Your teenager may need career guidance earlier than you think

Many parents assume career planning happens near the end of secondary school. That might once have been enough. It is becoming a much riskier approach now.

Teenagers often make subject choices before they have a clear idea of what they want to do. Those choices can later affect which university courses, training programmes and occupations remain open to them. With New Zealand moving towards more subject-based secondary qualifications, understanding these connections will become even more important.

The problem is that career support is not the same in every school. Some students have access to experienced career advisers, individual appointments, workplace visits and strong links with employers or tertiary providers. Others may receive most of their information through websites, classroom teachers or a careers event once or twice a year.

Schools are required to provide career education from Year 7, but that does not guarantee every student will receive regular, individual guidance. It also does not mean a teenager will automatically understand the long-term effects of choosing—or dropping—a particular subject.

This places more responsibility on parents and whānau to start asking questions earlier. Teenagers do not need to choose a lifelong career at 13 or 14. They do, however, need help understanding which decisions keep their options open and which ones may quietly close doors.

The goal is not to pressure young people into deciding their future too soon. It is to make sure they are not making important decisions without realising how important those decisions may be.