The parents of some of the UK’s top performers in their field, including Kay Adlington, mother of double Olympic swimming champion Becky Adlington, are backing a new national campaign to highlight to parents the positive impact of having regular conversations with teenagers about their future career options, and the influence they have on the decisions their children go on to make.

 Sharing their stories of the nurturing and supportive career conversations they had with their children growing up, Kay Adlington, Cynthia Gill and Julie and Deon Wilson explain in a series of new online films, how these helped define the working lives their respective children went on to have.

In a job market that is very different to how it was when today’s parents of 11 to 18-year-olds were considering their own education and careers paths, many are not always confident about the advice and support they can provide, due to their own lack of understanding of the available education pathways and job options^.

Supporting this notion, new data reveals that, since the onset of the pandemic, more than a third of parents don’t feel informed to support their children with potential future career choices. What’s more, almost half of parents of 11-18 year olds are only holding conversations with their children about their career options once a month, or less. The Talking Futures campaign is designed to improve parents’ confidence and give them the information and the signposting they need to have more informed conversations.  Seeking advice from teachers and other parents to help navigate different options can also help to can bridge this knowledge gap.

Funded by the Gatsby Foundation, which created the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance that schools and colleges across England must deliver against, Talking Futures is a campaign and website launching today to help parents, carers and guardians, as well as educators, have constructive and informed careers and education conversations with young people (11- to 18-year-olds). The campaign website, as well as providing guidance and practical tools for parents to help have career conversations with their children, also recommends and signposts to other useful sites and resources that can help parents explore the different training and education opportunities available for young people. From practical guidance on how to kick start a conversation, to information on different education pathways, the tools are designed to give parents the confidence to have meaningful career conversations with their children.

Throughout the films, the parents explain how they approached these conversations, despite not having knowledge of the industry their child aspired to break into, by listening to them and embarking on a journey together with them, to work out what their path should be to be successful in their chosen field.

Kay Adlington (61), double Olympic swimming champion Becky Adlington’s mum, said: “It’s so important to have open and regular conversations with teenagers and give them the opportunity to be completely honest about what they want to do with their lives. By listening to your children and educating yourself on the career choices they’re making, you can understand and support them.

“Becky was always sure she wanted to explore being a professional swimmer and we shared the ups and the downs equally. We discussed many things along the way, some with the benefit foresight, but others retrospectively. We always dealt with things as openly and honestly as we could. It’s not always easy, but having a resource such as the new Talking Futures website will allow parents to equip themselves with helpful and practical tools, so they can have productive conversations with their children that guide them in making decisions that are right for them.”

 Kay Adlington, Cynthia Gill and The Wilsons’ collective top tips for parents on how to approach conversations with children to help them achieve their work aspirations, include:

Learn to listen, rather than talk – You might not always feel confident in offering advice, but you can hold honest and open conversations. Listen to what they want and then allow them the process of seeing how far they can develop. You don’t need to be an expert to be supportive, but by understanding their aspirations you can look for ways to guide them to where they want to be.

Try to understand their passions and do your research – If you don’t understand their goals, do your research and learn about it. If you don’t know where to start, the Talking Futures website can help to signpost to relevant, helpful information. Some people have a clear idea of what they want to be when they grow up, and for others it can be a process. Following their passions as they grow up, means that you can keep regular conversations going.

Suggest they talk to someone who works in a career that interests them – Encourage them to seek advice and talk to people who have followed the career path that interests them. Giving them the forum to explore and ask questions will open doors, and emphasise that it doesn’t matter if they change their mind or things go wrong along the way, there’s no harm in testing the water.

Parents and educators can find out more and access free resources by visiting the Talking Futures website at: https://www.talkingfutures.org.uk/.