'Character' needed for young people to get top jobs, study finds

Young people who lack “grit” and “resilience” are less likely to achieve their potential in the jobs market, according to a new study.

Jointly commissioned by the Early Intervention Foundation, the Cabinet Office and the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, the research found that “character” boosted poorer children’s chances of breaking free of deprivation and going on to get a “top job”. To that end its authors called for schools to put more focus on improving personal traits.

The study found that children of professional parents are more likely to end up in higher-earning jobs and researchers calculated that ten per cent of this advantage was due to better character skills.