Scottish Government

Chapter Nine The quality of pupils' part-time work

9.1 As we indicated in the introduction a significant gap exists in our understanding of pupil employment. This gap relates to our knowledge of what pupils do in their jobs. What are the main activities they undertake and what skills might they acquire? The survey contained a number of questions designed to provide us with information to address these questions. Pupils who were current workers responded to a range of questions about the activities/skills required in their work, the extent of training they receive and the extent to which their job allows them to learn skills and develop personal attributes. These aspects of pupils' part-time work are clearly pertinent to the discussion of the recognition of their part-time employment experience.

9.2 We start by considering the descriptive statistics relating to the activities, skills and training received. We then consider, through modelling, the factors which predict the likelihood that pupils will have a more, or less, demanding job.

The activities and skills in pupils' jobs

9.3 Pupils indicated the extent to which they had to undertake certain activities and employ particular skills in their part-time job (Figure 9.1). For each statement relating to an activity or skill they responded on a four point scale indicating the frequency of experience, ranging from 'never' through to 'all of the time'. Inter-personal skills figure strongly as requirements in pupils' jobs: a large majority responded that they had to co-operate with others all or some of the time to get the job done and also that they had to deal directly with customers all or some of the time (81% and 76%, see also Table 34, Appendix 1). Their jobs were less demanding in respect of literacy related skills, just under a quarter responded that they spent time reading, writing or dealing with paperwork all or some of the time in their part-time job (24%). Their work offered some opportunity to work with equipment such as computers, cash registers and photocopiers but less scope to work with tools and machinery (all/some of the time: 48% and 28% respectively). It may be surprising to find that over one-fifth of pupils were involved in supervising or training other staff all or some of the time (22%).

9.4 Given that the type of job pupils had varied by gender, it is not surprising to find that the extent to which pupils carried out certain activities also varied by gender with the single exception of reading/writing/paperwork. Young women were more likely to respond that they had to co-operate with others all or most of the time and to deal directly with customers than were male workers (f:87% vs m:74% and f:82% vs m:67%). Use of equipment and machinery varied along gender lines - young women were more likely to have the opportunity to use equipment such as computers (f:55% vs m:38%) while male workers worked with tools and machinery more frequently than their female counterparts (m:39% vs f:19%). The difference in respect of supervising/training others was smaller but still statistically significant; in this case young women were slightly more likely to do so (f:24% vs m:20%).

Figure 9.1: Current workers: how often do the following in their job by sex (%)

Figure 9.2: Current workers: how often do the following in their job by stage

9.5 Similarly, since younger pupils tend to work in different sorts of jobs, it follows that current workers' age/stage of school made a substantial difference to the extent to which they carried out the different types of activities as part of their job (Figure 9.2 and Table 35, Appendix 1). The extent of co-operation with others and dealing directly with customers rose in line with pupils' age/stage from, for example, 62% of S3s reported that they had to deal directly with customers all or some of the time compared with 89% of S6s. There were also substantial differences by age/stage in respect of using equipment (S3: 29% to S6: 69%) but less so in relation to working with tools and machinery (S3: 24% to S6: 31%). Pupils in S6 were most likely to have the scope to supervise/train others than those in any other year group.

9.6 We re-categorised employers into two groups, 'major employer' and 'other employer', to consider if the activities varied depending on the type of employer. Table 9.1 summarises the responses from pupils. Pupils working for a major employer were more likely to indicate that they deal with customers, use equipment and spend time reading/writing/paperwork for all or some of the time when compared to their peers working for other employers.

9.7 The percentage of pupils who indicate that they co-operate with others or work with tools in their job all or some of the time are comparable for major and other employers. Some pupils are involved in the supervision and training of others and once again we see that there is little variation in pupils' exposure to this activity in major or other employer categories.

Table 9.1: Current workers: how often do the following in their job: by whether employed by major or other employer

9.8 As we would expect the frequency of activities varies depending on job type. Table 9.1 shows that across all job types, with the exception of delivery, that a large majority of pupils co-operate with others all or some of the time. The previous table had shown that a minority of pupils spend all or some of their time at work reading/writing/doing paperwork. Within the job types that we used this was most common in office work and door-to-door sales. The latter may be slightly surprising, however, a typical door-to-door activity is selling cosmetics and this requires taking and completing order forms from customers as well as keeping some basic accounts.

9.9 The activities working with equipment and working with tools provide some points of contrast. For example it is apparent that those pupils working in retail jobs (eg chain store, supermarket and other shop) are likely to indicate that this is an activity they do all or some of the time. In contrast those working in farming, manual trades and cleaning are likely to indicate that working with tools is a common part of their work activity.

9.10 A minority of pupils, approximately one in five, is involved in supervising and training others all or some of the time. However, from the table is appears that this activity is not experienced by a large percentage of pupils working in delivery, door-to-door sales, office work and cleaning. The highest percentages of pupils indicating this activity is common for them are found in babysitting, care work and fast food outlets. We face a problem in interpreting these responses. It is possible that those in babysitting and care work are interpreting the statement 'supervising or training others' as relating to their charges. This problem shows some of the constraints of using self-report to collect this type of information.

9.11 What is evident from this table is the extent to which activities vary across sectors. It should also be noted that within job types where a specific activity appears to be common not all pupils are exposed to activities to the same extent.

Table 9.2: Current workers: % responding all or some of the time they do the following in their job: by type of job

9.12 When we consider pupils academic levels and their self assessment of their enterprising attitudes alongside the job activities a number of interesting trends emerge (Table 9.2 and 9.3). For three of the activities (co-operate with others, dealing with customers and use of equipment) pupils with no SGs are less likely to carry out these activities in their jobs.

9.13 The patterns for the other activities are not so clear. There is some indication that pupils with either no SGs or 1-3 SGs are more likely to indicate that they work with tools and supervise or train others compared to those with 8 or more SGs. These trends do not always reach acceptable levels of significance.

9.14 Across all six activities the percentage of pupils indicating that they are exposed to these activities is highest for those pupils who rate themselves as having the highest enterprise scores. Those pupils with the lowest enterprising attitudes scores are less likely to indicate that they have experience of these activities within their jobs.

Table 9.3: Current workers: % responding all or some of the time they do the following in their job by attainment

Table 9.4: Current workers: % responding all or some of the time they do the following in their job by enterprise level

Opportunities to learn

9.15 Pupils were asked to judge the extent to which their current job gave them scope for learning and development. Their responses were generally positive about the opportunities of their part-time job in respect of learning, self management and decision-making. Nearly two-thirds thought that their job allowed them to learn a lot of new things all or some of the time (62%) (Figure 9.3 and Table 36, Appendix 1). They were also positive that their job gave them scope to develop their skills and abilities (70%: all or some of the time). A majority thought that they had the opportunity to organise their own time at work (59%: all or some of the time). Just under a half judged their job as challenging to them (49%: all/some of the time) and over two thirds responded that it allowed them some opportunity of making decisions for themselves (65%: all/some of the time). Female workers gave more positive responses to every item than did male workers (ranging from +3% to +9%).

Figure 9.3: Current workers: scope of their part-time job by sex

Figure 9.4: Current workers: scope of their part-time job by stage

9.16 There were differences in responses to some of the items according to pupils' age/stage but not to all of them (Figure 9.4 and Table 37, Appendix 1). Pupils across the year groups did not differ significantly in their responses to whether their job was challenging to them or if they had the scope to organise their own time in their work. For the other items, positive responses rose in line with year group. S5 and S6 pupils were more likely to respond that their job allowed them to learn a lot of new things (S3: 55% to S6: 67%, all/some of the time) and the same was true in respect of the chance their job allowed them to develop their skills and abilities (S3: 63% to S6: 78%, all/some of the time). The difference was smaller across the year groups in their opinions about the extent to which their job allowed them to make decisions but a slightly higher proportion of S5 and S6 pupils thought that their job did so (S3: 61% to S6: 68%).

Table 9.5: Current workers: % responding all or some of the time their job allows them to learn

9.17 Tables 9.6 and 9.7 consider the potential relationship between academic level and enterprising scores and pupils' assessment of the scope of their jobs. A higher percentage of those pupils with lower academic levels (no or 1-3 SGs) indicate that their job provides them with opportunities to learn. We should note that in the case of decision making while this pattern is found the differences are not significant. This general pattern may be related to the extent to which pupils perceive their jobs as presenting challenges to them or alternatively falling within their existing skill base.

9.18 When we consider pupils enterprising attitudes we see a contrast between those pupils who have high rather than low enterprise scores. In all of the categories those with the lowest enterprise scores are less likely to indicate that their jobs provide them with learning opportunities. In contrast those with the highest enterprising scores are more likely to indicate that their work provides learning opportunities. It is possible that those pupils who rate themselves high with respect to enterprise are more positive about their jobs, and themselves, in general. Alternatively it could be that these pupils are more likely to look for opportunities within their work for learning. Clearly further investigation would be needed to explore these findings more fully.

Table 9.6: Current workers: % responding all or some of the time their job allows them to learn by attainment

Table 9.7: Current workers: % responding all or some of the time their job allows them to learn by their enterprising attitudes

Training received

9.19 We were interested to find out the extent to which pupils in part-time employment receive any training since this could be seen as an indication of the quality of their part-time job and the extent to which it might support their skills development.

Did pupils receive any training when they started their job?

9.20 Among pupils who currently had a part-time job, half stated that they had received some training when they started the job (Figure 9.5 and Table 38, Appendix 1). A higher proportion of young women responded that they had done so (f: 53% vs m: 46%). Pupils in S5 and S6 were much more likely to have received training than were younger pupils (S3: 33% vs S6: 75%, Figure 9.5 and Table 39, Appendix 1). This is not surprising since, as we have already noted, older pupils are employed in more formal types of work than are the younger pupils.

Figure 9.5: Current workers: if received any training when they started their part-time job

9.21 Figure 9.6 shows how training varied across different types of jobs, a high proportion of pupils employed in supermarkets, chain stores and fast food outlets reported initial training (89%, 88 % and 70%). This is explained by the fact that pupils working in these three areas were more likely to be employed by a major employer and that major employers were more likely to provide initial training. We found that, first, 70% of pupils in supermarket, chain store and fast food work were employed by major employers compared with 31% of all current workers overall and, second that 76% of current workers employed by major employers reported initial training compared with 49% of those working for other employers. It is clear then that pupils working in these three areas will have a higher incidence of initial training.

Figure 9.6: Current workers: if received any training when they started their part-time job by type of job

Table 9.8: Current workers: if received any training when they started their part-time job by type of employer

9.22 Pupils who rated themselves low in enterprising attitudes were less likely to indicate that they receive training. While the extent of the variation between those with high and low enterprise scores is not vast the trend is worth noting. It is possible that a selection process is at work. Employers when recruiting employees may select based on a set of characteristics. For jobs which involve training the characteristics that an employer is looking for may be found in the type of pupil who rates themselves high in enterprising attitudes. Alternatively it may be that pupils select themselves by applying for, or seeking, certain types of jobs. Those with high enterprising attitudes may be drawn towards specific jobs, which in turn may involve training.

Table 9.9: Current workers: if received any training when they started their part-time job by their enterprising attitudes

How long did initial training last?

9.23 We asked further questions about the extent of the training received. For a substantial proportion of the pupils, their training had lasted for 1-2 hours (42%, Table 9.10). For just under a third, their training had taken a whole morning or afternoon or a whole day (32%). It may be that such periods of training are associated with certain types of training, for example, health and safety. A quarter received training of more than a day's duration. Older pupils also tended to have longer duration training (Table 9.11). This may partly be explained by the fact that pupils who were working for a major employers were more likely to receive longer training.

Table 9.10: Current workers: duration of training

9.24 Manual trades and farming accounted for the highest proportion of pupils whose training lasted for more than a day (45% and 40%). Other jobs where substantial proportions had training that lasted more than a day were hairdressing, supermarket and office work (33%, 33% and 32%). In comparison, although, as we saw, most of those who worked in chain stores and fast food outlets received initial training, they tended to have shorter training (20% and 28% training of more than one day).

Table 9.11: Current workers: duration of training by school stage

Table 9.12: If received training - how long training lasted by type of job*

* jobs where n < 50 not reported

Table 9.13: Current workers: duration of training by type of employer

Did pupils receive any continuing training?

9.25 Just under half of pupils who had received training when they started their job reported that they were being given training on an on-going basis (47%, Figure 9.7 and Table 40, Appendix 1). Again, the same pattern is evident in respect of school stage/age - older pupils were more likely to report continuing training than younger pupils (S6: 59% vs S3: 30%, Figure 9.7 and Table 41, Appendix 1). A much higher proportion of pupils who worked for major employers reported continuing training (62% vs 38%, Table 9.14).

9.26 The extent of continuing training also varied by pupils' type of work. Almost three quarters of those employed in hairdressing reported continuing training (72%) and high proportions of those employed in manual trades, supermarkets and chain stores also did so (67%, 64% and 62%, Table 9.15).

Figure 9.7: Current workers who received initial training: any continuing training (%)

Table 9.14: Current workers who received initial training: any continuing training by type of employer (%)

Table 9.15: Current workers who received initial training: any continuing training by type of job

* jobs where n < 50 not reported

Did the training lead to certification?

9.27 For the majority of pupils their training did not result in any formal certification, only 11% had received a certificate (Figure 9.8 and Table 41, Appendix 1). S6 and S3 pupils were more likely to respond that they had received some formal certification (Figure 9.8 and Table 42, Appendix 1).

Figure 9.8: Current workers: if received any certificate(s) from employer for any training

9.28 The extent to which pupils received a certificate for any of their training did not vary significantly between those working for major employers and those employed by other employers. However, we should note that there was some variation between different job types. A higher percentage of pupils working in the 'other' category reported that they had received some form of certificate for training (Table 9.15).

Table 9.15: Current workers: if received any certificate(s) from employer for any training by type of job

9.29 Although neither the duration of training nor continuing training varied significantly according to pupils' assessment of their enterprising attitudes, a slightly lower proportion of those who rated themselves least enterprising received a certificate for any of their training.

Table 9.16: Current workers: if received any certificate(s) from employer for any training by enterprising attitudes

Predicting who works in a demanding job

9.30 The descriptive statistics outlined above provide a picture of the activities that pupils carry out within their jobs and the extent to which they view their jobs as creating potential for learning. However, we are left with the question 'who is most likely to work in jobs that are most demanding?' To address this question we must return to modelling so that we can consider how the various factors interact to predict who will work in demanding jobs and to assess the specific effect of each.

9.31 We followed the same procedure that we adopted with previous models. The model was built up in a series of steps to enable us to examine the effect of introducing each new set of factors. All the significant factors in the prior model were carried forward to the subsequent model and the non-significant factors were generally omitted from the next stage of the process. Again, it should be remembered that where any factor has a significant effect this is over and above the impact of the other factors in the model. We present the final model here but before we consider the findings we should explain the concept of a 'demanding job' (Table 9.17).

9.32 For this analysis we predict who is likely to be in a 'demanding job'. We asked pupils to indicate how often they did a range of activities in their jobs (eg co-operate with other, spend time on paper work, use equipment etc.). They did this on a four point scale from 'never' to 'all of the time'. Based on these responses we constructed a 'score' for pupils. The higher the score the more of the activities they did and the more often they did them. This reflected the 'demandingness' of the job.

9.33 The linear regression modelling shows that job type is a key factor in predicting how demanding the job is. Compared to delivery work all other jobs are more demanding with those in the retail sector and the fast food outlets amongst the most demanding. This finding parallels our earlier finding that one of the most important factors predicting longer working hours was job type. Hence the decision in chapter 7 to consider what factors predicted the type of job that pupils had. In addition to job type a number of other factors emerged as significant predictors.

The effect of background factors

9.34 School stage was found to be significant predictor, with S6 pupils more likely to be employed in those jobs that were high in 'demandingness'. However, the effect of stage was greater in earlier models before the addition of job type, reinforcing our view that this is a key factor.

9.35 Academic level, social class and father/mother's activity were not significant predictors in this model. However, domestic arrangements were. Amongst those pupils who were currently working those in the 'looked after' category were less likely to be in jobs that were categorised as demanding.

9.36 Ethnicity was also found to be a significant factor. Pupils who classified themselves as Pakistani, Gypsy/traveller or 'Other' were more likely to be in demanding jobs. The impact of ethnicity becomes more complicated when we factor gender into the model. Overall females were more likely to be in the more demanding jobs with the exception of Pakistani females. This latter group was significantly less likely to have demanding jobs.

9.37 The nature of the employer was also important. Compared to those pupils employed by non family employers, those who were working for family or who had their own business were more likely to have demanding jobs.

The effect of attitudinal factors

9.38 Compared to pupils who never truant, those who reported minor levels of truanting, that is missing a lesson or a day here and there, had more demanding jobs. However, serious truanting was not a significant predictor in the final model.

9.39 Pupils' attitudes to school varied in their effect. The higher the level of agreement with the statement that school is giving them the confidence to make decisions, the less likely pupils were to be in a demanding job. In contrast, the more pupils thought that school is not preparing them for life afterwards, the more likely there were to be in a job with a higher level of demand increased.

9.40 Pupils who rated themselves as having high enterprising attitudes were also more likely to have jobs that placed higher demands on them.

The effect of enterprise in education

9.41 The extent to which pupils had experienced certain enterprise in education inputs was a significant predictor of whether they had a demanding job. Work experience was not significant but the extent of career education, enterprise education and work-related learning inputs are all positive predictors of whether a pupil has a demanding job.

The effect of other time commitments

9.42 Those pupils who are involved in unpaid work, are involved in doing housework, have some care duties and indicate that they go to concerts and clubs are more likely to have demanding jobs. In contrast those who indicate that they watch a lot of TV, a passive activity, are less likely to be working in a demanding job.

9.43 This pattern of results might indicate that there is some underlying variation between what we might call 'active' and 'passive' pupils. Active pupils are more likely to be working in jobs that are more demanding.

The effect of career related factors

9.44 While pupils career focus was not a significant factor post school plans are. Pupils who expressed some ambiguity about their post school plans are less likely to have demanding jobs. In contrast those who indicate that they are planning to be self-employed are more likely to have demanding jobs.

9.45 The latter finding is of particular interest since we noted earlier that those pupils who were already self-employed are likely to be working in demanding jobs. The actual experience of and the ambition to be self employed are significant factors in predicting whether pupils are in more demanding jobs.

Table 9.17: Current workers: predicting how demanding their job is (linear regression)

'other' job; or major/non major employer are omitted from the model by SPSS

Overview

9.46 In this chapter we have focused on what pupils do in their jobs. Within this research area there is an ongoing debate about the nature of such part-time work: is all low skilled or does it provide opportunities for development? There has been a tendency to view school pupils' work as 'pocket money jobs' or 'children's jobs'. This debate, with a few exceptions, has been under-researched. The material in this chapter starts to provide some more detailed information on what actually goes on in the workplace.

9.47 The majority of pupils deal with customers and have to co-operate with others to get their jobs done. Just under half work with equipment and over a quarter of pupils work with tools and machinery. For nearly a quarter of employee's paperwork forms a part of their work activities and one in five have some supervisory or training role. Fifty per cent of those working have received some kind of training. Based on this it would be foolhardy to dismiss all of these jobs as 'children's jobs'.

9.48 This would certainly concur with pupils own views since the majority of them believe that their work allows them to develop skills, has the potential to teach them new things and at some level allows them to make some decisions.

9.49 However, we should be careful not to over-generalise. As we have seen there is significant variation between jobs and as we have demonstrated they vary in terms of 'demandingness'. Furthermore as the regression analysis shows not all pupils will have a 'demanding job'.

9.50 A further note of caution is needed. We have used the term 'demanding' to reflect the range of activities that pupils undertake in their jobs. This is not the same as suggesting that all pupils perceive their job as being demanding. Within this chapter we have shown that just under half of all pupils felt that their job was challenging to them.

9.51 The material within this chapter has drawn upon self report information. In the next chapter we re-visit the issue of what pupils do in the workplace from another perspective. In doing so we aim to develop our understanding of what pupils do in their part-time jobs.