Hello

A society of contradictions922,000 people classed as Not in Education, Employment or TrainingOne of the highest percentages of low-paid workers in the UK9 million people with low numeracy skillsGCSE achievement relatively stableMore students studying computingMaths is one of only two of the 48 subjects where boys perform better than girls at C grade and aboveFrom 2008 to 2014, significant rise in university students studying maths, biological sciences, business and computing degreesYet there are reported skills gaps, esp engineering, tech, science.Employers complain about the lack of ‘employability’ skills.

Disadvantage can start at a young age

By the age of 5, children from poorer backgrounds are likely to be an average of 19 months behind on school readiness Children from affluent neighborhoods are 9 times more likely to get into one of the top 13 universities in the UK Three years after graduation, those who attended fee-paying schools, earn around £4,500 a year more than their state school counterparts

A recent report showed that despite 30 years of investment and various

initiatives, a majority of the profession still come from families classed as ‘managerial or professional’. The

numbers of women are rising at entry level and could be in the majority in

the next five years. But there is still a lack of women at the top of the

profession. This is the medical profession.

What is the responsibility of employers?

Make it more than a recruitment issue

Some of the world's largest companies only spend "a fraction" of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) on education, according to the Varkey Foundation.

The research commissioned as part of the Business Backs Education campaign found that global Fortune 500 businesses only spend $2.6bn (13%) of their $19.9bn CSR budgets on education related activities.

Get people to volunteer on education rather than simply painting schools

You can’t overestimate the power of your brand

and support to help push the agenda

Empower young people in your organisation and beyond

to do something for their generation.

Don’t just be a recruiter…

Who I am now isn't who I might be in the future, and the education and recruitment system needs to give us the space and time to make the right career choices.Abigail Lane is studying her AS-Levels at a school in Hertfordshire.

But how do you connect?

My generation, Gen-Z, has a strong social focus. Anything our friends, our family, and our celebrity idols do is important for us to know about.Sophie Lang

Some interesting trendsThis is a generation that has grown up in the height of the recession, where social media and digital technology are extensions of themselves, and whose relationships with brands and organisations are driven by engagement. These are some of the trends that seem to define Gen Z, albeit some of the them seem stranger than others:

Social impactEntrepreneursConnectedIndependent workersWorry about economy

Home-cooked foodLess activeBrand loyaltyFamilyVisual

The Truth Foundation

They don’t like to judge, so messages about smokers being bad won’t work, especially as fewer people smoke (there’s no desire to turn smokers into a

persecuted minority). What does? Appeals to their power and influence. “We offer them the opportunity

to be part of a generation that could do something amazing: they could end smoking.”