employers to work together to “ensure that these young people do not face any obstacles”.

“We must support them to gain access to technology, rain and access to employment opportunities, or we will lose their ambition and the possibility of long-term unemployment – to the detriment of their future and the recovery of our economy.”

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