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How Generation Z thinks about careers

March 2019

Qualitative research undertaken with students at Coventry University suggests some expectations and concerns that Gen-Z may have about their future careers

Key findings

  • Students broadly conceived of 'careers' in terms of adaptability, flexibility, autonomy and self-actualisation; putting them in line with some modern trends in career development. They were somewhat distanced from more traditional values of career security and stasis.
  • On the whole, parents tended to support students' agency; evidenced in their career decision-making - although the extent of this support varied between participants.
  • Students generally held positive expectations for their future careers. Few expressed concern about unemployment, career progression, financial security or job tenure. Though aware of the potential impact of technological acceleration on the future of work, most students considered that this disruption will continue to create new opportunities.
  • Often, students gained career information from common social knowledge or passive perception (constructing their own career knowledge), rather than via the traditional gatekeepers of this information - careers professionals.

These findings are, of course, representative of the sample examined and should not be taken as necessarily being broadly representative of the whole of Generation Z.

Download the full report

Exploring the career conceptions of Generation Z students at Coventry University

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    PDF
  • Number of pages in document
    25  pages
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Download PDF file Exploring the career conceptions of Generation Z students at Coventry University

About this report

This HECSU-funded research uses focus groups to examine how Generation Z students at Coventry University think about the notion of a career - their concerns and expectations, and the motivating factors behind these.

Steve Mowforth has worked in higher education careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) since 1998, and is involved in online teaching, instructional design, professional enquiry, coaching and continuing professional development.

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