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Helping and supporting children, family members and friends with their
career development can be very rewarding. Opportunities appear endless!
While helping is filled with good intentions, having so many career
options to choose from can make decision making overwhelmingly difficult!
There is also a chance that our own personal values and expectations
that we may have of others get in the way. It can all be very confusing.
Some that seek you out for help will find decision making the hardest
thing to do; but remember your role is that of being a supporting and
encouraging guide and not a surrogate decision maker! This can be very
hard but it is not helpful for you to ‘take ownership’ of
someone else’s career decisions.
Be open-minded and encourage all options to be researched to avoid
premature decisions being made. This way the best possible choices for
study and work will be considered and decided on.
The following resource suggestions have been included to help you,
help those you want to support:
- school, college
or university students
will have access to a career resource or advisor. Promote this resource
as a first point of contact
- attend a parents as career partners
workshop. There is no cost to attend and you will learn more about
what you can do to help
- visit an employment directions network
agency to access community career advisors and other career resources
- work through and complete the online computerised career development
tool MyGuide on the Australian myfuture
web pages
- visit the career
development centre to access career information and advisors,
course information and computerised career assessment tools
Influencing Change
In the last two decades, the workplace has been dramatically transformed.
Individuals traditionally had careers entrenched in organisations, relying
on the paternalistic firm for career development. Increasingly now,
individuals are working outside the organisational boundaries, defining
career success on their own terms rather than by the organisational
measures of salary and rank. Rapid technological change and globalisation
have intensified the relationship of individual careers from organisations,
putting more emphasis on individuals for their own career development
and creating an even greater need for mentoring.
Recent research has also reviewed the strong influence that parenting
behaviour and family functioning has on career development. The findings
suggest that career development practitioners should shift the focus
from the individual to the family system. There is a need to develop
a new and richer view of parent involvement in schools and help families
become more proactive, and consider ways of duplicating helpful types
of family functioning in schools, especially for children whose families
are not proactive.
Parents need to consider ways in which their childrearing patterns
and family interactions are or are not proactive. They can support learning
strategies that promote career readiness, such as encouraging children
to take challenging classes, providing opportunities to instill confidence
and expectations that family members will do their best in difficult
situations, and making informal contacts for exploration of occupational
choices. Children develop many of their initial ideas and beliefs about
work on the basis of what they hear from their parents, as well as what
they observe for themselves. Parents' intentional career-related actions
are important in preparing children to be tomorrow's workers and tomorrow's
citizens. However, the day-to-day patterns of family relationship may
be the most significant gift a family can make.
Nationally and internationally too there has been a growing recognition
that career development is critical if we are to equip people with the
skills, knowledge and understandings and attributes that are needed
to manage life, learning and the work environment today. Career development
is about building the skills to manage learning, work and life. It is
a broad agenda, spanning kindergarten to adulthood.
Dr Peter John Carey
Curriculum Consultant (Technology & Enterprise, Career Development
& The Arts)
Catholic Education Office of Western Australia
Resources:
Choosing a Career Practitioner
- [.pdf | 120.1 kb]
The Career Industry Association of Australia (CICA) have endorsed
these guidelines in help you to choose a career practitioner.
myfuture:
Resources
Resources to help your own development as well as to support others
explore or plan their careers. It includes a workshop, presentation
and a quiz!
Report:
Parents Help with Careers
Your role is also vital in prompting their thinking from early high
school. Teenagers need to learn about the variety of occupations they
might be suited to and you can help them in getting a real picture of
what individual occupations involve. This booklet is for parents, guardians
and those who have a responsibility or an interest in looking after
young people.
SLP School Leaver Program WA
The School Leaver Program (SLP) aims to help young people make a smooth
transition from school to:
- further education
- further training
- apprenticeships / traineeships
- employment
- other career and lifestyle options
It’s all about developing skills and giving information and links
to other people who can help. The program is open to school students,
school leavers, parents, guardians and teachers.
Australian myfuture
The myfuture website has two distinct areas. My Guide; this section
guides the user through activities that help explore a personalised
career journey. My Guide stores the information confidentially so that
the user may be access or modify and change the information through
an individualised ‘user name’ and ‘password’. The
Facts section contains a wealth of information on career related topics
such as education and training, work and employment.
Australian Defence
Force Cadets ADFC
The Australian Defence Force Cadets (ADFC) is a community-based organisation
of 25,000 Cadets and 2,500 Cadet Staff in 500 Units throughout Australia.
The ADFC aspires to be Australia’s leading youth development organisation
taking part in adventurous, fulfilling and educational activities in
a military setting.
Australian: Parents as Career Partners
Parents as career partners workshops highlight the need for tomorrows
workforce to adapt to change, use technology, work as a member of a
team, communicate and solve problems. Students who make the most of
their education (secondary and tertiary) will have the widest options
and can expect a lifetime of learning. According to recent studies,
young people may have as many as 12-25 jobs in up to five industry sectors
during their working lives! Workshop and further information is available
from this link.
New Apprenticeships Job
Pathways
The New Apprenticeships Job Pathways website aims to assist career
development practitioners, students, parents, job candidates and employers
in their search for New Apprenticeships job and training information.
Careers in Building
and Construction
The time when a son or daughter is choosing between education, training
and employment options is often difficult for parents.
Parents
Helping Teens
How can parents help students make life and work decisions after high
school? Parents, guardians and other significant adults can have a major
influence on a student life and work choices. This Canadian resource
contains useful information to help your teen!
The
Youth Pathway Programme
The Youth Pathway Programme helps young people make the transition
through school and from school to further education, training or employment
- assistance includes assistance with work experience placements.
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