Bank of mum and dad to support one in five children through university

Two in four parents would encourage their children to get a weekend job to help them become more employable after school or university – and more than one in four would encourage their children to learn more languages and have a full driving license.

Set against the perceived merits of paid work to gain experience of working to earn money, only 17% of parents would push the perceived benefits of an internship.

These are some of the findings from elephant’s new summer research on education, debt and employment. At a time when there has been widespread industry debate over the financial impact of a Degree and employment prospects for graduates, the new elephant study explored what advice parents would give their children.

The study also features results of an annual summer tracker which asked parents what they would advise their children about coping with the cost of going to university. Whilst the vast majority wouldn’t discourage their children from going to university on financial grounds, around three in ten said they would encourage their children to go to a local university and live at home - and one in five said they would support their children financially through university. The research also indicated a variation of advice given based on size of family.

This is one of four new pieces of insight from elephant over the coming months. Additional research looks at attitudes to buying property, consumer spending habits and perceptions of trust towards brands across a number of industry sectors.

During September and October, the elephant team will be running a number of open house sessions, reviewing findings from a range of insight reports conducted so far in 2014. For more information or book a place, contact the elephant team via: www.elephantcommunications.co.uk