According to a brand new study commissioned by the UK’s leading website dedicated to helping school leavers make informed choices about their future, more than three quarters of adults in the UK have never had to discuss their GCSE results during a job interview prior to leaving school, college or university.
The team at www.notgoingtouni.co.uk decided to carry out the study as part of ongoing research into how British adults feel the qualifications they gain during school impact on their future careers. A total of 2,728 adults were questioned for the purposes of the research, with ages ranging from 18-44, focusing on all those who sat their exams after the GCSE’s were introduced to the curriculum.
Participants were asked if, since they had left school, college or university, they had ever been asked to discuss their GCSE results with a potential employer during a job interview. The majority of respondents (77%) stated that they hadn’t. Of the 23% of respondents who had been asked about their GCSE grades during job interviews, every relevant individual had left school after their GCSE exams, without moving on to receive any further qualifications such as A-levels, BTEC’s, HND’s or University degrees.
Tellingly, of the relevant 77% of individuals, only 29% could successfully remember all the GCSE’s they took and the grades they were awarded in each subject when quizzed on the spot.
In order to delve a little deeper into the significance of GCSE grades on the average person’s career path, those who had never been asked about their results during a job interview were then asked if they believed that their GCSE grades had affected their developing careers. Whilst a very small minority (11%) stated that they were somewhat disappointed with their GCSE grades, and felt that they held them back from going to college and university, the majority (89%) revealed that their GCSE grades had no bearing on their post-16 choices and did not hold them back whatsoever when it came to further education, including sitting A-levels, BTEC’s, HND’s and University degrees.
Spencer Mehlman, Managing Director of notgoingtouni.co.uk, commented on the results of the study:
“Whilst for many students receiving their GCSE results later this week, bad grades may seem like the end of their world, it is important to assure them completely that it is not. Even though future CV’s might require how many passes they have achieved during the exams, particularly if they are not looking to take part in further education, our results highlight that further qualifications, apprenticeships, internships and an overall dedication to ones chosen industry are much more crucial in securing employment than the exams you take as a teenager.”
He continued:
“From my personal experience, it is those students who are disappointed in their GCSE grades who are far more likely to apply themselves and work even harder during their A-levels, as they are wary of experiencing another disappointing results day.”
This year’s Results Day Survival Guide can be downloaded for free at notgoingtouni.co.uk using the following link: http://bit.ly/1kNrgzs
