A far cry from the image of the workshy teenager, British youngsters are an ambitious group of go-getters with an overwhelming desire for success.

According to City & Guilds’ first Youth Aspiration Index, an annual monitor of the career goals of Britain ’s 14-19 year olds, financial gain takes a backseat to job satisfaction for most young people, with a significant majority (85 per cent) willing to work hard to reach the top.

Nearly all (94 per cent) of the young people questioned are fully prepared to work long hours to reach their goals and, dispelling the myth that today’s students hold little regard for their education, 83 per cent stated that they want to use the skills they’ve learnt in their career. Britain also seems to have raised a generation of natural born leaders - 49 per cent have dreams of being their own boss and running the show.

All of the 14-19 year olds questioned crave fulfilment in their career and 97 per cent want to make their family proud. And while today’s younger generation are often portrayed as being money grabbing, their financial aspirations seem to be fair rather than fantastical – they expect to be on an average salary of £32,000 by the age of 30.

Britain ’s future workers also have clear ideas about the professions they admire and want to work in. More than half (55 per cent) respect those that work in the medical profession the most, and one in ten (12 per cent) expect to work in this sector. Teaching was found to be the second most valued occupation, with close to one in ten (9 per cent) predicting their education will lead them back into the classroom. The media industry arrives in third position – with one in 20 (5 per cent) hankering for a career in this profession.

Vocational careers also hold great attraction for these enthusiasts – with many of the respondents wishing to enter IT professions, engineering, beauty and hairdressing.

It would seem there are a number of celebrity moguls motivating young talent. Richard Branson and Kelly Holmes top the league of most inspirational celebrities, followed by Bill Gates, Jamie Oliver and Bob Geldof. Multi-millionaire music tycoon Simon Cowell and captain of industry Alan Sugar were less popular with the 14-19 year old respondents.

Chris Humphries, director general of City & Guilds, said: “The research shows that our teenagers are full of ambition and really keen to have a career that offers good prospects. Whilst this is encouraging to hear, it’s essential that young people are aware of all their career options before making any important decisions about the profession that they would like to pursue. We also need to ensure that the ambitions of our younger generation are nurtured and their skills honed, so that as a nation we can produce a skilled workforce and develop business leaders that we can be proud of.”

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For further information, please contact:

Oksana Higglesden on 020 7294 2556 oksanah@city-and-guilds.co.uk

Mari Waddington on 020 7294 3437 mariw@city-and-guilds.co.uk

Nina Roman on 020 7294 8054 ninaro@city-and-guilds.co.uk

Notes to editors:

City & Guilds (http://www.city-and-guilds.co.uk) is the UK ’s leading awarding body for work-related qualifications. In total, the organisation awards 1.3 million certificates to learners each year on over 500 subjects ranging from creative studies to catering, management skills to manufacturing.

Top 10 inspirational celebrities

Top 10 aspirational professions*

* Careers that young people realistically seeing themselves going into

Top 10 respected careers professions