Wanted: graduates, school leavers and their parents

Graduates and school leavers looking for their first job in 2012 are in no doubt about the challenges they face. News reports are full of doom and gloom about increased competition, a stagnant jobs market and job-seekers without the right skills.

Rewind back to 1978, when the Office of National Statistics first started collecting data on the labour market, and the picture was very different: the nation was enthralled by Saturday Night Fever for a start, and it was also a time when going to university was a path for the minority. The first step on the career ladder often started after leaving school at 16 – and that first job was frequently one for life.

Channel 4 News is looking for people from both generations to take part in a news report exploring how the jobs market and the nature of work has changed over the last 30 years.

So if you’re leaving education to enter the jobs market this year, or if you secured your first job back in 1978, we want to hear from you.

Email c4jobs@itn.co.uk and let us know:
– Your age,
– Where you live,
– Highest level of qualification and subject,
– Your career aspirations,
– And if your first job was in 1978, what you do now and how you got there.

And in the meantime, you can keep up with the Channel 4 Jobs Report by givng our Facebook page a ‘like’, following us on Twitter via @Channel4News and checking out the #C4jobs hashtag.

Please note that this project is not a pathway to work at Channel 4 News.