New Skills Survey Reveals Strong Career Confidence, With Younger Graduates Lagging Behind

A nationwide learner outlook survey has revealed high confidence among recent graduates about their future and career progression but also shows that school leavers are significantly less certain about their next steps.

The 2025 The Learner Outlook Aotearoa, New Zealand survey, published by Skills Group, included responses from learners across Skills Ignite, Skills Premier, Etco, E-tec, and ICE.

It found that 63% of learners feel very or extremely confident about their future.

Skills Group Head of Marketing and Communications Michael Pryor says confidence in qualifications supporting career progression was similarly strong, with 62% expressing high or extreme confidence.

“However, confidence was not evenly distributed,” Michael says.

“Younger learners aged 17 and under consistently reported the lowest levels of certainty across all key measures - future outlook, career progression, and job market perception. This group averaged a confidence in qualification for career progression rating of just 2.6 out of 5, compared to 3.7 among learners aged 25–54.

“However, the findings are encouraging overall as they show that the majority of graduates believe in the value of their qualifications. But the data also tells us we need to do more to support school leavers as they transition into the workforce or further education.”

The report highlights a need for earlier and clearer career guidance, particularly to help younger learners connect their study choices with real-world opportunities.

Other key findings include:

• Distance learners reported the highest overall confidence in both future outlook and career value.
• Most learners had medium-term plans (1–3 years), with business ownership and overseas work ambitions more common in the long term.
• While job market perceptions were generally positive, younger learners and Māori respondents expressed more uncertainty than average.

The survey collected responses from 1,206 graduates who completed qualifications through the Skills Group between 2023 and 2024. It will form the baseline for a new annual longitudinal study tracking learner outcomes and perceptions over time.

“Understanding where learners are confident and where they’re not gives us the insight we need to close the gaps - particularly for younger New Zealanders just beginning their career journey,” Michael says.

Notes:

Research is undertaken to the highest possible standards and in accord with the principles detailed in the RANZ Code of Practice which is based on the ESOMAR Code of Conduct for Market Research.

This report was prepared by SIL Research for SKILLS.

A total of 1,206 graduates participated in the survey, drawn from across Etco, ICE, Skills Ignite and Skills Premier.

This sample size allows the results to be reported with a margin of error of ±2.82% at the 95% confidence level when responses are evenly split (50/50), and ±2.26% when responses are more polarised (80/20).

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