For Immediate Release
March 19, 2015
March 19, 2015
YEP Voices SURVEY OFFERS INSIGHTS INTO CAREER PATHWAYS OF THE NEXT
GENERATION OF EDUCATION LEADERS
Young Education Professionals Prioritize Positive Work Culture and Management Skills as They Look to
Advance in their Careers
Advance in their Careers
WASHINGTON, DC – Young Education Professionals (YEP), a nonpartisan organization that connects tomorrow’s education leaders, is creating major ripples in education with the release of YEP Voices: Mapping the Young Education Professional’s Career Pathway, their second annual report on the thoughts and opinions of over 550 young education professionals from across the country as it welcomes its newest chapter, YEP-Phoenix.
This year’s report explored members’ experiences working in education and found work culture served as one of the most important factors influencing job satisfaction. Young professionals also prioritized opportunity for growth, the ability to positively impact outcomes and job subject matter. Relatedly, about 20 percent of young education professionals reported leaving their previous job because they could not grow professionally or found a better opportunity elsewhere. YEP Voices also indicated that nearly 45 percent of respondents plan to leave their current positions in the next three years, a third of whom plan to leave within a year.
When it comes to planning for the future, management skills are by far the most in demand among young education professionals, with 56 percent of all respondents prioritizing those as the skills they most want or need to advance in their careers. Looking ten years out, over 98 percent of young education professionals intend to stay in education, but about two-thirds plan to switch sectors – leaving the classroom and administration for non-profits and advocacy organizations for the government, for example.
“We hope those in a position to impact young education professionals will read YEP Voices and consider the implications for their work,” said Elise West, Executive Director of YEP National. “It’s critical that we leverage the strengths that young education professionals bring to the field – and support their work culture, growth and development – so that they can continue to have a positive impact on organizational outcomes and be positioned for success as tomorrow’s education leaders.”
YEP Voices: Mapping the Young Education Professional’s Career Pathway was an open, online survey of 558 young education professionals conducted January 6-26, 2015. The average age of respondents was 29.8 years old, and 56.6 percent of respondents were female and 43.4 percent were male. All 12 YEP chapters participated. Access the full report at: www.youngedprofessionals.org/yep-voices-2015
YEP National Welcomes its 12th Chapter
YEP-Phoenix is the 12th entirely volunteer-run YEP chapter in the United States, launching with a successful inaugural event on February 26. More information on YEP-Phoenix can be found at www.youngedprofessionals.org/yep-phoenix, and a complete list of chapters is available at www.youngedprofessionals.org/chapters.
About Young Education Professionals
Young Education Professionals was created by and for young professionals in support of the belief that education in the United States will be improved if education professionals connect with each other in a range of environments. YEP National provides tomorrow’s education leaders with opportunities to build connections with their peers around the common goal of improving education through policy, research, and practice. The organization accomplishes this through regular programming and membership activities that foster relationship-building, knowledge development, career and professional development, and community engagement. YEP National is a completely volunteer-run organization with 11,000 members in 12 chapters across the nation. For more information, please visit www.youngedprofessionals.org
Contact
Terri Seay
Communications Director
Young Education Professionals, National Team
info [at] youngedprofessionals [dot] org
This year’s report explored members’ experiences working in education and found work culture served as one of the most important factors influencing job satisfaction. Young professionals also prioritized opportunity for growth, the ability to positively impact outcomes and job subject matter. Relatedly, about 20 percent of young education professionals reported leaving their previous job because they could not grow professionally or found a better opportunity elsewhere. YEP Voices also indicated that nearly 45 percent of respondents plan to leave their current positions in the next three years, a third of whom plan to leave within a year.
When it comes to planning for the future, management skills are by far the most in demand among young education professionals, with 56 percent of all respondents prioritizing those as the skills they most want or need to advance in their careers. Looking ten years out, over 98 percent of young education professionals intend to stay in education, but about two-thirds plan to switch sectors – leaving the classroom and administration for non-profits and advocacy organizations for the government, for example.
“We hope those in a position to impact young education professionals will read YEP Voices and consider the implications for their work,” said Elise West, Executive Director of YEP National. “It’s critical that we leverage the strengths that young education professionals bring to the field – and support their work culture, growth and development – so that they can continue to have a positive impact on organizational outcomes and be positioned for success as tomorrow’s education leaders.”
YEP Voices: Mapping the Young Education Professional’s Career Pathway was an open, online survey of 558 young education professionals conducted January 6-26, 2015. The average age of respondents was 29.8 years old, and 56.6 percent of respondents were female and 43.4 percent were male. All 12 YEP chapters participated. Access the full report at: www.youngedprofessionals.org/yep-voices-2015
YEP National Welcomes its 12th Chapter
YEP-Phoenix is the 12th entirely volunteer-run YEP chapter in the United States, launching with a successful inaugural event on February 26. More information on YEP-Phoenix can be found at www.youngedprofessionals.org/yep-phoenix, and a complete list of chapters is available at www.youngedprofessionals.org/chapters.
About Young Education Professionals
Young Education Professionals was created by and for young professionals in support of the belief that education in the United States will be improved if education professionals connect with each other in a range of environments. YEP National provides tomorrow’s education leaders with opportunities to build connections with their peers around the common goal of improving education through policy, research, and practice. The organization accomplishes this through regular programming and membership activities that foster relationship-building, knowledge development, career and professional development, and community engagement. YEP National is a completely volunteer-run organization with 11,000 members in 12 chapters across the nation. For more information, please visit www.youngedprofessionals.org
Contact
Terri Seay
Communications Director
Young Education Professionals, National Team
info [at] youngedprofessionals [dot] org