Read: Young people need to realise that whatever their exam results are, career paths aren’t linear
Looking at news reports of students getting their A-level and GCSE results this past fortnight, I recall how easy it is at that age to feel like you should have your whole life mapped out.
As an ambitious teenager I’d read articles about people who’d been successful in lots of fields - business, politics, sport - and was impressed at how they’d steadily built up their career along what seemed like a straight line to success. It made me a young person in a hurry. But in a hurry to where?
My inner frustration as a teenager was that I’d listen to friends who already knew exactly the career they wanted - like becoming a police officer, doctor or a vet. It made me feel as if not having the same answers to what I wanted to do with my life was a big problem. I gradually realised that isn’t a problem, it’s just normal for most of us.
For a start, it's harder to be what you can’t see - most careers aren’t featured in TV dramas, like police officers, doctors and vets are. It’s why so much of my work on social mobility today is about encouraging employers to reach out to schools, colleges and universities to help young people get a practical sense of what different careers really mean.
In the decades since leaving education I now know our career journey is nothing like a straight line. It’s full of twists and turns, like snakes and ladders, sometimes jumping ahead but other times taking several steps back. I started in accountancy, then entered politics, and I’m now working with employers on social mobility. It shows that whatever career you start off in, it may well not be where you end up.
My experience as a 17-year-old in a Saturday job, working in the cafe at Morrisons supermarket in Rotherham, made me feel a career in retail was maybe not for me. I wasn’t always so good at serving teas and coffees without spilling them over grumpy shoppers. If I’d known I’d end up as a Member of Parliament, where serving the public underpinned everything, I’d have probably said ‘no thank you, I won’t enjoy that’. As it turned out, I loved being an MP serving my community. And I was wrong about retail too - there would have been plenty of roles in finance, marketing or operations I’d have enjoyed.
GCSE and A level results do matter and are a hugely important part of our early journey, not least the pride those receiving them can take in their achievements. But equipping people for fulfilled, successful lives is more than developing potential through education and exams, important as they are. It’s also about having the advice and experiences to give you inspiration and a sense of purpose, plus the opportunity to make that a reality. It’s not either/or, it’s all of this that matters.
I wasn’t a straight A’s student through my school years, but even if I had been I can now see that wouldn’t have automatically meant I had a clear sense of purpose. Yet, my frustrated ‘in a hurry’ 17-year-old version of myself shouldn't have worried so much. That sense of purpose came with time, as I saw more of life, had more experiences and met different people. I formed a clearer view of what I liked doing, was good at and where I felt I fitted into the wider world.
When I first ran for Parliament, no one in my family had even been a member of a political party, let alone taking the step of being a candidate in a General Election. But I wanted to make a positive difference to something I cared about - our democracy - by being part of it. My career as an accountant in industry was going well, but life is sometimes about trying out the road less travelled.
It was when I really worked out what fired me up in life I started to have a real sense of purpose. For me that was working on equality of opportunity, but for others it could be something very different - whether providing care transforming lives, or project managing a housing development building crucially needed new homes. Whatever it is, it’s about finding out where the ‘fire in your belly’ comes from.
I care about equality of opportunity because I think we’re all great at something, whoever we are. Education is about developing that talent and potential, but we also need a wider country to work harder on connecting it to opportunities. It’s up to others to say whether I was a great Member of Parliament - I certainly gave it my best - but I do know the version of me that has been able to put time into doing what I care about, and feeling I can make a real difference, is a much more fulfilled one.
And I don’t think there’s just one path in life for people either. Being flexible and adaptable means we don’t miss out on opportunities that are not the ones we expected but are great ones nevertheless. Had I not become an MP, perhaps I would have stayed in business purposefully creating opportunities for people from all sorts of backgrounds, or taken my finance skills to a charity working on that same mission.
So if you’re one of those many young people who got your grades over the past fortnight, and are not sure where to go next, don’t worry too much. Whatever those grades were, good or bad, don’t forget to steadily find your purpose and the fire in your belly to go with all that talent. You’ll need them all for a fulfilling journey ahead in life.
