The die is cast: Brexit's influence on student career intentions

Brexit, Britain’s referendum to leave the European Union (EU), provided the backdrop for this study, although how or even if it will be implemented is uncertain. Most UK voters supported leaving the EU, yet an overwhelming majority of young people voted to remain. In an environment of economic and labour market ambiguity, we sampled 304 UK university students to examine Brexit’s perceived impact on their career plans. Using Theory of Planned Behaviour, we found that students with higher internal locus of control intended to adapt career plans, although students who identified themselves as British were less proactive. Whilst most students aspired to follow a career path as an employee of a large company, nearly one third intended to become entrepreneurs, a path preferred by twice the number of males as females. Our results provide important insights for post-Brexit planning of educational policy and for businesses and labour markets throughout Europe.

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Studies in Higher Education on 24/03/2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/03075079.2019.1593346