Why we need to rethink careers education in schools

Finishing school, a student from an advantaged home might have spent her holidays as a paid intern at a parent’s workplace, or perhaps a family friend’s. This might have taken her to Google, Qantas, Atlassian, or a global hotel brand like Hilton.

Compare that to a Year 12 student from a single parent family reliant on a disability pension, highly motivated, but juggling his studies with precarious part-time work while also perhaps providing care for his parent. It’s likely that his extended family and friends will have inconsistent employment histories. They’re trying to help, but they lack the networks to offer a range of job-related opportunities. It’s time to level the playing field, and this needs to happen at school.

Providing students lacking opportunities with practical career-oriented support opens their minds to possibilities and helps them understand the point of learning. When a student sees a coherent path to their desired future, they’re more motivated to stay at school and complete Year 12.

System in need of change

Despite the efforts of teachers and schools, careers support is often at the periphery of education, and inconsistent in its efficacy. Survey data from young people experiencing disadvantage in their first year post-school shows that while most recall receiving some form of careers support at school, just over half found it helpful.

With funding from the Australian government’s Department of Education, The Smith Family’s Growing Careers Project is offering 76,000 career-related opportunities for students in schools over five years – ranging from support with résumé writing to excursions with our corporate partners.

It’s a good start but our nation needs to totally rethink how we provide careers education in schools. We need more investment to scale up programs that are shown to be working. Schools require robust partnerships with employers to enhance students’ learning opportunities and networks. It’s not just about doing new things but also doing the right things, so initiatives must be rigorously tracked for effectiveness.

In 2018, the second Gonski Review recommended the establishment of mechanisms to facilitate quality partnerships between schools, employers, and other members of the community. While some positive school-community engagement exists, it is still not systemically embedded in the ways schools operate.

As we review the new National School Reform Agreement, let’s recognise that such partnerships are not “extras”. They are integral to achieving core outcomes, including keeping students engaged and motivated to complete Year 12. And careers education should start as early as primary school, just as it does, by osmosis, in advantaged homes.

Benefit the country

UK research shows young people who have four or more structured career activities across their school life are up to five times less likely to not be employed, or in education, or training in their 20s. Some need an additional hand up.

More remunerated work placements, cadetships and internships are needed which target young people experiencing disadvantage and contribute to providing them with clear career paths.

Employers would win, too. Diversity is the backbone of a thriving workplace. People with different life experiences offer insights and solutions that others may not have considered. They also bring greater understanding of a broad customer base.

Year 12 leavers this year have weathered the storm of COVID-19 and its aftermath. I commend their tenacity. Now begins their next chapter, and my hope is that they can all fulfil their potential, enjoy meaningful careers, and go on to live their best lives. When our young people thrive, so too does our nation.

Doug Taylor is CEO of the children’s education charity The Smith Family and a member of the National School Reform Agreement Ministerial Reference Group. The Australian Financial Review partners with The Smith Family to provide educational support for young disadvantaged Australians.