Teenagers learn and earn

Keywords Young people, Employment, Part-time work

Most children aged between 14 and 18 work as well as study full-time, and many experience pressure from their employers to work longer hours. Early results from a Further Education Development Agency (FEDA) study indicate that more than 64 per cent of young teenage students are in paid employment. Half of those have felt pressure from their employers to work longer hours and 30 per cent report that working is a cause of stress. Some 40 per cent of teenagers who are not working are not in employment because they cannot find a job or are between employers.

Most children who work are in the retail sector (40 per cent). Around a quarter work in bars or the catering industry and 13 per cent work in private homes. One in five children who work do so on days when they should be in the classroom. More than half of the children who work report doing so on weekday evenings in term time. A quarter of teenagers in paid employment work for 15 hours a week or more during term time. The teenagers do not believe their work interferes with their studies. Almost three-quarters strongly denied that it might have made them late for class on occasions and 77 per cent denied missing lessons. But a quarter admitted that working interferes with their homework and 40 per cent agreed that it had made them feel tired. Chris Hughes, FEDA chief executive, commented: "This research proves what many of us have suspected for some time - that there is no longer such a thing as a full-time student. Schools and colleges could consider flexible ways of working which accommodate the reality of teenagers' lives".