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Tips to increase your child’s interest in careers
The concept of ‘one job for life’ is an antiquated one. It is predicted that today’s school leaver will have seventeen jobs across five careers in their lifetime.
A few lucky people know from an early age what they want to spend their life doing. The rest of us fit somewhere between having some idea and having no idea at all. It is not unusual for young people to be unclear about the career pathway they want to pursue on completion of their Secondary School education. In fact – this is very normal.
There is a wealth of information about possible career choices, which can leave people feeling overwhelmed, unable to decide or perhaps even uninterested in the whole 'careers thing'. To support your child and increase their interest in their career pathway, I have listed below some useful strategies to encourage discussion (and learning):
Be a positive influence
Talk about your career. Focus on the ‘pathways’ you have taken; highlighting events and experiences that influenced how your goals were realised (or were not). Share any plans and goals you might have and how you see your future career pathways.
You should similarly encourage your children to speak with other people about their career pathways (i.e. extended family, family friends).
Talk about the people you meet in your day-to-day activities
In everyday life, there are opportunities to discuss different career pathways.
For example, whilst shopping – you can encourage your young person to consider the different roles that contribute to the successful operation a supermarket. When visiting a Medical Practitioner (i.e. Doctor, Dentist, Occupational Therapist), there are opportunities to ‘unpack’ each role, weighing up the pros and cons and suitability based on an individual’s interests, values and strengths.
Ask open-ended questions. For example:
- What do you think the main functions of their role would be?
- Do you think they enjoy their role?
- What do you think might be a difficult part of their role?
- What skills do you think would be necessary to do this role well?
These questions can lead to discussions about the benefits (or otherwise) of doing certain jobs, as well as more general questions about why people work. They will also allow your child to consider their strengths and interests.
Engage collaboratively with useful resources
So many resources that have been designed to support young people with navigating career pathways. Why not explore these resources together?
For example, I would encourage you/your child to explore the occupation profiles on the myfuture website. These profiles have accompanying videos that provide insights into the occupations and their education and training requirements. You/your child may also be interested in exploring the myfuture Case studies.
Some other great resources include:
South East Local Learning and Employment Network Resources
Focus on skills your child will need, rather than specific jobs
As indicated, it is unlikely that your child will only do ‘one job for life’. In the context of a future of work, that includes greater uncertainty in the job market, young people need to be proactively seeking opportunities to enhance their employability skills.
In addition to the technical skills that you require for particular jobs (i.e. a Carpenter = using tools, understanding house plans), employers are also looking for general skills that are transferable across any role that you undertake. Transferable skills are skills that you develop and use throughout your life in work and non-work situations. These transferable skills are referred to as ‘employability’ or ‘enterprise’ skills (i.e. communication, project management, teamwork, creativity and innovation).
As a parent/guardian, we should try to avoid the question, ‘What job do you want to do when you are older’ and instead, discuss your child’s skills and strengths and how they might align with particular career pathways.
Encourage your child to participate in activities at school or in the community
Your child could help at a sports club, join a school committee or get involved in the school production. They could even do 'special' jobs around the house such as painting or serious spring-cleaning.
Such activities count as work and develop work skills, which are invaluable to learn and practice. It demonstrates to your child that work can be routine, fun and dull on occasions; preparing them for thinking about and making career decisions.
When your child is ready, they can consider part time/casual work (tips for securing part time/casual work will feature in the next newsletter).
Remember:
It is your child’s decision on what direction they want to go. It is important that we do not allow our own personal experiences (bias) to override our ability to provide objective advice that aligns with the interests, values and strengths of the individual.
AFL Sports Ready Traineeship – Casey Grammar School
AFL SportsReady currently has an exciting position available for someone wanting to pursue a career in the Sports & Recreation industry.
The successful applicant will:
- Be employed by AFL SportsReady.
- Work on-site with Casey Grammar School
- Study for an accredited qualification: Certificate III in Sport and Recreation
For further information (and to apply), visit this link. Alternatively, please speak to Miss Carrie (Coordinator of Sports) for further information.
Success looks different for everyone…
I think I am still recovering from the celebrations of last week!
What a wonderful way for our Year 12 students to finish their Secondary School journey. With many tears shared, the week’s festivities were a fitting way to recognise the outstanding achievements of this cohort. I am very proud of each and every one of these students and cannot wait to see what they can achieve in the future.
With this in mind, I wanted to remind our students that success looks different for everyone. Your school results are not your future; there are many more important determinants of success and happiness in life. Please take the time to define what success looks like for you as an individual and set goal/s to achieve this.
All the best to our 2022 Year 12 students.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. My workdays are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and I am best contacted on the below email.
Sarah Blythman
Head of Careers and Student Pathways
