There is no place like home for youngsters when it comes to career plans, according to a new report by the Ambition AXA Awards.  When asked about their ambitions after leaving school, teens across the country said there was no better place to live and find work, with the majority of local 11 to 18-year-olds planning to stay put.  In some areas, up to a third said they saw themselves living in another part of the UK, while 17 per cent – rising to 26 per cent in the North East, Wales and East Anglia – plan to move abroad. (Tuesday 6th September 2011).

Staying close to the community they were brought up in seems to be important for teens across the nation, indicating there is scope for the Government’s Big Society initiative in the future. Moreover, the majority (57 per cent) disagree with budget cuts to public services, believing that spending more on schools will give them a better chance of achieving their ambitions.

It seems that there is a strong desire to not only stay in their communities, but also to actively contribute to them. Research from Community Service Volunteers shows that there is real enthusiasm for volunteering among young people: during their annual Make a Difference Day, the biggest single day of volunteering in the country, nearly half of those who take part are under 25 years, including 14,000 children aged 11 or under. Moreover, up to a 1,000 young people (18-35) choose to volunteer every year through CSV by undertaking gap years in the UK rather than abroad.

Lucy de Groot, Chief Executive of CSV and one of the Community judges on the Ambition AXA Awards, said: “It’s wonderful to see that young people feel drawn to staying close to home once they finish school, suggesting there is a sense of belonging, a sense of community. This is encouraging news for those that might think that the notion of community is under threat.

“As we have seen from the positive and powerful response in the aftermath of the English riots, with communities pulling together to clean up, there is plenty that can be done – and is being done – to make a real difference to people through volunteering. It came as no surprise for me to see that many of those involved in the clean-up campaigns were young people, who are all too often on the receiving end of criticism. Time and again we see examples of a genuine willingness by young people to give up free time to help someone, whether that’s caring for an elderly relative, helping them use a mobile phone or offering advice, friendship and support to other teenagers in need.  Many young people are active in their local communities and this, too often ‘invisible’ support network of volunteers, that ties generations and communities together. We need to recognise and celebrate this as a counterweight to all the negative stories about the breakdown of community.”

The study into ambition in young people was commissioned to support AXA’s initiative the Ambition AXA Awards.  The £200,000 awards scheme for 11-18 year olds was launched in March to reward young UK talent and achievement in Enterprise, Science, Community, Sport and The Arts. Five talented young people could each win a bespoke mentoring prize worth up to £40,000 (a total prize fund of £200,000). The winners will be announced on 30 November 2011, after which the judging panel will help the winners to create a development package that will help them to achieve their goals.

Table 1: Regional breakdown of where respondents would most like to live and work on leaving school and starting a career (%)

For more press information contact: Francesca Toma or Jason Tanner on 020 7812 0037 / 38 or ftoma@csv.org.uk / jtanner@csv.org.uk or 07966 168686 / 07941 433598

Notes for Editors:
Paratus Communications - Tel: 020 7404 6691
•    Zoe Sobol: Tel: 07971 066034 / zsobol@paratuscommunications.com
•    Dominic Shales: Tel: 07976 248321 / dshales@paratuscommunications.com

AXA UK:
•    Miranda Bellord: Tel: Tel: 0207 920 5141 / 07964 501800 / Miranda.Bellord@axa-uk.co.uk 
•    Jennifer Watters: Tel: 020 7920 5312 / 07896 426948 / Jennifer.Watters@axa-uk.co.uk

The Ambition AXA Awards website is www.ambitionaxaawards.com.

About the survey:

The survey was conducted by OnePoll in early June 2011 among 2,000 11 - 18 year olds across the country.

Ambition AXA Awards judging panel:

Joining Sir Alan Steer and Paul Evans, AXA UK CEO, on the Ambition AXA Awards judging panel are:
•    Enterprise – Karren Brady, Vice Chairman of West Ham United, and John May, CEO of Young Enterprise
•    Science – Jason Bradbury, Presenter of The Gadget Show, and Annette Smith, CEO of The Association of Science Education
•    Community – Camila Batmanghelidjh, Founder of Kids Company, and Lucy de Groot, CEO of CSV
•    Sport – Amy Williams, Olympic gold medallist, and Marc Woods, Paralympian and Director of The Youth Sport Trust
•    The Arts – Alex James, musician, and Laura Gander-Howe, Director, Learning & Skills Strategy at The Arts Council England

AXA UK is a part of the AXA Group. AXA Group is a worldwide leader in insurance and asset management, with 214,000 employees serving 95 million clients. It is ranked the largest insurer in the world by net written premium and the top insurance brand globally.

CSV (Community Service Volunteers) creates opportunities for people to take an active part in the life of their communities through volunteering, training and community action. Last year 165,666 people gave their time as volunteers through CSV. The charity trained 13,423 people of all ages. www.csv.org.uk