Across Australia these dedicated professionals help students navigate life beyond school – connecting them with industries, trainers and employment opportunities while supporting them to make informed decisions about their future pathways.

NSW Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education Steve Whan said careers and transition advisers nurture young people’s career curiosity and equip them to be highly skilled members who contribute to the wellbeing of their communities.

“They take career learning beyond the four walls of the classroom and help young people navigate through the plethora of career and training pathways,” Whan said.

“This National Careers Week, we thank you for going above and beyond to spark inspiration and turn aspirations into fulfilling careers for our students.”

Led by the Career Industry Council of Australia, National Careers Week’s theme this year is ‘Future Frontiers: Navigating New Career Pathways’ and highlights the exciting opportunities available to students as they prepare for their future world of work.

Beyond providing guidance at school, careers advisers also open doors to hands-on experiences such as try-a-trade days and support students in balancing school with apprenticeships and traineeships.

Bellingen High School’s Frieda Gorman, whose leadership in career education is making a significant impact in her regional community, was last year awarded the Premier’s Vocational Education in Schools Scholarship, which saw her travel to Scotland for a study tour of that country’s VET delivery.

Since returning, the careers advisor has focused on strengthening local partnerships to align school career pathways with community needs and local labour market demand. 

“Working in career education is in an incredibly rewarding vocation to initiate that spark of passion in a young person and know that they will thrive with their chosen pathway after school,” Gorman said.

“Work experience provides students with the opportunity to explore careers and industries, helping them discover what they enjoy, as well as what they don’t.

“I aspire to have my students experience the same fulfilment that I have in my role.”

Among her many initiatives, Frieda has introduced a mandatory two-week work experience program for Year 10 students and extended early career education into local primary schools.

Over the past year alone, careers and transitions advisers like Frieda have supported thousands of young people, including 4000 public school students undertaking a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship, nationally education is not doing particularly well at helping students feel prepared for their post-school future.

While it seems NSW public schools are doing a better job of equipping students with the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to explore emerging pathways and thrive in the future workforce, nationwide the system continues to fail our young people when it comes to career transition.

EducationHQ reported in early April, that there are 560 students for every one careers counsellor in our schools nationally.

Just over 70 per cent of young people say they’ve experienced high levels of anxiety, depression and fear in Year 12 due to confusion and uncertainty about their future career paths, while just 27 per cent of young people surveyed say their high school has helped them feel prepared for their post-school future.

Young people’s exposure to the possibilities of life after school is sadly often limited to the environment around them, whether it’s their parents, friends, or under-resourced careers practitioners in their schools, according to Year13 co-founder and co-CEO, Will Stubley. 

Stubley told EducationHQ that with so few careers counsellors in schools and already exhausted teachers struggling under the weight of shortages and admin challenges, along with restrictive economics, advances in technology are the solution.

Stubley, who in 2017 authored a research paper titled After the ATAR: Understanding how Gen Z transition into further education and employment, sees the school/post-school environment as an ecosystem.

“The concept of ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, in this case it actually takes an ecosystem to support the transition,” he offers.

“It requires the school, tertiary, industry and government all coming to a cohesive solution and a cohesive effort towards that solution.

“And it helps the school have better outcomes, it helps tertiary have lower dropout rates, it means industry has better skills pipelines, and that means government has better productivity.”

Year13 is Australia’s largest school-to-work transition platform, and with 150 industry partners it is helping more than 1.6 million young people annually.

The objectives of National Careers Week are to:

  • develop community awareness of the concept, benefit, and value of career development;
  • raise aspirations, challenge stereotypes, and broaden horizons about careers;
  • highlight the need for ongoing reskilling and upskilling to support careers throughout life;
  • identify the changing nature of work and its impact on all Australians;
  • showcase industries and the career opportunities available in them; and
  • provide opportunities to partner with key stakeholders.

To download free National Careers Week resources, click here.