{"id":7308,"date":"2020-07-21T14:59:38","date_gmt":"2020-07-21T09:29:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.univariety.com\/blog\/?p=7308"},"modified":"2020-08-04T19:37:05","modified_gmt":"2020-08-04T14:07:05","slug":"pace-survey-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.univariety.com\/blog\/pace-survey-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Parents, Children and Careers- The Big Question [Part II Of The PACE Series]"},"content":{"rendered":"

As per a report, by 2022, 9 percent of India’s workforce is expected to be employed in job roles that don’t exist today while 37 percent is believed to be in new job roles. And 70% of parents of young adults are clueless about this.\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

How do we know this?<\/span><\/p>\n

We looked through our annual Parents, Aspirations, Concerns and Expectations (PACE)<\/a> form in detail and gained a deeper understanding of what ‘Career’ based concerns parents had (the other categories were- Academic, Non-Academic, College).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this Part II of the PACE series, we are looking in greater detail at some major ‘Career-related aspects’. Here’s what they are:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

1. Career misalignment between parents and children\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Arguably, the biggest question on Indian parents\u2019 minds is about what career their child will excel at. And most, if not all, have their own set of aspirations for their children. Surprisingly, this trend is not restricted to India alone. Research by a leading hospitality job board in the UK<\/a> found that most parents of adolescents had a separate set of careers picked out for their young ones whilst the kids wanted something else.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Fig 1: Career Alignment Source: Univariety PACE 2019-2020<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It comes as no surprise that, even to this day, there is a certain element of misalignment between parents and their children with respect to the choice of career.<\/span> Through the Univariety PACE form, we discovered that 70% of parents and children were not aligned with each other in matters of career preferences.<\/span><\/p>\n

Are Indian Parents ready for a change?\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n

Traditionally, parents have been involved in most of the significant decisions in a child\u2019s life- including that of career. The typical mindset of the Indian parent is to enable his\/her child to do well academically more than any other way. The ultimate goal is to find a decent job that pays reasonably well. <\/span>There is hardly ever a discussion that takes into consideration the child\u2019s actual interest areas. And that brings us to the next section where we discuss the biggest areas that require a dialogue between parents and children.<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

2. What are the major career-related sub concerns?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

To make things easier, we categorized the various important aspects related to CAREER into 5 sub concerns.<\/strong> We’ve listed them below for you. Each sub concern is followed by a brief explanation.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
It is the right fit for my child (based on their interest)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Does the parent believe that the career choice made is indeed the right fit for his\/her child based on their interest?<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Salary & Career prospects<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

How much do parents know about the various career opportunities available and the kind of income\/salaries that can be drawn?<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Course options for college<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In the chosen career, are parents aware of the various courses that their children can take up?\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Preparation to get into a college<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

How much do parents know about the kind of preparation needed to get into the right college?<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Entry-level job requirements<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Do parents know what basic requirements are expected for jobs in the ideal career?<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Day-to-day job activities<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

What do these jobs in ideal careers entail? Are parents aware?\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The highest-paying jobs didn’t exist until 10 years ago!
\n– Sangeetha George, AVP Guidance Solutions- Univariety<\/em><\/p>\n

What we understood was that a large number of Parents struggle to keep up with the ever-changing \u2018job market\u2019 and what\u2019s hot and what\u2019s not. <\/span>This explains why only 9% of them are confident about \u2018Entry-level job requirements\u2019 or \u2018day-to-day job activities\u2019<\/b>. In fact, a whopping 70% of parents had very little idea of the Salary & Career Prospects of a certain field. However, the real question is do parents know that they need help with this area?\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

3. What do parents think they need help with?\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

“Salary prospects and job security.”<\/em><\/strong><\/span>
\n– Deepa Sharma, Parent Of Class 10 student\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“The biggest challenge for my child’s career is to choose the right future.”<\/em><\/strong><\/span>
\n– NJS Negi, Parent of Class 9 student<\/span><\/p>\n

The pie-chart below shows a breakdown of the various career-related sub- concerns<\/strong> that parents feel they need help with.<\/span><\/h5>\n
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Fig 3: Career-related aspects<\/span>
Source: Univariety PACE 2019-2020<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Career Planning Bubble<\/span><\/h4>\n

While choosing a career for their child, parents were worried about what jobs their children would end up in and what these would entail. With the advent of AI and rapidly changing circumstances, newer and more relevant skills are needed as old jobs are being replaced. It is understandable that parents are concerned about the practical aspects related to career, however, the interests and aptitudes of the child need to be at the forefront while arriving at career-related decisions. Why do we say this?\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

If you look at the pie-chart, you will notice that parents need immediate guidance on Salary and Career Prospects versus the Chosen Career Being The Right Fit For Their Child. At least, that’s what the parents believe. But looking back at Fig 1: Career Alignment<\/strong>, it is quite evident that 70% of parents are not aligned<\/strong> when it comes to their chosen field being right for their child. Where is the solution?<\/span><\/p>\n

4. The Solution\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Here are three simple steps that should serve as a prerequisite for any career-related decision between parents and their children.<\/span><\/p>\n