The 3 best ways to help your kid choose a career path, according to a teacher.

Thanks to our brand partner, Victorian Department of Education

Anxiety and nervousness are the two emotions that most parents will feel as they watch their teens navigate their educational journey. Interestingly, these same feelings are often shared by the kids themselves, especially those in the middle to senior years of high school.

Year 10 marks a pivotal moment as students stand on the cusp of making some of their first significant educational decisions. They're starting to plan their senior years and carefully consider how their subject choices may shape their post-school pathways.

Once upon a time — in the 1990s and early 2000s — options after Year 10 were fairly limited. You either left school or stayed to complete Years 11 and 12, working toward a final grade.

Thankfully, things have changed for the better, and these days, students have a whole host of options at their fingertips.

As a teacher, I'm often the go-to for advice when parents are navigating this pivotal time with their teens. In my experience, these are the three best ways you can guide and support them in choosing their path.

1. Encourage them to consider all their options.

In Victoria, the ultimate goal of mainstream education is clear: achieving the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). However, the journey to get there can look different for every student.

Nowadays, senior secondary education offers a diverse range of pathways, enabling students to explore their passions, talents and a variety of subjects tailored to their individual needs.

And as a parent, it's important to encourage your kid to consider all their options, including apprenticeships, traineeships, VET (vocational education and training) or workplace learning. The VCE Vocational Major (VCE VM) allows them to explore all these things as part of their VCE studies.

What does that mean? In simple terms, the VCE VM combines core units in literacy and numeracy with units in work related skills, personal development skills and VET courses in one or more industries.

Think of learning both inside and outside the classroom, combined with on-site, real-world skill-building experiences in related workplaces. The VCE VM offers a well-rounded, hands-on program that equips students with valuable skills for work and life, giving them a chance to taste a career path while still at school.

It's a great option for students who may have a diverse range of interests or are keen to jump in and start on their career path or apprenticeship while still acquiring their VCE.

2. Give them a taste of the real world.

There is a huge difference between a job and a career. We know this as adults, but for kids, the distinction is sometimes less clear.

Prompt your kid to think about possible careers that they can see themselves not only being good at but interested in enough to want to embark on an apprenticeship, further education or other training.

If they can find an opportunity to experience different careers through work experience, internships or job shadowing, encourage them to do so. Even being able to speak with people currently employed in the field can be a great way to gain some real world insight.

Sometimes, the reality of a job or career can differ significantly from what we imagine. Gaining different perspectives can help students sort through their thoughts, feelings and aspirations, allowing them to assess whether the career they're considering aligns with real-world expectations.

3. Promote 'blue sky' thinking.

Students in Year 10 are still, at their core, kids. Kids who may have embarked on their first job but otherwise have very limited experience of what a career actually looks like.

They may be uncertain where they want to go or what their future looks like and that's okay! They can also be extremely rigid in their thinking and believe that their decisions now, as a 15-year-old, will shape the rest of their life irrevocably.

As parents, it is our job to remind them that it's okay to swing wildly between ideas and passions and support them as they explore different subjects and ideas about their career.

Understanding that they have flexibility and that learning is a lifelong process can be incredibly reassuring for a nervous 15-year-old. It helps them realise that their current decisions don't lock them into something they may later discover isn't the right fit after all.

The key takeaways?

Be open and honest in your discussions with your teen as they begin their journey into the final years of secondary education. You are an advocate for the path they choose and being on the same page makes this a much easier task.

Education doesn't begin and end in Years 11 and 12 and there are multiple pathways to achieving a goal, whether it be working toward a final grade, an apprenticeship, further tertiary learning or beginning a career.

Check out the VCE Vocational Major to kickstart career conversations with your teen.

Feature Image: Getty.

Are your kids living in a world revolving around their passions? That's a good thing.
It's why the VCE's new Vocational Major creates worlds where passions can be explored.
From agriculture to construction, health to clean energy. Whatever world our kids are into, there's a VCE program to help develop the skills they'll need to land a job in Australia's most in-demand industries.