There is a lot of pressure on young people to know exactly what they want, a career, a qualification, an endpoint, often before they’ve had enough opportunities to find out what they’re actually good at.

But uncertainty isn’t always a lack of direction, sometimes it just means they haven’t had enough exposure yet.

Education gives young people knowledge, but it doesn’t always show them how to apply it, a young person might discover they’re good at communicating the first time they have to explain something to a stranger. They might realize they enjoy solving problems the first time a problem doesn’t have an obvious answer and that experience creates the clarity that advice alone cannot.

This is where employers come in; work experience, mentoring, structured exposure to different industries, these things let young people test themselves against something real, not just imagine it. They get to ask questions, try things they’re bad at, get feedback, and adjust, that’s how confidence gets built, not by having the answer ready, but by surviving not having it.

Employers benefit too: Young people who’ve had that exposure arrive more able to contribute, adapt, and learn on the job, because they’ve already practiced doing exactly that.

Preparing young people for work was never about handing them a finished plan. It’s about giving them enough room to find one, before they’re asked to commit to it.