Careers Education and How Parents Can Help

Here are some ideas to help parents/caregivers give useful advice and guidance:

• check out the information on the St Andrew's College Careers website – How to choose subjects for next year;
• ask your child questions which will help them look at themselves. Focus on their interests, things they are good at, and their personal values about work;
• talk about what subjects they are good at. Assessment results will determine ability.
• discuss subject choice with your child each year. Which subjects will best suit their plans for the future?
• ensure your child keeps their options open, especially if they are undecided about future course and career plans;
• look at the subjects they wish to study in future years as with some subjects, if dropped early, may provide difficult to take up again later. Some subjects can be started at any year level;
• if your child does not know what career they want, ask them to define broad areas of interest, such as helping people or scientific work. Then encourage them to investigate lots of options within each field. Pursuing work or study in an area of interest is vital for sustaining satisfaction and getting through the tough times;
• discuss what your child needs or wants most from their career. Attitudes to the need for money, security or self-development vary from person to person;
• try not to impose your ideas but help by using questions which will clarify the issues – for example, “This job doesn’t have much physical activity in it, and you’ve said that’s important to you. How much will that matter?”
• point your child towards sources of information about careers and let them follow it up. Encourage them to see their Careers Advisor, use careersnz and/or visit the Careers Office in SC201;
• prior to dropping Science or Mathematics in the senior year levels consider the implications, if any, that this may have on entry into further study;
• if they have an idea of what it is they want to do/study when they leave school, it is a good idea to work backwards. Tertiary institutions may have recommended and required subjects;
• ask about the Career Education Programme at the College and urge your child to take part in work exploration or any tertiary visits which are available. These give an opportunity to find out what a job or training course is really like;
• encourage your child in any activity that develops skills. Many of the important transferable skills which employers look for are developed at school through the general curriculum. Skills are also gathered from part-time or holiday jobs and from leisure or sporting activities. In the workforce, what a person can do is often more important than the knowledge they hold;
• do you agree with their reasoning?
• if you have concerns, sit down with the teacher, Careers Advisor, or other staff. Find out what they think; does the College know something you don’t? Do you know something the College doesn’t?
• encourage them to see their Careers Advisor, use the St Andrew’s College Careers website and/or visit the Careers Centre.

Parents/caregivers can support students in making good choices that will set them up for further study and careers.

Below are links to information, resources and tips to help parents/caregivers understand NCEA and support their child in making good choices.

NCEA tips and information >

How to choose NCEA subjects >

Conversation tips for subject choice time >

Explore job ideas with a variety of quizzes >

Explore which subjects link to what jobs >

How to pick NCEA subjects for future success >

Recommended subjects for certain tertiary courses >

Tertiary videos on how to choose subjects >