2026/07/13 by Trevor Gerhardt · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Higher Education and Employability #Career Development and Diversity #Youth Education and Societal Dynamics
paper · doi:10.1108/heswbl-11-2025-0510
openalex publication_date 2026/07/13 · openalex created_date 2026/07/14 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/14
Purpose Young people are more vulnerable to economic recession than other age groups. Additionally, the current pace of upskilling and reskilling adds further pressure. This adds pressure on career development programmes which determine the economic growth of countries. In England, Work-Based Learning (WBL) Degree Apprenticeships (DAs) are such a career development programme. DAs are crucial to filling skills gaps and boosting the country's productivity. This paper is focused on younger Chartered Manager Degree Apprentices (CMDA). Design/methodology/approach The research used a survey questionnaire of CMDA participants to reveal their Career Anchors. Phase 2 were in-depth interviews of four participants regarding their ambitions related to their careers and why they choose to do the CMDA. Phase 3 comprised the narrative analysis of two participants' career diaries, maintained for a year. Phase 4 comprised final interviews reflecting on their career decisions and trajectories. Findings Among this small sample, young apprentices have no particular career path. They face many labour market pressures. Young apprentices' Anchors were general management, entrepreneurialism and pure challenge, in contrast, to older apprentices, which were security, dedication to a cause and general management, indicating different career phases and thus different priorities. Younger apprentices were ambitious but plagued by inner doubt and stress. They did reflect an introspective ability to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Support from mentors and coaches were vital. Practical implications Focusing on values, our career programmes could ensure that workplaces are supportive environments, that training providers support the work environment more and that coaching could provide more resilience and mental health support linked to Career Anchors. Originality/value Young CMDAs longitudinal qualitative narrative research.