How to support your child’s career path  

Everyone wants to ensure that their young people can have successful career paths. They look for guidance in a variety of places, but ultimately, they will come asking questions to all their trusted adults. Therefore, we think it is so important that we support both out scholars and parents to answering any careers related questions.   

It is never too soon to begin thinking about careers, skills scholars can build and experiences they can draw from, we encourage all our scholars to start having careers conversations from year 7. It is never to soon to start!  

Family plays a key role in a young person’s identity, it helps they to form their goals and ambitions for the future. You may have a key role to play in your child’s careers making future, and you may be wondering about the following questions:  

  • How much support is too much?  
  • Should you let them work it our for themselves?  
  • What advice is the best?  
  • When do I need to act and support them?  

Ideas and research behind careers and who people choose their carers is changing since a lot of parents were in their child’s situation. IT shows that there are more complex processes behind how one chooses their career in the 21st century compared to the 20th century.  

The main thing to bear in mind with this change is that although we have our own personal opinions regarding what may seem like a good job, being up to date with our knowledge. We want to make sure we opening doors and opportunities, so may also need to keep an open mind to the demands that we being made of the labour market, rather than our own beliefs from our experiences. We need to not let our own personal bias towards a route potentially limit our young people, as that route may have developed or have more credibility now than it did before.  

The main thing is to keep talking with your child, point them to research further on their path and help them to make informed decisions for themselves.  

What can you do?  

Research for parents 

You could complete your own research on Careerpilot. The Parent zone in Career Pilot can provide information to help parents and carers support young people. Click here to find out more.  

Get involved  

Taking part in activities that are related to careers learning is a get way to get your child thinking about the future, with your support.   

You could complete some of the activities and conversations on Skillsbuilder Homezone. Here you can select an individual skill that your child wants to develop, and you can complete a level of that skill together at home. Click here to find out more.  

Conversations you can have:  

  • Talk about your own career path and that of other family members  
  • Talk about the skills and experiences that your child possesses  
  • Share positive attitudes, views and values 
  • Talk about your child’s aspirations at school and beyond  

Actions you can take with school: 

  • Review your child’s Morrisby account, get them to log any activities they have completed outside of school  
  • Discuss the careers activities, e.g. enrichment days, that take place at the school with your child 
  • Book an appointment with our Careers Advisor if there is specific information you require 
  • Attend the Sixth Form Options Evening with your child 
  • Take your child on University Open Days 
  • Help find a work experience placement for your child Year 10  
  • Help your child edit their personal statement and CV 
  • Help your child edit their application forms on MyChoice16  
  • Help research and discuss possible next steps (University / apprenticeship / employment) 
In terms of career choice, we should: 
  • Aid, but not dictate, the decision-making process 
  • Support our child’s decisions 
  • Give our children freedom and time to discover their skills 
  • Provide motivation to develop and achieve 
  • Provide encouragement to pursue interests and ambitions 
  • Try to instil a responsible attitude and mature outlook 
  • Instil an attitude of self-belief by being positive and never critical – as responsible adults, our words are likely to have the biggest effect on our children. 
What we should bear in mind when helping our child with education choices 

Everyone has a unique set of skills and aptitudes. Each child is individual in their own way, and so may possess different skills and abilities to other members of their family. With this in mind, adopting a similar career role to a family member may not be the right course of action. 

We all take time to ‘find our feet’. We may say things such as “pick a course you think you’ll like” or “why don’t you apply for this job”. Though it may seem that we’re doing the right thing in terms of steering our children in the right direction, we also need to remember that we all need space and time to discover what we truly want to pursue. University, for example, isn’t for everyone; engaging in relevant work experience and/or undertaking an apprenticeship can be just as valuable in finding a suitable vocation in which you can thrive. 

We aim to educate children that life is about self-discovery and new skills and talents are developed. How many of us are in careers we thought we would be in when we were 18? We can only make decisions based on what we know about ourselves at the time. We need to let our children know that it’s okay that they aren’t sure what they want to do yet but the important thing is to be proactive in finding their way. 

Careermag 

This can often be a stressful time not only for our students but also for families. The latest issue of Careermag for Parents is available for our students’ and their families to sit down together to look at all the qualification and career routes available. There are articles about options for school leavers and key dates to put on your calendar. 

The magazine features: 

  •  Top Tips for Parents 
  • University challenge 
  • UCAS dates 
  •  Degree and Higher Apprenticeships 
  • 20 things you need to know about Apprenticeships 
  • Qualifications Guide 
  • Traineeships 
  • Four industries 
Success at School – Parent Career Magazine 

Success at School is a national careers website for students aged 11-19, as well as their teachers, careers advisors, parents and other influencers.  Young people can learn about their future career options through no-nonsense careers advice related to their own experiences. 

As well as covering topics such as career paths, industries, apprenticeships, university and employability skills, they connect schools and students to employers and universities through opportunities on their site and their interactive forums. 

Click here for the latest parent advice and the latest copy of the parent magazine. 

Parents’ and Carers’ Pack Apprenticeship Information 2021 Edition 

Information for parents and students: https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/# 

Click here to view the government’s parents’ guide to apprenticeships. 

To help families and students navigate the fast-changing world of apprenticeships. https://amazingapprenticeships.com/ 

Parents guide to apprenticeships https://successatschool.org