While three in four British adults receive some vocational guidance, two thirds have deemed it not appropriate or useful, according to a survey by Home Learning College.

Consequently, two thirds would have taken a different career path if they’d benefited from the right intervention when they were younger.

Occupational psychologist Sherridan Hughes says: “Many psychometric and online careers tools are based solely on interests which, surprisingly, are not the most important element for career decisions.

“While many schools and colleges have introduced some psychometric input into careers counselling, there may still be a tendency to nominate one of the teachers as the careers person with minimal, if any, training. What pupils really need is a proper counselling consultation with a trained professional.”