OECD Release New Report – The State of Global Teenage Career Preparation
A new OECD report on student career readiness finds that too many young people are navigating their futures without enough support.
The report shows that students across OECD countries are now expressing very high levels of career uncertainty and confusion.
Job expectations have changed little since 2000 and bear little relationship to actual patterns of labour market demand, including in working areas of high strategic importance.
Moreover, social background shapes students’ education plans more strongly than academic performance. Many students understandably exhibit considerable anxiety about their career preparation.
Wider longitudinal research shows that participation in many career development activities is positively associated with better employment outcomes.
However, PISA shows that too few students in most countries engage in activities that are strongly related to better transitions.
In particular, young people are not getting enough guidance in crucial fields that connect them with employers and people in the workforce.
Key findings include:
▶️ Social background is a stronger predictor of students’ ambition than academic ability
▶️ 21% of students plan on working in a job that requires a degree, but don’t plan on going to university
▶️ Career guidance is associated with better long-term employment outcomes, but students aren’t getting enough of it
Career guidance has never been more critical as the labour market grows more complex.
OECD (2025), The State of Global Teenage Career Preparation, OECD Publishing, Paris,
