Teenage career uncertainty : Why it matters and how to reduce it?

PISA 2022 finds that two in five students aged 15, across all OECD countries have no clear career plans. The proportion of students who can be described as career uncertain has grown by more than half since 2018. This is a matter of concern. Analysis of multiple longitudinal studies in different countries commonly shows that teenagers who have clear plans can typically expect to go on to better outcomes in employment than comparable classmates who are uncertain. It is young people who are the lowest academic performers who are most likely uncertain. The good news is that programmes of career development can often be expected to reduce levels of career uncertainty, but PISA 2022 shows too few students are engaging in the many effective interventions. This Policy Brief draws on evidence from the OECD Career Readiness project to explore: What is career certainty and uncertainty? How does career certainty/uncertainty relate to employment outcomes? How common is career uncertainty among students and what does PISA tell us about the students who are most likely to express uncertain career plans? How can guidance systems respond to career uncertainty?