Does every teenager get good career guidance at school?

As my kids get older, I have started paying more attention to the career support available through schools.

I had assumed that every teenager would eventually sit down with a careers adviser, talk through their strengths and interests, and get help choosing subjects that suited where they might want to go.

But is that actually what happens for every student?

Under the Education and Training Act 2020, New Zealand schools must take reasonable steps to provide appropriate career education and guidance from Year 7 onwards. The guidance is meant to help students prepare for work, further education or training.

That sounds reassuring, but the word “appropriate” leaves a lot open to interpretation.

The law does not say how many hours of career education a student should receive. It does not guarantee an individual appointment with a careers adviser. It does not set a minimum ratio of career staff to students, and it does not say that the person giving substantial career guidance must hold a specialist career-development qualification.

In practice, this means career support can look very different from one school to another.

Some schools have a dedicated careers team, individual appointments, workplace visits, employer connections and strong relationships with universities and training providers. In other schools, career education may rely more heavily on classroom teachers, online tools or the occasional careers event.

This is not about blaming schools or teachers. Schools are balancing many priorities, often with limited time and resources. Career advisers may also be responsible for hundreds of students while trying to keep up with changing qualifications, tertiary requirements, apprenticeships and employment trends.

The concern is that teenagers are not all starting from the same position.

Some young people have parents or relatives who understand university prerequisites, vocational training and the links between school subjects and future pathways. Others may rely almost entirely on the information they receive at school.

That difference matters because teenagers can make choices without realising their longer-term effects. Dropping a subject may feel like a small decision at the time, but it could later affect entry into a course or career. Changing direction may still be possible, but it can mean taking bridging courses, adding extra study or finding another route.

With New Zealand moving towards new subject-based secondary qualifications, good guidance is likely to become even more important. Teenagers will need help understanding not only which subjects they enjoy, but also what those subjects could lead to and which options they may want to keep open.

This does not mean asking a 13- or 14-year-old to choose one career and stick to it. It means giving them enough information to make informed choices while they are still exploring.

As parents and whānau, we may need to become involved earlier than we expected. Some useful questions to ask the school are:

• When does career education begin?

• Who is responsible for providing it?

• Can students have an individual career conversation?

• How are subject choices connected to future study and training?

• What support is available for students who are unsure?

• How are parents and whānau included?

• Does the school introduce students to vocational pathways as well as university options?

Schools remain an important part of the picture, but we should not assume every teenager will automatically receive the same level of support.

Our kids do not need their whole lives mapped out. They do need someone to help them understand the map before they reach an important turn.

This is part two of my series about the changes happening in New Zealand schools and what our teenagers may need to prepare for. In the next post, I’ll look at what parents and whānau can do to help teenagers explore their options without placing more pressure on them.